Life Unscripted

Sometimes things aren't planned.  Sometimes we are just living our lives.  Those simple, joyful moments deserve to be preserved just as much as the special events and holidays that we experience.

That's why I created this album.  Titled "Life Unscripted", it's a perfect way to display photos of everyday moments.

Made from 7 scalloped acrylic panels, it's filled with the warm tones of autumn - maybe more like Indian Summer - with papers by GinX and Scenic Route.

The clear panels give a lighter feel to the album, making it feel more whimsical perhaps?  :)

I've used a variety of rub on phrases and designs in a contrasting black.  Clear rhinestone accents and subtle white inking around the page edges lend additional texture. It's hard to capture the inked edges on camera, but they are there!

If you decide to include ribbon on your own photo mats, always remember to position them toward the very edges of the photo mats.  That way, you don't risk covering someone's face with a big ol' bow.

And never forget to add journaling spots.  A picture might tell a thousand words, but a generation from now those words might be lost.  I've tucked 2 journal tags and an additional photo mat into a pocket on the last page of this album.  Cut from a printed transparency, it is stitched to the background paper.  I love how you can see through it into the pocket.

I have several more albums that I'll be sharing soon, including another stunning acrylic album.  Thanks for looking!

Shh... It's a Secret!

It's about time for a special deal for my blog readers. Throughout the month of November I am offering Free Shipping on all orders of $50 or more from my etsy store. You can get to my etsy store by clicking on the link on the right side of this page, or by going to http://www.cherishpaperart.etsy.com/.

If you haven't checked out etsy yet, you don't know what you're missing! It is THE online place for everything handmade and/or vintage.

Here are some things you can find in my store right now:

If you make a purchase, please send me a convo (etsy's fancy word for a message, LOL!) that you saw the free shipping special on my blog. I will adjust your invoice accordingly.

Thanks :)

Merry & Bright

It's November! The holiday season is officially upon us, can you believe it?!? Well, my most recent project for Everything Scrapbook & Stamps has certainly put me in the holiday spirit! I got to work with the new Bo Bunny "Tis the Season" collection of patterned papers.
The papers are colorful and fun, in true Bo Bunny style! I loved the bright green color - such a fresh take on the traditional forest green we usually think of at Christmas.This is a two page 12x12 layout using the Bo Bunny papers, red and light blue Bazzill cardstock, Poinsettias and leaves (also by Bazzill). I cut out a couple of cute snowflakes with a Kiwi Lane Designs template, which then I inked in a soft blue and accented with silver glitter. The title is cut with a Cricut using the Zooballoo cartridge.So now that I'm in a festive mood, it's time to start thinking about holiday shopping, LOL! With two little ones to buy for, the shopping can be really fun. :)I hope I've helped get you to start thinking about the holidays. Always remember to take LOTS of photos this time year ~ We couldn't be scrappers without them!

New Layouts

I admit that I've been skipping the scrapbook layouts in favor of albums lately. I just love making albums and altered board books, but I had to go back and make some layouts just for fun.

This first layout is titled "Sweetness" and it's perfect for photos of a little girl, favorite cuddly pet or even as an homage to your favorite sweets (cupcakes, anyone?). The patterned paper is by My Mind's Eye and the metal clips are by Making Memories.



The next two layouts are essentially the same, but done in different colors. I used the blues and greens for the Boy Version, and deep pinks and chocolate brown for the Girl Version. These are both titled "Welcome to the Jungle" and are the perfect way to showcase photos of your favorite little monkey child in all their silliness. The papers, rub ons and 3D embellishments are all from DCWV's Animal Crackers line. The vines are cut with my Cricut using the Zooballoo cartridge.


I posted these layouts (and others) for sale in my etsy shop, www.cherishpaperart.etsy.com. I'm also running a special through 10/31/2009: Buy 2 or more items from my shop and your entire order ships for FREE! What a great way to get a jump start on your holiday shopping or to fill up that scrapbook you've been meaning to work on.

Thanks for looking!

Yummy, yummy Pink Paislee

I have great news! I was selected to be on the Design Team for Everything Scrapbook & Stamps, which is a fabulous scrapbook store here in south Florida.

For my first "assignment" I was given the most delicious line of Pink Paislee paper to work with. After finishing my album for the store, I bought my own stash of the papers and put together this beautiful album.

The album is a multi-shaped chipboard album by Little Yellow Bicycle, the paper line is Pink Paislee's Amber Road. The flowers and black bling are by prima, and it's all available at ESS!

Here are some more photos of the album...

I absolutely loved working with this paper line. It is elegant and sophisticated but still really fun!

Be sure to check out Everything Scrapbook & Stamp's blog for great store news and fabulous project ideas.

Gettin' Happy with Scraps

I promised to give you a look at this Friendship album... well, here she is! I fell in love with the beautiful MME papers that I used on my last acrylic album and decided that the bits and pieces left over deserved to be properly used up! This 5x5 inch board book was covered with Studio K papers in pinks and oranges... I added some K & Co. scraps (the pink print on the cover), plus the MME leftovers which are beautiful and have the most subtle sparkly accents. You can see them in the photo below (the dotted and floral papers on the photo mats).

I machine stitched all the photo mats, which were layered onto Bazzill cardstock. The edges of the album pages as well as each photo mat was lightly inked in a warm gingerbread color.

This pocket page was simple to create ~ you just need a good, strong adhesive to make sure it stays! There are 3 pull out journaling tags tucked into the pocket. I also used DCWV sticker quotes throughout the album to emphasize the friendship theme.

Prima flowers were delicately layered... do you see the gold accents on the orange petals? Yummy Primas! I could seriously shop for their flowers all day long and never tire of drooling over all their prettiness. :) The flower centers were made with gold colored bead caps and brads.

