Gift Card Mini Books

At the Scrapbook Royalty crop Nan from Zutter Zisters had the cutest little mini books out made from old gift cards! They were so cute! I decided to try my hand at one tonight and here is what I came up with:
First I had to get a TON of gift cards from Target (cuz they have the cutest ones). I used some that looked like stained glass on this book and they are a bit larger than the average gift card. I told the manager I wanted 29 gift cards for a project I was doing. For inventory purposes I had to buy them all. But they just had me put a $1 on each one and then immediately I used them all on a purchase. This is so they will be able to order more--don't want them running out of the cute ones!

First you wanna measure your gift card. Make your inner pages 1/16" to 1/8" smaller all around than the gift card. For these stained glass ones the inner pages are about 2 7/8" by 3 3/8" or so (I could be wrong, don't quote me, k? It's kind of late here...).

Make the inner pages from cardstock and glue pages back to back so textured side is facing out. This makes nice sturdy pages. If you are making a notebook, just cut computer paper down to size and bind.

Make sure you cover any logos with cardstock strips (see inner covers) or embellishments (I used a flower to cover the Target logo on the back and the"Believe" word tile to cover the logo on the front).

Bind it all together using the Bind-It-All and some really small spiral binding combs. Decorate as desired.

This is a great project for scraps!! I plan to make tons more too. You can make mini notebooks, birthday cards (the combs are really cheap when they are this small), brag books, a wallet album, a wallet phone book, a book for your kids' backpack, stocking stuffers....you can even make a book of REAL gift cards to give as a gift--with money loaded on the cards. As long as they can scan it, they're good! Have fun!!

Supplies: Making Memories & May Arts ribbon, Autumn Leaves MOD paper, prima flowers, Daisy D's buttons and "Simple Pleasures" tag, "Believe" word tile from Joann's, and cardstock from Bazzill.

It's a Daisy D's Day...

I saw the new Daisy D's stuff at Scrapbook Blvd the other day and I HAD to get some. Luckily Trisha split her embellies with me otherwise I would have blown my budget!

So then on Tuesday I go into SGT for my weekly check-in and they have all the Daisy D's stuff too!! So I got some MORE! They had the same line but different stuff than Scrapbook Blvd so how could I resist?!?!

I was totally sick yesterday so I did nothing but today I woke up feeling pretty good. It was thundering and lightening all night so of course today there was rain. It was really nice to get some rain since it has been soooo hot lately! Anyways, perfect weather for scrapping.

Matt took a couple naps and was just fine chilling under my scrap table with his little toys so I got alot done. Here are some snapshots of the book I am making:

It is about how our little family came to be. I've been wanting to do a 6x12 for a while now. I started one called "My Imperfect Life" as part of a challenge on scrapbook.com hosted by my scrappy friend Tara. But that one is progressive so it won't be done for some time. I've been wanting to do one with all these different sized pages, some with scalloped edges--just not the normally square book, you know? I have pages that are split int he middle--it is pretty cool! Don't know what purpose that serves but I like it anyways.

So far it is coming along pretty well. I just keep slapping stuff on and hoping it looks good (A little glimpse into my design technique ;) ). It helps that the paper and embellies already coordinate! I'll post pics as soon as I am done. Hoping Xaver will take care of the kids tonight so I can finish up since I'm on a roll...

P.S. : "On a roll" reminds me of something I heard on the radio about Britney Spears a couple months ago. Apparently she issued a statement on her website that she was not going to accept any more rolls for a while. Like a cinnamon roll? LOL!! Anyways...

Back2Skool Night

We just got back from "Back to School" night at Katie's school. It was great to hear from Katie's teacher about how well she is doing. Katie did not enjoy second grade at all in San Bernardino because her teacher had serious discipline problems and took it out on all the kids. At times, she did not even want to go to school and I would drop her off crying.

But now I can't keep her away! She loves her new school and being in the third grade. Today I made her stay home because we were both sick and she was so upset that she would miss something at school. And her teacher adores her so that is so refreshing! It is so nice to see her so excited about school again. Silly me, I forgot to bring my camera--I totally wanted pics! Guess it is the flu going to my head...

