This is the beginning of a beautiful Queen size quilt for my friend Jessica B from Etsy. We've been going back and forth over the details for about 3 months and she has been very patient with schedule interruptions due to a very exciting and very secret project from the month of May. Finally I made it to our local quilt shop and gathered Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and Moda together and decided it was a good thing. I'd love to use one designer exclusively but its so much easier for me to match fabrics when they are in my hands rather than online and unfortunately, its hard to find an entire line at one store.
So with washing, pressing and cutting out of the way, the pretty rectangles are ready to be organized and pieced. We are just waiting on one fabric from an online order before we proceed. I am hoping to tackle this beast and be finished with it in two weeks but I tend to overshoot. I am in love with these fabrics so I think I'm going to have to pretend I'm making it for myself until its shipped to its rightful owner! (These pics are in bad light but their floor time was limited.)
How cute is my son! He was playing with my craft box when he heard me open the back door and out he ran with his fists still tightly closed around some Love, Elsie ribbon and coordinating markers. He has good taste at least.
These are up in the shop.
Sebastian's first baseball game and all he wanted to do was read his ABC book. I don't blame the kid. We went with some friends from church and had a great time.
I'm also working on an album for my Grandmother. Its about their 50th Anniversary so it's going to include photos of them growing up, getting married, growing older and finally culminating in a ton of pages about the cruise we all went on in 2003. I've only finished these first two pages (minus the journaling) but I'm using KI's 'Just Married' collection as well as others that coordinate so it's going to look good no matter what I do to it. I'm trying to do something they'll appreciate so I'm staying away from funky ideas and sticking to Lo's that are easy on the eyes and flow well.
Does anyone else feel like taking on a whole album is harder than just doing one page at a time? Other than having to gather all of your matching product, you have to think so much ahead so that it doesn't feel choppy. I think its probably like writing a book.
So, what are your secrets? How do you all start your LO's whether they are part of a predetermined album or not?
I'll be taking this album with me when we visit at the end of July so I need to get moving! Thanks for reading...
13 comments:
It's a lot harder for me to do a whole album than just one page at a time. I've been working on my wedding album for...oh, probably eight months! It's really hard for me to use the same or similar products over and over...I get a little bored with it. (guess that's why I haven't worked on it much since Christmas!) Also...I have to keep re-arranging the pages once I've finished one or two so that they're in the right order! I should have just scrapped them all before buying the album, maybe...I dunno. But now I totally want to get back to work on it! :)
I print out a contact sheet (Photoshop El. 4)with mini photos of all the pictures I'm planning on using in the album. I keep that sheet beside me as I work. Using a Sharpie marker, I number the photos as to what page they'll go on. I make changes here and there as I'm working, but it really helps to give me an idea of the WHOLE before I start the PARTS. Sebastion is a cutie & I love the look of the quilt!
Joni
I create custom scrapbooks for customers. I used to work in a retail store that gave me so many contacts, I could basically make a living off of just doing albums for people. My suggesstions are organzing all photos in album order, disregard pics you dont need to include and plan each page. Not super plan, but pick out paper and possibly pre journal if you do the journaling thing, and then stack all your pages and photos on top of each other and scrap in order, from beginning to end. As the pile gets smaller and smaller you feel much more accomplished. I've made over 50 albums for friends, family, and customers: they key is to enjoy the pressure. While youi taking on the project out of love and giving as a gift, you still have to enjoy the process. Sounds like this album will also give you an opportunity to lear more about your heritage as you go along! Let us know how it turns out, i'd love to see it!
cute photos!!
i watched this video a long time ago about making an entire album and i think the system she is working with is just great:
http://www.crafttvweekly.com/player.html?wid=38
hope this will work for you...
have a great day!
long before i officially started scrapbooking, i did a mini book for herb. it tells our story up to that point. i decided what content/journaling/topic i wanted for each page and just sort of did an outline on paper first.
the quilt looks good!
your quilt (your customers quilt :) is going to be so beautiful! when i've done albums as a whole i keep it really simple. matching papers and cardstock for the entire album, similar layouts for each page so they all flow, even if the pictures don't. because really, if its a gift, they are probably not gonna notice all that detail that we agonize over as we create. keep it simple. i also sketch out the titles/themes for each LO ahead of time so i know where i'm going with it all. good luck. can't wait to see what you create! :)
Love that quilt! :)
My advice for the album is to stick with a similiar page layout for the entire album (journaling in the same area, etc.) I know it's not as much fun that way, but it does make it flow much better. :) And it does turn out cute even though it's not as funky and eclectic as I would normally do. :) Have fun with it!
Those fabrics look so yummy! I haven't made a quilt in ages but I really want to now. I can't wait to see the finished product.
As far as the scrapbooking goes, I usually make a list of pages, in what order, and then number the pictures according to what page I want them on. Making an entire album is way harder than just page by page, but the finished product has so much more meaning. Thats awesome that you're doing that for your grandparents! Hope you're doing well.
Hey Rach!
I am SO excited for this quilt.. I can't even tell you :) It looks great and I love the blocks. Thanks for finding some paisley to add in. I love me some paisley. I'm so excited to see what fabric is on it's way. Thanks for posting some pics, it will help get me through until I have this in my home. You're the best!
cute bag but i must i must stay away from etsy.
wow her quilt is going to be gorgeous!!
love all of the fabric you have for it.
Those fabrics are gorgeous. That looks like a really great project.
Your son is absolutely adorable.
Good luck on the wedding album. That is such an incredibly thoughtful gift.
For me, I focus on working on the different "chapters" that lets me play with different themes within a project, and also breaks it down into more manageable chunks.
:D
love the sebastain pics--too cute. I start my layouts with inspiration piece (another layout, colors from fashion or home dec, magazine ads) and with product. I am a sucker for new product that hasn't been in my stash forever.
Love the album--good luck with it :)
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