Bringing back the blog.... Sharing My Favorite Mini Book Kits I created

I've been helping Susan at EMI Scrapbooking with the store blog... it's looking great!  The store is looking great too - so many new product lines, of course every one of Teresa Collins lines are well stocked, crops, & the mini books & kits business is booming.  New kits will be added to the blog when they are available for sale & will have a paypal purchase button right there.  Hope you check back often or sign up to follow EMI - lots of inspiration & happenings posted daily.  If you're in the Atlanta area drop by & say hello.

This is a picture of the Teresa Collins section from a couple months ago

I'm still creating mini books & kits for EMI.  I've been so bad about sharing them here on the blog... I added pictures of the covers over to the right on the slide show.  

Here's a few of my favorites.

Making Memories Valentine line (I miss that company... 

Their scalloped ledger paper is an all time favorite background - I still have 1 piece left & waiting for just the right project

Echo Park collections are always great to work with.

Love the sticker embellishment sheets 

This is an all time favorite using Graphic 45.

I cut out the "window" & hinged it so it would open to reveal another beautiful image inside on the cover.

So many great embellishments can be cut out of the papers. 

several of the pages.  Filled with half pages using the postcards 

that filled one of the piece of patterned paper

This one was a labor of love.  

Each page is an envelope & I hand laced the book together for each of the kits. 

My favorite Glitz line ever - love all the soft colors & vintage prints... very shabby chic

Here's the inside of  one of the pages.  

I put tabs on the card enclosed in each envelope page

Rhonna Ferrar did a cool line for My Mind's Eye

I love the kites 

I used canvas fabric for several of the pages - stitching near the edges but loving the fraying

another of the pages - love the pre-designed clusters on the paper 

Teresa Collins collections are so well designed & thought out - I love

how easily the mini book comes together

Another Teresa Collins collection - classic colors but fresh shades of green & red

This one is so different than my usual 6x8 size....

Tall & skinny using Studio Calico school collection

Perfect for teen boy photos

I did several of this accordion bound spine books

using My Mind's Eye's collection.

Loved this boy one with Navy & Gold

another MME more feminine book

Simple Stories collections are fabulous - they give you so many 

journaling & embellishing images just on a piece of patterned paper.  

Budget friendly without sacrificing the style & layers we all love.

6x12 in mini gives plenty of room for the photos of new little one.

Another My Mind's Eye...

I love the colors & patterns in their Lost & Found lines....

However the glitter became a running joke - after creating 3 mini book kits

I had inches of glitter on my desk & all over not just my scrap room but the whole house.

I was covered in glitter for days since their glitter.

You're probably thinking so..... but I'm not a glitter person lol 

I will not even buy greeting cards with glitter on them.

So Susan knows better than to ask me to create with glitter paper 

I have a ban on it.

This album was beautiful though glitter & all

Well I hope you enjoyed looking at the covers of some of my books.  I'm hoping to post a couple times a week what I'm creating for the store & for myself.  

Take some time to be creative today,

Could it be a Layout on My Blog....

I bet you are thinking you're on the wrong blog.... it's been so long since I posted a layout.  I've been doing so many mini books for sale & kits and for my own photos.  I love doing minis... something about the feel of them & all the textures.  Plus I can get a lot of photos done at one time.  I've been so neglecting doing layouts.  In the past I would even duplicate the stories to some extent that I told in a mini album for the "official" 12x12 scrapbook.  I forgot how much I love the process of creating a page.

I started these several months ago at a crop.  I don't stress out about finishing things at crops because the way I create makes it totally impossible unless I pack up my entire room.  I'm one of those people who drags out a multitude of stuff to audition them and see how they will look.  While I'm creating I will think of some item that I didn't bring that would be "perfect" and just the thought of it will stop the creative process dead in it's tracks.  I've learned to just move on to another page/project or I will sit there and get frustrated.  To top it off I'm a slow scrapper.  I really enjoy EVERYTHING about the creative process, from the most mundane intricate fussy cutting to journaling the story, so trying to be what I'm not takes the pleasure out of scrapbooking.  Realizing this about myself has allowed me to really like cropping & not worry about packing for them.  I enjoy the inspiration & catching up with my friends.... just relaxing & enjoying their company.

