austin mini book.

earlier this month my boyfriend and i took a small trip to austin. it was the last time that he would have any time off for the rest of the year so we wanted to make the most of it. we did a lot of outdoorsy things that we don't really get to do at home so that was fun.

i did all the prepping for the mini book before we left (i.e. the cover, all of the stamping, and sewing). on the trip i took a small "craft bag" that had my canon selphy printer, scissors, double stick tape, washi tape, markers, and pens. here is what the end result of the mini book.

the size of the book is 4 inches by 6 inches with 1.5 inch binder rings.

things that i love about this mini book:

- the size and simplicity.
- that i was able to keep up with it on the trip.

- how it came together.

things that i would change:

- try and do more journaling for each day

- keep track of more memorabilia.

july mini book

on july 1st, i had the idea of creating a mini book that would document the entire month through pictures. i decided that i would take one photo a day using my fuji instax camera.

this is how i created this mini book in case you want to make a similar one.

1. i cut two pieces of thick chipboard. the dimensions were 3 inches wide and 4.25 inches in height.

2. i cut 17 pieces of heavy kraft paper in the same dimensions. (i wanted to have a few extra pages just in case i wanted to journal or add other things)

3. i used my Bind It All to punch the holes and bind it together. i used a 1/2 inch wire but i'm going to have to switch it to at least an inch very soon because it's getting very big.

4. i used a date stamp to stamp each of the pages.

5. i used my hand carved stamps on the cover with staz on inks.

I am securing the pictures with double sided tape and then adding a strip of washi tape on the top.

mini book 1.

i think that i have become obsessed with mini books. they are the perfect way for me to use all of the paper i have. and i also love being able to use the stamps that i have carved over the years. the stamps can really add character to a plain piece of paper. i have several mini books in the works but i am planning to use this one for an upcoming trip to austin. we visited austin earlier this month but i didn't end up documenting the trip because i wasn't prepared. this time i'm bringing along my mini book and i'll be hoarding every piece of paper i can find while i'm there!

i will be randomly be prepping some of the pages and i'll post them here as i go along. first i will tackle the chipboard cover.

here's a look at all of the pages!

heart stamp

i have a lot of random shaped pieces of rubber that I can't seem to let go of. a sign of a hoarder, i know. but i knew i could use them for something! i decided to carve these little heart shaped stamps that 1/2" wide from all the scraps. i think they look really cute with the mini wooden spools. now i want to think of other mini stamps i can make :)

Publish Post

DIY Instax Photos

one of my favorite things right now is my fuji instax camera even though i have a love/hate relationship with it. i love the instant gratification that it provides in a mini bite size image. however, i feel like a lof of the time it's trial and error with this camera. i have messed up many pictures before and i always feel bad tossing away the screw ups because of the cost.

so today i was thinking about how i really like business card size photos because i can use them in a variety of ways. i like to hang them up on twine with mini clothes pins, put them in my project life binder, and make mini books about them. i sometimes wish i could have more so i measured an instax photo and made several frames out of cardstock. now i can use whatever image i already have in case i forgot my fuji instax.

i had this picture of my sister's dog but it had too much space around it that took away from the picture. i cropped the picture to fit just the dog and taped it behind a photo frame that i had just cut out. i like that the focus is more on the dog now and the grass around it isn't distracting anymore. now i can add instax photos to many more scrapbooks and projects!

hey there.

hi. i am stacy and this is my millionth attempt at blogging. not really. but i have attempted it a few times in the past several years. i can keep up with it for a while then i just get overwhelmed with life and forget about it. this time i hope to stay on top of it!

i am curently a high school teacher at a charter school in texas. because it is summer right now i have had a lot more time to work on my craft projects. i plan on using this blog to document some of my crafts and diy projects.