Taylor's Wedding Album (Accordion Style)

Again, first let me apologize for my crappy camera. It used to work fine. I don't know why these photos are turning out so blurry and off-colored.

This was made as a wedding gift for my sister, Taylor. I made this album (and the baby book in the post below this one) with the intention that it could be filled and given to her in-laws. The wedding album is an accordion-style album and I made a matching card. I listed the card first.




Here is the album:

When the book is closed, the "Our Wedding" layout is on top.





Layout 1: Love of My Life

The first page has a "hidden tag" under the red patterned paper:

I painted the flowers silver to tie in more of the silver accents I was planning on using.



Layout 2: To Have and to Hold



Layout 3: My Heart Belongs to You



Layout 4: Cherish the Moment



Layout 5: There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.



Layout 6: (Blank - No designated Title)




Here is the reverse side of the album:

Layout 7: (Blank - No designated Title)


Layout 8: (Blank - No designated Title)



Layout 9: Always & Forever



Layout 10: Newlyweds



Layout 11: (Blank - although this one is pretty well designated what with the cake and all.)



Layout 12: Our Wedding - September 3, 2009 (This one is actually the cover when the book is folded up.)




Here are the "making of" photos:

1. First, I painted the edges and creases black. (I don't think I used any of those embellishments you see. The flowers looked too cutesy and the chipboard circle too primitive.)


2. Then I added the paper. I didn't have a lot of black, red and white paper. Actually, I only had one style of black and white and 2 styles of red and white, so I had to improvise. I got out my stamping supplies and made some patterned paper. I stamped one of the red patterned papers, the silver and black patterned paper and the cover paper. Also, I painted a doily black for one of the layouts and I LOVED how that turned out - I can see a lot more painted/dyed doilies in my future.



3. Then I added the mats, ribbon/lace and titles which is what you see in the layout photos at the top of this post. Normally, I would stop there. But I know that Taylor is pretty crafty and so I decided to add some things for her to play with. I added extra flowers, titles, journaling spots and matted silvery words. I forgot to take a picture of all of them together, though I had intended to. Oops. I did however, take pictures of the matted words while I was making them and you can see them in the photos below.

Here are the words:



The phrases are:

Happiness is You
Newlyweds
Beautiful Lovely Bouquet Dress Shoes Jewelry Veil Bride
Groom Style Classic Handsome
Husband & Wife
Together Forever
Bridal Shower
Reception Friends Family Guests Celebration Toast Cake
Something Old New Borrowed & Blue
Happily Ever After
Vows Kiss Rings I Do
Love Honor and Cherish
to have and to Hold



Here is how I imagined them being used, with the words overlapping the photos (which is why I didn't adhere them myself, along with the fact that I wanted the book to be flexible in its design):

I tried to leave lots of open areas in the layouts where they could be placed.

The Wedding

And finally, just for fun, here are some color photos of the wedding stolen from one of my other sister's blog. I have to give credit to Sofia and her blog as these aren't my pics.

I love Taylor's dress, especially the bodice and neckline. I think it's so pretty. She was married at the courthouse in San Francisco, but I'm not sure where the reception was held.

Baby Book for Taylor

First, I just want to say that I have no idea what is going on with my camera, it is acting stranger than usual. The photos came out slightly blurry and a little off-color. Sorry for that.

This is for my sister, Taylor, who is having a baby girl and planning on naming her Lola. I mailed it last night so hopefully it will get to her soon.

Here is the album:




Here are the layouts:

Fairy Princess El

My friend sent me a great pic of her DH and DD taking a nap. Most people would see this photo of Dad and baby and go, "Aww, cute." (Which it is.) I saw something else entirely. I am reminded of that 30 Rock episode in which they show how the characters view the world through their own distorted lenses. Tracy sees everyone as copies of himself, while Kenneth sees everyone as muppet characters.

Everyone else sees this...



I see this...

The Making of Princess El Layout

Here are some photos I took of the "creative process" (which really just means making a big mess while trying again and again until it comes out the way you want it to).


Some sketches I did while contemplating what to do:



A dry run on the background - hated the white for the sunlight, the buttercup paint was much better. I tossed this one.


Crowns, crowns everywhere, but not a crown to keep. Tried out sveral crowns before finding one that looked regal enough. (The skunk you see sketched out did not make the final cut.)


Trying hard to get the fairy image to show well enough to photograph, print out and color in. Why go through all that? Well the real image is facing the wrong way and I needed to reverse it in PS. If you look at the photos below and compare them to the finished LO, you'll see the fairies are facing different directions.

Watching CHA 2009 Videos on Youtube is Fun

My favorite are those from The Pink Donut.

I learned about a new-ish company called Graphic 45 - which has gorgeous vintage inspired papers.

I also had fun watching the Cricut and Fiskars videos.

Mommy-to-Be

Card for Hanna

Here is a card I sent Hanna and Rach:

Rachel Came To Visit

Rachel came to visit with her adorable daughter, Hanna. Man, that little sweetie is a ball of energy. At the end of the six days, Rachel was still going and I think I was crawling 100 feet behind them, praying Hanna would give me some of her energy.

While they were here, Rachel used my scrap room while Hanna napped.

She's very talented and here is what she made:

A layout of her grandparent's wedding in Italy in 1956:



And one of Hanna at Rachel's friend's son's birthday party (got that?):