Mama's Scrapbook - Lincoln's Birth Story (Part 1)

Since having a baby, I don't spend as much time as I used to elbow deep in glitter, fabric, and stamps....The only time that I really spent crafting was to make gifts for birthdays and babies or to send off a greeting card. Now that Lincoln is older and more independent I have finally been spending more time crafting for myself. It feels great! 

I'm starting with two important scrapbooks my Wedding Scrapbook and Lincoln's Baby Book. Lincoln's Baby Book will be a scrapbook full of details for us to look back on later. As much as I know that I will never forget these cherished moments, I know that their sharpness will certainly blur as time passes.

My first page of Lincoln's Baby Book is the story of his birth. While the scrapbook layout and techniques here are extremely simple, I do feel that the journal-like documentation is something that I don't see too often. 

Materials Needed

12"12 Kraft Paper - from DCWV Foiled Elegance Stack
Core'dinations Cardstock in Kiwi
DCWV Glitter Cardstock Stack - White
Stampin' Up Stampin Write Markers - Night of Navy
Stampin' Up 5/8" Ribbon - Night of Navy
Thin White Satin Ribbon
Stampin Up' Stampin' Write Markers
Paper Trimmer
Scissors
Dry Adhesive - I used 1/4" Wonder Tape

I used a piece of 12" x 12" Kraft Paper as a base for this page. I knew that I wanted something very simple with plenty of room for journaling. I took an extra 4" x 6" copy of Lincoln's birth announcement, and double matted it. 

The first mat is 4 1/4" x 6 1/4" in White Glitter paper from the DCWV Glitter Cardstock Stack. The larger mat is 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" in Core'dinations Cardstock in Kiwi.

I cut two 14" pieces of Stampin' Up 5/8" Ribbon in Night of Navy and attached them to lay vertically on either side of the middle of the sheet. There is approximately 5/8" between the two ribbons. I attached them using wonder tape and scotch tape on the back. I then cut two 14" pieces of very thin white satin ribbon and attached them in the middle of each 5/8" Night of Navy ribbon.

Last, I attached the matted birth announcement in the center of the page on top of the ribbons. I used a Stampin' Up Stampin Write Marker in Night of Navy to journal Lincoln's birth story. As it turns out, I had a lot more to write that I had originally thought, so this is only the first half of his birth story....ending right before we were told I would need to have a C-section. I will make another page to journal the second half. 

If there is any interest, I would be happy to type up what I wrote on the scrapbook page. Let me know!

 

Grandma's Scrapbook: First Bath

Lincoln is almost two now, but I can remember his first bath like it was yesterday. He HATED it. My mom and I were so careful with him....he was so small and fragile. He screamed and cried and made noises that I didn't know he had in him until we dried him off and he was safe and warm in his GiGi's arms. 

Giving him a bath is so different now. He mostly enjoys it (except getting his hair washed). He plays and sings and splashes and in his sweet voice says "Bye Bye Bubbles," when it's time to get out. 

Materials Needed
Glitter Cardstock in Bright Green
Core'dinations Cardstock in Lake
Core'dinations Cardstock in Blue Lightening
Core'dinations Cardstock in Kiwi
Ice Cream Parlor DSP & Embellishments
Big Shot Cutting Machine
Sizzix Bigz Die - Scallop Frame Die
Studio G Mini Ink Pad - White Chalk
Corner Rounder
Scissors
Adhesive of your choice -  I used 1/4" Wonder Tape
Paper CutterAlphabet Sticker
Baby Stickers - I used a Whale Sticker

Cut the Glitter Cardstock in Bright Green to 8" x 8" using a Paper Cutter. This will be the base for your scrapbook page. 

Cut a piece of the striped paper from the Stampin' Up Ice Cream Parlor DSP Pack to 8" x 3" and attach it to the bottom of the base page using the adhesive of your choice. I used 1/4" Wonder Tape. Peel off one of the border embellishments from the Ice Cream Parlor DSP Pack and place it where the striped paper meets the Green Glitter Core'dinations base page. Carefully cut off the extra 4" using an X-acto knife or scissors. 

Using a Big Shot Machine, use the Sizzix Scallop Frame Die out of Core'dinations Lake Cardstock. I used only the back part of the die cut out for a frame for a photo. 

