the paper assylum

That's right! I am auditioning for G45! Exciting!!! I will warn you that this post will be heavy on pictures since they only get this one blog to know my style. So, you might want to go grab a cup of tea and stay awhile!

Now, down to business.....I adore G45 papers! No way around it. Hoarding comes to mind when I think of G45 (and I KNOW some of you that feel the same way!). Be honest now, how many of you have paper stacks that you have yet to cut? Well, just remember, you are not alone! G45 papers are rich in color and amazing designs. The patterns speak the visions we have in our minds. Designs often grab your heart and don't let go!

First, let me tell you a little about what I do. I love to create unusual ways to keep memories. I like to think out of the box (or sometimes inside the box!). I like to use things in a way that they were not intended. You will find vintage, distressed, re-purposed items, lots of pockets, and a way to hold a ton of memories in a small package. Most of my mini albums do not exceed 8 x 8 and many are smaller still. I have a passion for boxes and ways to use them. I love vintage lace and old ephemera of a bygone world. I also love to paint and mix my paper and embellishment stash with painting (mixed media art). As crazy as it sounds, most times I look at the paper and I can see the project. Pictured below are some of my recent favorites. I tried to find examples of the different types of things I like to make.

The audition asks for 6 of my projects (not only G45 papers). Only 6. How do you choose which ones to send in? I hope you enjoy looking at these and reading about them. If nothing else, I hope they inspire you to create; to express yourself. Life is nothing without creating from your heart for the sheer joy of it! And so I begin...

Vintage Beach Suitcase Mini Album

This project is by far one of my favorites. I love the beach and this little treasure is perfect to hold some memories of our time there. I used the Authentique Fresh paper collection.

2 canvases made to form a suitcase. Aged to perfection with distress inks and some paint. Perfect embellishments to make it look just like a real suitcase.

Inside is a different story. One side is a shelf for small memorabilia (like the hand-painted mini canvas) and the other side is a mini album.

Don't forget the lock and key! And yes, you can really hold it by the handle!

Front of the mini album including a bit of fish net.

A few pics of the pages of the mini. There are small multi page books in the mini including a tabbed mini book.

And pockets. Lots of pockets. This page and pocket was made using an envelope folded and cut to the right size. The mini album has 12 pages but can hold about 40 pics including those used as tags in the pockets.

Fly Away altered canvas

This is a 12 x 12 canvas that I have altered with paints, gelattos, some gesso, papers, and oh so much more! This was so much fun to create. I pulled out some of my stash to use on this (love birds!) and just let my mind go. Since this hangs in my craft space I wanted a mini album somewhere.....so I added the small tag album at the bottom.

A glimpse inside the mini album (my wonderful little man!). I used tags, cut papers, and other ephemera pieces that I had on hand to make the album. I really think I wanted to use the mini hinges I had! So, there is one (seen in the above pic) to hold it all together.

Close up of the top left. This shows some of the many little elements I used. (Can you see the "B" I doodled to put in the frame on the paper? love the little details)

And of course some of my vintage lace stash. (These are my gorgeous girls!)

Engraved Memories Mini Album

This mini album is really not so mini. It measures in at 7 x 9.5. Perfect to hold. Perfect to put pictures in and let them do the talking. This is an example of how I like to use every element of a paper collection, in this case Engraver by Prima.

The cover showing small tags with a variety of sentiments on them.

Inside every page flips, turns, or has some type of pocket. Every page is a pocket itself opening either on the top or the right hand edge (see the tab tops peeking out?)

A little different angle to show the small pieces that flip open on the edge.

I told you I love vintage.....notice the small envelope on the right hand page? I picked up a whole stack of these at an antique shop. All are dated from the 20's, 30's and 40's and are in amazing condition. I wanted to stamp and postal markings to show but not the address, so I added a mat for a small photo. I attached it on the side and left the opening to place my own tag in it.

This is the back of the envelope. I used this type of flip several times in the album but with different types of envelopes and different sizes.

A cascade within the album so I can place lots of pics here!

A close up of the back cover. I used a distress ink and different distress methods to get a really distressed and vintage look.

Again, inside with a large pocket page (at an angle for large tags) and the left side flips open.

Prairie Chic mini album

This is an adorable mini album using the Bo Bunny Prairie Chic paper collection. I have a penchant for mini albums but there is one difference. I like my mini albums to do "things". They need to have "secret" opening, pockets, interesting tags, etc... This one works hard at doing that and looks pretty too! The cover is held closed with a cute little clip that has some fun charms dangling from it.

