Tuesday? It's Booked

I'm feeling book-ish today. It started when I made a little notebook with some more pieces from my Midnight Rooster Nantucket kit.

Seam binding and both alphas came with the kit. And inside has two fabric pockets cut from the piece in the kit too. The tabs are cut with the Slice and the cut-out title comes from a leftover: I used the title I cut out on one of my layouts

Because I often use patterned paper as backgrounds I had three pieces of cardstock to play with - and that "bookplate" pattern from Studio Calico gave me an idea. I cut each sheet into pieces 6x8 inches and sewed them together around three sides to create pockets. Then into each pocket I slid a labelled card for each day of the month. I'll use these to make a reading record for 2012.

For January I already have

• The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum. This one is definitely recommended! Lots of practical advice divided into chapters dealing with different crafts; case studies from crafters; everything you have ever wanted to know, beautifully presented
• The Art of iPhoneography by Stephanie Roberts. This was a surprise Christmas present and I'm enjoying dipping into it. I especially like the chapter called "Shoot How You Feel"
• On Writing by Stephen King. Which I bought and read last year and have hauled out again after I found that article on over used words last week.
• Charles Dickens: a Life by Clare Tomalin. So much I didn't know..

..and that leaves me with the winner from last week's Pass The Book Year Two (thanks again Melissa!) . Tantalizing Textures will be going to Fiona from Fiona's Flotsam. Fiona, please drop me an email with your address and I'll get that in the post.

Pass The Book Year Two - Tantalizing Textures

Today I'm passing on a book from the lovely Melissa's Pass The Book Year Two.

It's Tantalizing Textures by Trudy Sigurdson. Any book on texture is bound to be a winner with me! This one is going to get you going back through your stash looking for flowers and fibres and metal and all kinds of bits you might have in hiding.

It even helped me to find a little mini album I'd tucked away. It's one of the first scrapbook-y things I ever made, and when I remembered about the metal label on the front, I went to find it.

Inside is a no-ugly-spared view of our house, not long after we moved in. I wanted to record the worst so that I could see how we changed the place. Take the utility room, for example.

Funny, the other thing I notice now is how my paper crafting has changed too..

But, back to Tantalizing Textures. If you'd like a look at this one (and are happy to pass it on through your blog when you are finished), leave a comment and I'll draw a winner in a week's time. Everything you need to know is on Melissa's page right here. Good luck!

Oh, and if you have a Pass The Book Year One book sitting on a shelf - would you think about passing it along soon? Many thanks!

Words. Pictures. Either. Both.

I tell my stories with words. Most of the time. I pick up a pen and start to scribble and something like this appears:

Sometimes a whole story appears, sometimes it's just a snatch. But it's down on paper and that's good. That what Storytelling Sunday is about. recording a moment, keeping it for family and friends, for the future; and sharing it with us too.

BUT there is more than one way to hold that thought. This year the Storytelling Sunday emphasis will be on telling your story the way you love best. If you love to write, please keep on writing. But if you love to take pictures - if that's your best way of telling your story - show us a picture. One photo, a few words. That's a powerful way to tell your story too. I think we need both.

So if you have been thinking about joining in - make it your New Year Resolution! Lots of us will have plans for the 1st January, but remember - any story you tell on the first day of the year will have a special resonance. The link will be open all week, so maybe you'd like to tell the story of your New Year celebrations after the event. Or the story of anything "new". To start us off I'll have a persuasive post from a writer I know (you are starting to get to know him too..) - then it's over to you for

Storytelling Sunday 2: The words, the pictures.

I write:

Maybe you take pictures. Think about it.

Journal Your Christmas - Bearing Gifts

Most of the wrapping is done now, and gifts have been delivered and we are just about to put a fresh batch of mince pies in the oven. I guess you could say our Christmas was coming along nicely.

We aren't completely on top of things - when I went to print out a photo this morning I discovered that I had imagined that trip to buy photo paper. And could I get it to print on card instead? No I could not. It's on printer paper for the time being. That's good enough.

So, the next few pages in my album:

about a gift for a friend

and a junior chef in the making

Funny, the blog names are now making it into my scrapbook pages. Did you notice that?

and those letters to Santa. In this house Mrs Santa appears in the story. She did, too, when I was growing up. That's creativity at Christmas!