Using a Paper Cutter, cut a 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" square out of Core'dinations Cardstock in Kiwi. Round the corners with a corner rounder punch. I had some random alphabet stickers and chose the word "BATH" to put on the square. Using a white gel pen, I doodled some diagonal stripes between the stickers. 

I glued a trimmed photo of my mom holding Lincoln after his first bath onto a piece of Core'dinations Cardstock in Blue Lightening. Using Scissors, I trimmed along the edges of the photo for an odd-shaped mat. I then rubbed a Studio G Mini Ink pad in Chalk White around the edges of the Blue Lightening Cardstock to give it some dimension. 

After placing all the scrapbook page elements where I wanted them I attached them using 1/4" Wonder Tape.

Versamark Resist Technique - Oh My!

This project involves a new (well, new to me) stamping technique commonly known as Versamark Resist. It is a very easy technique which produces amazing results. I first saw this technique on Split Coast Stampers. 

Materials Needed

Ranger Essentials Glossy Paper
Stampin' Up Mistletoe Ribbon Pack
XOXO Heart Stamp - or - Here are some additional great heart stamps
Oh My Wood Stamp - or - Here are some additional great word stamps
Miscellaneous thin White Satin Ribbon
8 1/2" x 11" Great White Cardstock
White Glitter Paper
Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad
Chalk Mini Stamp Pad
Stampin' Up Stampin' Write Markers
Darice 8 1/2" x 11" Parisian Nights Cardstock
Scissors
Adhesive of your choice -  I used 1/4" Wonder Tape
Paper Cutter 
Cut a piece of Great White 8 1/2" x 11" paper in half to create two 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" pieces. 

Fold one piece in half to create a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card. Alternatively, you could use pre-made cards.

Cut a piece of White Glitter Paper paper 4" x 5 1'4" - Put aside for later

You will need a piece of Glossy Paper 4" x 2 5/8" - since this item is to be stamped I cut a larger piece to stamp....that way I could trim the piece to 4" x 2 5/8" using the best parts of the stamped images. 

Use your XOXO Heart Stamp and Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad to stamp the image several times on the Glossy Paper. Let this dry for a few minutes for best results. 

After the Versamark ink has dried on the Glossy Paper, grab your chalk ink pad and rub it all over the Glossy Paper....it doesn't have to be neat! Next, you will wipe off the extra ink and gently buff the Glossy Paper. I used a scrap piece of flannel. 

The result will be stunning. The Versamark ink will resist the ink. Trim this to 4" x 2 5/8"

Attach the Glossy Paper to the piece of White Glitter Paper using the adhesive of your choice. Wrap a piece of the green taffeta ribbon from the Mistletoe Ribbon Pack around to cover the area where the Glossy Paper meets the White Glitter Paper. I also used a piece of thin white satin ribbon and a little bow to give the card some dimension. 

I stamped "OH MY" with my Studio G Oh My Wood Stamp using Stampin' Up Stampin' Write Markers on Great White Cardstock. I did some doodling with the Stampin' Write Markers and then cut out the image with scissors and attached it to the card. 

And there you go, a perfect little "just because" card to send to a girlfriend!

Grandma's Scrapbook: Papa's Page

I am starting a new series where I will be making an 8" x 8" scrapbook for my mom, Lincoln's Grandma.....a brag book for her to show off her only grandchild to family, her buddies, the postman....(not kidding)

This summer we moved back to Montana after living in San Francisco for years. We lived with my parents for two months while we closed on a house and Lincoln had the time of his life. One afternoon he spent over 30 minutes at the back door staring longingly at his Papa mowing the lawn. It was a sweet sight to see. 

Materials Needed:

Alphabet Set of your Choice  
Square Stax Cardstock - or cardstock cut in shapes or punched 
Approx. 13" of Organdy Ribbon
Jet Black StazOn Ink Pad
Scrap pieces of cardstock - I used Darice brand cardstock 
Darice Krafty Cardstock
Pictures
Stampin' Up DSP - Travel Journal 
Stampin Up - 6" x 6" DSP Prints Pack 
Scissors
Adhesive of your choice -  I used 1/4" Wonder Tape
Paper Cutter 

Directions

I cut a piece of paper from the Travel Journal DSP Pack to 8" x 8" - this was the base for my scrapbook page. 

I then chose some other papers that coordinated with this page. I ended up using a piece of a green polka dot paper from the Stampin Up 6" x 6" DSP Prints Pack, a piece of Darice Krafty Cardstock, and a few scrap pieces of Darice Cardstock. 