Some subtle stamping and pretty ribbon finish off the album nicely. It's very soft and pretty... and not a bad outcome for some leftover papers, huh?

Be all that you DREAM to be

Simply Stunning! After my successful first acrylic album, I immediately had to get to work on #2. Again, I added shaped chipboard panels between the acrylic to give it more pages and more visual interest. I was inspired by some MME paper & embellishments that I had, but I only had 2 sheets of the MME paper. What's a girl to do?!? So I dove into my paper stash and found 2 patterns of Classic K & Co. plus one sheet of Basic Grey that coordinated and complemented the sparkly, pretty MME papers. Add two colors of Bazzill cardstock and VIOLA! All the makings of a pretty, shabby-chic-type album. And as much as I will hate to see this album go {WAAAHHH!!!} I listed it for auction on eBay. You can find my current listings by clicking on the link on the right side of this blog page. After all was said and done, I had some paper scraps left over so I'm using them to make an altered board book - even the scraps were just too darn pretty to throw out! Look for the photos of the board book in the next few days. :)

I {heart} Basic Grey

I just love the look of albums where the pages are all different shaped. This chipboard album by Basic Grey has very quickly become my favorite! It comes with 7 shaped panels, all unique... plus four binder rings and an adorable "key chain" with 3 mini chipboard shapes to hang off one of the binder rings. BG has been one of my favorite paper manufacturers for years because I love the distressed look they give their papers. I used the Wisteria line on this particular album, along with prima flowers and petals, DCWV Clear Quotes, and lots of machine stitching. The colors of this paper line are fabulous ~ I highly recommend you give it a try!

Acrylic Debut!

I finally got brave enough to try my hand at an acrylic album... Technically this is both acrylic and chipboard, since I added chipboard pages between the acrylic pages to give it more OOMPH! :) I used K & Co. paper and loads of prima flowers. I just love how it turned out and it was not as intimidating as I thought it was going to be. I'll definitely be making more in the near future! Here are a few pictures... If you would like to see all the pages, plus close-up details, click here to go to my eBay auction. This album is currently for sale there, with an auction closing date of August 13th. Thanks for looking!

Custom Graduation Album

Well, I finished up my latest round of custom orders recently and wanted to share some photos of one of the graduation albums I did. This is a 10 page (plus front and back cover) album that measures 8x11.


This is a less traditional palette - chocolate browns, greys and slate blue, which were done at the request of the graduate. I just love it!

I used Basic Grey's "Granola" paper line, ribbon, stamping, small metal embellishments, felt flowers, paper flowers and a few other odds and ends.

The front inside panel featured a triple=layered photo mat that would hold a 5x7 photo, with the graduate's name spelled out in custom cut letters. It looked great!

If you are interested in an album like this, be sure to email me at CherishPaperArt@hotmail.com, or check out my eBay listings to see what I have for auction at any time.

Red Hat or Just Plain Sassy?

It's graduation season... so why am I scrapping in reds and purples? Let me tell ya why... I have two custom orders for graduation albums to finish before next week. I've been scrapping like a mad woman lately (LOL!) so I ran out of blank board books that I LOVE to alter. I decided to try a new vendor for my book bases, so I looked up pricing with a company that I haven't ordered anything from since 2005. Lo and behold, they offer a better price on my beloved little board books. Order placed, I'm happy. Right? Not quite. Long story short, they failed to update my address (I've moved 3 times since 2005!) and sent my whole order to a house that's an hour away from me, to some people who are probably wondering what the heck they are supposed to do with these 15 weird little books, a pack of funky paper and a 5 yard spool of ribbon. So... the problem has been rectified, but I still have 2 more days before my shipment arrives.
In the meantime, I couldn't just SIT there, so I put together this funky little album. It's purse shaped, 6 panels, and I used some retired Junkitz paper. The red and purple, of course, remind me of the Red Hat Society. I didn't want to make it only for that, so I used a general "Sassy/Diva" theme. I wasn't sure I was going to like it, since I'm more of a blue/green/brown kinda gal, but I think it's just so FUN! I'm quite happy with it, it was nice to step away from my color comfort zone.
Now, where is my supply order?!

I've been busy!

So I've been REALLY BAD about keeping this blog up to date. So sorry! I've been working on a lot of scrapbooks lately, including 4 custom orders this past week! As always, you can use the link on the right hand side of this blog page to go to my current eBay listings, or to search all of the Making Lemonade Design Team's eBay listings. I'm tellin' ya', these girls have some serious talent and I am humbled to be a part of their group.

Okay - now for some photos of my recent work so you can see that I really haven't been slacking, LOL! I only posted 2 photos of each piece. If you'd like to see the rest, just email me and I'll be happy to share them with you.

First up, this bright and colorful Summer theme album. I love the little flip flops on the front cover, don't you?

For this camping album, I used my Cricut to cut out some trees and grasses that really gave this album it's personality. The paper is the DCWV Green Stack which is made from recycled paper - a perfect fit for this album that celebrates the outdoors!

This was my first attempt at a "hodge podge" album. I don't know if that's an actual term, but that's what I called it. LOL! I basically took a bunch of shaped chipboard albums, took them apart, and mixed up the pieces. Each page of this Friendship album is a different shape, with a butterfly for both the front and back covers. It's kooky, crazy, and really FUN!

Ah, graduation... many moons ago for me, it seems. Here's an album to preserve that much-anticipated event. I tried to keep it more neutral, but I couldn't just look at black and white. I had to add the tan, and then that led me to choose these papers that also have muted navy blues and reds in them. And well, you see how it turned out!


I think that's about it for now. I have lots more photos to post, but need to pack my bags for the long Memorial Day weekend. I'm heading to a motocross track in north Florida for some fun in the mud! Perhaps that will be my next scrapbook theme... hmm...