Nutcracker Sweet by Graphic 45

 As promised here is the finished Nutcracker Sweet toilet paper (cardboard tubes) core book I promised last week.  I have been fascinated by these awesome little chip board books after seeing one being made in a video several months back on YouTube by Jacqui Chimes/abbeyjoley TP Mini Part 1 and Charli Jones My Creative Spirit. I saw a lot of fun techniques and decided to make one but it has taken me forever to get around to doing it. 

I love the Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet papers this Christmas and decided to make my book using them.  First off you will need to collect  toilet paper cores to make your book/s with.  It doesn't take long to collect them yourself but I told some friends at my LSS about my need and by the end of the month I had a large trash bag full of the cores.  I didn't realize how many different sizes of these cardboard tubes were used in making toilet paper so you will have to be careful and choose cores of like size.  I used spray paint and painted the cores basic black and allowed them to dry before smashing them down and using an iron and waxed paper to flatten them out.  After flattening them I used extra sticky tape to seal the bottom before gluing the decorative end piece on.  Another problem was there are different lengths to the tubes so I took basic black heavy weight card stock and made and end piece that I glued to one end as a decorative finish but also to get my lengths correct.
Each one of the tubes holds a tag that can hold a picture and journaling.
Inside pages

pages 1+2

For the first two inside pages I made a mat on the left and a pocket on the right that holds 3-4 ATC cards (3.5 x 2.5 in)

 

pages 3-4

Simple mats of contrasting cardstock

pages 5-6

I put a decorative sticker on the left and another edge pocket on the right that holds one or two ATC.

pages 7-8

Journaling tag on the left and a single mat on the right.  

pages 9-10

pocket made with a piece of print paper that holds a 'book' for journaling and putting photos into.  One mat on the right.

 page 9 close up

pages 11-12

The last pages hold fewer pictures but you could switch around and put a pocket on the left and have more ATC's in the pocket.  I loved the look of these papers and didn't want to cover them up.

pages 13-14

Once again I didn't want to cover the paper up so left it as above

Back of book

Cute collaged finish

I had a lot of fun making the book and look forward to making more in the future.  I counted up a total of mats and tags in this book to hold 25 photos or journaling entries 2.5"x 3.5" in size.  If you wanted more then you could increase it by matting each page or making multiple pockets etc.

Stay tuned another one is in the making!

Chipboard books for a new baby

I made a couple of chipboard books for some friends of ours that I want to share with you but first a story... Years and years ago my husband went to the Mississippi State University to speak one spring and a young man named Brian heard my husband speak and Brian decided he wanted to move to Oklahoma and go to school at the University of Oklahoma so he could study with teachers like my husband. That year Brian got married to April and brought his new bride to live in Oklahoma. Over the years they have become friends and we have watched them and their family grow. This past year Brian and April were blessed with a beautiful baby girl they named Josie.
Josie is such a happy baby girl! I hadn't seen here in a couple months so it came as a surprise that she was now vertical and running everywhere. This is Josie at Halloween this past year and she has the most beautiful eyes and bright red hair!

Now on to the boring stuff!

The first book I made just before she was born to give as a birthing gift. I can't remember the name of the paper manufacturer but I thought it was so cute and so unusual I just had to have it to make a baby book out of.
Here are a couple of views from inside the book and the back! This was such a cute print.
















Don't you just love the pink rubber duckies and the pink leopard print? Just perfect
for the little rock star that rocks their world!



Josie was born around Easter last year and since I was making my granddaughter an Easter book I thought I would make one for her also. I don't know why it has taken so long to get it to her but... This paper, chipboard book, stickers,and bling is from a TPC collection in 2009. I used the Stampin Up! bird punch for the birdie on the front of the book and the Yoyo Yellow cardstock distressed with Chocolate Chip ink.

Here are some pictures from inside the book. I wish I better with this blogging etc and could make it look nicer but this will work...





I love the little bling birdie.










This picture doesn't show the shimmer on the flower but it is really shimmery. I used the edge punch and scalloped circle punch with garden green from Stampin Up!








Aren't the colors awesome in this book. Makes me happy just looking at it.










I hate to leave the back of the book blank. The flowers just seemed to fit. It looks like the egg is actually a vase! After putting the flowers down I ran a stream of glue around the bling to keep them on.





I hope you enjoyed my story and the books.