Memory Books for a Friend

Ok, it has been some time since my last post, but I have been busy on what turned out to be a mammoth project! I had a small MDF book with metal book rings. I had the idea that for my best friend's 30th birthday, I wanted to make something for her, other than a card. As we have known each other all our lives, I thought a memory book would be fun to put together in a few pages. Several hours and days of photo hunting later, I had found so many memories that I knew I was going to need more space. The few pages I had planned doubled. Then I needed more space again, and so one project became two books in the end!

If I had planned it properly beforehand, I would have certainly used a 12x12 book, but hey, we live and learn... Anyway, here are some of the pages that I made to celebrate 30 years of friendship, dodgy hairstyles, dubious fashion choices and memories of events past. I managed to organise them in some chronological order so that the books made sense, right up to the present day.

All the papers used were from a First Edition paper pad called 'Sweet Owl' along with some matching pain cardstock. The photos were cut using a range of Spellbinder basic shapes and D'Lites dies. All the other phrases, words, flowers and emblems have been using my Cricut Expression. My Cricut was a Godsend for this project, as it gave me pages of elements very quickly and I could manipulate text using the Design Studio. The main cartridges I used were Storybook, Type Candy Font, American Alphabet, Cindy Loo and Cricut Essentials.
I gave the books to my friend at her surprise 30th birthday party and she really liked it. I am sure however that there were a few cringe moments with some of the photos...!
Overall, it was a project that took far longer than I had envisaged, but I really enjoyed making it for a very special friend.

Cosy Friendship Cuddles

Sometimes I think we underestimate the pure value of sending a card just to put a smile on someone's face, so I thought  I would make one to do just that! Feeling in a pinky mood, (can you tell..?) I chose an adorable LOTV image (Milly Cuddle Time) that can make anyone smile! The main image has been coloured with Promarkers, lightly edged with Spun Sugar Distress Ink and cut with basic Spellbinders circle dies. This main topper has then been layered onto a piece of dark red paper cut into a square shape with a border on the side (the fancy border section is a Tim Holtz On the Edge die - Scrollwork); Matching background paper has been matted on top, along with pink lace and thin satin ribbon to edge the work. The large red swirl is a Tim Holtz Bigz die - Elegant Flourishes. The sentiment is another LOTV stamp from a fantastic sentiment set that has a brilliant range to choose from. Again, I have used Spellbinder dies to layer. Finally the flowers have been cut from coordinating plain cardstock using the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur die. I have added little 'stitch' like lines to accent the flowers and papers, along with more Spun Sugar Distress Ink to bring in the edges. The flower centres have been done using Liquid Pearls Rouge. The background papers are from the First Edition Sweet Owl pad.