Journal Your Christmas - Deck the Halls

The house is decorated, the cards have been sent and there is more than a hint of excitement in the air here. We have two days of school left, then the holiday is ours.

We are all, each one of us, looking forward to something under the tree. A Scoring Board for me; a jigsaw, a "surprise" (how do you surprise a sixteen year old boy ? Second thoughts- don't answer that); and a phone in the shape of a hamburger for the girl who likes to stay in touch.

This page pulls out from a little brown baf sent all the way from the USA by Deb. Thank you!

It's not long to wait now and my album is building steadily.

I usually finish off on Christmas Day itself, but I'm feeling ambitious - maybe the week after will make an appearance too this year. It looks like I'll have room for it:

If you are busy getting ready today, may your preparations be merry and bright!

Journal Your Christmas - Do You See What I See?

After a break for Gary The Magnificent and his moustache, it's back to a bit of Christmas programming today. I have a few more pages for my December album.

Like this:

and this:

A green ruffley bow for a green ruffley skirt. I blogged this story last year. When I wear this skirt, my Mum always says "Why not add some tinsel and baubles?"

and even this:

Just a little extra page. Photo printed with Pogo printer. One is looking very like his Dad. The other has just pinched her Dad's hat out of the boot of the car

and finally this:

Page 10 is another pullout with an old black and white photo - that's my cousin you can see peeping out there. The rest of us don't look much happier on our joint trip to see Santa. But the page isn't quite finished yet, so it'll have to wait for another day.

It might pop up on Facebook. We've been chatting about Florabella Actions and the arrival of the new copy of Scrap365. If you're a Facebook afficionado, please come on over. I could do with the help!

Enjoy your Tuesday

Journal Your Christmas - I'm Making a List

That's a full week's worth of December pages we're up to now and my album is filling up nicely. Preparing the base pages last month has definitely helped.

For the 6th I did this one:

That's me on the left with my hand in my mouth

about the amazing cardboard "Super Shop" Christmas. No, it doesn't look like a shop here on my pull-out photo page. It also turned into a house! If you are thinking that toddler on my Mum's knee looks like Little E, you'd be right. That's his Mum. I really should do a page about that, too. He looks so very much like she did at the same age. And he'll be getting a cardboard house of his own this year. I hope he likes it.

For the 7th I did this one:

I had printed out a photo of the Keep Calm poster for something else, but I thougt it would look good here, as a pullout.

They are getting big now, our two. Dolls houses and train sets have been replaced by teenage hopes and dreams - an easily passed driving test for one, world domination for the other. The best I can do is shop for a few bits and pieces I hope they'll enjoy. Maybe a set of "L" plates; and, I'm thinking, world domination probably comes easier with a labeller machine (pink, limited edition). For making your mark. What do you reckon?

Storytelling Sunday news - we reached 300! Actually, with the addition of Fiona's, we are now at 301 stories for the year. Gail asked if I had any idea how many storytellers we had had - I thought that was a great question, so I had a look and I think we reached 48. That's 48 bloggers all telling their tales and linking them up. What can I say? Thank you!

Journal Your Christmas - All is Calm

I'm keeping up with my December album so far with the pages I completed yesterday:

This one

and this one

Perfection? That's funny! When I went to check what I had written on this subject last year, I noticed a big mistake in my journaling. I had replaced one word with another. So of course that's what I wrote about this year. The lovely letterbox is a postcard from Ruth and I have put it onto the back of an example of the cards I made to send this year. The paper bag format is working well for me - I'm getting the lovely chunky album I'd been looking for. This "advent" page is a pull-out from one of the pockets.

Now, for "perfection" next year I think I'll be making a page about the simply perfect Storytelling Sunday we had this month. We have reached 300 stories this year! And lots of new comers have put their hands up to join in in 2012. I'm looking forward to it. Don't forget, the linky is open all week - there is still time to bump up this year's total.

Finally today: one more photo especially for Hey Birdie who asked for a picture of our Christmas trees. Here is the one I took back in 2008 - I can't wait to see if the Christmas photography class I'm starting today will make a change in the way I photograph them this year. We've added a few more decorations since then too. So let's see:

Happy Tuesday!

