Christmas came early!

I am so thrilled to have a room of my own to sew, quilt and scrapbook.  Larry has worked very hard for a few weeks to renovate his basement office into a craft room for me... my birthday, Christmas and anniversary present (all within 8 days of each other).   It was no small feat to haul everything upstairs from Larry's office and haul everything downstairs from my old teeny craft room.   I thought with such a large room it would look bare... not so much! I had supplies squirreled away in my tiny craft room, in a large closet and a spare bedroom.  It will probably need some fine tuning so that everything is where it should be.

I should have taken a before picture.  The windowless room was so incredibly dark and dingy with its 70's "economical" finishing and the ugliest yellow/brown/rust carpet I've ever laid eyes on.  The walls were dark brown panelling.  When Larry removed the panelling to see what kind of insulation was there; he wasn't surprised to find there was no insulation at all.  I asked to have the rubber connect-a-mat flooring for warmth and comfort and it is so awesome to stand on! 

From the foot of the stairs from left to right, here is my new room. 

Next project is to make covers for the burgundy chairs that don't go with the room colours.

My poor little antique chiffonier needs to be refinished (that will happen this spring hopefully).  I was fortunate to inherit the oak desk and corner cabinet that Larry had custom-built for him when he was transferred back from Saskatoon as Branch Manager.  When Larry's employer sold to the US company it wasn't long before they starting shutting down branches including ours.  Larry's job changed to that of a travelling sales rep so all the furniture came home to our basement where Larry intended to set up his office.  It wasn't long before he couldn't stand the dark, dingy room so brought his laptop and phone upstairs and used the kitchen table.

After many days of hauling and reorganizing equipment and supplies, I can finally get back to doing what I love to do.  Well; after I hem all the pants and catch up on the ironing.   Every time I go to do something I discover more supplies that I have to find room for downstairs.  The thrift store is benefiting from all of the sorting and purging that we have been doing!

BABY MINI ALBUM

I have been wanting to make a mini album for a long time and have finally attempted it.  Because I have a nephew whose wife is having their first baby in November, and because I have been off work recovering from knee surgery, I decided I'd make a baby album for my first attempt.

Actually, today is my first day back to work.  I started working half days so that I'm not sitting for too many hours.   I am back home and have had to elevate my leg and ice my knee... that explains the angle of the photos.  My nephew and his wife have decided not to find out the gender of their baby so this was challenging to balance gender-neutral colours.  I ended up using blue and pink anyway, along with cream tones, green, yellow and brown.  Most baby mini albums I've seen on other blogs were done specifically for girls and were very frilly with lots of flowers, jewels and lace... in other words, just gorgeous.  Because my album had to be gender neutral I had to forego all the feminine touches. 

As this is my first attempt at a mini album, I decided to use a purchased cover.  This is a Tim Holtz product that came without the binder ring which I purchased separately.  Although not "babyish", I liked the vintage look of the cover.  I attached an envelope to the inside cover of the book using double sided tape. I cut card stock to 6" x 8" so that the pages are slightly smaller than the cover and used a purchased wooden frame on the first page.   A smaller piece of card stock has been used to create a pocket.

I used two of the three frames that were in the package I purchased from Michaels.  Double sided tape has been used on 3 sides of this frame so Angela can slide a picture in the top.  

I printed various images I found on the Internet.  The left page has a pocket created by tacking down 3 sides of card stock that allows Angela to write some notes about pre-birth thoughts, baby showers, etc.   I know from Facebook that she has been taking pictures of her growing tummy at various stages so have made mats for three "baby bump" pictures.

 

I created a pocket between pages 9 and 10 of the album by putting two pieces of card stock together with double sided tape and leaving the side open.  I've made a double sided photo mat that slides into the pocket and the pocket is roomy enough for Angie to add more photos.

 I've left the top of this photo frame open to slide a picture in and I've used the narrow double sided tape on the three remaining outside edges to allow for the picture to be under the frame.

 

There is a growth chart on the left page and I've made a hinge with scrap card stock to attach a double matted booklet to the right page. 

The sand/green tone pre-printed card stock had 6 different designs postcard-sized so I have used one here to add a little interest and place for titles and comments.

I've tucked another envelope into a pocket on the left page and added a postcard-sized card stock page on the right to which I've glued a fussy-cut image from the original 6-card pre-printed card stock (that I've probably had in my stash for 5-6 years).  

The reverse side of this postcard-sized page has purchased paper/leather baby shoe stickers attached to it (one of my big splurges).  

Because the book wasn't too stuffed yet; I added a couple blank pages for Angie to expand the book.

Next time I will attempt to make and bind my own cover (maybe).  The binder format sure simplified the process.  It took me a long time to choose the card stock that I was going to use and to find, print and fussy-cut out all the images I wanted to use but the actual process of putting the book together took one day.  I should have taken a picture of the complete disaster my table was while making the album!!

Nephew's wedding

I wasn't able to attend my nephew's wedding in St. John's Newfoundland on July 5th as I had knee surgery scheduled for July 16th.  So, I'm living vicariously through my sister to get pictures of Nathan & Renee's wedding.