I cut about a 2 1/2" x 8" strip of Krafty Paper and used a texturizing tool to give it some texture. After adding the texture my paper was naturally, slightly shorter than 8" - in hindsight I would have cut my paper longer than it needed to be and trimmed to fit. 

Attach a piece of approx 9" organdy ribbon - I used light blue) to the Krafty Cardstock. Tape ends on back. Then use approx 4" to tie a ribbon on to the attached ribbon.

I used 4 squares from the Square Stax Cardstock pack and stamped PAPA using Jet Black StazOn Ink Pad and a Stampin' Up Alphabet Set that I have.

I fooled around with my photos until I decided where I wanted them to be placed, then I trimmed them and gave them mats with my scraps of cardstock. 

I also cut a piece of light blue cardstock to approx 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" and wrote a little caption about the day. I used to never like hand writing things because I was hyper-critical of my penmanship, but now I realize how much I will enjoy looking back at those little notes when Lincoln is grown. I matted the caption with another piece of polka dot paper from the 6" x 6" DSP Prints Pack.

After all my components were finished I glued them on using a dry adhesive. 

 

If you can't read the caption, it says, "Lincoln loves his Papa. This spring day he watched in amazement as Papa mowed the lawn. May 2012"

Papa loved the page - it tickles him that his little buddy is so enamored with him. 

Scalloped Picture Frame

I started a new job last week....and have my very own office. Okay, so the only window is an internal one and there isn't technically a door, but it's the closest to an office that I've ever had! I decided to use the new Sizzix Scallop Frame Die to frame a picture of my sweet little boy.

Materials Needed:

• Sizzix Scallop Frame Die
• Core'dinations Water Variety Pack 
• Miscellaneous Scrap of Orange Ribbon
• Tom Bow Liquid Glue Adhesive
• X-acto Knife
• Paper Cutter
• Big Shot Machine and Cutting Pads
• Scissors 
• Picture

Directions

• Using a Big Shot Machine use a Sizzix Scallop Frame Die to cut the frame base out of the Core'dinations Water Variety Pack.
• I used the rectangle scrap that was cut out of the front of the frame to make a stand for the back of the frame. Fold approximately 1" on the short side of the rectangle and attach it to the back of the frame. 
  

• My photo was a little to small for the opening of the frame - which turned out perfectly because I chose a complimentary color from Core'dinations Water Variety Pack to mat the photo. I glued a piece of light green (Kiwi, I believe) to the back of the front piece of the frame and used my X-acto knife to freehand cut out the middle.
• I glued all the pieces of the frame (including the photo) using Tom Bow Liquid Glue and attached a small bow using a piece of scrap ribbon.  

And there you go, a cute little picture frame for my desk. This was a super quick project - less than 15 minutes, but the possibilities for embellishments are endless. I can't wait to make another!

Lincoln in his 2011 Dragon Halloween costume.

 

Flower Burst Gift Card

Materials Needed

• Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad
• Dry Adhesive - I used 1/4" Wonder Tape
• Misc. Small Brad
• 8 1/2" x 11" Great White Cardstock 
• Sponge Daubers
• Scrap of Stampin' Up DSP Paper
• Big Shot Machine
• Stampin' Up Flower Burst Die
• Sizzix Small Card with Flower
• Stampin' Up Melon Mambo Polka Dot Ribbon
• Stampin Up Stampin' Pastels
• Paper Cutter
• Scissors

Directions

 

• Use the Big Shot machine to cut out Stampin' Up Flower Burst Embosslit out of 8 1/2" x 11" Great White Cardstock. Alternatively, you could use the Sweetest Stem Embosslit or the Flower with Butterfly Embosslit. 
  
  
  
  
• Use the Big Shot machine to cut out Sizzix Card with Flower out of 8 1/2" x 11" Great White Cardstock. 

• Cut a piece of DSP Paper to fit the front of the card, I left about 1/8" around the edges. Attach a piece of Melon Mambo Polka Dot Ribbon and attach to DSP Paper. Attach DSP to card using Dry Adhesive of your choice. 

• Take your embossed and blot it against a Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad. While the ink is still wet, use the Sponge Dauber and your favorite color of Stampin Up Stampin' Pastels to add color to the embosslit. 
• Attach Embosslit to card - use a brad if desired.