Z Fold Mini - Back to School Theme

Well, it's 95% complete so it's time to share.  Thanks again Laura!!!!  If you have never seen the video for a Z fold mini check out Laura's sites:
Blog
U Stream
U Tube

This is my grandson Paul's Elementary School Mini.  He's in his last year of Elementary and this is the third child we've put through Hayes Leonard Elementary.  They're probably grateful the gang's almost gone!  I'll just be glad when there are only two bus schedules I need to remember!
Lots of pictures ahead.  Not all the bling is added yet.  I wanted Paul to help me decide what should go where and he is SO slow at picking things out.
The front cover:

 Inside the font cover and the view of the first album page.

 There is a ton of space in this album for pictures, journaling, and mementos.

I took the pages back out of the book to photograph them.  It was easier to hold them open. All the pages are the basic design so I will only explain the layout for this one.  Each "Folder Tag" is made from Craft card and covered to look like a blackboard.  There are four areas for pictures or journaling.  There are three sizes of Folder Tags.  These are the sizes of the folded tags:
Small -2" by 2.5"
Medium - 2.25" by 5.25"
Large - 5.25" by 5.25"

Kindergarten.
Small flap page - the maple leaf brad divides this pocket page into two sections.  A small folder tag is inserted into each section  [There is really room for two tags in each section, but we limited it to one.]  We are planning on putting Paul's school picture in the top pocket section and adding notes; then putting his teacher(s) pictures in the bottom pocket section.

 Lifting the small tag reveals the pocket for the large tag folder.  There is also lots of spaces for notes or small photos on the back of the front tab and the area below the "Class" title.  The Class titles were cut on the Cricut using Plantin Schoolbook. I just had to use and apple for the Kindergarten title. This picture also shows the front of the second flap.  There is a medium tag folder that inserts from the top.  We want to use this tag for special activities like field trips, class parties, the KinderPal program etc.

This is the back of the first page.  The colors change, but are connected to the colors of the front by the "Class" title coloring.  The back of the second flap is on the left, then there is a 6" by 5.75" mat on the back (left side).  We are planning on putting the class photo there.

 First Grade:

 I used Gold Stars for the 1st grade Class Title.  His teachers for that year were really into handing out stars for homework assignments.  Still lots of apples.  I found that most of the pre-made elements are buses, stars, apples, and "abc" or "1+1+2".

 Second Grade:

 The big "drama" in second grade was the changing of the bus driver.  Becky was the driver for our route for the seven years my grandchildren had been going to Hayes. Now we had a new bus driver.  Wow, who would have known that was going to be a problem, but it was! LOL

 Third Grade:

 In third grade the school has a "Reading Buddy" program.  I used that for the pictorial part of the Class Title. Notice the pack your lunch sticker?  This was the year Paul became picky and wouldn't eat the school cafeteria food.  They knew I had so much free time in the morning as it was!

 Forth Grade:
We started out with big smiles.

 Then Math and Science made huge leaps where "we" made small steps.

 But, he became a "Cool" artist.  Sorry about the picture it does say "Artist".

 Fifth Grade
Well, this is where we are now.  The smiley face (frown) was because he had homework on the first day of school.  It's exactly what he looked like when he got home. LOL

 In 5th grade the students become the KinderPals for the Kindergarten class.  So I chose two silhouettes to show Paul has come full circle from the student to the teacher in that program.  The music staff is because he started cello in the orchestra this year.

 The back cover of the book:  I like the way the covers are pages are not attaached to each other in this Mini Album.  It allows things to be added between the pages and expansion can be achieved by getting larger page rings.

 Closeups of the Folder tags.
Small (2.5" x 2") - there are 12 in total.

 Medium (2.75" x 5.25")- there are 6 in total.

 Large (5.25" x 5.25")- there are 8 in total.

Wow- one down two to go.  Then there's middle school and high school. ..... sigh.  I need a nap!
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs,
Sue

"Things That Go Bump in the Night!" - Cricut Cardz Challenge #91

Hey, Cricut Cardz Challenge is at Mary's CardzTV!!! This challenge is a Halloween theme, so you know I can't pass that up.  The rules were  to make a card for Halloween with the spookiest, scariest image you can find on any cartridge(s), and using  any colors you’d like.  Here's my entry.

 There are actually five different Cricut cuts and a lot of bling.

Cricut cuts:

Martini Glass: From my Kitchen

Devil head: Smiley Faces

Witch with broom tag: Wrap It Up

Wave #1 Nickelodeon SpongeBob Squarepants (top of glass)

Wave#2 Nickelodeon SpongeBob Squarepants (middle of glass)

Hope you join the fun.

Sue

Z Fold Mini Prototype page

First and foremost, thank you Laura at Following the Paper Trail for this idea.  Laura used a coin envelope and a medium sized office envelope with a clasp to make her album.  I tried this and succeeded, but I didn't like how the envelopes showed. (Enter trash bin).  SO, I played around with a 12" square of paper and worked out several folding templates.
I finally settled on this one.

