Homemade Journals

Recently we took the whole family to Disney World (seriously SO much fun!!). Before we left I put together a few things for the kids to enjoy on the drive to Florida. I decided to put my favorite Christmas gift, a Bind-It-Allto use for the first time to make some Disney(ish) themed journals for the three oldest kids.

The covers are made with chipboard and the inside is 50 blank white pages (except Wild One's which mixed in some colored cardstock and sticker pages).

The first journal I made was for Wild One - just a trial run of using my Bind it All for the first time. I made it using some really old Disney themed paper and stickers that I bought on my honeymoon!

Pinky is currently obsessed with Star Wars and really wanted me to use the paper she had found at our local scrapbook store (she loves to shop there with me).

This is the front cover.


The paper had a shine to it that doesn't show up well in pictures.


Pinky loved that Yoda was inside the book. Many, many, many drawings of Star Wars characters were drawn in this book during our trip.

Chaos is in love with Cars so I knew I had to buy this paper when I found it. It made such a cute cover for his journal though it was tricky to get it lined up *just* right so the cars he loved the most were showing.


My favorite part is the back inside cover "1st to the finish!"


With the leftover cover paper I made some homemade stickers using my Xyron sticker machine.


After I the fun I had making these for my kids, I made a couple for some friends. They planned to use them as their autograph books at Disney World. Here are some pictures:

A classic Mickey themed book:

I printed the banner using a free Walt Disney World font (the mouse ears are an included character).


I loved that the inside was autographs from the classic characters - perfect for an autograph book!


And the back cover. Mickey looks so happy, which is exactly how I felt at Disney.

An autograph book for a princess loving little girl:

The awesome glitter castle came from All About Glitter on etsy. Great service and really cute die cuts!


The inside paper is embossed with flowers.


And Pascal playing hide and seek on the back cover.

I also made a few mini versions of these journals (these measure 6x6 and the minis were 4x4) and packaged them with stickers and crayons as a gift, but I forgot to snap a picture before I sent them.

I had so much fun making these and can't wait to make some more! Off to find more things to bind!

Linking up to some of these great parties!

Hooray for Reading

One of my projects this summer was to create a favor for the annual "Welcome Back Brunch" at our preschool. The brunch this year had a book theme, so bookmarks seemed like a perfect idea!


Finished bookmarks (with the school name edited out)

These were relatively easy to make. I cut green and white polka dot cardstock to my desired size and adhered a piece of vellum (or the same size) using Creative Memories Frosted Splits. The owl was cut from cardstock using the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge. Using a textured cardstock, I printed the words "Hoot Hoot Hooray for (School Name)." I made a few for my kids that said "Hoot Hoot Hooray for Reading!" Finally, I tied a printed owl ribbon to the top to finish it off.

The trickiest part of this project was that after I printed the textured cardstock on my laser printer I found that the ink would simply rub off when touched. I scoured the internet looking for solutions and tried nearly every printer setting I could. Finally I found a tip to use a fixatif spray. I picked up Krylon Workable Fixatif spray at Hobby Lobby and it worked like a charm!

End of Year Teacher Gifts

Pinky has been blessed with two wonderful, amazing teachers this year. I give them so much credit for keeping the school year fun and getting Pinky excited about school.

When I started searching for ideas for end of year gifts for her teachers, I stumbled upon this project at A Turtle's Life for Me - it's a "What will teacher do this summer" gift card scrapbook. I knew it was just what I wanted to do!

I made a few changes but am THRILLED with the finished product.


I couldn't find chipboard albums at my local scrapbook store, but they did cut chipboard to the size/shape that I wanted. Had I thought ahead I would have had them cut the paper too - that would have made this project even easier!


I covered each of the pages with bright and fun summer themed papers. When the pages were done, I drilled a hole through the corner and tied the book together with a coordinated ribbon.

Here's a more detailed look at one of the books (the two books are almost identical):


The covers of both books - "What will (teacher) do this summer?". I cut the roller coaster and the sun from another summer paper.


The first page - "Eat ice cream" with a $5 gift card to Dairy Queen. I had Pinky do the illustrations for each page.


Page 2 - "Read a good book" with a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card.


