a merry little project for charity

Ah…the holidays.

The holidays, indeed. Christmas, in particular, is one that does not top my list o' favorites. Thanksgiving? Numero uno. Halloween? Sure, why not. Christmas? Hmmm. It's always a bit stressful for any number of reasons that I could rattle off without taking a breath for like, 7 minutes. However, this little project is all about stripping away the frou frou of the season, and focusing on simple photos and memories. You remember, those nifty little reasons why we do this thing? Mmmm. Yes.

And what better way to do that than to make said project for a charity fundraiser at my kids' school? To help out those who work so unbelievably hard (teachers and administrators) and make a cool little album project "class" for the school's silent auction. I can do that. No problem.

You start with the coolest little board books from  Cloud 9 Design, and 3 coordinating papers from their Luster series (the green sheet, the red sheet, and the brown sheet—and I really  have to emphasize how much i LOVE when a company puts out the same design in beautiful, rich colors that work so well together. Takes the guess work out of the mix!) Then you get some stickers from Scenic Route, and then some from Fontwerks, which are also here. (you can use them however you like in the album!)

Next, you need some grid lined paper like this one from Scenic Route, or this one from Karen Russell's Narratives line (which I used on this album). And then, some circle punches. I used this one  and this one from Fiskars. You'll use the punches to cut out simple journaling circles, which you can just grab a pen and write a quick note about each photo.

In addition to some brown stamp ink, some paint, a corner rounder and a sanding block, I pulled out my old favorite foam stamps (Jersey) from Making Memories. I love those stamps. Never going to get old.

Then you need 12 to 20 snapshots, some adhesive (i used my Xyron 900 for the whole project, because it made it so quick!) and then just start cutting and glueing. Just like that.

It's super simple, the box is adorable, and it's something you can totally hang on a knob somewhere during the holidays.

And i love anything to do with knobs.

A few more poorly lit photos to show you how simple it is, and to show you mediocre journaling is always going to be PERFECTLY acceptable!

 

Thanks again to everyone who donated products for my little class: Fiskars, and Scenic Route and Fontwerks and Making Memories.

Gotta go pack some bags now...got me a plane to catch!

Catch you on the Utah side.
 

Comments

[Robyn]

1.

Wow, I'm so glad to hear that Christmas ISN'T someone else's favorite holiday. All the shopping and planning and gifts and guilt and debt and comparisons and expectations and disappointment and etc. etc. always get me down. Now, I love Thanksgiving, because it's all rich food and hugs, but Christmas is rough. And I'm a mom of 4, so I always feel a tad guilty and grinchy over my honest feelings. Ahhhhh!

[suetreiber]

2.

not a huge fan of Christmas either. Or I should say, not a huge fan of the hoopla surrounding Christmas. And people who feel the need to listen to Christmas music now.
Love the album! I bet it does well!!

[mrstjshelby]

3.

Miz CZ- love it! You've done it again. Simple, easy to replicate, yet with the definite zielske-flair. Thanks for sharing. And, I admire you for aiding the school/teachers.
Scrap On!

[Jane]

4.

Oh just great! I just got over the recipe book craze and now this!!!!!!!!! *faint*
Just what I needed...another GREAT project!

Jane

[melissa legaree]

5.

Did anyone else notice how nicely the vertical lines on the printed paper line up so nicely with the line of the photograph. I love this book, it's beautiful!

[Nancy Martinez]

6.

Cathy - Love to see you using our Board Books in a Box and Christmas papers! What a great project idea. Thanks for sharing it with us. Your talent is amazing. Nancy Martinez (co-founder, Cloud 9 Design)

[jennifer]

7.

I don't necessarily think that simple journaling equals mediocre journaling. I think, like embellishments, sometimes less is more.

Very nice book!

[Christine Villacarlos]

8.

thanks for sharing another beautiful project, Cathy! i love it to bits!!!!!

[Caroline]

9.

Oh....!!!! I'm so glad to hear someone else saying that Christmas is just to damn stressful to enjoy. I always feel like such a Scrouge, but I can't help it...there's way too much pressure, and I can't handle it.

BUT...*really* cute mini books!! Lovin' those!! And while there's no way I'll do one with a Christmas theme (I don't even take pictures! eek!! And I'm a photo professional. :( yikes)......but I'll happily morph the idea into a less stressful theme. :P

Thanks!!

[Anna-Marie Still]

10.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday too! Love the mini book and the idea to offer it as a class for the fundraiser at your kiddos school! Safe travels - I love going to Utah - such a sense of peace for me when the plane lands there! Have fun!

[Holly Thatcher]

11.

Hi Cathy,
I don't know if you read the comments on your blog, but I thought maybe you will and you'd have time to respond to me. I currently live in Utah and my husband just accepted a job in Mendota Heights, MN and I know you live in St.Paul. I don't know anyone at all in the whole state of Minnesota. I feel like I know you because I own your books, read your columns in Simple Scrapbooks, look at your blog, etc. Anyway, I'm hoping you might be able to tell me a little about the scrapbooking community in MN. My email address is hollythatcher@comcast.net.
A million thanks,
Holly

[Kelly V]

12.

Hi Cathy,
I love your book. What a great idea for a fundraiser...we are currently preparing for a fundraising auction at our school and I have been busily making cards (and coercing any other willing folks to do so also) but your album class is a great idea. We might need to steal the idea for next year.
Kelly
ps...if only we could all make Christmas what it should be...

[Cathy]

13.

Goofy question but do you trim your page before gluing down, or the make paper a little larger and trim with an exacto?

[Nancy]

14.

This what scrapbooking is all about.
Thanks for the inspiration, this is making a christmas album actually seem do-able!

Thank you!

Nancy
The Netherlands

[bridget]

15.

Just loving that board book, so cute and not too hard for a simpleton like me to achieve.

Loving your work Cathy!!

Bridget from UK
p.s Don't we all love anything to do with knobs!!??!!

[katie scott]

16.

I'm totally doing this, 'cept I'm going to use board books that my kids no longer read (trash to treasure dd style) but I love the circle journaling w/ the notebook paper - so totally awesome & wow you even inked the edges - very very scrappy of you!

Plus love the picture of you & your mom & that little barrette in your hair / very cute & happy :)

[cathy]

17.

I'm trying my best to not think you are evil for not loving Christmas. lol! :) Cheers and thanks for sharing your project.

[Lan]

18.

Love this idea! I was in the process of making a mini album for a secret sister and this is the inspiration I needed.

[Penny]

19.

Totally love it. Simple. Elegant. Fun.

[kristin]

20.

i love how the red vertical rule aligns with the edge of your images. bea-u-tiful work.

[Candi Tardio]

21.

hey cz, super cute mini book!!! i so want that from cloud 9 now!!!!!

[erin yamabe]

22.

so LOVE this!

[melita]

23.

this is sooo cute! love C9!

[cris]

24.

"Bridget from UK
p.s Don't we all love anything to do with knobs!!??!!"

HA! I was waiting for that one!

P.S. And I do. hee.

[Tina]

25.

Super cute book! There out of stock already! Now I'm off to search the internet!

[Karin (creativechaos)]

26.

I Love this!!