Introducing..!

The reason I was absent from my blog, along with just about everything else in my life, for so many weeks preceding Christmas, is because I decided to make handmade gifts for everyone in my family. I absolutely loved doing it - my only regret is that I didn't have more time, even though I started very early. I love to pay attention to detail (sometimes to a fault...) and so I usually just went without sleep. For my Grandma, I made paper dolls, but for my parents, brother, and boyfriend I made mini chip-books based on each person's individual hobbies and loves. It was a ton of fun. I've decided I'll showcase 1 per week (probably..) to get through them. Truth be told, I should probably save this one for last, because it is my personal favorite. Although I have favorite pages in each book, this one tugs my heartstrings more than the others.

Anyway, this is the one I made for my boyfriend, Josh. The topic? Our baby, our dog, Diego, who we adopted over 2 years ago, and lives with Josh. They say we rescued him. Some days, I feel it's the other way around. He is the light in our life. :)

. . .

This is the cover. I can't tell you how excited I was to find this image on A Child's year -Diego runs faster than my eyes can move - it was perfect. :)

Album by colorbok; patterned paper (the paper studio); die cut and title - Provo Craft (A Child's Year); Enamel Accents (Ranger); Pawprint ribbon (Ribbon Boutique); Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher; Bone brads (Recollections); mini alphas (Making Memories).

<-- This is my favorite page in the album. Is he not the CUTEST? I hadn't planned to do a dog 'narrative' in this book - until I printed this picture. I couldn't picture it without him leading the reader through the pages.

Souffle pens by Sakura; Stickers from The Paper Studio; Embroidery floss; foam dots.

Josh & Diego at their first visit to my house. Love it. Again with this die cut - I couldn't wait to match it up with a picture of these 2.

Paint dabbers (Espresso and Cloud Blue - Ranger); Linen Closet stack (DCWV); die cuts (Provo Craft - A Child's Year); souffle pens (Sakura); Enamel Accents; mini alphas (making memories); buttons from my stash.

It was no easy task to find a way to fit 2 pictures on such a small page. This was their first long walk - to my grandma's house. :)

He lives for car rides - so naturally, he had a lot to say for this picture...

^ These 3 are all one page - with a little flap book. I left the page naked with just some edging. I spelled "guarding" incorrectly..but I'm not sure I even want to fix it (can you believe it?).

I ended up really like the way the pictures looked when cut to fit the page. Beware of those tonic scissors on photos, though - they scraped all over mine - eek. The "I heart" sticker actually said "I heart my dog", but I cut it in 1/2, and "stickled" it. Customization is key! ;)

I love this.

The back page - probably my second favorite. I did double-cursive on the title to make it pop.

So there we have album #1. Thanks so much for taking the time to check out this album - it's so special to me. I hope every one's 2011 is off to a great start - I'm so truly thankful for my new subscribers. :)

xoxo

Emily