1.  On one side score the paper at 2 1/2", 8 1/2", and 11 3/4".
2.  Turn the paper 1/4 turn.
3.  Score the paper at  5 7/8" and 11 3/4".

You end up with a 2 1/2" flap, a 6" center, and a 3 1/2" flap (this replaces the coin envelope).
I have a Z-fold album 95% finished, but I wanted to share my first prototype.  The folds and cuts don't show in this pictures, but when I post the "It's Elementary..." mini I will include how I folded and cut the page to create pockets in a how-to photo group.

This was my first experimental page.  Since this page I've changed how I taped the page together so the seams don't show.  The beige strip is the binding tab and that is cut from a separate paper and added after the folding and taping to the album page is complete.

The first flap is open from top to bottom on the right side.  Laura used brads to divide this into two pockets.  I also did this.  You could leave it at one pocket, but the depth is only 2" and you may be limited as to what wouldn't fall out when you turn the page.

The back side of this has a small mat for journaling or pictures.

The center section on the front is a pocket.  The section measures 5 7/8" by 5 7/8" and holds a 5.5" by 5.5" tag (you can see the red tag barley sticking out).  Plus there is a 5 1/2" by 5 1/2" mat on the outside of the pocket.

 Here's the tag.  I have made this tag as a small booklet of 2-4 pages and it fits just fine.

The second flap is a 3 1/2" pocket that opens at the top.  I have a 3" mat on this flap.  Since this is one page of a Christmas Mini I thought this cardinal worked out really nicely.

 The pocket holds 2 1/2" x 5 1/2"  tag.

The back side of the flap also has a 2 1/2" by 5 1/2" mat.  The pocket has two tags inside it.  One faces each side of the flap.

The last part of the page is a 5 7/8" by 5 7/8" section with no pockets.  I placed a large size mat (In this case another Christmas paper that has a tree and presents.   The binding strip is a 5" by 5 1/2" strip that is folded in half and edge punched (EK Success Punch) and has binding holes for rings punched into the folded edge.  You could use any binding punch style. The strip is added to the page with Scor Tape.

Again, thank you Laura.  I tried to find a direct link on her blog to the Z fold mini, but I couldn't.  I think she has a U stream video on it though.  I'll keep looking and try to connect directly.

The second prototype is a "Frame Yourself" Mini.  I have all the pages cut and glued and the frames cut, but that's as far as I've gotten on that one.  Here is a few pictures of the pages.  This paper is from DCWV Mia Casa glossy paper stack.  There are some really wild papers in the stack.  It wasn't easy to tone them down much.  The picture frames are from tag cuts on the Picturesque cartridge.  I used grommets instead of brads on the front flaps of all the pages as well as on the tags.

Both of these minis should be up some time in the next two weeks.  The "It's Elementary..." mini (a school mini album for my grandson's elementary school should be up next week.

Thanks for stopping by.  Let me know what you think.
Sue

Boy Birthday Card

I made this card for my grandson's birthday.  I've had a package of "All Boy" brads forever.  They are just so heavy and big I thought they would overpower a card, but this one brad worked out just fine for this card.  The papers are from an old DCWV school pack.  I didn't use the Cricut on this or the thank you cards -just a 3-M corner rounder, and a EK circle punch.

These were the basic cards I made for Paul to send out his "Thank You"s:

Thanks for stopping by.  Let me know what you think.

Sue

What inspires you?

Every time I walk into the local public library I walk out with a bagful of books, a notepad full of ideas and a bubble of excitement that leads me through a few new projects.  I was wondering where others get there inspirations.  So I am going to list my last five inspiration sources (complete with pictures) and what I plan to do with them.  I invite you to comment and share some of your inspiration sources.  Maybe we can work this into a challenge.  Hmm, I'll give that some thought and come up with a prize.

Here's the five inspirations I found today:

1.  The October 2009 issue of Crochet World.  Here's the picture of the Autumn Glory Doily designed by Judy Teague Treece:

I just love the colors and the shapes.  The inspiration is to make an scalloped easel card with this design incorporated into both the topper and the stopper!

2.  From the book Altered Shoes by Marty Stevens-Heebner (ISBN 9781600611261):

The Goth at Heart shoes are just screaming Halloween and the Forever Young cartridge to me.  

Witch, where did you get those shoes!!!

3.  From the October/November 2009 issue of Beadwork comes Melinda Barta's Edelweiss necklace.  

I can't wait to make a Holiday card with some of these elements and I love those bright gold crystal pearls.

4. In the September 2006 Crafts 'n Things an advertisement caught my eye.  It's an ad for Tulip Fashion art. 

The spider candy dish is excellent and I love the fly on the straw in the cup.  Ooo creepy crawly things are coming...

5. From my favorite toy catalog MindWare, the September 2011 issue has the matching/sorting game called "The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game".  I think a tree shaped card similar to the box would make a great child's birthday card.

So, there are my five for today.  I'll keep thinking about a challenge or give away to go with a future post.  For right now - WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Bonus:
And here is my choice for dinner tomorrow:
From the August/September 2010 issue of Simple and Delicious Taste of Home .  YumO

Thanks for stopping by.  I'd love to hear your comments.

Sue