The value of sketches

I feel bad that I've been neglecting my blog - I have just had NO time to stamp these past few weeks! Ugh. In another week things should calm down...

Any minute now I'm leaving to go to a weekend scrapbooking retreat with some friends. I cannot wait!! I recently bought the Page Maps sketch book because I am trying to make pages with a more modern look. (I've noticed that bunching your photos is the current trend, rather than our careful, balanced arrangements of the past. And embellishments and lots of patterned paper are key.) To prepare for the crop, I chose my photos and papers and made a sketch of every layout. My sketches are rough - just a square with a diagram of where the photos will go. It gives me leeway to play around with the paper and embellishments but, by having the "bones" of the pages preplanned, I can get a lot more pages finished. Since scrapping time is harder to come by than stamping time, this is really helpful.

I just love sketches for cards, too. Be sure to check back on Wednesday for my Sweet Sketch Wednesday card and a link to the new sketch challenge. They are always fun!

And now, off to scrap!! :)

Accordian Mini Album

As promised, I'm posting some pictures of the mini album I made with some 4X6 prints from Sunday's picture taking session. I'm not thrilled with how it turned out overall. In an ideal world I would have had more time and energy to embellish it. Then again, in an ideal world I wouldn't work and would have a housekeeper and a cook. ;-) I am happy, however with how the album itself turned out. I'd never made an accordian album like this and was pleasantly surprised at the results.

The album is constructed of 6X12" pieces of cardstock folded in half and adhered to form an accordian. Either end of the accordian is adhered to a 6X6" cover made of thin cardboard and covered with scrapbooking paper. Here is a picture of the album unfolded.

Here's a closer look at the individual pages:



I am not happy at all with how the cover came out. (This photo doesn't help.) But I'm posting it to show how the album is closed. The ribbon is glued across the back of the album using "red line tape" (super stick double sided tape) and then just tied across the front. It keeps the album together when it's not unfolded.