This week has been full of mini-album inspiration!

American Crafts had an entire mini-album week on their blog. You can read the posts here, here, and here.


Hambly posted this lovely mini on their blog- I've always loved the layering effect you get with their transparencies.


Alissa Fast posted another one of her simple 4x6 minis that I just love.


House of 3 just released this adorable printable mini-album kit, just in time for Halloween. I've never been one to try printables, but this one just might have me.


I'm really digging the new trend toward publishing scrapbooking idea books digitally. As one who scans in most of my magazines (I really need to blog about that some time) and some of my idea books, this saves me a step, not to mention a trip to the store!

Debbie Hodge announced her new book on her Get It Scrapped site.


And I'm also considering purchasing this one from Ella Publishing.


I love this cool idea from Prima to use some of your photos (hmmm, maybe some cruise photos?) to make a memory game.


Maggie Holmes posted a tutorial on the Studio Calico blog on how to properly photograph layouts. This is something I've always struggled with, and her instructions are wonderful.


Aren't the buttons on this American Crafts card just adorable?


And, finally, this is not scrapbooking related, but just look at this beautiful laptop sleeve by Pam Garrison. She took a regular laptop sleeve and sewed right onto it. I'm so going to have to try that!


Have a happy and creative weekend!

This Post Brought To You By The Number 10...

And by 10, I mean $10.

Remember a couple of weekends ago when my parents visited and brought me the marshmallow (the recliner that I covered with a down comforter) and happened to be here when the goodie box they'd mailed to me arrived?

This awesome goodie box?

Well, amongst the candy and lovelies in the box, there was an envelope containing $10. I made it my mission to make that $10 go as far as possible and have some fun with it.

Look at the pile I ended up with!!!

So cool! Here is the breakdown:

• Making Memories Autumn Splendor Journaling Book- this was $2.50 after using a 50% off coupon at Michael's.
• 3 pack of Distress Stickles- $3.89 after using a 40% off coupon at Michael's
• 2 packs of Halloween paper- $2 for both at the Target Dollar Spot. My cousin got these for her birthday, and I thought they were adorable and went and got some for myself!
• 1 package of autumn chipboard letters and die cuts- $1 at the Target Dollar Spot

So, my total was $9.39 ($10.15 with tax) for that whole pile! I can't wait to start playing with them.

Thanks, Mom and Dad. :)

Friday Favorites: TTV Photography, Halloween Cards, and more!

I think I may turn this random list of favorites from other blogs into a weekly thing. I've found another pile of them to share today!

I've become somewhat fascinated with the idea of TTV photography. For those who haven't discovered it yet (it's been around a while, but I just found it very recently), TTV photography is using a new (usually digital) camera to take a photo Through The Viewfinder of an old camera.

Here's an example from the SEI blog:


You can mostly replicate the effect in Photoshop, but I love the look of the real thing, distortion and all. Check here for a tutorial and some getting started tips.

Love, love, love these cute Halloween shaped cards by Kristina Werner! She posted instructions, examples, templates, and a video here on 2 Peas in a Bucket. I've already started on making my own!


My favorite Empress of the Mini Album, Elise Blaha, shared a beautiful new one on her blog this week.



The Paperclipping video this week was all about making your own embellished paperclips. It's a members-only video and I couldn't find an image to use from it, but I did find an Etsy shop that was selling something similar. You can see an example below.


I love the mix of sparkly snowflakes and kraft cardstock on this card from Pinefeather's blog. She is on the Papertrey Ink design team, and she's got me wanting to order bunches of their stamps!


Ali Edwards' featured Tuesday Tutorial this week was all about using Hambly rub-on frames to make labels to organize household items. I may have to try this in my own scrap room!


Last, but certainly not least, I just love this layout on Rachie's Place! It's so bright and cheery, yet it is uncluttered and just...well, just gorgeous! The paint goes a long way toward toning down the background paper so that the photos can stand out.


I hope you found something here to inspire you for the weekend!

A Lovely Weekend + Some Sneaks

I had a rather pleasant weekend- lovely, in fact! I haven't been sleeping well since knee surgery because of having to wear a brace all the time and having to sleep in odd positions, so my parents offered to bring me one of their recliners to sleep in for a while. I accepted, and so on Friday night they arrived and stayed through Saturday.

I had the opportunity to take them to Bridge Street to walk around (very slowly since I'm still on crutches). Mom had never been to Anthropologie before, but they've both heard me talk about it a lot. They finally got to see what all the fuss is about. :)

This store even has a beautiful fitting room!

This is me resting outside for a bit- crutches, brace, and all!

Check out this really cool paper bird that they have in the store right now (actually two of them)!

When we got back to the house, I had a package waiting for me! Mom and and Dad had put together an adorable care package for me and mailed it earlier in the week, not knowing that they would be coming to visit this weekend after all. It was filled with chocolates and mints and other awesome goodies that I have really been enjoying the last couple of days.

Saturday afternoon Mom was kind enough to put away a bunch of things that I had moved over from the old house right before surgery but hadn't had time to get to yet, and Dad helped Darren hang our new projector screen and put the new entertainment center together!

The big, fluffy, marshmallow looking thing in the photo below is the recliner they loaned to me. I threw a down comforter over it and it is sooooo soft and comfy to sit (and sleep!) in. I think it's a perfect addition to the scrap room. :)

And now for a few sneak peeks of a project I spent a lot of time working on Sunday afternoon. It's not quite finished yet, but I'm super excited about it! More to come when it's done- hopefully this weekend.

Inspiration for the Weekend

The weekends are often (when I'm not working on houses) my only time to play for hours on end. Or, let's face it, even one hour on end. :) I spend all week doing little things here and there and taking care of the day-to-day, all the while scoping out blogs and plotting what I want to do next time I have playtime.

This week has been especially good for blog ideas. I don't know which of these I'll tackle first. It could be that I don't tackle any of them and instead do something entirely different- you never know!

Note: None of these projects are mine or my ideas. They're just things I found on other crafters' blogs that I found inspiring and wanted to gather into a single post.

I LOVE this page example from Shimelle Laine's class "Learn Something New Every Day." I have lots of book pages lying around from making junk binders, and they'd be perfect for a project like this. It doesn't hurt that all my pages are Star Wars...I could do something super cool with those books!


Or maybe it will be this garland from Pink Paislee's blog. I have tons of old K&Company glitter letters that I need to use up somehow.


Perhaps I should make some chipboard or embellished buttons, such as those featured recently on ScrapScene.



Or I could scrap a page like this one with that awesome pieced-together background.


I love this page by Jamie Waters. I don't know how how many of these pre-made cleaning and to-do lists I've pulled out of magazines and then never used. I could at least scrap one of them.


Love these mini books from Alissa Fast. So simple- some patterned paper, 4x6 photos, chipboard, and embellishments- and yet so lovely.



She has another one here.



I could break out my Martha Stewart loopy punch set and try making a cool circle with them using Renee Lamb's tutorial.


Or get into a Halloween mood by making some super cute tags like these from Pinefeather.


Pinefeather also has some awesome garlands on her blog. I still need to make a garland to complete the little party going on over my scrap desk.

Just for fun, I may try the Squirrelizer out on a few photos. If you haven't seen the photo or read the story behind it, you really must!

So, what are you going to be doing this weekend?