Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

A Fun Book Project!

Hello ladies!  Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!
One of my dear friends is going to be a grandma for the first time, so as a surprise for her, I thought I'd make her a special book.  (she's not into blogging, so no worries that she will see this post!)  Her little granddaughter will be arriving shortly, so it was super fun making such a pink and, well, girly book!
 Isn't this little fairy just darling?  I found her, as well as many of the other images that I used in this project, over at the Graphics Fairy(thank you, Karen!) and loved her so much, I decided to place her on the cover!  I began the project with a blank heart shaped chipboard book.  When I do projects such as this, I never really start with an exact plan, I just gather materials that I already have, go to Michaels if need be, and of course head on over to the Graphics Fairy!
 To me, it's so much more fun to let the creation evolve as I go along, than to have a specific plan; it almost takes on a life of its own!  I just wait for inspiration, add a snippet of this, a sprinkling of glitter, and have fun!  The book is held together with 2 metal rings, and I've gussied them up by tying generous bows, made with my favorite peachy pink crinkly seam binding, and some pretty vintage lace.
I picked up some pretty pink papers at Michaels, as well as some wonderful stickers from K & Company.  I used my favorite glue stick "Uhu" brand, to adhere the papers to the chipboard pages.
I found some baby poems on line, and printed out a few of my favorites to add to the book.
I also raided my stash of stickers and rubber stamps, pretty paper flowers, and of course, glitter!
I adore this sweet Mother and daughter image, found over at The Graphics Fairy.

Buttons (some vintage), a few tiny rhinestones, pretty borders, and fun cord complete the look!
 I am in love with the "clothesline" full of baby clothes stickers!  Aren't they just darling?
 While the book was very time consuming, it was so much fun to create!
 I also really like this cute sepia toned photo from The Graphics Fairy.  Oh, and I added a few snippets of vintage sheet music from my collection thru out the book.
 This adorable little smiling baby being "carried away" by a birdie just makes me laugh!  Again, compliments of The Graphics Fairy.

More fun graphics, stickers, and embellishments!
Love this little silver ducky charm, that I just happened to have!
 And I fell in love with this cute little girl, also from Karen.
 And of course I just had to add a couple of fun things to the back of the book!
I ended up making a couple of extra pages, as it only came with 3 or 4 pages.  Luckily, I saved  a piece of chipboard (cardboard, actually) that came along with a large wall calender.  Because you never know when you might need that sort of thing!!!
Have a great week, now go out and create something fun!
I'm linking up with the Graphics Fairy for Brag Monday

14 comments:

NanaDiana said...

Donna- Did you make that specifically for someone or just for yourself? Oh..wait..maybe it is for sale in your Etsy shop? I just love it. It would be a perfect gift for a Mom with a new baby gitl! LOVE it..you did a great job-and love the bits of glitter here and there. Ya know...as I think about it..if you had one more blank sheet in the front you could add a baby's name and birthdate. ohhh...wouldn't this make a cool shower gift too? sigh...good thing we don't work together...we would never quit, would we? xo Diana

Musings from Kim K. said...

What a thoughtful and charming gift. All your little embellishments are absolutely dreamy. Your friend and soon-to-be grandma will be so touched. Beautiful job, Donna.

Ann@A Sentimental Life said...

What a nice gift for a friend...something made with love!

ShabbyESP said...

Donna,
What a beautiful book you made!!! It is so sweet and they mother to be will love it!!!
Thank you for sharing!
Suzann ~xoxo~

Cindy Adkins said...

Oh Donna,
It is TOTALLY precious!! What a fabulous creation, my friend!!! That is the cutest book and soooo special!
XO
Cindy

Lucy said...

Wonderful!! Congratulations for your magic work...

Hugs, Lucy

Ido said...

How cute! now you made me want a girl with all that pink and beautiful stickers and embellishments!
Wishing you a great week!
XXX Ido

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

How cute is this? So girly and magical. Love it.

Susan EvelynAndRose said...

You are SO clever and creative Donna! Your friend will absolutely love the beauty and effort you put into this cherished book. Well done!
- Susan

Unknown said...

too, too cute!!!! my favorite is the bird with the baby in the sack- I lOVE that photo from the graphics fairy.
what a special treasure for your friend.
xo
lynn
p.s. i can never figure out how to link up to brag monday on karen's site. any tricks?

Ido said...

Just popped over to let you know I dreamed of you last night, you and your husband were flying a plane very close to my house and I was yelling at you Donna, Donna! it's me, you didn't know who I was but your husband was trying to land the plane, then you started to fly away. I guess I'm blogging too much lol!
XXX Ido

Amanda said...

What a sweet and thoughtful gift, Donna! Your friend is sure to treasure it forever! It looks as though you have many many hours into it! Very nice work!
Best Wishes and Blessings,
Amanda

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

This is oh so sweet! I am SO ready to do a project like this! Very cute pages...you are the best! ♥

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

This is just charming, Donna! What a special gift! I love all the wonderful elements you used and the lace and seam binding just make it extra special!