Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

Life at the Beach ...

This is a recent scrapbook that I made for Mike's sister & her husband to Thank them for inviting us to stay out their beach house in Delaware.  It took me a while to put it together but I think it was well worth the time. I was one of those projects that just came together in the exact way I wanted it to.

Oh, by the way,  I love how it turned out.  It is so cute - the perfect colors, perfect pictures and just 'reeks' of a beach cottage at the edge of the sea ...

Follow me along the construction trail ...

The first I did was to gather some beach glass nuggets that I collected over the years and then I researched how to drill holes in the middle of them because I knew from the onset that I wanted to make some Beach Glass Buttons. 

I found some directions online about how to drill glass and found out that you needed to do it with a diamond tip drill bit - I already had my trusty Dremel [this is the best tool ever for people who like to partake in the Arts & Crafts]  but had to go down to Ace Hardware to get the drill bit.  Done.  Next the directions instructed me to get a bowl of water and a block of wood to drill on top of.  So, the key to success is drilling very, very slowly under the water.  There is definitely a 'knack' to drilling through the glass without breaking it - I ended up destroying quite a few pieces before ... SUCCESS!

Next I gathered up the chipboard book paper and acrylic sheets that I was planning on using.  I LOVE the look of the acrylic - it is one of my favorite scrapbooking mediums. 

Then I covered the front of the album with the paper that I had chosen - After gluing the paper onto the chipboard I sanded all the edges to get it nice and then I used a blue stamp pad to ink the edges of the cover ...

So I covered both the outside front & back of the album with the paper that had the 'beachy' words on it and then I covered the inside covers of the front & back of the album.  I love the paper which I used - the word paper and  the blue & white striped paper to line the inside of the covers.  I think they are perfect colors for the album.

After the cover's were finished I attached my 'Beach Glass Buttons' to the front cover along with 2 starfish that I had.  The buttons are tied on - I punched holes through the chipboard and threaded some rope-like string I had through the buttons and cover and tied it in a knot.

Next I decided which picture I would use on the first acrylic page.  I wanted a photo that really spoke to the beaches on the East Coast and I thought this one with the dried grass and weathered fence did just that.  It was especially important because whatever picture was placed here would be seen through the cutout in the cover {see the finished book at the top}.

Here is the front cover and the next page is the beach scene which you can see through the cut-out.  At this point I just started covering the inside pages with paper and adding pictures and decoration as I went along.  The book is alternating pages of chipboard and then an acrylic page - most of the chipboard pages have cut-outs in them and so it did take some time making sure that they all lined up.

Below are a few of the pages from inside the book.

I found this GREAT new toy on the internet - it's called Wordle and I used it to create & print out this great 'word cloud'.  Click above to go check out the site - the best part is that it's FREE & EASY.   Yup, you heard me right ... FREE & EASY. 

See - I just made another one!  It really is fun and easy!  Give it a try.  I may have mentioned this site before but seriously, if you haven't tried it - you should!  I think it would make some great birthday party invitations ....

 
Anyway - that is my 'Rehobeth Beach' scrapbook.


Hope you are outside enjoying the sunshine
- N -

Monday Morning Make & Take ...

Seedling Pots

What You Need:

•    Newspaper (standard broadsheets are best)
•    Small straight-edged jar like a half-pint canning jar, but a small drinking glass works well too

 

Directions:

1. Grab a whole sheet of newspaper. Fold it in half along the natural seam. Then fold it into thirds, lengthwise. You'll have a long strip of newspaper, six layers thick.

2. Lay your glass on its side on top of the paper, widthwise. Leave a 1-inch-long strip of paper extending beyond the open end of the glass.

3. Roll the glass along the length of the newspaper, tightly rolling the newspaper up around it as you go.

4. Fold the 1-inch overhang into the opening of your glass, pressing hard. When the overhang is folded in, give the new seam extra reinforcement by turning the glass upside down on the counter and pressing hard on the seam. You should now have what looks like a little paper pot.

5. Remove the glass by sliding it out of the nonfolded end (sometimes you need to wiggle it out of there, so be careful to not unfold your paper pot).

6. On the inside of your paper pot, unfold the overhang from step 4 into the center, creating a bottom for your pot. For extra reinforcement, use the bottom of your glass to press down firmly on the inside and secure the pot bottom.

7. Line up pots in a planting tray or a stainless steel sheet pan, and fill with seedling mix or potting soil.

8. Plant your seeds in the paper pots.

9. Give your newly planted seeds a little drink of water.

10. Place your little pots in a sunny spot and wait until they sprout.

Note: You can plant the entire pot into your garden bed once the seeds have sprouted!

Happy Farming!

- N -