I also had to…

So a couple weeks ago I was inspired by this post from the inimitable Mary Ann Moss, who had in turn been inspired by yet another clever and talented person.  Check it out!

Since I have approximately 20 million deco tapes…and since my existing keyboard is a veritable breeding ground for whatever form of life springs from a combination of cat hair and dried marinara sauce (please don’t attempt to picture this.  It’s much worse in reality), this was a project I could really get into.

My first step was to order a new white keyboard.  This was more difficult than it would seem.  The prettiest ones are made for Macs, which I do not have.  The coolest ones don’t qualify for free shipping on Amazon.  (99% of the time, this is a deciding factor in my purchase decision.)  But eventually I found something crazy wonderful: a PINK keyboard!  The keys are white – perfection all around.

I planned to go with multi-color at first, as Mary Ann (and her mentor) had done.  But when life hands you a pink, white and black keyboard, why not just roll with that color scheme?

Unfortunately I didn’t have enough pink and black tapes for a good variety, but what I did have was plenty of ribbon!  I used my go-to glue, Fabri-Tac, to attach the pieces of ribbon.  I think they’ll hold out just fine.  And if not?  I have plenty more where they came from.  Of course, I couldn’t stop before adding some touches of bling in the form of Stickles and rhinestones.

I’ll have to find a new place to dine on stuffed cheesy bread and try to keep the cats at bay (Herculean tasks, both of them), but the sight of this wonderful pinkness will be worth it!

Cupid’s Bow

Already the stores are filled with Valentine goodies, and I have to admit, I love me some pink and hearts and lace and and flowers and frou-frou!

And, of course, glitter.  Lots and lots of glitter.

K&Company papers on the inside; lovely soft shades of rose and green.  Ah, romance!

Back to Nature

Now that the holidays are over (whew!), it’s time to put away the Santas and snowmen and break out the pretty!

I love these 7 Gypsies “Conservatory” book covers.  They have a great vintage nature look and are the perfect size for little scrapbooks or photo albums.

The metal corners, word tag and small washers are all Tim Holtz, and of course there are plenty of Stickles!

I used the covers to make a similar book, this time using an image I’ve used once before.  (I can’t help it; she’s just so pretty!)

Shabby chic to the max – my favorite look!  I’m smitten with the soft, lavender rose trim.  It wasn’t quite the right color, so I dabbed on some Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet.  So pretty!

One Final Christmas Book…

Because I just couldn’t resist the wonderful K&Company “Secret Santa” paper.  There’s no other way to describe it, but “merry and bright!”  A chipboard accessory pack provided the jolly Santa, and, as always, there followed a heavy use of Stickles.  The poinsettia is by Jolee’s Boutique.

That pretty black & white background paper is from a 6″ Christmas pad by Teresa Collins.  I just love her elegant style.  The green corrugated paper is something I’ve had for approximately one kazillion years and have no earthly idea where it came from.  Also have it in dark red and navy blue.  It’s wonderful when used in small doses.  :)

Are you ready for Christmas?  I have one more gift to make, so I’d better get back to my studio!

Baby Boy, Christmas and…Non-Christmas

So I’ve been working hard, shopping even harder and managed to get a few books done in between.

First up – baby boy!  Love these Teresa Collins coordinating papers and book covers; makes everything so easy.

It’s hard to find images that work well for baby books; vintage photos of babies are okay, but if I were the parent, I’d be all, “that’s not MY baby!” – and who could blame them?  So I was thrilled to come across the silhouette; really – he could be anybody’s baby!  :)

I love the soft blue papers; in fact, maybe even more than the pink ones for baby girl!

Got another Christmas book finished; I’m honestly a little burned out on those, but I just bought some beautiful new papers, so another one will likely be in the pipeline soon!

I normally print images on high-quality ink-jet paper, but I find these vintage photos look very lush and beautiful when printed on glossy photo paper.

The cover is by Teresa Collins, and the inside pages are by K&Company.  How beautiful are these papers, anyway?  I use K&Company almost exclusively now; love the gorgeous designs and consistently high quality.

This final book is definitely my favorite; the image is so pretty and the colors – wow!  I’ve been wanting to use the beautiful trim on the bottom for awhile now and was so happy to find an image that complements it.

