Level 1 Book Tutorial

Hi there everyone! A year or two ago I designed a fun way to create a 6x6 book using a Level 1 paper kit from Close to My Heart. It was a monumental moment. I didn't copy!! haha!! I guess we're all entitled to a little inspiration once in a while.

I've shared this with my customers a couple of times and a few other consultants and this year I'm sharing it with the Virtual Convention for Close To My Heart consultants. Life, vacation, illness, son's surgery....all got in the way and I just now took the pictures so I have to post them here. Too late to post them on the VC site...

Mary will be hosting the class for me on Saturday, while I'm teaching at the mini-convention we're hosting for local consultants. I sent Mary the book I made below. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments!!

Step 1: Cut all of the pre-printed cardstock to 6x6



When you are done you will have (16) 6x6 squares



Step 2:

• Cut one piece of your colored cardstock in half to create (2) 6 x 12 sheets
• Cut one of the 6 x 12 sheets in half to create (2) 6 x 6 pieces
• Cut a piece 2.5 inches by 6 inches from one of the 6 x 6 pieces

The picture below shows what you should have when you are done.

Step 3: Score your 6 x 6 piece of cardstock every half inch and then accordian fold

Step 4: Score and fold your 2.5 x 6 inch piece one inch in from each edge along the 6 inch side. You will end up with a 1/2 inch section in the middle. See picture below.



Step 5: Arrange your pages in the order you want them in the book. This is a little tricky to explain so lay it all out and check it as you go.

Take the piece that you have chosen for your cover and adhere it to the flap of the accordian fold as pictured below.



Then take the next piece and glue it (back to back) to the front piece. By doing it this way, you will hide the "mechanics" of how you put the book together. (Please note, you will do the same thing for the back of the book.)

The next five pages are the inside of your book. To create the pages you will glue two pieces of your printed cardstock back to back so that there is printing on both sides. (Remember to lay out your pages ahead of time so that you can see which pages will face each other, etc.)

Take the first page and glue it to the back side of the next accordian fold. It actually doesn't matter whether you glue it on the front or back, just be consistent throughout the book. Either glue them all to the front or all to the back.

After you glue in your pages, repeat the steps for the front cover to do the back cover.

This is what the pages will look like after you've glued them to the accordian fold.


Step 6: Add your "binding". Glue the 1" flaps to the front and back of the book. Do not put any glue on the 1/2 seam in the middle.

All done.....

Now it's time to embellish and personalize. As you can see you have stickers, two sheets of texture paper and 1 1/2 sheets of cardstock that you can use to personalize your book. You can use the papers to mat photos, create journaling squares etc.

I didn't add a title or anything to this book because I sent it off to Mary so she could use it for herself or give it as a gift.

Feel free to email me or leave questions/suggestions in the comments. I love comments!!!!!!!

3 Months = a Century

Yep, that's how long it took me. Three whole months to ride 100 miles (100.55) on my bike. In the interest of full disclosure, I probably rode more like 125 miles, but there were a few times when the odometer wasn't working, or I forgot to turn in on. (duh) I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, so hopefully the next 100 miles will go by much quicker.

Yesterday Jane, Brenda, Candace and I rode around Lake Murray. We ended up being in two groups. I'll give you a few details and you try to see which group I was in. Leave your guesses in the comments.

Group #1

A little quicker than group 2

One member had a cute little bell that they rang as they passed people.

Both members wore helmets.

Both members called group 2 cheaters

Group #2

A little slower than group 1

One member wore a helmet.

One member was a bit mischievious and found an "alternate" route.

Both members took the little detour on the last lap so they could be in front of group 2.

Both groups laughed hysterically at antics of group 2

So... do you think I was quicker or was I a cheater?

See I do still stamp!

Not the greatest picture quality, but I stamped it. I took a picture of it and I posted it, so I'm thinking it's a good day! I took the picture with my phone. (anything to play with the new phone. hahaha!)

This is July's stamp of the month - Life's a Jungle. I absolutely love this stamp set! It is so stinkin cute.

colors combo: hollyhock, autumn terracotta, barn red, buttercup
Coloring technique: I stamped the elephant and cut it out with an knife to make it a stencil and then sponged the elephant with hollyhock.


