A Photo Book

I wanted to make some thank you gifts for my SIL Jayne and her friend Kathie, both whom live in Fairfax, VA. While I was visiting a few weeks ago, I took numerous photos of BOTH their backyard gardens, so wanted to put all those pictures in one place in a book they could leave out on their coffee tables. I had these little accordian books already in my stash, so I got busy putting them together. I only took pictures of Kathie's book...by the time I got done making hers my camera was already on it's way to the camera hospital, so I don't have photos of Jayne's book, so sorry!

This is the cover of Kathie's book....I used my new stamps from Stamper's Dream. The set I used is called Bugs and Blooms and they are made by Memory Box. I used the paper piecing technique to make many of the flowers on the cover. I stamped the image on pieces of scrap paper and then cut them out and applied them to the cover. The other flowers were stamped directly to paper. The sentiment is actually computer generated and printed onto cardstock.

I painted all the edges of the book with my Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Lettuce. This paint dries so fast, so you are sitting waiting around forever for it to dry. Inside the book, I just glued on pieces of coordinating designer paper on each page, and then placed the photos on top of the paper. It's really simple. I didn't muddy it up with a whole bunch of embellishments because the pictures were dramatic enough. Sorry about this picture of the whole book, it's a little over exposed!

Typically, these little accordian books have two black ties built within the book to tie the book together. I, however, didn't like the look of the black ribbon with my colors, so I cut it off and added my own matching ribbon.

I gave it to Kathie last weekend when she was here driving up to her cabin in Park Rapids. I'm happy to report she loved it. She brought Jayne's back with her to Fairfax, and I'm happy to say Jayne loved hers too! They are both very proud of their yards, and having these books will make it easy to share the beauty of their gardens in the off season.

Remember I told you I bought a $10 dresser in Fairfax, VA when I was there visiting? My plan was to make it into a potting bench for my deck.

Here is the before picture.....

And here it is after I sanded and painted it yesterday! It's still very primative looking, old and distressed, but that's what I love about it. See the bottom shelf of the bench? It flips down to reveal a storage area PERFECT for my empty pots! The drawers will hold my gardening tools and whatever other stuff I can stuff in there.

The paint is a color called Wales Green. It is by Benjamin Moore. It's the same color as my stamp room! I had some paint left from when I re-did my room a year or so ago, so that's what I used to paint the bench. The top is painted brown, which was also left over from my room. Do with what you've got on hand, right?

I am really thrilled with how the bench turned out. It looks great on the deck, it really adds some personality to the whole area. And all for only $10! I love a good deal.....

Well, it's time to get some stamping done. It's another beautiful day, so I'm not really sure how much stamping I'll even get done today. My mojo is still under fire....nothing I do is kicking it into gear, folks. It's starting to scare me!

Hugs,
Amy