Anyways, Katie has been getting tons of comments on her binder from teachers and classmates alike. We altered it of course! Our altering of her binder was the inspiration for my "Back2Skool"class coming up on September 16th. There are still lots of spots and all ages are welcome. For just $20 we will be decorating a binder, pencil box, folder, pencil sharpener, and making our own backpack monogram. Bring in your own supplies (like a backpack) and we'll alter those too--just get permission from mom to make sure it is okay to poke holes in your stuff. I'll also be giving out filler paper and pencils so they'll be ready to take their supplies to school the next day!

Sickie Me

Well, I'm sick. It's really bad.

It hit me all of a sudden last night--I went to be way early and was totally out of it. I could not even scrap! It's like my body knew I had nothing really planned for this week and let its guard down. Better than when I'm busy, right?

Poor Katie was really sick yesterday and still recovering today. Matt is back to normal, falling asleep easily, playing around. SO I'm thinking he had the bug, gave it to Katie, who gave it to me....hopefully it bypasses Xaver because this cold is pretty bad.

I really wanted to scrap all day! But hopefully I'll get better soon and then I'll be on my way to scrapping like mad!! And I gotta plan my route for Shop Hop....catch you all later. Hope no one else gets this cold.

Better Late Than Never!

I forgot to blog about being in Scrapbook Royalty's booth at San Diego Scrapbook Expo!!! It was totally fun and I saw alot of people and met alot of new people. I worked the make-n-take all day Friday and for a little itty bit on Saturday. Then I drove home.

SR worked with Quick Quotes to get a booth. This Expo was the launch of Elena and Melanie's (the creative duo behind Scrapbook Royalty) new company, Treasures for Charity. They sell super cute "royal" scrapping items and decor items--anything a scrapping queen or princess desires. They also sell their signature tote hooks that can hold up to 20lbs. Great for storing your tote bag during a crop or even just your purse when you go out to eat. AND they donate 20% off all their sales to charity so what's not to love? As soon as their online store is up and running I'll be linking it here.

I got the honor of designing a banner for their booth at Elena's request. Check it out in these pics I took! Everyone loved it and I even got some requests for custom banners! So if you want one, let me know.

It was a great fun-filled weekend, doing something scrappy that also benefits charity. I love doing SR events! Thank you Elena and Melanie for having me along and for all the wonderful work you do, for FREE, to benefit charities all over the world. You two are awesome!

Choices, choices, choices

It's time for me to submit class ideas for November and December. I had 4 classes planned in my head but after some reflecting, I pared it all done to one class on November 1. So what do?!!???

A new company called Best Creation, Inc. came out with some new paper I have been dying to use so I think I going to go with something from their lines. Here is a snapshot of the papers I'm thinking I'll use (see below). I'm still doing some research but a couple of layouts and a small altered project look like what I'll be doing....I'll keep you updated!!!

My wild and crazy weekend of scrap finally came to an end. I went to sleep at 9pm! I feel soooo old. That weekend really wiped me out. We had some great times though.

On Saturday at 8am Katie went off to camp for the 1000+ club. It was a reward for having sold over 1000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies earlier this year. Katie sold over 1300 and was the top seller in all of San Bernardino, Highland, and Devore combined! She got REALLY spoiled at the 1000+ camp and had a total blast. I think that was the intent! It was nice to see her leaving for camp happy (see her waving from the bus). She knew what was in store for her--fun, fun, and more fun! When she left for camp earlier this year, for her first time ever, she was crying on the bus. Xaver and I caught up to the bus on the freeway and waved to her because we felt bad. But when she came home, the first thing out of her mouth was a request to go back to the next session of camp! LOL

At this 1000+ camp they gave her a swimming test and she passed! Earlier this summer when she went to camp she could not pass the swim test. She has been using those arm floaties forever so now I am glad she will be a "big girl" at the pool now.

