Finally, it's been finished!

Thank you all for your patience while I get round to uploading the finished results of my Brighton minibook! Just as I was finishing it up I found a few more photos I just had to cram in, so it's ended up with quite a few pages more than I intended, but, hey, who makes plans and sticks to them anyway? Ok, here goes -

I wanted a really tactile cover as it really adds something to the whole appeal of minibooks I think. This has been put together using a heavy weight corrugated cardboard base, gessoed, then layered with a good old coat of texture paste. I used sequin waste and pushed the paste through this to get the pebbled foreground. Once it was dry I painted it and gave it a layer of thick Golden Gel which makes for a durable finish with a matt surface. I couldn't resist a cheeky little bit of glitter Mod Podge on the pebbles too. Lastly, I painted some old chipboard letters white and stuck them on the horizon part of the design. As usual, there's plenty of scraps of material and ribbons to decorate the book rings that hold it all together.

The honeycomb background and FUN arrow are diecut from my Silhouette

 

 




Finally, the last page holds a little pocket for tickets, receipts etc. It did take a while to put together but is was worth it as it really does capture the essence of our holiday and the girls love looking at it. It's even been passed round the family when asked how are holiday was and its so much more interesting than a showing standard photo album!!
    The papers are a mix of American Crafts Neapolitan (great summery icecream colours!) and a mega pack by Recollections called The Sweetest Thing as they worked well together. I designed and printed off the little journalling labels along with some digital elements from the American Crafts Neapolitan range that match the papers.
   I hope you've enjoyed the tour of my minibook!
Leave me a comment if there is anything you would like more details about...
Thanks for popping in!
Happy crafting,
Jak xxx

The Messy Gene...

These photo's are from Sadie's second birthday I think... just as the truth was dawning on us that Sadie had definitely inherited Daddy's messy gene! Now I know that all children are messy but, this little tyke takes it to a whole new level - especially when it comes to eating! You should see the crumbs she leaves wherever she goes too!!!! Can I just mention that 5 years on from here, she is still as bad and everytime I take a piccie of her I feel compelled to digitally remove all the dirt and food off her face. I'm in a constant dilemma "To Photoshop or not to Photoshop". However I feel I would be misrepresenting the truth (i.e. lying!!!) if my kids appeared to be immaculate every time a camera was pointed in their general direction - lol! But, hey kids are messy - that's just what they do. No point fighting it! Might as well make a point of scrapping it! This LO was made mainly with American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan again - did I mention I got a brilliant bargain by getting a 12x12 pad in TKMaxx for only £7.99 - amazing as I'm sure they retail for about £19.99 usually! Love a bargain so I do!!! The little deer and yellow bow were cut with the Cricut Mini when I borrowed it from work. Also I downloaded some AC digital elements that match the paper and used them on this too. Downloads are great as you can print them out whatever size you need 'em over and over again.
The bunting was cut out from a 12x12 sheet which was a total faff but necessary as it really "festives" up the page. The bee is from a stamp that was part of the project pack in Ruby Loves Issue 1 which I coloured up with pencils. I hope you like how it came together - thanks as always for popping by my wee blog!
Keep on crafting!
Jak
xxx