Shabby Chic Scrapbooking Memory Album

                 Scrap booking Journal Project

The most thoughtful gift in the world is one that has been hand crafted and given from the heart. A handmade gift says I love and care about you and I really wanted to spend the time making you something that would make you smile.

A close friend of mine was celebrating her birthday over the weekend and I really wanted to tell her how much I valued her friendship. I spent the entire day on Saturday in my pj's creating a beautiful scrap booking journal for her.

I had scrap booking papers, lace, ribbon and photographs everywhere and I managed to glue my fingers together with the hot glue gun at one point !

I think the end result was worth it when I saw the big smile on her face !  She adored it and I was thrilled.

Firstly I bought a journal style book to create my masterpiece with. It was covered in pretty blue linen and at first I planned on giving it to my friend just as is.  However as the day went on and the journal began to fill up with fabrics and laces and other bits and bobs I found the perfect sized doily and I decided to glue it on to the cover of the journal. Paper flowers were then hot glue gunned on to the front in a cluster in the corner. In keeping with the blue book I tried to keep the colour scheme in the same tone. I used sea greens, pale blues and a pretty peachy pink colour as a contrast. The creamy coloured lace tied it all together beautifully and gave it the antique look that I desired.

I used scrap booking papers, fabric scraps and lace lengths that I already had in my collection and just began to layer.  I began with a fabric or paper background, tore papers and let the end result of the tearing guide me to the eventual layout of the page.  If it didn't tear straight then it didn't really matter, lace or trims would follow the line of the paper and give it it's own signature look. Highly decorative antique buttons accented a tag with a message to my friend on it.  I wrote little verses and little messages all through the book and finished it off with a lovely letter to her reminding of how much she was valued by all of her special people in her life.

I like to think that when she is feeling down or in need of a smile ,she can pick up her special book and be reminded of how special she is.

I think the end result was simply stunning....I loved it and so did she !