Scrapbooking: a Mini Book for a pet

Tuesday, January 29, 2013


My husband had a dog (Gruffy) for almost 12 years. I only knew Gruffy for about 3 years. It was very difficult for me to adjust to having a dog in the house, but in the end he grew on me. He was sweet. When Gruffy passed away last year, I wanted to gather photos and make a mini book about him.

I used a cardboard 6x6 mini book and 3" rings. I found a paw print scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby and used that as the basis for my color scheme. I mostly used papers that look like burlap, wood, and plain colors.

I covered a chipboard 'G' and inked around the edges for the front cover of the book.

pet scrapbook

I kept most pages pretty simple and let the photos tell the story. I used word stickers, borders, washi tape, embellishments, punches, brads, cutouts from several scrapbooking lines, and banners.

I used some of my favorite Thickers on this page.

pet scrapbook

I created a word cloud here.

pet scrapbook

Here's one of my favorite Instagram shots of Gruffy.

pet scrapbook

Here he is at Joe's parents house... he wasn't allowed on furniture but he was always sneaking onto the couch when no one was around!

pet scrapbook

Gruffy had just been to Pet Smart that day and got prettied up.

pet scrapbook

Here's Gruffy when we moved him to our house after our honeymoon.

pet scrapbook

Here he is coming up the back steps at Joe's parents house.

pet scrapbook

Cutest picture ever taken of Gruffy, in my opinion - look at that face! :)

pet scrapbook

I used a punch from Stampin' Up to create this banner.

pet scrapbook

Washi tape looks great on simple pages.

pet scrapbook

Here's Gruffy all loaded up in the front seat of the truck.

pet scrapbook

The veterinarian made a paw print of Gruffy. It's the sweetest little momento. His paw was so big!

pet scrapbook

Have you ever made a book about your pet?

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All About Me SMASH book: Introduction and Words to Live By

Sunday, January 27, 2013


I love SMASH books and had to buy a couple extra to do, besides the one I did for Project Life last year. I've never done any scrapbooking about myself, so I decided to use the black mod smash book for an All About Me book. I normally scrapbook in chronological order, but this book has been a real departure from that. I started by making a list of some of the topics I wanted to cover in this book. And when I want to do a page, I just look through the book and pick a page that goes with my topic.

The first page in the book is an introduction page. I used several alphabet sets to write out some of the roles that I have in my life... Wife, daughter, sister, pharmacist, crafter, collector, and organizer. I put some of Target's pink polka dot washi tape underneath the alphas. Silver Thickers were the perfect way to spell out my name on a name tag. I used stickers and paper from Simple Stories 'Fabulous' collection and bits and pieces of other paper collections. The yellow buttons (with adhesive on the back - whoa!)  were $1 at Walmart!

black smashbook

I've been collecting quotes on this Pinterest board for a while and I turned to it when I wanted to do a 'Words to Live By' page. My intention was to add quotes to it gradually... but I actually filled up every journaling card and sticker the night I started the page. Oh well!

black smashbook

So what do you think? Have you ever done any All About Me scrapbook layouts? What topics did you include?

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DIY Blog Planner using free printables, scrapbook paper, and a Bind-It-All

Friday, January 25, 2013


I'm a new blogger, but I've quickly realized that this blogging stuff has to be organized! I searched for some blog planning templates and found some great ones. I made a blog planner using from free printables from Mama Jenn and the Michael's knock-off version of Amy Tangerines "Sketchbook" papers. These printables are amazing! Although I didn't print them, included in the download are pages for Giveaways/Reviews, Blog Post Notes, and a Year at a Glance Calendar.

I decorated the front of my blog planner
with stickers, vellum, and a tag. 

blog planner

 I put a piece of green vellum over the cover page,
just to pretty it up a bit.

blog planner

I printed the Calendar and Monthly Blog Planning sheets for each month. One thing I really liked about the calendar pages is the 4 boxes on each day. You can use those to check off promoting that blog post  on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. 

blog planner

I also printed the Monthly Blog Stats. It will be interesting to see how these numbers change over the next year!

blog planner

I printed a few of the Future Blog Post Ideas and Notes pages.

blog planner

blog planner

Then I used my Bind-it-All and 1/2" black wires to make the book. 