Journal Your Christmas - And It Begins

It's beginning to look at least a little like Christmas round our way. There is talk of a tree, and a smell of slow cooked Christmas pudding in the air. And it's time for Journal Your Christmas!

This will be my third Christmas journal. The 2011 edition will be, like the others before it, a mix of December Daily and Journal Your Christmas. I'm happy to go with the flow. I'll see where each day takes me. But I'll be sure to write something.

It starts like this:

and from the outside it looks like this:

That's Lilybee Memorandum, some old October Afternoon and a lot of brown paper

It's a paper bag album, so I have ready made pockets for extra journaling:

starting with today and what I believe at this time of year

I can't wait to see what other albums there are out there waiting to be enjoyed. But before I go I just want to remind you that it's Storytelling Sunday this Sunday. You don't have to have a Christmas story to take part - we're interested in any story you love! I'm nearly out of good Christnmas tales myself, I think, after last year's Christmas Club. But I do have one to share. Same as always - everyone welcome, but do please include a link back to the stories here and a quick sentence explaining what it's all about. And with that I wish you a

Happy December!

Fresh Sheets

Today -

a couple of journal pages from my favourite source Grace Is Overrated:

a tip: don't use a blob of Gripwax instead of blu tac to hold something on the wall because you think it'll be easier on the paint. Because you'd be wrong.

an update: I have posted out ten sets of paper bags and I have spotted two albums already - one by Jayne here and one by Mel here. And a big thank you to Deb who has sent me another lovely sewn version to try along with some of the cutest little red and green bags I've ever seen. They are pushing me over the edge - my Christmas album this year just has to involve - bags. 

That's me for today The title? I have a sick one at home this morning, and I am posting my journaling sheets. See what I did there?

Paper Bag Albums: To Infinity and Beyond

So it turns out that Paper Bag albums are having a bit of a moment. I'm not quite as behind as I thought. Which is very handy because I decided to make another one. Several of you asked for some instructions, so I too a few photos along the way.

1. Of course bags are right at the top of the list of things you need. Mine are gussetted lunch sacks bought in the U.S. The gusset gives you the little extra smaller pages, but if you can only get plain "shop" bags, don't let that stop you. Try Homebase in the UK or keep reading

2. Decide how many pages you want. I used three bags . The gussets do make them bulky, so don't get too ambitious. You can always make Volume Two!. Fold each gusset up towards the top of the bag, then take two bags and glue their gussets back to back. repeat until you have a stack of pages. My pages measure 6 1/4 x 6 inches, but I trimmed them slightly so that I could use 6x6 patterned papers, for economy. You can cover four sides with one 12x12 sheet - and if you use double sided paper you'll get to use two different patterns with that.

3. This is a great excuse to use up a paper collection you love! Yes, you could spend a happy couple of hours working through your stash and choosing coordinating items, but this album will go together really quickly if you use one line or a kit already matched. A few sheets pf paper and a sheet of label stickers is enough. The secret to making it look good is to be prepared to use the whole sheet.

4. Trim your sheets to fit and adhere. Choose an especially nice square for the front. If you'd like to punch along the edge, punch the bag first, then the paper. It's too thick to do it all at once. You'll see at this point that the paper bags are open. I like them like that because I love to stuff extra bits inside, but glue them together of you'd rather. It's easier to do now than after you have embellished.

5.Then, decorate away! Layer up your embellishments, but remember you need room to bind it at the side so keep it clear. I work in stages - all the blank pages, then all the stickers, then all the stamps instead of on each page individually.

6. I chose book rings to bind and I made a quick template with a hole punch to help me place my crop-a-dile holes

And that's it! There are other way to do this (and there are lots of Youtube videos if you are interested), but don't forget you can make a joliprint pdf of this one if you want to keep hold of it.  Now, here's my plan. I know bags are hard to get hold of, and I have quite a lot going spare. So I'm happy to give some away. Leave me a comment saying you are interested and I'll send you enough for an album. BUT you must make it! I want to see it when it's finished! Mine is going to Little E, that rascal nephew of mine. He is just about getting big enough now to think about a bit of Space exploration. Just the other day he was wondering why the sky was broken..

The Paper Bag album

We've a lot of things on this week here at High In The Sky. Mostly appointments of the medical kind - just check ups all round, nothing to fret over. But, wow, they don't half blow a hole in the day. I'm close to blowing into a brown paper bag instead of creating with one.

