Mum & Dad.

Apologies for being missing in action but I needed some serious quality downtime to complete the project below by last weekend. Sunday was my parents (both on the same day) Birthdays and I wanted to make them a Family Album of old photos. I had anticipated it taking me 3 whole days but in the end took a solid 8 days to produce as the pages grew from being a mere 7  to 14 thus making 28  sides in all to decorate! I finished the book 2am Sunday Morning. Talk about cutting it fine!!  

 

 

I have only used up my hoarded stash. You can't see from the photo but the front is covered with a lid from a cake box with an acetate insert which I placed over the design paper and sentiment. The flowers were all created using my trusty rose creations die by Spellbinders and the leaves using a die by Die-namics which cuts a lovely leaf shape showing the veins. I used my promarkers and chalks to colour them.

The book pages are 6" x 6" and made of  thick card covered in various designs papers.They span 135yrs of family photos which is partly why the book took so long as I had to look up my genealogy files to check dates for each photo and verify the people. The lady above was born in 1880 and the photo is circa 1895.

I haven't used the original photos(as I needed to cut them down to fit the pages) just scaned them into my computer and printed out on cream cardstock. Some of the sepia ones I have enhanced with coloured chalks. The Gentleman in this photo is my G.G.Grandffather. Taken circa 1865



The boys in this photo are all wearing lace collars for their family portrait so I used some old lace to trim the picture with. Dates born 1906 - 1912.

This is my G.G. Grandfather on the other side of the  family.He was born 1825 and owned an Inn in Somerset. Not quite sure why he has the gun or dog. Maybe he just  liked to make sure the regulars paid for their beer!!!!

This is his Granddaughter my Grandmother who Sis and I get our love of dressmaking from.





I used lots of old buttons and beads up . This button is actually two. I cut the shank off the brass one so that it would sit in the bottom one and then stuck them togther and covered in glossy accents. Because I made more pages than intended they  were too thick to use the book binder clips I had in my stash so I used chain threaded through with bits of ribbon instead and made  ribbon ties held on by buttons for the closeure. (This is just a selection of the pages from the book as others are of living people and can't be shown.)



Happy to report that Mum loved her book and Dad did in his own way too.

 

I would like to enter my book into the following challenges:



Pixies crafty workshop: Use your snippets #44.
Challenges 4 Everybody: Anything goes.
Make it Monday Party:  Ladies that  craft.
Anything Goes: Anything goes.
LEJ Designs: Anything goes. 
Shopping Our Stash: Flowers in 3D.
Twisted Tuesdays: Free for all with no twist.
Fab 'n' Funky: Die cuts or punches.
My Mums Craft Shop: Bold and Bright
That Craft Place: Tic,tac.toe. (dies,border,buttons).
Love to Create: Lots of Layers.