Isn’t she dreamy?  I just love her expression and the soft color palette.

The covers are by 7 Gypsies.  And of course, K&Company papers inside.  These remind me of vintage wallpaper; they’re a little “grungy” and faded and, of course, softly, sweetly pastel!

Baby Girl

Not only the theme of my latest book, but also my favorite nickname for Taz, our beautiful Lynx Point Siamese (see sidebar).  I know it’s getting close to Christmas, but I’ve been wanting to do baby books for awhile (and my next project will be Christmas themed, even though it may not be a book).

The chipboard, cover and papers are from Teresa Collins’ “Chic Bébé Girl” line.  I love the elegant, French-inspired look.

The pretty baby angel image is from a collage sheet by Shabby Cottage Studio.  Naturally there are many additions of Stickles, both in “Star Dust” and “Baby Blue” (appropriate, ne c’est pas?).

Love those crowns and fleur de lis!

Steampunk Sally

So…Steampunk.  It’s not really a genre I “do” particularly well.  But when I found this pretty image of a Gibson Girl all dressed up in head-GEAR (get it?!), I was inspired.

Can Steampunk be girly?  I don’t see why not.

I had so much fun adding Tim Holtz metal bits – a word tag, washers and gears; but the most enjoyable part was gluing on rhinestones and pearls and smearing on a little Stickles for shine.  The lace (which looks much like a series of cogs on an assembly line, if you use your imagination!) was dyed with Ranger Distress Ink and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

Santa Gets Around

I just love the Old World Santas, and my latest book features my favorite one (I think it’s because of his turquoise coat).  I recently ordered a bunch of metal buttons (and by “a bunch,” I mean, like, a hundred); they add so much to a design.

The clear rhinestones were colored with Ranger alcohol ink and turned out so pretty!  Rather than use the “official” felt/handle applicator, I apply the ink with a cotton swab on a long wooden stick; you can get a zillion of them for about a buck at Big Lots.  It’s much easier to control when coloring small items like rhinestones, buttons or pearl embellishments.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

You know, just in case you hadn’t heard.

So I’ve been making Christmas books!  And I’m already tired of them!  And it’s not even December yet!

Still, it has helped get me in the mood for gift shopping, which, amazingly, I actually started a few months ago.  (Starting early doesn’t help, though; it seems I’m always scrambling at the last minute!)

(I love the Japanese deco tape I used on this; it’s actually supposed to represent “river and rocks,” but it works with so many themes!)

I worried that I had gone a little too far with the embellishments on this one, but Dude said it looks fine to him.  And of course, my mantra lately has been “when in doubt…add more stuff!”

Can a book be TOO sparkly?  Not in my world! 

Crafty Event

So until a few weeks ago, I’d never even heard of West Elm, a store whose tagline is “Unique Furniture and Accessories for Modern Living.”  They are teaming up with Etsy for a Christmas crafting event in their stores on December 1st.  I first heard of this through one of the Etsy teams I belong to, “North Florida Craft Revolution,” which is for Etsy sellers who live in north Florida and extreme south Georgia.  Etsy approached our team captain to see if we wanted to take part in the West Elm event:

“Etsy is really excited to be partnering with West Elm to bring a special handmade holiday event to each of their store locations this December. We were hoping your team, North Florida Craft Revolution, would like to get involved with us at the Jacksonville, Florida location on December 1st.

“West Elm would like to provide a DIY activity table for attendees to craft up a little project to get them in the handmade holiday spirit. Here at Etsy, we’re designing a special activity and will provide all of the supplies. We’d love for you to gather 5-8 teammates together to run the craft table during the event, which will run about four hours long. Participating in this project would be a great way for you to get the word out about your team and enable your teammates to make personal connections with your local community.”

The team members coordinating this are planning to give handmade “goody bags” to the first 25 participants and solicited other team members to donate small samples and business cards to add to the bags.  Unfortunately I’ll be working on December 1st and won’t be able to attend, but I’m sending along a handful of business cards and six mini Christmas books I whipped up over the past few days. 

I really enjoyed working on a small scale!  The books all measure 3-1/4″ x 4-1/2″ and were made with scraps left over from other Christmas books.  The images are from Artchix Studio.