Just to prove that I have had my paper and glue out here is the mini-book I created for my Big Sis' birthday back in October. I couldn't blog this any sooner as I had to wait for her to actually see it in the flesh and it has been waiting at Mum's (a halfway house for gifts not to be entrusted to Postman Pat) for a while.
You will know from my previous posts that so far I've done mini-books for The BGF and Mum so it was only natural that I should do one for my Big Sis. I toyed with themes, stitching (she's an avid (actually that word doesn't accurately describe it) cross stitcher (see her cross stitching blog here - just remember the back arrow to come back), birthdays, getting old (she is my Big Sister - I'll always be younger than her!!!) and finally decided on the pleasure and pain of sisterhood. A long trawl through the various quotation websites and I had ten quotes to put together in a book.
Mum had given me a stack of gorgeous My Mind's Eye "Bohemia" papers as a prezzie and I knew I wanted to use the pink and brown colourway to create a sophisticated look. What I discovered to my chagrin was that some 12x12 papers are not all that easy to use in a smaller format and it was far more difficult to put these pages together than the pages for The BGF's book which used 6x6 Smirk papers which are scaled to suit.
Anyway after many false starts and a serious case of misplaced mojo the book eventually came together and here it is...
Oh fiddle, the photo's I need are not on this machine hang on a minute....
... Sorry about that - here we go...
Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them, just use the back arrow to come back to the blog.
The cover was painted with Acrylic, specially mixed to match the papers and then sponged with white and burnt umber to create the marbled effect. I haven't told the Mini Moonshines that I used their bath sponges - they washed out OK - they need never know!!!
The calendar stamp is by Imaginisce and is heat embossed to help it stand out against the mixed background.
The swirl is cut from Core'dinations cardstock using my trusty Craft-Robo.
The dark rose cardstock is again Core'dinations, embossed with the Cuttlebug Perfect Paisley embossing folder and then sanded back to reveal the core.
Do you remember me waxing lyrical about my Inkadinkado Bijoux Oiseaux stamps? Well here they are, stamped with pale rose pigment ink, heat embossed with Heat It Up Cranberry embossing powder and embellished with PaperMania Iridescent stones and a Hobbycraft feather. I'm really pleased with the result!
I may have mentioned that I'm not a big fan of peel-offs but these butterflies were perfect for this page. The stamps are from a gorgeous set I got in the sale at Waterstones, of all places, for a fabulous £3.00 instead of £18.00!!!
This is everyone's favourite quote and it was always going to be the last one in the book!
My sister loved her book and I know it wont be my last one - but I think I'll keep the next one for myself!