Or two. Or three. I'm guessing I'm a bit late to the crafting table with paper bag albums. Years ago I asked Uncle Dave to bring me back some lunch sacks from the States. I have a stack - hold on while I measure - 7 inches high. So it's a good job I enjoyed making one, really. I have enough for a few more.

This one came about becasue I was trying to think of a way to showcase all the patterns on both sides of the MME Lost and Found papers Sandra from Gotta Craft sent me. Lots of the sheets had a special "bit" printed in one corner, so I decided that if I made a 6x6 mini album, I would be able to quarter each sheet and make use of the feature pattern. So, I made the front and back covers from half a sheet of paper.

I've been pulling out a few photos of my Grandparents to go inside and thinking about the journaling and if you would like to see more - check out the Gotta Craft shop blog this week. Or have a look today at the sneak peek for this month's kit which goes on sale tonight. I think you'll like it.

The Savvy Window Album Part Two

I'm sharpening my pencils, cleaning my lens, tidying my desk and looking forward to all the good things September has to offer. It's my favourite time of year and I'm ready and waiting to Learn Something New and have some Adventures In Scrapbooking.  Two classes? Let's see how it goes.

I've been working on finishing up my Savvy Window Album from Christine's tutorial

I've got the scraps from September's Gotta Craft kit (out next week) to use; the new Pass The Book to read (look out for that next week too); and there might just be a blog redesign right round the corner. Autumn? Bring it on!

The Savvy Window Album

I'm feeling short and sweet today. My family would probably say that only one of those usually applies. School starts on Friday, so we are busy fitting in all the things we planned to do at the beginning of the holidays. Sleepovers, late night dvds with popcorn, maybe a trip to the seaside at the weekend...it's all leaving me low on time to create.

When that happens I love to find something I can put together easily without having to think too hard; so I've turned again to the outrageously talented Christine Middlecamp and I've been following along with her new Savvy Window Album tutorial. It's all there in her wonderful instructions and this is what I've come up with so far:

I'm hoping for a new installment by Thursday. Please.

He Said What?

I've been making a start on a holiday mini-album, hunting out some tickets and leaflets to add in

and taking a look at my diary (diary: something new for me) to see what I might be about to leave out. I found two entries I'd completely forgotten about.

*Tuesday 20th July: The weather was so bad we ended up sheltering in a bookshop. We looked for "100 Things To Do In A Tent In The Rain". We couldn't find it. Then we realised, of course, that it doesn't exist. There aren't 100 things to do in a tent in the rain.

and this one:

*Friday 16th July: The kids put in the journey by making a list. They called it Things You Don't Want To Hear Your Dad Say On Holiday

• 
  
  I think I turned over two pages at once in this Road Atlas
• 
  
  There's a bunch of accountants, let's go and talk to them..
• 
  
  This hotel tv is stuck on "Dave"
• 
  
  I think I've forgotten my pyjamas
• 
  
  If you don't want that Curious George hat, can I have it? (Don't ask)

There is definitely a layout in that one. I need to get busy.

Today I'm Loving...Everyone who has taken a book button for their blog. Thank you! A few of you noted that it comes back to my home page and not the Pass the Book post - great point! That post will be out of date as soon as we start the next round, though, so I have a plan. I'm going to put all the info - who the book lands with and so on - on a stand-alone page which you'll be able to get to from the top of the home page. Let's see how that goes. More Soon..

Busy Doing Nothing

These first few days after Christmas are some of my very favourite of the whole year. I do love that holiday rush to fit in friends and relations before the Big Day; but once it's gone, I relish the thought of the four of us closing the door and rediscovering just how much we enjoy each others company. We have plenty of food, and more than enough new entertainment, to keep us going for the rest of the week. We've been feasting and laughing and relaxing. And we hope that you have too. Later today, we'll venture out for a walk by the river. But no further than that. The Sales hold no attraction just yet, when we are still so delighted with our gifts. I'm going to finish up the final few pages of my Christmas Journal, too, and catch up on some blogs. I'm looking forward to reading about your festivities. And then, I think, I'll stretch out on the sofa and enjoy a film. Pass the remote, please, and let's open the chocolates..