New Crafting Buddy

I haven't been able to get any crafting done this week because Allen and I got a new addition to our empty nester family. Her name is Pepper, as in Chili's. We were having lunch there last Saturday and noticed a woman with some puppies on the corner. After driving by a few times we decided to stop and see what they were and fell in love. Now shes turning our lives upside down which is what we really needed. Shes going to be my walking partner when shes older and hopefully wont tear up my craft room too much. Im going to have to clean it up before she can go in there.

 

Smash Book

Smash Books have become very popular and the newest scrappy craze. They are basically journals, but what I like about them is that they encourage your creative side as well as jotting down your thoughts. I made these books for my sisters. I used a sketching pad that I bought at Michaels, my friend Suzanne shared this idea, thanks Suzanne. I like them because the paper is blank and thicker than a composition book, great for gluing, embellishing & writing. I covered the front, added embellishments and started a few of the pages for them.

 

Recipe Book

I made these Apron recipe books for my sisters and Mom. Ive seen them on-line and at SplitCoastStampers (my thanks to them all). I made the shape myself because I couldn't find one in any of my cricut cartridges. I used chipboard for the outside covers and thicker cardstock for the inside pages. Its 9 x 6 with the arms traced and cut, then all the other pieces traced/cut. Punched holes at the top and used eyelets. I assembled all the pages, made pockets for the recipe cards and decorated them and the cover. Used ribbon to bind them and a long piece at the waist to tie in back to keep it closed. I've seen these bound at the sides with a bind it all or cinch.