While we were waiting for the girls to get on the buses I started chatting with another mom whose daughter made the club--she also had an infant son so we hit it off right away! In our discussion I found out she had three cases of Thin Mints left that she needed to unload because they were moving and had gotten stuck with them (I know how that is--anyone want some Lemonades? LOL). We arranged for her to bring a case when she picked up her daughter--so now I have Thin Mints!! Not good news for my dieting efforts though...

I had a blast at the SR crop on Saturday. I already blogged on it so I won't do much more. But this coming Saturday I'm going to out to Hemet to the grand opening of Scrapbook Corner to promote Scrapbook Royalty. So if you're near there, come say hello!

On Sunday I did my "Our Little Monster" class. It was really fun--a great group of ladies came to the class and we had a blast trying to glue all those googly eyes. Thanks again to everyone who came! At the Scrapbook Royalty crop on Saturday I learned some great new tips and tricks for using the Bind-It-All from Nan, one of the Zutter Zisters and an expert with the BAL. We tried the tricks in my class since we used the BAL to bind the book--worked out great! Thanks Nan!

I have two kits left--if you are interested, drop me a line. In a week or two if I don't sell them, I'll be putting them up in my Etsy store. Also if you want an add-on, let me know too.

Sunday night we went to our friends' house for an end of summer game night. We got there late (story of my LIFE right now) but we still had a blast. They had all these games and we bet on who would win each round. Then we got to bid on fun prizes! It was super fun. The food was great and it was nice to see some friendly faces we had not seen in some time. We left at 830 and then I totally crashed! I had to ask Xaver to drive home because I was so tired.

This AM I discovered I lost a hubcap. We were so busy and all over So Cal. I don't think there is a way I can backtrack to find it. Just evidence of my wild an scrappy life right now! LOL

Today I've been taking it easy. I got to nap with Matt which was pretty nice! I did my 1 hour of cleaning so I am really proud of myself. For those of you who don't know, I have this "cleaning plan" where I only clean the house for one hour or less a day. It isn't working too well because I don't do it! LOL

Wish I could just scrap all day and forget all that housecleaning nonsense....

Well, I'm off to design some pages!!

What is Good About Your Day?

There is a challenge to all the members of a critique group to which I belong to scrapbook a day in your life. I was waiting for a really juicy day to scrap about.

I think today is the day I will scrap about. I think it really defines "me". There is alot that happened today but one thing that I wanna share here is something "good" I did and something "good" I realized today.

I went to Scrapbook Royalty's An Angel's Legacy Crop. I got to crop! Not alot but I got some cards done! Woohoo! So that was good...but I was just thinking that I could have been anywhere on a Saturday. But I was there, donating my time, spending my *husband's* hard-earned cash on raffles, gas to get there, and more all to be donated to charity. I could have been buying designer handbags or vegging in front of the TV but instead I was using the talents God gave me to do something to benefit someone else. Yes, I had a ton of fun--I got the best reaction from my class and I also got to share my Silhouette with some awesome croppers! It was really fun. Anyways, it felt really good to be giving a part of me.

A few of the girls were chatting about their husbands and the challenges of being involved in this hobby where weekends and nights are when most of the events occur. I had nothing but good things to say about my husband in this area. Today he watched little Matthew for 14+ hours, when Matt was MAJORLY fussy all day from having vaccinations, just so that I could go to the crop and do my class. He always supports me, is willing to watch the kids, transport them here and there, will go WITH me to a crop to watch the kids and help out. He is a really great part of my life.

So on the way home I called him and just told him how much I really appreciate all he does for me so that I can do all the fun things I do, so I can be part of the giving that Scrapbook Royalty is about, and so that I can be as involved in everything scrappy as I am. This is the kind of stuff I always want to remember. These moments when I realize that I have a really awesome life. So that is what I am going to scrap about. Being able to give back while doing a hobby I love and being able to do all of that because I have an awesome husband and family who support me. And of course I'll include my crazy busy schedule today! LOL

Thanks for reading! I'm off to bed---eeek it is 1245 and way past my bed time! he he he