Vintage 70's Baby Album

Hey guys! Today I want to share some pictures of the '70's baby album I'm working on for a teacher I work with. The colors drove me a little crazy - not what I usually choose for a baby album.

Everything spread out on the dining table - seems I work best with lots of choices around me. The base of the album was created using 5 Ivory cards/envelopes from the Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby) 5" X 6.5". I assembled them using my usual hinges with a 1/4" gutter. Paper from the "Tattered and Worn" Paper Studio stack was used for photo mats and tags. The solid brown, blue and olive green are from an unknown source. The odd looking red plastic cup is holding my bottle of "The Ultimate" adhesive (upside-down to keep the really thick glue easy to access). I used the envelopes to create the album pages by sealing them closed (I use glue to hold them closed, not trusting the lick-and-stick stuff on them) and cut a scant 1/8" off the bottom to form the "pocket". This cut edge becomes the top of the page; so basically, the envelope is turned up-side down.

I used the cards for tags, cutting diagonal edges on one side of the card, then punching the edge with the Martha Stewart Doily border punch. I also used it to shape the edges of the connecting hinges.

I found some great vintage baby shower cards from my mother's and my mother-in-law's collection of baby "stuff" they collected over the years from their own showers, along with some flea market finds. I scanned the originals and re-sized them to fit the album. I don't like to cut up the original ephemera. I try to preserve it for future paper artists to discover. I own the original pieces, but don't claim to own the copyright(s) to any of them. I'm sharing them for your personal use only. Please don't put these on a CD or collage sheet for sale. You may use them in art you hand create and sell, nothing commercially produced. A link back is appreciated, but not mandatory. I'd love to see what you create using these images.

I'll post more pictures of the album showing how I used the images, along with more images for you guys soon. Take care & happy creating!

Our Etsy Shop is Open!!!!!!

I'm so excited to anounce we've finally got our first album posted on Etsy - whoooo!!! Visit us at: annstanleyDesign59.etsy.com

I managed to get a better description of Persnicktey #3 for the Etsy post, so check it out. I also added 1 more tag. Somehow 13 tags didn't seem right. I'm not supersticious or anything, but I just like even numbers of things. My collage art teacher taught us to use the "Greek odds", but I always put 2 sets of 3 elements. I just can't help it.

I'm starting on 2 baby albums this week. Two of the teachers I work with are having a joint baby shower next Tuesday. One is a huge Arkansas Razorback fan, so I'm working on something special for her.

The other has her nursery done in "Vintage 70's). Hey! I grew up in the 70's! Hard to think of that being vintage. That aside, do you know how hard it is to find baby boy papers, stickers, etc. in chocolate brown, olive green, and harvest gold???? I looked at Hobby Lobby for an hour and a half Saturday night (hubby sat in the truck and called every 15 minutes to "check" on me and remind me how long I'd been shopping. On top of everything else, they are remodeling our Hobby Lobby, so everything is moved around and even the sales people have difficulty finding things. I only found 1 set of animal stickers that looked like they went with items in her Target registery, but I couldn't find any babyish paper to go with them. I finally settled on a page kit called "Cute Little Baby" fom the Paper Studio. It's got lots of brown, gold, orange and an olivie green (along with some pink and a funky shade of blue). The only problem is that it has zoo animals and her nursery has forrest animals. I may go back and get the sticker set I liked & look around for different paper. Then again, the album doesn't have to match the nursery, but I just thought it would be nice if it did.

Check back for pictures of the 2 mini albums in progress and to see if I've gone crazy yet trying to match vintage 70's colors!

Take care - Ann & Katie

Tag Pictures

Hi everyone!
I'm posting pictures of the tags in the Persnickety #3 album. Just wanted you guys to see how we've done the interior tags for the large bag pockets and the cute tags we cut using the Spellbinders Nestabilities Label #14.

The first tag in the album is made using a vintage reproduction of a lovely lady. Her picture can be left as is or your favorite image could be mounted on the 3 1/2" X 4 1/2" tag. The back has a journaling stamp in StazOn Timber Brown. Two different sizes of the Nestabilities Label #14 were cut and distressed using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose. A journaling stamp in French was applied to the smaller label using Timber Brown.

The page on the right of the two-page spread was embellished with a Sizzix Bigz Die - Flourish, Floral w/Leaves. I thought the black flourish gave the page a classic look.

The next spread shows two of the tags designed for the bag pockets. The tag on the left is embellished with a hand-cut boarder using the Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. Two tags from the Spellbinder's Shapeabilities Blossom Tags and Accents were distressed using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Soot and layered along with a straight paper band. The flower was hand punched, layered and accented with a dot of Stickles. The tag on the right features a pocket with a tag cut using Label #14. An image of the Eiffel Tower is stamped using Timber Brown. Label #14 was used in two different sizes along with a simple straight band to embellish the page. All were distressed using the Soot ink.

There is so much more to setting up an Etsy shop than I ever imagined. I think Katie and I are almost ready to post our first paper bag album for sale. Trying to figure out shipping, taxes and shop policies has been an education in itself! Keep watching for the big announcement! 'till next time - Ann & Katie

Sneak Peek!

I'm doing something a little scary - posting pictures of a piece in progress. This is the album I've been talking about using a 12" x 12" piece of card stock folded and glued instead of a paper bag with card stock on it. The fold creates a pocket for more tags and you guys know how I LOVE tags! I'm also trying a little different approach to assembling my book. I'm still using the hinge with a quarter inch gutter to give lots of room for embellishments, but I'm gluing it inside the pocket (formerly the paper bag), before closing the paper to form the pocket. Clear as mud???? I'm planning some youtube instructional videos soon and I'll show how I'm doing this.

Even without the cover, the bound edge looks clean and neat. The picture showing the pocket isn't as expressive as I had hoped, but hopefully, you can see where the pockets are.

I'm also adding fold-out pages, connected with simple folded hinges without any gutter. I'm using a Martha Stewart edge punch to add a little pizazz. These photos show one spread as all the pages are opened.

Of course the pictures didn't load in order, but you get the idea.Some day I'll take the time to learn more about uploading pictures. For now, I'm enjoying creating too much!

I'd love some feed-back on this album. As a work-in-progress I can always use some constructive criticism. I'd like to list some mini albums using this construction in Katie's & my Etsy shop. Any suggestions? Would you be interested in an album that is constructed like this? If not, what would make it more appealing? What colors/themes might look good in this style album? You guys are my "finger on the pulse" of the art-buying world :) Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Album Idea

I've just started a new mini album with a twist. Instead of the paper bag albums I've been making lately, I'm working on a design using a 12" X 12" sheet of card stock, folded in half, cut into 2 pieces for my pages. The binding I'm using is sort of like the step books I've made with my elementary students, only in miniature. Right now it's in the planning stage with pieces of paper in various stages of construction strewn across my daughter's dining table!

She's just started 4 lovely paper bag albums using the Mariposa paper stack by DCWV (Die Cuts With a View). I've been saving this lovely paper for just the right project and when Katie showed me her design ideas, I knew she needed this special paper. Each mini will have 6 black paper bags (lunch size), lots of tags (creating ample space for both pictures & journaling) and are going to be gorgeous! I'll post pictures of both projects soon.

Katie has recently become a stay-at-home mom and is loving it. She's having so much fun with Alex (six and in kindergarten) and Emily (four - going on twenty!). This hiatus is giving her a chance to get back to creating again. She's always loved drawing and photography, so she's been thrilled to apply her design sense to paper arts. She's expressed a desire to design her own line of paper, so be sure to watch for her original papers in future projects.