My 2011 Scrapbook is Done!

Oh man, it feels good to be done with my 2011 book!  Of course, I haven't even started on 2012...but I'll worry about that after Christmas.  :)

Tutorial: Decoupaged Memory Book Cover

Ever wondered what I do with all my digital scrapbook pages?  I have them printed as books, for myself and my family.  I started out using Shutterfly, but if you don't have a coupon code, they're pretty pricey.  Then I discovered Scrapping Simply, whose prices are more reasonable.  The only draw-back is that their covers are just boring black (or white or blue, depending on which book your order), with no options for sprucing them up.  My answer?  Decoupage.  Here's how I do it.

To do this, you'll need your book, a piece of fine-grit sand paper, 2 sheets of scrapbook paper, some Mod Podge, paint brush, exacto knife and cutting mat, a ruler and some ribbon.  Any kind of scrap paper will work.  Regular weight paper will be easier to fold over the edges, but will be more prone to wrinkles and bubbles, while card stock weight will be a bit more difficult to fold but won't wrinkle or bubble.  Personally, I like them both and choose my paper solely on the pattern.

First off, take your sand paper and use it to rub down the outside of the book.  It roughs up the glossy finish   on the cover, and helps the paper to stick and stay.  You might be able to get away with skipping this step-- but I don't know as I've never skipped it. I always ant to make sure that my pretty paper is going to stay put.

The next step is to cut your paper down to size.  You'll need to measure your book to get the appropriate dimensions.  Add two inches to the height for the vertical, then measure from where you want the paper to start to the outer edge of the width, and add one inch for the horizontal.  I used a rotary cutter to cut my paper, just because it's easier, but the exacto knife will do just fine as well.   Use your paint brush to apply the Mod Podge to the entire sanded surface, starting about 1/2" to 3/4" from the spine edge and going all the way out to the other three edges.  (Don't try to go all the way to the edge of your spine, because the paper won't hold where the book bends!)  Align the edge of your paper parallel to the spine edge, again, about 1/2" to 3/4" away from it.  Make sure the paper is aligned correctly, and centered vertically over the book.  Then carefully press it down, smoothing out any bubbles or wrinkles.  

Next, flip your book over and prop the cover open so that you can get to the bottom inside cover.  I just used my supply caddy for this, and it worked great.  As you can see, you should have about 1" of paper extending beyond the edges of your book on all three sides.  Using your exacto knife, start at the point of one corner and cut on a gentle diagonal away from the point, removing the corner of your paper.  This is kind of hard to describe, so please look at the photo to see what I mean!

Paint a 1" line of Mod Podge along the top edge of your book, then carefully fold the paper around and press it down, again smoothing any wrinkles or bubbles.  Repeat this step at the bottom, then at the side.  If you cut the corners correctly, the edges of your paper should overlap enough to create an unbroken border of the paper about 1" wide all around the outer edges of your book, without hanging off the outer edges of the cover, like this:

Once you have the front cover finished, repeat these steps to decoupage the back cover.  Once you're done, cut 2 pieces of coordinating ribbon or ricrac about 1.5" longer than the height of your book, and use the Mod Podge to glue them along the seams where the paper meets the spine.  I think this gives the books a more finished look, and just that little bit of extra pizazz.  You can also decorate the front cover with a title for your book, or the year, or whatever.  There are a lot of ways you can do this, so have fun with it!

Actually, I'm not as happy with the lettering on the pink one.  I think I am going to re-do it, the way I did the blue one.  I'd love to see what you all do with this!

October 2011 Pages

Apparently, we were busy last October.

inspiration from a couple of Kelly's layouts: this one and this one

Inspiration from this sketch

inspiration from this sketch, which was found here.
scissors graphic from The Graphics Fairy

I'm not sure about the Halloween spread.  Are the fairies too much?  And I'm thinking it needs some more color...  I'll play with it more later, but I was hoping for some feed back.

Edit: Updated version of the Halloween page:

Another Batch: August and September

The latest batch of digi-scrap pages, because I just can't seem to stop. I made Kaylie's rolling over page using Elora's page as a template.  I think it's appropriate that they match, since they learned to roll over almost exactly 2 years apart!

And then a bit of randomness...

Make sure to view this one larger, or you'll miss the bubbles!

inspiration from this template at busy crafting mommy

Our one-and-only trip to the beach last summer...

inspiration from this sketch

We need to get our act together this year, and head out to the beach now, instead of waiting until summer's last gasp, like we did last year.
Ok, and one more:

inspiration from this sketch

More Pages for My 2011 Book

Page Re-Do

I wasn't really satisfied with my Mother's Day Weekend page, so I re-did it. 

What do you think, is this an improvement?

A Few New Pages

I think I've accepted that I'm never going to get completely caught up on my digi scrapping.  Not without going on a scrapping binge, during which I ignore my chores, my family, and bodily necessities.  Yeah, not happening.  So I fit page in here, and another in there.  At this point, I'm in to June, 2011.

I am anxious, though, to get the 2011 book done, so I can get copies published for the grandparents. (For myself too, but I still haven't gotten around to printing a 2010 book for myself.)

Valentine's Day & Another Page

 I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day yesterday!  Ours was wonderful.  My husband came home from work with his arms full of flowers (peach roses, my favorite!) and chocolates (Lindt truffles), two bottles of white wine and the sweetest card:

 It almost made me cry.

The girls and I had fun getting things ready for him. We went in the morning and picked up a couple bottles of wine and a new variety of beer for him to try with dinner.  Then we went to the library and found a few books for Brandon, a few for Elora, and one for me.  Elora and I both made cards for him while Kaylie was napping. Then I cleaned off his desk, and set out his books and cards where he would be sure to see them.  And in the evening, I tried out a yummy new recipe for dinner. 

There were no fancy restaurants, neither of us spent a whole lot of money, and we had to trade off holding Kaylie during dinner so we could eat, but it was a nice, relaxed evening spent enjoying one anothers' company, and it was perfect.  It was exactly the kind of Valentine's Day I was hoping for, and I wouldn't change a thing!

I finally got around to finishing another scrapbook page.

I had a hard time with this one, too.  I got the lay out done pretty easily, but I just couldn't choose a background or elements.  I actually had to just put it away and ignore it for a few weeks, but when I came back to it last night, it came together for me.

'City View Park' Page

http://52sketches52weeks.com/

This time, instead of trying to make 2 sketches work together for a double page LO, I chose one and expanded it; and instead of using the sketch as a blueprint, I used it as more of a guideline.  It came together much easier.

At least until it came to doing the title.  I think I spent as much time trying to do that as I did on the rest of the page combined.

'Picture Perfect' Page

I started with these, for inspiration:

http://52sketches52weeks.com/

And came up with this:

I don't believe I've worked from a "sketch" before, and I'm not sure that I liked it.  I'm also not sure that I'm done playing with this one, but it is time and past that I went to bed.

Edit, 1/23: I had to mess with it again this morning.  Which one do you like better, yesterday's (above) or today's (below)?