Arica’s dear friend is headed off to flight school and Arica is going to miss her terribly. When trying to come up with a good parting gift, Arica found this book, which I repurposed into a journal for her friend.

Not only was the title perfect, but Arica wrote a very sweet inscription that I included in a fluffy cloud inside the front cover.

Sister, I hope this journal blesses your friend as she starts a new chapter in her journey of life. May the distance not separate your kindred spirits.

When they had their ultrasound, they had the technician write the gender down and place it in a sealed envelope. Then they took the envelope to a cake baker, who made a cake revealing the baby’s gender. They borrowed the idea from a friend, and as a cake baker, I can only wish I would’ve thought of this! Perhaps one day someone will want me to bake them a special announcement cake like this. Enjoy the video:

Boy? or Girl? from Cheyenne Schultz on Vimeo.

Geoff and Cheyenne: I am SO THRILLED for you guys! You are going to make terrific parents!! Congratulations, again!

***

Today is my dear friend Megan’s birthday!! It’s been 9 years since we first met in a Survey of Western Arts history class in college. We hit it off immediately and it didn’t take us long to become close pals, especially when we figured out our apartments were just one mile apart! So many of my fond college memories (and beyond!) include Megan. She has such a sweet disposition and is the kind of friend a friend would like to have. Despite the several states that separate us now, she has continued to put forth the effort to keep in touch and continue our friendship…including traveling to Oklahoma to be one of my bridesmaids!

After nearly a decade, Megan remains one of my favorite people to talk to and spend time with. She’s an incredible artist and if she were here, I would make here these cupcakes!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN! These are for you! ((After this baby is born, we should get together for REAL piña coladas…and maybe some turkey/spinach tacos! haha))

***

The first step was to cream together butter and sugar and then add eggs one by one.

Next, pineapple juice and rum combined to make the ‘liquid’ part of the batter.

Dry ingredients and the pineapple/rum mixture were alternately added to the butter/sugar/egg mix.

Pretty yummy looking batter, huh?

Next, a scoop of coconut was added to increase the Piña Colada effect.

Then, egg whites were beating within an inch of their lives…

…until they formed stiff peaks:

The beaten egg whites were gently folded into the batter.

And the little suckers were ready to be baked.

Mmmm.

Then, there was more beating of egg whites…

to which powdered sugar was added…

to create the icing.

And, yup, more coconut.

Then, these morsels of sunny goodness came into play. Oh man, do I LOVE dried pineapple!

Each cupcake was iced and topped with a wedge of dried pineapple.

Yes, ma’am. This round’s on me!

And just to be sure they were tasty enough to share, I took one for a test drive.

All that’s missing is a little paper umbrella!

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

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

But the perfect excuse to use this ethereal scrapbook paper.

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

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

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

I also added a ribbed brown ribbon bookmark.

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

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.

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!)

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

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.)

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!

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!

Taunda’s favorite color is purple, so I started there. I found some pretty cotton fabric in lavender, with a dark purple crackle effect.

It made a perfect cover material!

I added a white satin ribbon bookmark so Taunda could save her place at the end of each writing/sketching session.

I included a placard with her name inside the front cover.

And a verse that Amy had personally selected.

I love how these books turn out and I’m hoping to add some to my inventory very soon!

Two years ago, I made this book for my (then) boyfriend, who is now my husband!…not that the book caused that transition, mind you, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt either.

It was a simple book, really. 8.5″ square, covered in blue velour fabric.

I used letter brads and a mesh heart brad to spell out the following message on the cover:

Throughout the book, I used the theme of “Love…” from 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. For each “Love…(is patient, is kind, never fails, etc.)”, I placed a photo of myself on the left-hand side of the page.

On the right-hand side of the page, I wrote a sentence or two about my feelings for Andrew and how his love for me (or my love for him) fit that “Love is” message.

Some were just plain silly.

Some were more contemplative.

Some involved inside jokes.

Some were heart-warming (that’s me with Andrew’s two daughters).

My love for Andrew grew even as I put this book together. I am willing to bet that a gift like this would strike a chord with your sweetie as well. You still have time to put together a Love Album before Valentine’s Day. And I can help! Visit the Contact tab in the top right corner of your screen for more information!

The following book will be given away on her site by the end of the week. Pop on over for your chance to win!

As for the details: The book is classically bound.

The pages measure 8.5″ x 8.5″ square. Green satin ribbons function as tie closures.

The paper’s black areas are flocked (fuzzy), while the white areas are pearlescent (which, unfortunately, is hard to tell from the photo).

The inside paste papers are a simple textured paper in light gray.

And the roll of paper was leftover WALLPAPER from my Grandma’s house. It’s the exact same paper still hanging in her basement bathroom to this day. It’s so fun to be able to use the paper in a way other than the way it was originally intended.

And, honestly, what Black/White/Red bathroom would be complete without a toilet professing your love for the Nebraska Cornhuskers?!

She pretty much rocks. Thanks for the paper, Grandma!

Now, go try to get your hands on that giveaway!

I got a great email from a woman I’d never met before. Her name is Peggy and she wrote: “My children are grown and married [...] for Christmas I want to give them a book that on the first page I will write a message/prayer to them. Then in the following pages my hope is that the couple would write love notes/prayers back and forth for each other. My thought is that this would be such a beautiful keepsake for them and for their children and grandchildren one day. [...]  I know I could go to Mardels and get a “journal book” but I think something more personal would be so much more special.”

I loved Peggy’s idea and immediately contacted her to accept the project. Peggy wanted to include the names or initials of each couple and wanted two soft-bound and two hard-bound books. She gave me some pointers on each couple’s favorite colors/style, and I set to work collecting supplies. Below is the final result.

AARON and LAUREN
Aaron and Lauren are engaged to be married and love the color blue. I started with a sapphire blue suede cover.

The inside paste pages were made from scrapbook paper resembling burlap. A black satin ribbon bookmark was added so Aaron and Lauren could mark the page where they left off.

Slide-on alphas spelled out their names on the cover. Silver star brads helped keep the ribbon secure.

BRANDON and JODI
For their book cover, I used a flat black cotton cloth and alpha brads bearing their initials.

I carved grooves into the book boards before binding to give the plain black cover a little punch.

The inside paste pages were zebra stripes, Jodi’s favorite:

The ETHRIDGES
For the Ethridges, I used a vibrant red suede cover and circular alpha brads in an alternating pattern of black and clear.

I used a funky retro circles paper on the inside and added a brown satin ribbon bookmark.

TOMMY and HEATHER
For Tommy and Heather’s book, I covered the boards in my blue-gold bookbinding cloth. The inside paste pages were a cube/column pattern reminiscent of 1980s video games.

I added a brown satin ribbon bookmark as well as heart brads on the spine.

On the cover, I included their initials and a mesh heart brad.

Peggy, thank you for allowing me to bring your wonderful idea to life! I’d love to hear how these books bless your family for generations to come! I know I’d enjoy reading love letters that my parents or grandparents had written each other. God bless!

This would be a wonderful wedding or anniversary gift! If you are interested in having a Legacy Journal made for your significant other or for loved ones in your life, contact me. Let’s preserve those memories!