Maya Road & October Afternoon Mini Album

I was browsing through my local Hobby Lobby when I came across the cutest mini album in the world. It was a three ring binder by Maya Road that had a removable canvas cover. As soon as I laid my eyes on the mini album, my MIL and I both grabbed one. You can see a similar one here, but my mini album doesn't have the jean pocket on the front. It came with 3 canvas pages and 3 chipboard pages. It was so nice that they mixed up the pages like that because it gave me plenty of surfaces to choose from.

Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist - Electric Blue,  October Afternoon - Farmhouse Collection - Shape Stickers,  October Afternoon - Farmhouse Collection - Journaling Cards, October Afternoon - Farmhouse Collection - Gravel Road, October Afternoon - Sasparilla - Little Flyers

I decided to use my mini album for all the extra engagement photos that I knew I would never get around to scrapping (I have TONS of pictures everywhere). First things first, I took the canvas cover off my mini album and sprayed it with Electric Blue and let it dry. The color dried so pretty, not too dark and not too bright. Looking at the color blue, I decided to go with a simple prime color scheme (Blue, Red, and Yellow). The yellow doily sticker and the red rose sticker brought those colors to the cover of my mini album without being too childish. That's one of the main things I love about the Farmhouse collection; the colors are bright but mature. To ensure that everything stuck to the canvas cover, I used my sewing machine to sew them down.

While the cover was off, I covered the inside chipboard of my mini album with a fun and simple stripe. I loved it because it reminded me of seersucker (which is a southern thing!). I can't say enough about this Maya Road album. It was so easy to maneuver and the binder rings are so fun. I wish I had grabbed another mini album like this. Hopefully they will still be at Hobby Lobby for a ways to come.

The journaling cards were just perfect for all of my journaling. The colors and sayings were fun and they were the perfect size for the pages in the mini album. I didn't have to trim them at all. I just said what I wanted to say and glued it down.

This picture is actually a funny story. I wanted to have my engagement photos outside purely for the fields and hay bales. After spending months looking up "engagement photo ideas" I had a specific look in mind. Unfortunately, God had other things in mind.... like rain. When we got to the farm, all the hay bales were soaked and we couldn't sit in front of them or on them. But I was hell bent on a photo with one, so I made Caleb lean against one with me. I got my hay bale after all. : D

I love this journaling card specifically because of the church on the hill. I thought it tied in with the theme of marriage and a wedding. So, to go with the rolling countryside, I chose a picture of us out in 'the country'. The good times sticker is actually a rub on from their 5 and Dime collection. I couldn't find a link for you since it's no longer available.

The 'My Best Friend' sticker on this spread is actually from Sasparilla's little flyers. It was meant to be put on a flag, but I just liked it alone. The chipboard pages lended themselves to photos very well. All I did was run my ATG on top of the chipboard and press my photo onto it. Then, I flipped it over and used an exacto knife to trim around the edges. Lastly, I rubbed the edges with a nail file to get a smooth finish.

This picture was so cute but the photographer waited until the very end of the photo shoot to do it. Why does that matter? Well, it's a very simple equation:

1 tired man + 1 cutesy pose = 1 extremely grumpy man. 

He did NOT want to do this picture, but I'm glad I forced it out of him. I think the heart that our hands make is very sweet. What can I say? I'm a mushy kind of girl.

And this is the very last page of my mini album. I thought it would only be fitting to end on the photo of Caleb and I looking towards the future and leaving everything behind. This is also very meaningful for me because this is how Caleb walks with me ever since our first date. Ever the gentleman, his hand is always firmly on the small of my back. 

I absolutely love this mini album and I hope I get a chance to make another one of these. And I also hope that you'll stop by to see me again soon. If you haven't already, make sure to follow my blog by choosing an option on the right side of the screen. I appreciate all my followers and you'll be updated if I post anything new! See you soon!

My Hometown - October Afternoon

A long time ago, I entered this little canvas tag mini album to be published. I wasn't able to post it because they specifically asked that it be something that has not been viewed before. After 1 year, I never heard anything back. So, I guess it's safe to show now. I have to say, this will probably be my favorite mini album for a while.

Maya Road Canvas Tag Album

October Afternoon '5 & Dime' papers

October Afternoon 'Seaside- Sandcastle' paper

'5 & Dime' Tin Pins 

'5 & Dime' Rubber Charms

October Afternoon Mini Market letter stickers

October Afternoon 'Modern Homemaker' Label stickers

I made this mini album all about my hometown. Every year it changes and looks so different. I thought it would be a great idea to document it so I can show my children one day. The canvas tag mini album was just the thing because it's so fun and homey. I absolutely love October Afternoon because of their wonderful colors and retro feel. You can use it to scrap a two year old child or a 90 year old woman. It's perfect for just about anything.

