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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Photo Album for Etsy Shop

 I've been dying to get started on my little journals or photo albums for my Etsy shop (inkybrustudio.......of course!)  I wanted to make a cute, interesting, beguiling little book that would make someone want to hold it and open it up to see what surprises were inside.  I also needed to keep the cost down so customers would not flip out at an exorbitant price.  I think I have done that......well, there are some things I'd like to change, but there are other albums brewing in my mind.  ")
 You will notice that I have edged all around each page with washi tape.  I think this give a real finished look to my pages.  I actually used recycled, light-weight cardboard as the base of each page and covered it with decorative papers on both sides before adhering the washi tape all around.  I love using vellum envelope pockets for photo albums.
 I tried to make different pockets for each page (although I did use the vellum on more than one page").  The left side has a double pocket as you can see with the inserts I added.  I did make a Christmas tag for the book and if the buyer chooses to give the book as a gift, they have a tag to use.  ")
I also added some vellum pages in between some of my pages for photos to be glue-dotted or taped to them.  Just gives more places to add photos.  I don't know if I'll have time to make another one before my cut off date.......
which is Dec. 15.  This is Thanksgiving week and then the madness of Christmas shopping for gifts for family and friends begins.  But, oh! I love it!!!!!  Enjoy your families and a great dinner together.  ")
Of course, you can go to my shop on Etsy and see other pages for this book and also other items I have for sale........and, yes, there will be BLACK FRIDAY items!  

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Sara's pages in my altered book......

 Sara did the whole month of February in my altered book.  I love that she chose to go with the Valentine or Love theme.  Her colors are so perfect for these pages.  The first two-page spread has this adorable little doll on the left side.  She is holding a piece of candy and a card that says "Be Mine".  I love the border at the top.  These pinks go so well with the green already on the left side of the page.  What a beautiful picture of roses on script paper as a back ground for this little doll.  The butterfly is a gorgeous touch.  The right side has a gorgeous white and gold heart medallion at the top and the lower right corner.  Sara has rubber stamped Browning's love poem, "How do I Love Thee" on white mulberry paper and added it to the left side of the page.  I love that she left the "February" showing at the top of the page.  She has cut a heart that also has roses on it to add next to the poem.  On little red bordered labels, she has added the words:  Love, Destiny and Forever.  She has made a little calendar to go in the upper right corner and added the definition for lover across it.
     On the next two-page spread, she has used a punch to make the scalloped edge and sewn lace and a Valentine ticket to the page.   I love that the ticket has a little message written to me on it.  ")  Over this page that features advertisements, she has added large Xs and Os.  She has also added a sweet little blue bird to the bottom of the page.  On the right side, she has attached a picture of a girl on a bridge in Paris and letters falling all around her.  Sara was also in Paris when our group was there.  She and her daughter Kimberly had signed up Catherine  Moore's group to go....which inspired the rest of us to go.   ")  We were able to meet up with them there.  So this picture on this bridge brings back some really good memories.  I love this red lacey heart tucked in behind the image.  The envelope is one she had received from Pat and she used it as a pocket on this page.  The pocket contains a little message from the original sender.....written in Italian so I have no idea what it says!  LOL  Sara has added another one of those sweet little hearts to this page.  She added a lacey washi tape around the edges of the image.
 The next two-page spread has some muted heart papers as the backgrounds.  The left side is a creamy color with light pinks and blues in the hearts.  She has sewn some mini Valentines down the center of this page and finished it off with a lace edge and some pink felt flowers with rhinestone centers.  The page on the right is pink with muted touches of cream around some of the hearts.   The focal image here is the little girl in a light pink dress with a darker pink bow in her hair.  Sara has sewn it to a piece of white paper on which she has used a punch to create a frame.  She added the square next to the photo which has the word CHERISH and the definition on it.  Below the photo she has added two dark pink tickets with "xoxoxo" and "Be Mine" rubber stamped onto them.  Also for the finishing touch to the page, she has added two of those pink felt flowers with rhinestone centers.
     For the last page, Sara has made the focal image the stack of tea cups.  I love the legs sticking out of the top cup!  She knows I usually add a touch a humor to my pages and I appreciate her humorous touch here!  Also love the quote from Alice in Wonderland:  " No time to say, hello! Good-bye!"   Sara has attached her signature card to a hand dyed ribbon with a safety pin and silver heart.  Sara has attached a pink tab to each of her pages.  Thank you Sara!

