New Obsession - Mini Albums

I have no idea why I don't do very many posts about papercrafting. It's such a big part of my crafting world. I started scrapbooking back in 1997 when I got my first copy of Creating Keepsakes and I've been going strong ever since. I've got about a bazillion completed albums. And then in 2004 I worked part time at a rubberstamp store. OMG! I spent everything I made on supplies. And it just gets better. The stamps, the papers, and now the dies! I want every die I see. And my niece, who is also one of my best friends, loves all of this too, so that makes it more fun.  

Now, after spending way too much time on Youtube, I've gotten into making mini albums. It has become addictive! I love the process of making the book from scratch using chipboard for the covers and cardstock for the pages. And decorating these little albums is so fun (and uses up some of my hoarded embellishments.)  

 

So, as you might guess, I'm going to show one of my newest mini albums:

Tim Holtz clasp for a closure.

I really love using Graphic 45 papers, but this album is a combination of a few of their old Happy Hauntings papers I had left over and some other paper from my stash. I used a lot of dies and punches, and glitter paper and Glossy Accents to make things shiny.

 

Each page has some sort of interaction to it and I used magnets to close flaps.

There is a lot of room for photos.

Each of the four pocket pages has a large photo mat.

Even though I'm not quite finished with it, I'm very happy with how it's turned out. And you can believe me - it won't be the last one I make!

What's Been Happening

I can't believe it's been so long since I've last posted! It's not like I'm super busy. Life just keeps rolling along and we're in the middle of October already. We've had some wonderful fall weather; great for gardening, evening walks, and festivals.

In September we bought a van, and broke it in by taking a trip to Utah to visit my husband's sister and her family. We've been out west many times, usually flying, but when we drove it was always going south or north, never straight through the Rockies. So this time we took I-70 to Denver and it was awesome! We drove through the mountains on a beautiful, sunny day singing along with John to Rocky Mountain High.

I had to wade in the Colorado River!

Our first stop in Utah was Zion National Park. We had been here a couple of times and it's one of my favorite places. Did you here about the seven hikers who were killed here in a flash flood? Well, we were there that day. At first it was cloudy, but then the sun came out. We had a wonderful time, going on several hikes and eating lunch at the lodge. 

The clouds were rolling in as we were leaving. We wanted to go out the east exit, through the tunnels, but when we got on the first switchback, the storm let loose. The wind, rain, hail, rocks and tree branches swept down the narrow canyon where we had to pull over. The van was rocking so hard we thought we were going to get pushed over the edge and down the canyon. I had never been so scared before! After about 10 minutes (it seemed like an hour) there was a lull and we turned around and went back down. We didn't want to get stuck again on that narrow windy road! 

It wasn't until the next day that we learned about the hikers, and the women and children south of Zion that were killed in the flood. Our thoughts are with those people and their families.We feel very lucky after that experience.

We then made our way to Provo and family. We had such a wonderful time! Rick's sister, her husband, their kids and grandchildren were so welcoming and showed us such a good time. There was so much to see. When we were there before (when our kids were young) we saw SLC and Temple Square. This time we went up in the mountains several times, hiked, rode a ski gondola, and even saw a bear!

It was a wonderful and unforgettable trip! I don't think we will be driving across the country again. But I'm glad we did it one more time. 

In my next post I'll be showing some quilting and fall crafting I've been doing. My Halloween supplies are getting quite a bit of love these days!