Side view showing 6 pages of yumminess that will hold 40 - 45 pics!

As I said before, my pages need to "do something". This shows one of 2 pages that pull out for journaling. I took advantage of the frame on the paper to have a secret lift up piece for a picture. (Fun story of how the page came about: I had purchased a fast food meal for my little man, I know, not good, but anyway, my son had finished eating and was playing with the toy....a book. I was fascinated by how the book pages pulled out and slide back in. When he was done with the book I painstakingly took the page apart to figure out how to make one. And voila! This is one of my most requested pages in class.)

Each page either flips open, pulls out, or is a large pocket for tags.

This is the inside of the page above.

Vintage lace on the flip side and a large pocket opposite.

Pearls. Who doesn't need pearls?

The other pull out page. This one has an acrylic mason jar that will allow you to put a photo underneath it. A few pages but it holds quite a few memories.

Mother's Day Flower Box with mini

I adore boxes. Any size. Any shape. Any color. The more unusual the better. I made this cute little box for my mother. It has an acrylic window up front to allow you to peek inside at the super cute mini album inside.

Hand rolled flowers cover the top. The tiniest of brads are the centers of each flower.

Can you see inside? There is a little mini album waiting to be seen.

Pearl feet complete the box as well as a magnetic clasp under the bow.

Open the top and find a cute little mini album.

Perfectly arranged to hold Easter pictures of the kids for my mom. The box was made completely by hand (no wallpapering an existing box for me!).

Secret Garden Mini Album
The best for last! I told you I love G45 papers. The instant I saw these I knew I wanted to make a mini that had different aligning pages. The album is about 7 x 9 and is made using Melissa Frances chipboard pages.

The cover has a Melissa Frances resin frame to perfectly frame the little girl on the paper. I have added banners, chipboard pieces, pearls, lace, and so much more. G45 makes adorable chipboard pieces to accompany all the collections and now the precious mini envelopes and tags. Oh my! I have used most of the pieces throughout giving the person looking through the album some serious eye candy!

The page on the left has a tabbed mini album on it to allow more pictures in the album. The colors of the collection are wonderful. And the flowers.....I can almost smell them!

Interactive pages....I love to have the person looking through one of my albums be a participant......tags, pockets, flip pages. This page has a large pocket for tags and pics.

It also holds a special surprise...a talking tag from Sizzix. I have recorded a minute of a cute story about my kids using the talking tag code (You must use your smart phone to hear it). Just one more way to involve my audience!!

The page on the right has a fold out mini album with 6 medallions that were cut from the collection and strung together with ribbon.

And of course "simple" pages perfect for dropping a photo on....already matted and ready to go.

Six. That was 6! Loads of photos I know. I hope this gives you an idea of what I do. Did I leave you wanting more? I hope so! I love to create and share my enthusiasm. There are so many possibilities with the perfect papers. For those who have not purchased G45 papers.....do it! You will not be disappointed.

Wish me luck everyone! Go....Create....Inspire.

I was in California in January for CHA. It was my first time there and I had so much fun! The classes were amazing. And then there was the show floor.....indescribable. There is so much to look at. So much information to soak into the brain. It was a good thing that we had several days to keep going back to the show. It took that long for my little brain to wrap itself around the goodness of what I was seeing. And I still didn't see everything I wanted to!!!

I want to share one of the projects I made in a CHA class. It was a mixed media class and focused on some new paints that are out by Luminarte. I am in love with them!

The covers to this cute mini album are wooden door hangars. So cute. I love how you can see into the mini through the hole in the front. (We covered the hole in the back one with papers). The wood was already primed for us so when we added the paints there was a slight "crackle" appearance. The photos really don't do this one justice. The paints have a shimmer to them and blend so nicely. We even added pigment powder to the covers (a dry powder that is concentrated color). Love how the instructor allowed us to add to the inside by writing with a paintflow pen around the cut out. A bit extra....the tiny branches tied with twine added to the outside for the bird to sit on, the painted flowers, and the cut outs of the paper line just made this album for me. The center page is a canvas pocket that was painted with the paints and watered down to create a wash effect. Every person in the class (of say 60) had a different interpretation of the colors.....reds, yellow, greens, blues, turquoise, browns. I could have stayed and played all day!

Hope you enjoyed it!