Bicycle News - I'm too busy to have a blog for cycling, a blog for family, a blog for crafts...so you're going to get it all here. You can skim the parts you aren't interested in. :-)

Jane, Candace and I went for our new "Thursday Ride." The plan was for me to ride to Candace's and then we'd all ride down to the lake, do a couple of laps, ride back, eat dinner and relax in the pool/jacuzzi. Here's what really happened....

Condensed version:
Jane got a flat
Jane had new innertube, but left pump on other bike.
Josh brought us a pump (thank goodness he just got his license)
New innertube didn't work.
Patched old innertube.
Something funky was up with the brakes. (Yes that's a technical term.)
Guy named "Rick" stopped, helped, adjusted, and we were off.
Made it to the lake and Jane went flat again....
Dawn and Candace rode home, got truck, returned, picked up Jane
and then we all ate and went in the pool/jacuzzi.
Grand total of miles ridden - 4.5
It was so fun, we've decided to make it a weekly event!
At least I learned how to change a tire!!

Here I am!

Man, when you get out of a routine, it's so hard to get back on track. I have lots to tell and lots of pictures to share (after I take them!), but to get back on track I will share a couple of things I have on my camera now....

My last crop/workshop was on flag day so I encouraged everyone to wear their red/white/blue and their flags... and they did!!! We had a great time and the potluck was awesome!

After taking about a week off the bike during graduation and hubby's home time, I'm back at it and went for my longest ride so far. Now I know that this photo doesn't show me on the bike, but the bike had to get there somehow...right??!!

Jane, Candace and I drove down to Coronado and rode along the Silver Strand from Coronado to Imperial Beach and back. My magnet on my bike computer wasn't quite aligned and it took several adjustments to get it working. I finally got it fixed at the halfway point, so it appears that we rode almost 16 miles!! Woo Hoo! I'm used to riding hard hills around the house and I never dreamed I could ride that far. Now I can't wait to ride more!

I'm still not too adept at handling a bike and taking photos and I haven't added any cool gear to the bike so that I can stow my camera easily....so this is the best picture I could come up with. At least you can see water and sand. I guess I'll have to go again and try to get better photos :-) (I got a new phone - Palm Centro - so I'm thinking that might help a little.)

This and That

(two of the pages I worked on at stamp camp from Josh's eagle project. I still need to do the journaling.)

Hello there! I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Could be that I'll actually have time to maintain this blog again soon.

Life is good and I'm having fun. Hey I've even scrapbooked!! That's a miracle really. I tend to create samples, make scrapbook presents and teach scrapbooking, but I rarely find the time to keep up on my own scrapbooks. I've created 10 pages for Josh's scouting album and 6 pages for his Europe album. I'm feeling quite accomplished.

Besides that, what have I been doing? Currently I'm trying to catch up on house cleaning that has been neglected for about 4 years. People think I'm kidding, but I really think it's been that long. Hubby was on disability for a couple of years and we maintained the house, but deep cleaning didn't happen. Why clean when he was sitting on the couch all day? (I had a bit of an attitude back then and he wasn't real happy being in pain all the time.) Then there was the whole career change for him, then for me. I was in survival mode for a while there. I'm pretty used to running the house on my own now and well....we have family coming to town, so it's time to purge and clean.

And then there's my latest obsession....cycling. Yep, I'm addicted! I absolutely love it. I look forward to my morning ride and if I wasn't on deep cleaning house mode, I'd probably go for a ride every night too. I'm constantly thinking of places I could ride to and contemplating how I could commute by bike and wondering when my odometer will pass the 100 mile mark and brainstorming ways to add a few more miles in the morning without dying on the local hills and enjoying the constant improvement and.....

This morning I rode the "Lakeview Loop." (Our made up name for a little circle around our neighborhood.) The first time I rode the loop I stopped on the first hill to catch my breath. My thighs were burning on the next incline (not too high, just steady incline.) By the time we headed up the incline towards the house I was telling Josh "I can't do this." But somehow I did.