Susan's pages in my altered book....

 I am an avid bird watcher and love that Susan did my pages with this theme.  Have you ever seen so many postage stamps with bird images?!  Fabulous!  I love this image in the middle of the page.  What a gorgeous and unusual bird......I think it's an American hoopoe (?).   She has added some nice corner frames for the birdcage in upper right corner and bird in lower left corner.  Love the green.
 Susan painted these pages white before adding all these beautiful bird images.  I love that she die cut them with a label cutter.  The feathers are a most awesome addition!  The rubber stamped word "Fly" really give it a Victorian touch.  In the middle of the pages, Susan has added an acetate flap with a rubber stamped bird image on it.  She has also attached her signature card to it.  I love this page.
Susan has laid down a page with a nice bouquet in the center of it and bordered all around the page with more of those awesome postage stamps with bird image.  In the center of this page is a menu:  "Birdwatchers' Banquet".
              Enchanted Forest Green
         Exotic leafy vegetables with
     Canary yellow mustard vinaigrette

           Robin Red Breat Potato Nest
        Yukon Gold potatoes, deep fried in
       a nest and topped with cheese twigs

           Savory Faux Chicken Pot Pie
          Homemade crust, tofu squares, fresh
       vegetables and sprinkled with birdseed

              Drunken Berry Crumble
         Wild Olalieberries with cherry sauce
               Watch out for Windows

Isn't this just priceless!!!!  What a great stroke of genius, Susan!  These pages are delightful!  I  am so glad you did the whole month of January in my book.  Thank you!

More altered pages.....

These dreamy pages were done by Minori.  She has laid down a beautiful silvery blue and purple background.  On top of this, you has stamped these adorable tiny trees, cranes, and that sweet little boy.  She has also stamped
hearts around the pages.  I love the words (don't know if they are hand written or stamped): loved, inspired and home.  She has added some little birds in some of the trees.  Rub ons?  On top of this she has made some beautiful textured stars.  They are white and touched with gold.  Gorgeous!  Her signature card has a tiny little bow added to it and it has been stamped with those adorable trees.  Thank you, Minori!
      These pages were done by my dear friend Pat.  I love the pages edged with all the glorious pink, blue and purple blooms.  The envelope on the left side is also a pocket.  I believe the writing on the envelope is Italian.  Tucked into this pocket along with her signature card are a few religious cards and a photo of a young girl in her confirmation dress.  I love the jewel and the ribbon on the signature card.  The right side has a triptych stamped on top of a postcard which she has sewn onto some decorative paper and then added some lace to the bottom of the card and adhered it to the page.  She has added this adorable "angel".  She made wings for this little darling from toile and papers.  I love this!  Pat's quote starts at the top of the page and ends along the bottom where she has used a label maker for the words:  "Angels are amonst us always".  Sweet!
      For Pat's second two-page layout, she has used the colors:  red, white, blue.  I not sure but I think this is Italian for the ascention of Mary.......is this by the painter Ferragosto.....or have I totally missed the mark here?  Pat?  I guess I'll have to email her and come back to correct it if I'm way off on this.  ").  I love that Pat did all the pages for August!  Thanks, Pat!

Altered book pages

 These pages were done by Jan.  Lots of details here.  ")  Love the collage!  These hanging branches are such a favorite of mine.....and I think of Jan's!  The alphabet is dry embossed.  (I'm a little alpha crazy!  love it!)  I really like the way she added the bird and the moon to the image in the upper left corner.  The image of the man with the details above his head give him a Roman look.  I like the way she added the fruit to the tree limbs.  Really looks like it belongs to those branches.  Her signature card has the "Genuine" on it.  Very nice touch.  On the right side, Jan used the word of the month May to start her quote:  "May your heart be filled with joy".  I love the image of the Chinese man holding the baby.....perfect for the quote.  ")  I haven't decided if the woman in the upper left corner of this page is a cat woman or a dog dressed up in a woman's dress, but it is priceless!  Nice touches with the stars and the bird at the bottom of the page.  Thanks, Jan!


