Book-Inspired

Round 5 of the Idol contest was all about mini-albums inspired by a book. I saw all the books I've ever read flash before my eyes before I settled for a book trilogy that has special meaning to me and DH.

I'm talking about Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine trilogy. The books invite readers to examine handmade postcards and open colorful envelopes as they are drawn into the world of Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem. DH invited me to read the book when we first met. And when we got married, he made postcards artfully depicting our courtship for our wedding invitations.

I used the postcards in the mini-album, and like Nick Bantock made envelopes, art works (in ATCs) and lots of stamped images. Taking the book theme further, I used the five parts of a story line.

Subtitle: The Story Line (first page)
Postcard 1 - Freedom Bar (where we first met)
Layout 1 - Expositon (Setting the Stage)


Journaling:
So, after you showed me your Millenium Falcon, you asked me if I liked books. I said yes, and you asked if I've read Griffin andSabine. And when I said no, you said you'd lend it to me and even brought the books to my apartment. Later, I realised this was yourstandard pick-up line. I'm glad when you asked me what thought, I said, "I didn't get it." That left more an impression on you than any other because you were used to being told the book was "beautiful" or "touching."

Postcard 2 - Caliraya
Layout 2 - Rising Action (Conflict and complications)
ATC 1 - Escape
Journaling - hidden, sorry, too personal to share

Postcard 3 - Batad
Layout 3 - Climax (The highest point of interest. Turning point.)
ATC 2 - Journey
Journaling:
Almost 3 hours of hiking (only because we needed lots of rest stops), being alone together far from the maddening crowd - we learned alot about ourselves and where we want to be.


Layout 4 - Falling Action (Wrapping up.)
ATC 3 - Travel
Layout 5 - Envelope with old letters (The events andcomplications begin to resolve themselves.)
Postcard 4 - Little Chapel of the Child JesusLayout 6 - Denoument (The final outcome. Conclusion.)



Last Page - The story continues...
Close-up of my Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)


While I quickly settled on my theme concept when the challenge was announced, I was only able to execute everything the night before the deadline. I had to prioritize school work and that meant not sleeping at all on Wednesday! Since my body was craving sleep, I punched the paper wrong side up. And it was a text paper! I had to start measuring again. For the first time, I appreciated my Purple Cow cutter.

My scrap table was a mess...the floor leading to the bathroom was a mess...my mind was a mess... At one point, my hands were shaking so much I couldn't insert the ball chain in the chipboard hole. But all's well that ends well, and I finally got to use my Zutter Bind-it-All which I bought about a month ago. Yey for me!

Thank God I have a very supportive husband. He even cancelled his morning meeting so I can use the laptop before he had to leave for work.

And my reward for all that hard work? I get to move on to the next challenge and make something Disney Princess-like. Ugh! That will be hard when my favorite is The Paper Bag Princess. If you have a daughter or a favorite niece, you really should get her this book.)

BTW, you have to visit the gallery. Everyone did such an awesome job with their mini-albums. Simply amazing!

Tribute to a Great Dad

It's late and I should be sleeping. Another long and busy day tomorrow. But, finally, I get the chance to blog and I can't resist taking this chance to share what the KiDS and I made for THE Oustanding Young Man (got it?) of our lives.

The week before Fathers' Day I asked the KiDS to write ten things they love about their Papa. Sarah and Kahlo were quite excited to do the assignment. Diego was quite blase about it. He said that he would just treat his Papa to the Fantastic Four movie, and indeed, that's just what they did last Sunday. A little male-bonding time.

Sarah came up with this:

At the back of which is her interpretation of the best day ever.

Kahlo needed help writing down her top 10 but all the sentiments are hers.

I then summarized their list to come up with the top 10 for our mini-album.

Mini cards inside the envelope:

Front:
Back:
The Process:
I finally got to use the mini-album which I bought at the September 2006 Scrapfest, and also my paper scraps. I decided that this was also the best time to use the stickers that Manang sent me last year. This is my first mini-album - I only ever did LOs and that altered photo box. I enjoyed it so much I think I might be doing more such albums in the future.

I did the layouts Saturday afternoon while my KiDS did the journaling and the doodling. They also made mini-cards to be put inside the envelope at the back of the album. They had fun sneaking in and out of the bedroom, making sure that Papa doesn't see us at work. It was a big secret. It is truly a collaborative work of love for THE man. And of course, on THE day, it was much appreciated. He says he will always keep it with him and whenever anyone asks him about his family, he will simply show it off. Syempre, proud mama naman ako.

Materials Used:
Simple Scrapbooks mini-album, my scraps of Making Memories PPS, EK Success stickers, MAMBI rub-ons, Technique Tuesday and CE stamps, Colorbox ink.