thinking of you ~ mini album

A few weeks back on My Craft Channel, Heidi shared a project using the Hello Today Memory File Kit. The show was focused on creating the cover of the memory file with layered stencils and Magic Medium. But then she also made available the fabulous inside of that project by way of a free download. If you missed it you really should check it out.

That show inspired a few things for me. One, it allowed me to follow along some one else's project and just go through the motions without actually being original. This is a commonly used creativity exercise I like to use. Heidi's free project pdf was a perfect opportunity for that.  Second, I wanted to create a mini album for a friend as a gift. It just ended up making for a great creative opportunity.

The album is arranged very closely to how Heidi teaches how to build hers, but as you can see, I already changed things up on the cover. I adore that kraft glittered paper. It is the perfect cover pattern for this album. And this is how it usually goes for me when I am just going through somebody else's motions, my preferences always come out and I almost always learn something new.

So here is a look inside and my take of the Hello Today Mini album...

I loved adding that Color Magic Card to this page as an interactive piece. A homemade photo stack was made and I added several photos to it and stuck it inside the envelope. Oh how I love me some places to hide little this and thats.

This album was made as a birthday gift for my friend who came out and visited us this past summer. We were just hanging around town as well as home. Creating albums like this, well after the moments have passed, allow one to remember and reminisce. While being in the moment may have felt like a blur, relishing it now brings a lot of joy.

Turning the page I made use of the left side for a single photo layout. I mean, seriously...how could any other photo compete with that face.

I simply adored placing the photo stack from the kit right here.

The smaller pages lend to an interactive feel. The layers just invite the viewer to turn each page. And a photo stack allows plenty of extra room for many more photos. Even goofy ones.

The middle of the mini memory file was used for a couple of photos, and plenty of journaling. Even now, as important to me as journaling is, I can quite often fail to add my words. I was sure to not let that happen for this gift.

And that wraps it up. The last Color Magic Card added here has a greeting, as well as a surprise bonus photo my friend would not have been expecting.
Wouldn't you love a gift album like this? It was so fun to put together, especially since Heidi did all the hard part for me, and I just had to fill in the blanks. Sometimes that is just the perfect creativity exercise. And it was a joy as well to be able to gift it to someone else.

Hope you found a little inspiration here...
till next time...

~jamie

scrapbook generation. heidi swapp. and september skies...

um...hello?
anybody out there...
cause I been the worst blogger evah!
and it is already the middle of September,
and i can't even believe.
the days are traveling past me even faster than a blur.

How much more thankful that makes me for a creative way to tell my stories and remember and simply slow down for just a second.

And today's plan is to make it up to you for being so absent...
so hang on!

Heidi Swapp and the Heidi Swapp Media Team have teamed up this month with the free edition of Scrapbook Generation and made really pretty stuff with the brand new September Skies.
Oh yeah...

Take time today to check out the new issue from Scrapbook Generation. And did I mention it was free? It's a chance to get real happy on a bit of eye candy, and then visit all the team today on their blogs as they each show off up close and personal layouts and cards created just for the magazine.

And here's mine...

Can my middle daughter even be 13 already? This layout was created with plenty of September Skies to go around. Scrapbook Generation, if you have not read their publication before, makes available sketches to create by. And I love me a good sketch.  I followed one of them  here to share this birthday story.

The embellishments that are a part of this collection work effortlessly together. They are all so beautiful. The Color Magic Die Cuts are spectacular. They let me keep the hue of my layout perfect for my creativity. Something that has been a favorite aspect of Color Magic anything ever since Heidi started designing them.

Here you can see so many goodies from the new set including Ephemera, Word Strips, Washi Tape, Stitched Banners, Wood Veneers and more Color Magic Die Cuts. Pretty sure the Wood Veneers are up there as my new favorite embellishments.

This collection was pure joy to work with. I knew as soon as I saw it that my middle daughter's birthday and these pieces would make for beautiful documentation.

O.K...next project I did for the magazine was a card...
also based on a sketch found in the magazine.

This card shows off the Stitched Banners that were a whole lot of fun to play with. Look how whimsical they are.

The camera from the Die Cuts was sprayed with Citron Color Shine...a perfect go to hue for this collection. And then I just went to layering. Ephemera die cuts and clear elements + another Word Strip.

The grey pattern paper, called Midnight Shadows, just speaks to me. The contrast of the Citron and the corals and pinks from the other elements makes this card make you...well...want to smile.

O.K...so here is a little inspiration for you.
Make sure you check out the rest of the team for even more paper love.
And there is a whole lot more at Scrapbook Generation you don't want to miss either.

Enjoy.