The Asian themed pages were done by Marsha.  This theme is one of my favorite and I never seem to get to use it very much.  I was delighted when I saw that Marsha had used it for these pages in my altered book.  She has added so very many items that evoke a sense of the Oriental.  The folded money is one of my favs on the left hand page.  I love Marsha's use of the fortune cookie strips.  (HMmmm, is she among the many of us who save them all?!!  LOL)  Love her fans on this page.  I really like the touch of red in those felt cut-out butterflies across the corner of the page.  Her rubber stamped image of the lady with all the tags hanging off is beautifully colored.  She has used layers of Asian newspaper panels to backdrop all of her images.  I don't want to forget that sweet Koi faux postage stamp.....beautifully layered with gold paper.  The right hand page has as a focal point the chopstick paper cover and that gorgeous green paper umbrella!  Love it!  I don't know what those strips of paper are that stick out from the geisha faux postage stamp, but the cutouts on the ends are really delicate.  And just love all the fortune cookie strips..........and they all speak of talents.  Great job, Marsha!

My altered book is home................

 This is where it all started back in February 2014.  I altered a calendar book that I had purchased from Stampington and Co.  My book has been all around the world and across the United States.  Really!  (Route:  Sand Springs, OK; Tulsa, OK; Japan, England, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota before coming home to me!).
These page were done by Judi (who happens to be one of my very closest friends!).  Since Judi lives a few miles from me, I was able to hand deliver all the books to her.  We were roommates in Paris when 6 of us traveled together to Paris in the Fall of 2011.  I was thrilled to see that she chose this theme for the pages she did in my book.  I love the lady she dressed up on the left-hand page!  Notice the baguettes in her hand.  ")  Love that she put an address by this lady.  The right- hand page is soooo Moulin Rouge.  We spent an afternoon up there and had such fun!  Street musicians entertained us all along the way.  And the artwork we saw was so inspiring!  And, yes, we did end up going up the Eiffel Tower!  Love the piano keys on the edge of this page.  I particularly like the horn player down in the corner.  The washi tapes used on these pages are so perfect for a Parisian theme.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

November is here...............

I painted these pages with brown, light orange and gold paint.  I stamped and cut out about 40 leaves to go around the edges and layer some under my journal squares.  I love Autumn! and it really doesn't seem like the season is in full swing until after Halloween.  We had our first freeze Halloween night, which it usually does.  We have had some hot nights for those little tricker-treaters, though.  I hoping to be able to have some time to enjoy this month a little more.  We started the first day off with some of our girls and a sil coming out to help cut firewood.  They labored in the woods while I labored in the kitchen.  ")  When they arrived back at the house, I had homemade chicken and dumplings and homemade biscuits ready.  (Need I say more?!  LOL)

October is gone........

Pumpkins, cats, spiders.......Oh, my!!!  It's hard to believe that October has come and gone.  What a busy month it was around here!  I worked the first two weeks for a local Mom's Day Out.  I love being with those little ones.  The ones I was with range in age from 16 months to 2yrs.  What fun!  Love watching them engage in their art projects.  They did many Halloween themed painting projects.  How they love to paint!!!  Their reactions to the paint brush in their hand was marvelous.  Can't show any pics (I'm sure those of you with little ones understand the precaution).  It was amazing to see some of their motor skills at work, from the littlest who barely dabbed to the oldest who really handled brushing on paint quite well.

I loved putting the paint down for these calendar pages.  Love that purple with the orange.  These colors always bring visions of Halloween to me.  Some people really put black at the top of their Halloween colors, but I love these two.  ")  I did attend a really great Halloween party.  My friend Kimberly has her sisters and nieces and nephews over every year for a really great, creative time.  They all make their own costumes!  It was awesome!  (I bought kitty-cat ears and tail.  ").