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

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.