Hi Friends!! Happy New Year!! I truly hope that you and yours had a marvelous holiday season and a wonderfully blissful start to winter.
We've been very busy enjoying the holiday, the snow here in the Northeast and preparing for a fun, family vacation! And let's not forget that we're expecting a new baby in early March! 10 weeks and counting!! Unbelievable.
Part of my "to do" plan before baby #3 comes along is to finish my darling son's first year album. Ya...he's almost 7. But...better late than never!! I've been super inspired by the monthly scrap layouts issued by MFT. Easy and fun. That's what works for me!
Here's my most recent page:
You'll notice that it's not JUST my son in the pictures (he's 5 days old in the pictures on the left) but my daughter is all around as well. I had my first two children 17 months apart so it was largely unlikely that we were taking pictures of them separately - or at different times. So these all were snapped relatively at the same time and I decided to meld her into the book rather than make it just of him and pretend she wasn't around. I know some scrappers would keep it super organic and have the album of the one child only. But that wasn't our life and so it depicts the reality of the time.
I am also heartily digging through my stash and using some new (to me) papers that my dear friends have handed down to me. I am a hoarder. There...I said it. I buy beautiful new things, new and trendy supplies and I barely use them!! I hate to cut into gorgeous new papers and I love how the embellishments look in the packages. Weird? Ya...probably but it's the truth. So I TRY hard not to buy things that I don't truly need...like adhesive, white cardstock, etc. The absolute basics. So this paper is I *think* from 2006-7 SU! It's OLD but I just love the sweet and muted tones that were perfect for these photos. The papers pull the colors out of the photos but also allow the photos to simply JUMP off of the page because of the bright colors in them. The photo in the lower left is to show how big my son was in relation to a notebook that I was using at the time to record all of the pertinent baby 'goings on'. So sweet and so tiny.
One of my favorite parts of the page is these cork letters that I picked up at Jo-Ann Fabrics - this is an example of something new that I allow myself to buy but is considered a basic. They are sticky-back cork which makes life so easy! I love using my Big Shot but sometimes it's nice not to have to pull it out and fuss with it when you are trying to throw a page together.
The snowflake is cut using an older Sizzix steel rule die. I love it...super classic and fun. I used corrugated cardboard that I buy from Gauche Alchemy. I cut it twice and glued them together for some extra dimension. I coated it with Picket Fence Distress Stain and coated it with Martha Stewart fine, white glitter. I heat set it (because I'm impatient) with my heat gun, set it with a corduroy brad from SU! and and a piece of multi-colored baker's twine.
I cut a large flag using my new MFT Fishtail Flag Layers Stax. I have had the regular Fishtail Flag Stax and recently purchased the layers which are an ABSOLUTE necessity! I sponged the edge of the flag with a bit of Antique Linen Distress Ink to make it pop, added a strip of sparkly cardstock for a bit of brightness and a chipboard T for my son's name.
I used an edge punch that has teeny, tiny hearts that I punched a whole bunch out of Bazzill red cardstock. I coated them in Glossy Accents and set them aside to dry overnight. I adhered them scattered around the page to brighten it up but not to distract from the photos or the layout.
I used my fingers to twist up the edges of the pages a bit to make it just the tiniest bit rustic. As an added touch, I added a few silver brads from SU! to fill in some space that needed some love.
I am thrilled with how this turned out and can't wait to start on my next page!
Crafty Hugs!
Meredith
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