Tag Archive for Books

Swirls of Belief

May 13, 2010 / Abbi / No comments

When my friend Fallon told me she wanted to have a journal made for her sister, Amber, I was so thrilled to hear the reason: Amber had recently accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Fallon wanted Amber to have a special book in which she could journal her thoughts as she developed her relationship with Christ.
cover

Fallon requested earthy greens and swirls, and I happened to have the perfect fabric on hand! I also used button letters to personalize the cover of Amber’s book.

amber

Fallon sent me a C.S. Lewis quote to include as the inscription inside the front cover. It was perfectly fitting for the occasion.

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I also added a silver ribbon as a bookmark.

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Congratulations, Amber. You’ve just made one of the best and biggest decisions of your life! Enjoy the ride! :)

Category: Books / Tags:

Theology, Repurposed

May 6, 2010 / Abbi / 2 comments

A while back, Kendra, an old co-worker, found several books that she wanted turned into journals. They all had such awesome titles, so I was excited to redo them for her.

stacked

Here’s a photo montage of each title and its inside facing pages. My main goal was to match colors and, if possible, theme.

teach-out

teach-in

service-out

service-in

rules-out

rules-in

revivalists-out

revivalists-in

fire-out

fire-in

This last one is probably my favorite…not only a cool book title:

miracles-out

But the perfect excuse to use this ethereal scrapbook paper. :)

miracles-in

Thanks again, Kendra, for asking me to make these for you!

Anyone who has attended an online Christian college or has a library science degree would love these books!

Category: Books / Tags: , , , ,

Joy to the World

April 15, 2010 / Abbi / 2 comments

My mother-in-love found this old hymnal at a thrift store and immediately knew I could use it to make a repurposed journal.

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Old books are so awesome because the covers feature different variations of embossing or debossing. So neat!

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Since this was an old hymnal, I used sheet music scrapbook paper for the inside paste pages.

insides

I also added a ribbed brown ribbon bookmark.

spine

Sing it with me, y’all: Joy to the world, this book is done! :)

Category: Books / Tags: , , ,

#70: St. Patrick’s Day Pistachio Yogurt Cupcakes

April 13, 2010 / Abbi / No comments

In September, I started a cupcake adventure. If you haven’t read about it yet, you can do so here.

***

I guess I can bake faster than I can blog! That said, here are the shots from the cupcakes I made for St. Patrick’s Day.

The dry ingredients are the typical ones you’ve likely come to expect: flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder.

01dry

And, naturally, the batter starts by creaming together these two studs: butter and brown sugar.

02buttersug

Mmmm.

03cream

Perhaps the name of this post gave you a clue as to what else comprises the batter: pistachios!

04pistachios

No St. Patrick’s Day treat would be complete without green dye!

05dye

To round out the batter, I alternated adding sour cream and the dry ingredients from the first photo.

06wetdry

…and then the chopped pistachios.

07nutbatter

Yummy!

08batter

Then, the suckers were baked until brown around the edges.

09baked

To make the icing, I started by melting a little bit of butter and water.

10meltbutter

Next came the powdered sugar.

11powsug

And, naturally, more green dye and some vanilla extract.

12dyevan

Green, green, green.

13icing

Here’s the final product as a group:

14iced

…Better make sure these taste good.

15single

Um, YUP! They sure do!

Sláinte!

Category: Cupcakes / Tags: , ,

Teddy’s Field Journal

April 8, 2010 / Abbi / 2 comments

It’s not very often that I get to make journals for kids, so I was very excited when my friend Anne contact me regarding her nephew’s upcoming birthday.

Teddy will be turning 4 this month, and in Anne’s words, “he would love a personalized field journal to write down ‘observations.’”

How cute is that?! Anne did some research about Teddy’s favorites and as luck would have it, he loves green frogs! I happened to have the perfect fabric for his book!

cover

To jazz up the fabric a bit, I added orange brads to give the frog’s warts some texture (eww?)

frogdetail

I also used silver embroidery floss for the bugs’ flight patterns.

backcover

I love the depth that the sewing gave both the wings and the swirls. I’d been wanting to try this technique for a while, and this fabric was the perfect opportunity!

beedetail

Teddy’s favorite color is red, and since no observation journal is complete without a writing utensil, I added a red ribbon pen loop and a red mechanical pencil.

intro

penloop

Teddy also loves the alphabet, so for the inside paste pages, I used lettered paper in coordinating colors. Anne also included the verbiage for a personalized inscription, so I added that to the inside cover as well.

pastes

Anne, thanks for asking me to make Teddy’s book! It was such a fun change of pace to make a child’s journal!

Teddy, HAPPIEST OF HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!! May this book house all your big ideas!

Category: Books / Tags: , , ,

Ziggy Zaggy Keepsake Book

April 1, 2010 / Abbi / No comments

This post is about dreaming up experimental ideas and seeing them through to completion.

cover

I’ve been wanting to design a book like this for a long time (several years, if I’m being honest) and a couple weeks ago I decided to just bite the bullet and make it.

untie

Besides, I had this amazing retro paper that needed a purpose! I couldn’t just leave it sitting in the shoebox for too long! It was created for something greater (much like all of us!)

cover2

And though the cover was fairly basic, the book’s insides were anything but.

notusual

In fact, this adorable book measures just 4.675″ square when folded. However, once its contents are allowed to unravel, the book measures an impressive 36″ from tip to tip.

