Tie It Up

Over at Cute Card Thursday the challenge is to interpret the words "Tie It Up."  I stumbled across this card challenge site quite by accident and had thought I'd put together a card for it.  As I was thinking about what I'd do, I thought about all the different ways I could use "Tie It Up."

Well, if your brain is anything remotely like mine, one thought led to another and--before I knew it--a card had led to this album I decided to share with you for the first time today.

 

 

Kraft Envelopes and cardstock, with the help of CTMH supplies, too, create the perfect pockets for this simple mini album.  Don't you just love the hodge podge of ribbon scraps tied to the metal rings?!  If you ever have scraps of ribbon and wonder whether or not their worth keeping, here's a perfect example of why you should.  Just store them ziplock bags by color and see how handy the come in for projects like this.

 

 

 

 

Little finishing touches like, Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" on the heart, first dry embossed and then inked with a rubber brayer, make this little album special and complete.

 

 

 

 

Pockets for journaling and hidden photos make the album fun to look through because it's interactive.

 

 

 

 

Several Colors--Cranberry, Outdoor Denim, and New England Ivy are repeated throughout the album for a consistent and tied-together look.

 

 

 

 

A little help from CTMH's Cricut cartridges and stamps add just the right amount of color to the layouts.

 

 

 

 

Faux stitching with a fine-tipped black marker adds a touch of whimsy and cohesiveness to the album.  Stamping color on color adds depth to the leaves.  (Note: Use any stamp with a pattern big enough to fit the leaf for a personal touch.  This particular pattern with the dots left un-inked reminded me of fabric--something I felt was a great choice for this particular paper project.)

 

 

 

 

Add a touch of something different to each layout to keep it unique and visually interesting.  Here I added inked Kraft Borders and Marth Stewart Glittle Glue.

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of the butterfly.  I first inked the image directly onto the page.  Then, on a separate piece of Colonial White (Ecru) cardstock, I re-stamped the image, cut it out, added some glitter glue, and mounted it over the page.  Why go to the trouble?  I wanted the intenae to show up without the difficulty of trying to cut around it by hand.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another page in the album.  Kept simple on purpose, I really wanted the photos to take center stage.

 

 

 

 

Every page in the album is actually an envelope.  I simply folded the flaps in and mounted more Kraft cardstock over the top of each side.  This added adequate strength to the album--ensuring it will hold up to use.

 

I'm not showing all the pages today.  I've loaded up enough pictures on this post already.  But I will point out the tabs for the inserts (shown upper left in the last photo).  Each tab was made with one scallop punch and two circle punches.

 

 

And now, the album is finally ready to personalize.  Very rarely do I make something for myself to keep.  So this album is going to become "My Story."  I'm going to put favorite pictures of my childhood and life--with personal journaling, quotes, and Bible verses.  What do you think?


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
Blessings,
Brenda