Page 3 - "See a movie" and a gift card for a single admission to the movie theatre. I cut the movie tickets on the left page from a carnival themed paper.


Page 4 - "Plant some flowers" and a $10 nursery gift card. Pinky didn't want to draw a garden. She drew her teacher shopping in the flower store instead.


I used the back cover to write a short thank you note to each teacher.

These were a HUGE hit. Her teachers cried and hugged us. When I picked Pinky up from school, other teachers (and the assistant director of the school) came up to tell me how much they liked the scrapbooks! I guess I'll have to make these again next year for Pinky's Kindergarten teacher. :)

Linking to:

Scrapbook Stash!

I've posted my fabric stash in the past, but have never posted some of the fun stuff I buy for scrapbooking. This is the paper I bought to make Sprout's birth-1 year album (always my favorite album to put together). It's from Creative Memories Simply Beautiful line (all photos are from the CM website).


Simply Beautiful 12x12 Power Palette System


Simply Beautiful 12x12 Spring Addition


Simply Beautiful 12x12 Summer Addition


Simply Beautiful Birthday 12x12 Addition

I can't wait to start using it - it's so bright and pretty!

Scrapbooking!

I went to an all night crop this weekend to work on my 2010 family scrapbook. Since I'm also working on Wild One's baby album (and soon will have to start Sprout's), I decided to do another Picfolio Album. These are SO quick! In one crop night I scrapped January - September. I just need to order a few more pictures and I can add this one to the finished pile.

A few pictures:






While I was scrapping, I signed Pinky and I up for a Mommy and Me card making class. We'll be making 24 Valentine's Day cards to hand out to her classmates. I really can't wait to take her to her first scrapbooking event!!

Handmade Christmas Cards (by kids) and Teacher Gifts

Today our focus was on gifts for Pinky's teachers. About a year ago, I ran across a post with the cutest handmade cards. I saved the idea, and this year we finally got around to making them! The original tutorial is here on Goody Goody Gumdrops.

Pinky made 6 cards for her teachers, and I think they turned out adorable! It was fun watching her choose each individual paper and which star sticker to use. She colored the trunk on each tree with crayon. I will have her sign her own name inside the cards.





In addition to the handmade cards, her Sunday School teachers and Spanish teachers will each get a hand written note and a gift card for a local store. Her preschool teachers asked for a donation to the classroom's free art center in lieu of individual gifts. So, in addition to their cards, they will receive a tub of foam stickers (Pinky picked them out) and a gift card to Hobby Lobby.

What is your favorite gift to give a teacher?

Linking to:

Ornamant Exchange

A message board that I post on semi-frequently had a handmade Christmas ornament exchange that I just had to be a part of. The rules were simple - you could buy $5 in supplies and had to send a handmade ornament or ornament set.

I had SO many ideas of what I wanted to send, but finally decided on a version of these adorable ornaments. I couldn't wait to post a picture, but had to wait until I knew they were received!

I found the canisters 50% off at Hobby Lobby (the last package too!). I added some scrapbook paper and embellishments and a ribbon for hanging. I love how they turned out. They're simple, but cute (I apologize for the poor picture, I was in a hurry to get them mailed):


Since my wonderful husband commented how much he liked them, I plan to make a few for our tree too!

Scrapbook Retreat!

I attended my first ever weekend scrapbooking retreat this past weekend. I can't even begin to explain how much fun I had! I loved seeing all the new products, trying new techniques and looking through everyone else's books. So much inspiration!

I was VERY productive too. My goal was to complete 40 pages and finish my 2009 Family Album. I exceeded both goals! I finished 43 pages and not only completed the 2009 album but started Wild One's baby album!

Here are a few of my favorite pages. First, my 2009 album.

Sesame Street Live


Pinky's first day of school (I love the colorful paper).



Closer look at the school pages


Two of my many pages about the pumpkin patch


Pinky's 4th birthday page

And a few pages from Wild One's album:

Title page (with her name cropped out)


Ultrasound pictures. I used the Cricut to cut the title. I really need to use mine more - there is so much you can do with them!

I've already marked my calender to attend again next year. Is it too early to start counting down the days?