Here's a page about my son younger Brandon.  He's such an inspiration to me & constantly reminds me to not worry about what others think and  to "go for it Mom".  He really beats to his own drum, goes after life, is easy going & can talk to anyone... that "boy" has never met a stranger.  He slays me how girls will walk by & do a 180 coming back to chat... he usually gets a phone number with no effort lol.

I loved this Simple Stories line with motorcycles, guitars, & lots of stars.  His online nickname for the longest time growing up was "allstar" the stars made it even more perfect.  I mixed in some paper from Authentique - it was a vintage school line but I love the grey & yellow colors.  The weight of paper heavier & just called to be distressed & grunged up

Brandon went to the motorcycle races with his friend James.  

I love this photo in black and white it only made it better.  

It "quiets down" the distraction from the colors and just lets the focus be on the guys.

The top left corner of page.

The banners on the die cut sheet played up the race track theme from the photo.

I distressed the edges of all the layers to add texture.  In my mind that makes it more masculine.

The "You're Amazing" embellishment is semi transparent piece from Basic Grey.

I love how Simple Stories lines come with several pieces of paper with borders, 3x5 journaling spots, & lots of different things to use as the title of the page.  Their products make great mini books too.

 

I loved these metal embellishments that I found in my friend Susan's vintage stash - she found a huge lot of old jewelry at a flea market.  I was in heaven just sifting thru the goodies.

The piece on top of the thermometer die cut is so hammered and mashed like it was run over a dozen times with a tank.  That hair comb with the chevron striping of the teeth seemed current on trend & had an masculine industrial feel.

I really like how they look on the page layered with all the other paper elements.  A trick I use all the time in the mini book kits I make is to adhere paper to a piece of blank chipboard.  It adds dimension & makes the layers pop.

 

Couldn't resist a bit of washi tape to anchor the photo 

 Now looking at the photos I feel like it needs some paint splatter..... well it's not in the album yet lol

Favorite Product Lines & more Mini Kits for sale

It's the time of the year when we have so many fantastic new lines to create with.  I have a hard time limiting myself as so many are "calling my name"....

I am totally crazy about the Studio Calico Mr Huey spray inks.  I love them so much!  For me they are more versatile than Glimmer Mist since I have guys in my life glitter isn't very masculine in their opinion at least... shhh don't tell them I sneak shimmer goodness on their pages every once in a while.  But Mr. Huey's allow me to use spray ink on all my projects. 

My favorite of all is the opaque white it's perfect for misting then journaling over

I love the colors of Studio Calico's Memoir line... the perfect blue, some golden yellow & cream are catching my eye right now & of course look great with kraft paper

 and everyone knows how I am about my die cut ledger paper (or any ledger paper for that matter & SC never lets me down since they include one in most of the lines)

 They also have die cut geometric full sheets that can be used on a project or even saved and used as an inexpensive stencil

Another company I was very surprised I would like as much as I do.  When Susan from EMI Scrapbooking forwarded me a link with a sneak peak of Simple Stories I like it because it had lots of journaling & title cards but they showed it in the individual plastic pockets which I think is great for others but not really my style.  So when I saw it in person I was very excited about all the possibilities.  The lines are very well thought out & make great mini albums.

I loved the soft colors of their baby line that can easily be used for either a boy or girl.  It's a very budget friendly company but they sure don't skimp on quality or style

 Look at all those tiny type style letters on that sheet - it was a must have

Super cute images to embellish & add style

Here's a mini kit I made using it that is for sale at EMI Scrapbooking online and in store here