I posted a pic on Instagram the other day and when Amy Tangerine commented and liked it, it made my day! :)


blog planner

I love reading each and every comment! 
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Free Silhouette Cut File: Hello 2013

Tuesday, January 22, 2013


I wanted to share a free Silhouette Cameo cut file that I made. It's for the 'Hello 2013' title on the Gratitude Journal
Enjoy!

free silhouette cut
Download here

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Foxfire Mountain

Monday, January 21, 2013


Joe and I went camping in Pigeon Forge, TN a couple of weekends ago (the temp was in the 70's during the day - in January!). We ventured off to see the "longest swinging bridge in the U.S." at Foxfire Mountain in Sevierville. The bridge wasn't as high as I thought it would be, and I'm kind of glad - I'm afraid of heights.


(Here's a looks-scarier-than-what-it-really-is picture)

Before we went across the swinging bridge, 
we were instructed to write a wish on a piece of paper.



After you cross the bridge you reach Prosperity Mountain. There are
cairns (little man-made stacks of rocks) everywhere. 
You could make your own cairn for good luck, but we didn't.



We tied our wishes on the ceiling of the covered bridges.



 Fun day!



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This time last year: Project Life SMASH book January 2012

Friday, January 18, 2013


In 2012 I fell in love with K&Co SMASH books. And Project Life. And thus I faced a dilemma - which to choose?

Both.

So I got some calendar pockets and started my own version of PL. I made 2 or 3 two-page spreads for each month. I used Instagram prints throughout the book (they're all printed in 2"x2" size). I used the K&Co SMASH book date stamper on almost every page.

I really tried to stick with the highlights and little things that happened during the year. I did highlight some of the big trips we took. I used an app called Momento to document what happened every day. It integrates your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other feeds and organizes them for you. You can add your own events and attach pictures. Tagging those entries with custom-created tags makes for easy viewing later. I've never been able to keep a diary but I didn't miss a day last year.

Well... maybe I went back and added an entry here and there ;) But either way, it helped me keep up when I was making my monthly pages.

I also made a Project Life & SMASH board on Pinterest to keep up with all the great ideas I found.

I used Sharpie fine tip markers to color in the front of the Pretty Pink SMASH book. On the cover page, I covered up the cake picture with a bit of scrapbook paper and chipboard numbers.

pink smashbookpink smashbook

Last January I got my wedding dress back from the preservation company and finished my wedding scrapbook. I saved a receipt from an antique store and included it in the layout, then put a picture of my thrifty finds on top.

pink smashbook

Before I got any journaling cards, I tried writing directly on the SMASH book page.

pink smashbook

Each month I'll be sharing my pages from that month in 2012. One of the things I love most about Project Life is being able to look back and see what we were doing this time last year!

Which do you prefer, SMASH books or Project Life?

I love reading each and every comment! 
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2013 Gratitude Journal

Tuesday, January 15, 2013


My mom has been talking about keeping a gratitude journal for 2013. I got a Silhouette Cameo right after Thanksgiving so I decided to make her a journal and give it to her as a Christmas present. I'm determined to use up some of my hoarded scrapbooking supplies. I'm very interested in mini books at the moment, and this is just the second one i've made.

gratitude journal

The pictures will get better. Promise.

I used Echo Park's This and That 'Graceful' collection because it was full of pretty papers that I knew Mom would love. Mom was really surprised when i gave it to her. She was overwhelmed at first but she's figured out how she wants to do it now. She's going to add just a word on some days, pictures other days, and one page highlights throughout the year. She also has a pack of this paper so she can add coordinating stickers and embellishments. I can cut more pages for her anytime she wants.

Each month has a tabbed divider page made with a journaling card, stickers, and a "hello month" title that I made on the Cameo. I used a date stamper to put the month and year on the divider tabs. On the back of each divider is that month's calendar.

gratitude journal
gratitude journal

I cut out banner shapes, tags,
journaling cards, and weekly pages.

gratitude journal
gratitude journal
gratitude journal
gratitude journal

I cut out words and quotes and put them
throughout the book too.

gratitude journal
gratitude journal

Need more ideas and inspiration? Check out my Pinterest board - Mom's Gratitude Journal

Have you ever considered keeping a gratitude journal?


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Welcome to my blog

Saturday, January 12, 2013


Welcome to my first (ever!) blog!


My name is Emily. I'm a 30something crafty gal that's happily married to the best guy ever. His name is Joe. We live in Tennessee and love to travel. We recently bought a camper and so far I'm pretty good at glamping :)

I'll be using this blog to post about my everyday life, my scrapbook pages and SMASH books, other craft projects, household projects, DIY and organizing, my favorite things, Instagrams, and more. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while - why not now?!

Follow me and come back often - my husband says I have a lot to say. I hope to post at least a couple times each week. I would love some feedback on the site and I encourage comments/questions whenever you have something to say.



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