This was my childhood home. It was sold two years ago, so I definitely wanted to scrap a picture of it before the new homeowners changed anything. The fabric of the mini album canvas tags didn't want to stick with any glue I used, so I used my sewing machine to attach a background piece of paper. Then I was able to layer on just like a regular layout page.

This is my high school. I'm a little upset that I didn't get a picture sooner. The high school recently had an upgrade and additions on the front so it already looks so different from what I remember. The apple on the right was an image that I cut out of one of the papers. I glued it inside a vintage red button and filled it up with glossy accents. I actually have to pat myself on the back for the little pennant on the right. This mini album was made before pennant flags were a big thing. I had to use a kitchen toothpick!

This is my family's business. This is the most important to me because this is my heritage. My grandfather started this business all by his self and it has been passed down to my father. I loved the little dog image and I found a button that looked like a little ball for him to play with.

I hope you enjoyed this mini album. I wish that I was able to share it with you when the 5 and dime collection was new, but hopefully you'll enjoy it just the same. : )

Butterflies - Webster's Pages & Echo Park

I've had so much fun planning and scrapping wedding stuff, so of course I had to scrap that beautiful ring! I've always loved the look of Webster's pages, but I've never had anything that I could use them on. Now, I broke them all out! The color on "Lullaby Lane - The Arrival" is just the perfect shade of blue. It's especially perfect because that's the exact color for my entire wedding! I knew I had to use it.

Webster's Pages - Lullaby Lane - The Arrival, Echo Park Paper - Victoria Gardens - Rose Garden, 3D foam dots,  Inkssentials - Craft tags #5, Ranger - Tim Holtz - Distress Ink - Iced Spruce, twine, pearl string from Hobby Lobby, Ranger - Acrylic Dabber - Snowcap, Fiskar's Border Punch - flowers,

The journaling reads "I still can't believe that we are actually engaged! I've waited for this for a long time and now that it's here, I've got butterflies!" I absolutely loved all of the texture that the pages had. I tried to keep the overall layout simple, but luscious. I used a fiskar edge punch around the edges to give texture without fluff. The tag was lightened a little bit by rubbing on an acrylic dabber in Snowcap. Then I used my sewing machine to go around the edges.

I had a duplicate of the background so I used as much of the backside as possible. It had such pretty flower groupings and textured cream paper. I used an exacto knife to cut them out and some 3D dots to really draw attention to them.

I had a lot of fun with this page and it's one of my favorites. It was so much fun trying a different style and look. I think it really paid off for this special page. I hope you all enjoyed this and I look forward to hearing from you!

Day 6: Tag it!

Hello everyone! Hope y'all are having fun. For today, I have a quick and fun way to use up that scrap stash. Tags! Tags are such a versitile craft. You can use tags as bookmarks, decorations, and gift tags. Today I have two different tags to show you.

Tag 1

On this tag, I used a stamp from TPS studio stamped with Staz-on ink. I used a little of Tim Holtz's Kraft Glassine paper to give the stamped sentiment a border. The Glassine really was a little tricky because the only thing that would adhere to it was glossy accents. The little pumpkin was cut out from K&Co's fall adhesive borders (I just loved the glitter on it!). Then, I used pop dots and a fiskar's scalloped punch to give it a little 'oomph'. I finished it off by going around the edges with Tim Holtz's distress inks in 'Ripe Persimmon'.

Tag 2

This tag was really fun. I cut a tag out of basic kraft paper with the vagabond that I then covered with Goosebumps. I let that dry and then rubbed on Distress Ink in 'Ripe Persimmon'. Once that dried, I sprayed Goosebumps again. 'Barn Door' was then rubbed around the edges. While that was drying, I used the same 'Barn Door' ink to stamp another TPC stamp. The leaf was made using yellow paper that had been rubbed with the same two distress inks. I added the crackle paint in 'Clear Rock Candy'. Then I went around the edges with Perfect Pearls. I liked the look of the Gold Perfect Pearls so much that I stamped over the background with a leaf stamp and used more on it.

Hope everyone enjoyed this today! I definitely had fun playing with the Glassine paper and the Goosebumps. I'm eventually going to get a hang of this stuff. LOL. Have a safe and happy Thursday and I'll see you all tomorrow!