(I could make all sorts of analogies here about “don’t judge a book by its cover” and all that, but I think you guys get the gist without me having to dumb it down for ya.)

unfolded

The “book” has 16 panels (6 squares, 10 triangle halves) which could be used for a mini-scrapbooking project…photos in the squares, writing and ticket stubs and other ephemera. Or, it could become a canvas for writing, painting, collage, etc.

Once the book is full, the tie closures can be turned into a hanger, if you’d like to display the book’s contents. Think what a great gift this would be for someone you love!

hanging

The possibilities for this book are endless, and I’m excited that I FINALLY got around to making it. It went together fairly quickly and I hope to make more projects like this in the future.

In the meantime, if you have fallen in love with Ziggy Zaggy, I’m selling it! Click here for details.

First one to call dibs and send their payment will be the proud owner of this newest creation from Z as in Zebra!

Category: Books / Tags: , , ,

In the Jungle Baby Books

March 25, 2010 / Abbi / No comments

This may seem like an astounding number, but I know 40 women (besides myself) who are pregnant right now. FORTY. One of them is my college buddy, Sara. She and her husband Jay live in Georgia and are expecting their first baby. Like us, they are not finding out their baby’s gender (we are definitely the minority).

That said, it can be difficult to decide on a nursery theme, but Sara and Jay have done a great job by choosing a jungle animals theme: cute lions and tigers (and bears? Oh, my…don’t bears live in forests, not jungles? haha). Monkeys and elephants and giraffes round out the mix.

Sara and Jay wanted to write down thoughts, dreams, and predictions during the pregnancy and they asked me to make a book they could give to “Baby Blueberry” once he/she is old enough to appreciate it.

I found the most perfect fabric for the cover and created a 6×6 journal with a ribbon bookmark.

01journal

I used a neutral burlap pattern for the inside pages and added a place where Mom and Dad could add a personalized note/dedication to Baby.

02insides

I also made Sara and Jay a photo album that would hold all the snapshots they are sure to take of Baby’s first year (or months or weeks, if they are extra camera-happy!). The fabric matched the smaller journal and included a label holder which will house a name placard with Baby’s name once they find out the gender (placards not shown…wouldn’t want to spoil the name surprise!)

03album

The album also included a sticker for an inscription/dedication.

04albuminside

The pages hold two 4×6 photos, but the plastic covers could also be removed if Sara and Jay decide they want to have some larger pages incorporated into the album.

05albumpgs

It was so fun making these. I feel honored to be a part of Baby Blueberry’s keepsake collection…before he/she is even born! I guess I’d better get crackin’ on making an album like this for my own Baby! The clock is ticking!

06set

Sara and Jay: Congratulations on your little blessing. Can’t wait to see him/her! :)

Category: Books / Tags: , ,

The Adventure of Being a Wife

March 18, 2010 / Abbi / 4 comments

03cover

Now THAT’S quite the title for a book, isn’t it, ladies?! I can tell you that since marrying Andrew last May, my life has certainly felt like an adventure! And I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for the world!

My friend Alison found this book at an estate sale and asked me to convert it into a journal for her.

Clearly, this book was very old-school…I based my assessment not only on the cover design, but also on the fact that the author’s name was listed as “Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale”. My, how far we’ve come.

01dustcover

I do love the debossed elements that these old covers have…here, two intertwined rings. I’d love to see some newer books incorporate that old debossed look.

02cover

After cutting several stacks of folded pages to size, I selected bright stripes for the inside paste pages. The colors just seemed so happy-go-lucky and ready for anything…

04pastes

…including adventure!

I think a book like this would be a fantastic wedding gift…a place where couples could document their journey towards wedded bliss.

If you have any old books you’d like to turn into journals or sketchbooks, shoot me an email or leave a comment on this post! I’d be happy to give your old books a new life!

While you are busy reading, writing, crafting, or being a wife, the writers at Article Writing Services will write fresh content for your blog for free.

Category: Books / Tags: , ,

A FanTABulous Journal

March 11, 2010 / Abbi / 2 comments

I’ve had this blue polka dot cover ready to be made into a book for a while. The trick has been figuring out what to do with it.

cover

Then, I came up with an idea: A custom-made journal with tabbed sections!

I used this retro leaf motif for the inside paste pages. I loved the way the sage-y green paper contrasted so beautifully with the bright blue cover.

insides

I used Adobe Illustrator to make a template for the tabs and divided the book into 5 sections, alternating blue and gray tabs.

tabs

Each divider is also a pocket…perfect for storing photos, receipts, ticket stubs, napkin sketches, etc.

envelopes

FanTABulous, wouldn’t you say?

folders

Category: Books / Tags: ,

Sam & Candace: Groomsmen Books

March 5, 2010 / Abbi / No comments

Yesterday I posted Sam and Candace’s wedding guest book. Today, I’m featuring the books I made for their groomsmen.

bookmarks

I LOVE making lots of books at once. It’s so satisfying to make an entire collection, knowing that although they are alike, each book will be given a different home.

I made six books for Sam and Candace: one for each of their 5 groomsmen and one for Sam himself.

stacked1

The books were black suede covers with an antique crackle paper for the facing pages.

insides

Each one had a personalized place inside the front cover with space for Sam to write a heartfelt note.

inscription

The inscription color alternated for each guy and coordinated directly with their ribbon bookmark.

stacked2

The best part was seeing them all together and day-dreaming about all the amazing thoughts and observations that would fill their pages.

Sam and Candace: Thanks for asking me to make these. May they bless the guys who received them!

Category: Books, Challenges / Tags: , ,
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