Enjoy the Journey

It's been a while since I've made a paper bag album, but when I was trying to think of a project for June's Mom and Me class I decided a PBA might just be the way to go. So, with the open house on Saturday, I settled in at the scrapbooking store on Friday to start the project.


One of the things I love about PBA's is just how quickly they go. The whole project took less than two hours, from the time I walked in the door, two paper bags in hand, to the time I walked out with a finished book, including the photos. I hadn't chosen the paper, photos, or even the scheme until I got there, and it all just came together nicely.



It's supposed to be a Summer / Travel themed PBA, and I used the travel strip paper from Scenic Route. You know how much I love these strip papers for cards? Well I love them for PBA's, too. There's just so much variety on one sheet of paper, it's hard not to love what you can do with it! I paired it with a black and white number paper from another Scenic Route line. I think they go nicely together.

I didn't really have any good summer or travel pictures I wanted to use in the album, but I DID have the pictures I took in June 2006 of my favorite shops in downtown Bozeman. I love going downtown in the summer and looking at all the fun shops, with all their textures and colors and inspiration. I love settling in to a coffee shop to sit and read or just enjoy a drink. I don't get to do that very often now that I have a toddler, but when I want to get away, that is what I do.

So this is my book about places in Bozeman I love to travel to, discover new ideas, and enjoy the journey that I am on. I figure if you want to see the world, you might as well start at home.

CD Label Tutorial

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I burned a DVD of photos and videos to give my grandparents for Christmas. One of my favorite things about it, though, was that I figured out an easy way to make labels for CDs and DVDs! I know you can buy the ones you run through your printer, but I want to be able to tailor them to a specific project. So here's how I did it...

1. Choose a piece of patterned paper (not the cardstock weight). Using your circle cutter, cut a 4.5 inch diameter circle. Then cut a 1.75 inch circle from the very center so you have a ring. (One of the things I like about my Curvy Cutter is that I can adjust the cutter without moving my paper or the track - it makes cutting rings super easy!)


2. Stamp your design on the patterned paper. I have been using a lot of this Autumn Leaves flourish - it fits perfectly three times around! Add any hand doodling or labeling at this point. **Make sure you don't use any dimensional products (such as embossing or heavy paint) in your stamping or writing. They will throw the balance off the CD/DVD and can potentially ruin your disc and/or machine!**


3. Run your finished design through a Xyron so that it is sticky on one side. If you choose an alternate adhesive for your label, make sure that it provides thin, even coverage so the disc is not thrown off balance and the label doesn't get stuck in the player.


4. Peel off the backing and adhere the label to your disc. Congratulations!! You're done! How easy was that??


As mentioned before, DVDs/CDs fit perfectly in the back of a paper bag album. If you don't know how to make them, or don't want to take the time, you can always get one (or have a custom one made) at Wickland PaperCrafts. (yes, that was a shameless plug)


They make great gifts (last minute Christmas gifts, anyone??) and are easy to mail. Especially since I found these cool bubble mailers at Walmart that are the PERFECT size:

A Christmas Gift

My grandparents live in a nursing home in Kansas. I haven't seen them in a year. The last time I saw them, they met my daughter (who was then 5 months old) for the first time. She is their first and only great grandchild. I won't be seeing them this year for Christmas and I know they are sad that they will not be seeing Ellie. So my Christmas gift to them is a DVD with pictures and videos of Ellie. I spent practically the whole day at Taylor's house making it and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I hope they enjoy it.

While we were waiting for the DVD to finish burning, I had the thought that maybe the disc was just the right size to put in the back pocket of one of my paper bag albums. I got home and tried it, and sure enough it was. A few stamps and photos later I came up with this! A DVD holder, mini album, and card in one!! The front stamps are a Rhonna Farrer flourish and Christine Adolph image (December 25). The sentiment on the pull out card comes from the Snowflake Serenade set by PaperTrey Ink. This is the first time I've used it and it did not disappoint! So, without further ado, here is the gift for my grandparents (please excuse the Christmas light glare on the photos):