TECHNIQUE TUESDAY - A Gift

I love doing first year albums. I'm not sure why I do the ones for gifts while the ones for my granddaughters' albums are still not even started. That is one of the first To Do items once I'm in the new space.  In the mean time, here is my latest album.

My sister needed a special gift for a young man who's wife is expecting a little girl in the next few weeks. While we were having our Saturday morning visit on-line, she told me she was cruising etsy for a gift. I pointed her to albums I've done in the past HERE and HERE. A very low price was agreed upon, a feeling for what she was after in terms of theme and I was off.

I am always still amazed how a plain album like the one above I found on clearance becomes this:

The cover is padded then covered in unbleached muslin. The ribbon and the roses are from Paper Studio. I fell in love with the lace and although you can not see the elegance of that wide heritage lace very well on the cover, the same lace also graces the opening of the front and back cover. I wish I had purchased more of that as well as the narrow lace trim set off by the burgandy ribbon on the left edge.  You will also notice three butterflies. Those were punched from DCWV shimmer cardstock. I layered a soft pink over a vanilla cream then accented the body with a crystal tear drop from Studio G.

The album ties together with the burgandy ribbon as well as a matching white ribbon I died with a alcohol mist I made using SU Creamy Caramel.

Here is the welcoming page:

This page as well as the photo pages you will see in a moment also have the leaf accent from the SU Bird punch. I stamped the image in SU Bravo Burgandy.

Here is the 2-pg layout:

And the individual pages:

The burgandy and pink cardstock are 8.5 x 11 from Hobby Lobby. The burgandy is textured. I can't remember the name of the swirl. I will look that up and insert. The background paper is also 8.5x11 from Hobby Lobby.  The lade trim is Ecru spool lace from The Paper Studio. 

I added three pearls from Recollections to balance this side out. The 4x6 photo mat is accented with the same Ecru spool lace. 

We were to meet my sister on Saturday for lunch. Saturday morning she texted wanting to know if I had remembered to make a card. My husband was in his usual form, and manning my phone while I put the final touches on the album at the hotel. He texted back 'what card?' Not realizing HE was the one texting her and not me, she went into a panic. Thankfully, he did not leave her in that state for too long. Here is the card I made - to match the album.  The sentiment inside and out came from the new SU set - B.Y.O.P.

Things are a bit crazy around here this week. Bob has carpal tunnel surgery on his right wrist on Friday morning. Between pre-op and surgery for him, we have also been trying to get some last minute things done while he still has two hands. As soon as the right is healed (approx. 3 weeks) they will go in and do the left. 

I also need to make a run to Springfield tomorrow. The weather was so gorgeous last weekend (70s) we hung our coats in the closet at the hotel... and left them when we packed up Sunday morning. If the weather had  been cold, we would have remembered them when we loaded up the truck. Because I hardly ever use the closet, I did not think to check there when I packed up the room - yep, my fault. Thankfully, this Baymont is like a 2nd home for me. The only place I stay when I go to Springfield. I am on first name basis with everyone from our new manager to the breakfast gal. I called to let them know our coats were there and they already had them on hold with my name on them. LOL