Excessive product use & an Anniversary Gift

I haven't had much time or been in a creating mood lately (just a bit of creator's block), so I thought I would show you a project I made a few months ago for a classmate of mine. He wanted a special gift for his wife for their first anniversary. After seeing some of my work during a class presentation, he asked if I could make an album for her.

Traditionally, the first anniversary gift is paper, so I thought it was pretty appropriate. He gave me pictures and memorabilia from their engagement, wedding, and honeymoon, and told me cost didn't matter and I had free reign as far as design. Don't you wish all clients gave you that kind of freedom when creating? :) Although, depending on the project, it can be nice to be given some direction too.

Anyway, here is what I made:

Front Cover

I used several types of flowers to create this cover-Prima, Recollections, and Sizzix die cut. The center of the flowers are SU Basic Pearls and, Clear and Ice Rhinestone brads. The Chantilly Crochet Trim was woven in between the flowers for more depth. The word love in the book plate was printed in MS Word using a font called Angelic War.

Some of the Inside Pages

The album did not come with pre-cut inside pages, so I made my own. I wanted something heavier than just cardstock, but not as heavy as chipboard. I finally decided on heavyweight watercolor paper, which was then covered with either cardstock or DSP, as the design dictated. Before covering the watercolor paper, I placed reinforcement labels around each of the holes on both sides of the paper to help prevent ripping from wear and tear on the pages.

For the background I used a mask to add some detail to the textured cardstock. On the left hand side I sponged around the outside of the mask, and on the right I used the mask like a stencil.

To keep these gorgeous pictures as the focus, I added a hidden journaling tab behind one of them for the couple to add information later.

I used an old Coluzzle form I had to cut out the file folder. The metal photo turns keep extra pictures inside when the folder is closed. I also used a magnetic closure under the flower.


When you lift up the photo on this page, you will find a pocket for memorabilia and additional photos.

Inside Back Cover

Here is the final page and the inside back cover. The envelope was made using a Coluzzle form. Inside the envelope are once again additional pictures. I sponged the edges of the Celery satin ribbon with Marina Mist.

There are a total of 14 two page layouts in the album, plus the front and back inside pages and covers. The album was a lot of fun to make and gave me a chance to use some products and techniques that I hadn't used in a while.

Here is a list of items that I used to complete the album (aside from basic tools like scissors, paper cutters, bone folder, etc):

Stamps: Notes & Details, Essence of Love, Tiny Tags, Bliss, Enjoy Every Moment (SU) Pollen Dust (Fancy Pants)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Brushed Gold, Cameo Coral, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Vellum (SU)
DSP: Love Letter, Patterns Series Paper Pack in Brights and Neutrals (SU) Chapter One (Kaiser Kraft) Gabrielle (BoBunny)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Basic Black (SU)
Misc.: Glimmer, Metallic, Clear, Ice, and Fire Rhinestone Brads, Clip Assortment, Scallop Trim Border, Decorative Label, and Ticket Corner Punches, Crop-A-Dile, Top Note Die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Chantilly Crochet Trim, Certainly Celery and Marina Mist 5/8" Satin, Marina Mist and Early Espresso 1/8" Tafetta, Whisper White 5/8" Organza, Certainly Celery, Real Red and Marina Mist 3/8" Taffeta, and Early Espresso 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbons, Hemp Twine, Bitty Buttons, Mini Vintage Tags, Basic Pearls, Basic Rhinestones, Photo Turns (retired), Sticky Strip, Sanding Blocks, Sponges, (SU) Beyond the Page MDF Georgian Album, Chapter One Rub-Ons and Cardstock Stickers (Kaiser Kraft) Ornate Book Plate, Regal Mini Mask, (Ideology-Tim Holtz) Tattered Florals Die (Sizzix-Tim Holtz) Gabrielle brads (BoBunny) Magnetic Snaps, Precision File Set (BasicGrey) Labels #4 (Spellbinders) Essential Flowers in Moulin and Reflections, Vintage Trinkets-Flowers (Prima Flowers) Adhesive Rhinestones, Floral Embellishments, Boutique Fleur (Recollections) File Folder and Envelope Form (Coluzzle) 2" Binder Rings, Kodak Photo Paper, Reinforcement Labels (Staples) Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive (3M) Mono Adhesive (Tombow) Crystal Stickers (Mark Richards) 140Lb Watercolor Paper (Local Craft Store)

Now that is some serious product use! :) I don't think I have ever used that many products to complete a project in one shot.

How about you? What is the largest amount of products you have used to complete a project?

Have a great day!