Fabric Scrapbooking
"gotta love the everyday"
20 page 8x8” canvas fabric album - workshop duration 5-6 hours
Fabric Scrapbooking is an exploration in melding the best of the paper world with the best of the fabric world to create one of the most outstandingly visual and completely tactile memory album experiences. Filled with dozens of techniques and applications for using my new Fabric scrapbooking line just released with Prima, in this workshop, you will create this album using the entire line of products at your fingertips. And best of all, NO SEWING NECESSARY! but be sure and bring an apron because we are going to have some messy and creative FUN!
It was a pricey class, but hey, it's Donna Downey! I bought one of her books a few years ago, and it continues to inspire me today. I've been following her blog for a couple of years as well, and I was so excited to have scored a spot in a small class she was teaching. I was going to get to spend simply HOURS learning new techniques with paint, fabric, modeling paste, and the like. They were going to serve a small lunch as well. Donna was going to use ALL the fabric elements of her new line (it was included in the supplies we would receive at the beginning of the class). My anticipation knew no bounds.
It's a journey I am on here. I am embracing this creative side of my heart in a new way. I am celebrating something I enjoy. I am becoming more involved in the internet community of other like-minded folks. It's so exciting! My husband is an amazing support. In fact, he really started me on the journey of It's-okay-to-spend-time-and-money-on-your-hobby with his birthday purchase of a Sizzix original machine for me. I think that was perhaps, five years ago. Or was it longer? I'm not sure, but since then when I started making paper piecings to sell on eBay with my closest friend (who could churn those layouts out, let me tell ya! Amazing!), I have careened wildly into the awesomely fulfilling world of paper, wire, paste, ink, fibers, fabric, photos, books (hand-made), journals, and all kinds of things that make my heart go pitter patter.
I used to be embarrassed about the fascination. I thought, hide your interest: it's weird. Keep it on the low-low, ya know? But no longer! The freedom I have found in embracing and celebrating this process called "scrapping" or "paper crafting," or whatever you call it, has been nothing if not delicious. I'm sure the fact that my family is growing and is not full of toddlers has helped me to find the time for my interest as well.
Alright. Enough retrospecting. The day I was supposed to leave to drive north was a bad day weather-wise. We are in an unusually cold trend just now, and the temps are not going up very much. We here in the South are not used to these colder temperatures, and the ice up in Atlanta was causing lots of accidents. The class I was to take started at 10am in Cumming (even farther north), and I would have left Alpharetta no later than 9:30am. It was likely to still be icy up there at that time. I could not countenance the expense of gas to take a class I might not be able to safely get to. Would I risk a wreck for a class? No, I would not. Such a disappointment. Within hours of my trip, it was cancelled. Thankfully, I had not actually paid for the class. I was going to take the cash with me. The nice lady at the store had saved my place anyway. I hope she was able to fill it. I sent her an e-mail as soon as I'd decided not to go, and she sent back that she was still at home due to the weather keeping the roads dangerous. I hope Saturday was a better driving day than Friday, and that the class happened without a hitch.
None-the-less, I felt such disappointment. I tried to just think in my head that it wasn't really important, but it was.
We left all the rides and meal plans in place as though I actually was gone, and it freed me to be in the Happy Place. I decided to make a journal for the year. Last year my sweetie bought a Thomas Kinkade Journal. Each week it had four lines per day to write down what happened. It was so NOT intimidating as a memory recorder. You know how a blank page looks intimidating sometimes? I think to myself I don't have that much to say. And I don't write anything at all. But four lines? THAT, I can fill. The result of having that journal last year was that I was more likely to fill those lines in on a more daily basis (or sometimes retrospectively going back four days at a time or so), than if it was just a blank journal book. I loved it, and wanted to make another since the year ran out!
So I made one. I LOVE it! I will add embellishments as the year progresses. I think it will be lots of fun to fill in! I used papers I love, and I'll enjoy looking at them all year. Each week is on one sheet, and the facing sheet is a patterned paper. I just printed the weekly entry lines on the back of patterned paper so that I could write on one side, and embellish or just enjoy the print on the other side. Also I wanted to leave the book in such a way that I could add to or take away from it (as in a binder), but the size is not standard binder size. I wanted it to be a little smaller, so the pages are 8.5"x7.5", and I love it! I also made a hard cover out of thick cardboard. I wanted it to be nice and sturdy. I couldn't find my book binding tape, which is nice and flexible, so I just used paper instead. It's working fine.
Enough words! Here are the pics!
I used simple loose binder rings, and I tied them onto the spine. I love how pretty it turned out too! They are not as loose as I feared they might end up being, so I am really glad about that!
A close up of those rings.
Love me some tabs!
Once again, my poor html skills have resulted in my simple horizontal pics coming up vertical. I do not know why, but, well, there they are. Above you see a random week later in the year.
And this is the first week of the year. My family gathered for the first ever Freeman Christmas with all four households! What a blessing!
This first page includes a pic with some embellishing and journaling.
Here above and below you can see the first page of the book. I used cardstock for all the monthly dividers, and patterned tabs over cardstock as well. I am looking forward to embellishing each monthly divider as the year progresses. Fun fun!
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