Today? Today I never really felt like it was TOO hard. Sure I slowed down a little and my quads burned but it was good and I never thought I was going to die. I even took a little detour before I headed home and I added an extra 1/2 mile in the opposite direction. As the day wears on I am pretty sore, but I'm not sure if it's from the bike ride or the trip back to the gym yesterday. Yep, I returned to the ellliptical!!!! Hallelujah!!! I was pretty darn excited. I also did the rowing machine. (Not a big hit in my mind.) While the rowing machine made my upper thighs burn like crazy, I didn't really "feel" anything else.... at the time..... today I'm sore everywhere!!

Well I better run. I've got a house to clean, you know.

Checking In!

Sorry I've been absent!!! Here's the scoop

1) Almost done with school for the semester. My project is done and I have one more quiz and one more test. This class was a little bit harder for me (Managerial Accounting)

2) Josh is almost done with his Eagle Project. He ran into a couple little glitches, so it took an extra week. They are painting it on Saturday and it's done, done, done. Woo Hoo!!! I'm going to be the proud mom of an Eagle Scout. This has been 7 years in the making, 10 if you count cub scouts.

3) Stamp camp is next week, so I have a few things to share, but they are top secret for now.

4) Bought a bike and have been riding all over! Woo Hoo!! My broken ankle is pretty much healed. The sprain is still a little tender, but that's to be expected. The other foot seems to be healing since I started riding!!! hallelujah!! Maybe there's hope of avoiding surgery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I'm quickly becoming obsessed with cycling. Love it!!!!!

5) Josh joined an indoor soccer league. Now that he's almost 18, I finally get to be the soccer mom I dreamed of being. He waited until his junior year to believe me that soccer is THE best, so now we're making up for lost time. Their games are Saturday nights so I can actually go....and I'm totally taking advantage of it... until he decides it's not cool for Mom to go to his games. Thankfully I know a lot of the other kids on the team, so I'm thinking I might be invited for a while longer.

6) Made all of Joshua's graduation announcements, but I haven't taken a picture yet.

7) Still have a bunch of Thank You cards to make and a scouting album to finish and graduation next month and a house to clean and family coming and......

It's all good, fun, exciting things... just doesn't leave much time for stamping/blogging.

A Little Green

Happy Earth Day! For the past six months or so, I have been trying to be better about consumption and trash. Do we really need all that we buy? and Can I recycle this? are the two main questions I've been asking myself.

In all honesty. I don't believe in global warming. I think the Earth changes and evolves. It did before we were here and it will after. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't care about how we treat it and what resources we use.

So two questions work for me.

Do we need it?
Can I recycle this?

And so here are some of the changes we've made in our family.

Magazines - I'm on a magazine diet. I haven't bought a magazine for at least two months. I don't really need it, even though I can recycle it.

Re-usable bags - I still struggle with remembering to take them into the store, but I love them and love not having 10,000 plastic bags in my house! Besides, I think that those darn plastic bags are a hazard!!! My mom ran over one over 20+ years ago. It got stuck on her brakes and caused a ton of damage. Me, I ran over one a few months ago. It got stuck to my muffler and melted off for weeks!!! I hate seeing them floating all over the streets and freeways!!!

Two Trash Cans - One for recycling and one for everything else. We actually fill up the recycling can much faster than the regular can. Now if only my trash service would give us a big giant recycling can, life would be good. We just have a little bucket.....which we overflow each and every week.

Re-Usable water bottles - I take them everywhere I go...and yes, they're both a #7. One of the stories I've heard is that they break down from dishwasher use...well, good thing I don't have a dishwasher. LOL.

I'm contemplating cancelling my water delivery and switching to something like a Brita water filter. Haven't quite decided on this.

And my newest task??? Meals to go! So far I've started with breakfast. I make my breakfasts for the week on Sunday and put them in re-usable containers. Each morning I heat them up and make a piece of toast. No fast food trash!!

Next up - lunch. I feel guilty every day when I heat up my lean cuisine....

What are some of the things you're trying to do?