BooVille- My Halloween Costume Mini Book

I love Halloween.  It's so much fun and my kids always enjoy dressing up in their costumes and running around the neighborhood collecting candy.  I created this little brag book to document the special costumes that my kids have had throughout the years.  I actually only got about 6 years worth in this little book so I guess I will be making another.  

My mom, who always made me my costumes each year has continued the tradition with her grandchildren.  Each year they go to the fabric store and pick out what they want to be and the fabric to make it with.  I am so proud of my mom and her sewing abilities that I wanted to create a little book dedicated to her work each year.

Each set of pages show pictures of my kids for that year.  This was Halloween 1999.

I used Nikki's Halloween line in the 6x6 paper pad to cover the house chipboard book.  The paper pads are the perfect size for the chipboard books.  This house book cuts out really quick because all of the straight lines.

I love all of the fun cutouts too.  These are available on the 12x12 individual papers.  The small bat, pumpkins, and strip of bats are some of the cutouts that you can use.

Each one of the papers in this Halloween line is fun and perfect for any costume pictures.

This last black page will be where I will put my journaling of the stories behind each costume.  I love that the kids will know each of these stories, event the ones where they are so little that they don't really even remember the trick or treating.

Here is one of my stories.  In the picture above, my son, decided that he could deal with a sword and cape so my mom and me picked this medieval costume.  He was about 5 and I figured that this was probably the last year that I would be able to get him into tights.  (Fun story about that too but I figure that I won't embarrass him too bad on the internet.  So we told him he was Zoro and as he is running through the neighborhood we would run into people we knew and they would ask him what he was.    With a confident shout and a point of his sword he would say to anyone that asked, "I'm Zero!"  Many laughs followed.  It is these stories and more that I hope to preserve for my kids and my mom who so loving sewed each of costumes year after year.

I would love to hear about your special Halloween stories.  If you pop over my blog and leave your favorite Halloween story in the comment section you will be entered to win a little Halloween blog candy from me. Contest ends Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at midnight CST.  I also have another small project that I will be sharing as well.

summer celebration

Jill, here, from the Willie Bee Diva House Design Team, enjoying the hot summer dayz in Manitoba and anticipating the beautiful harvest that is quickly approaching.

I strongly believe that you should always make time for celebrating -- birthdays, anniversaries, new born babies, and the list could go on endlessly. REALLY....... I could celebrate almost anything for no particular reason.

So........ I decided to create 2 different projects for this post that celebrate 2 different events of summer celebration.

The first project is a mini fabric album created to celebrate a wonderful Sunday afternoon spent with family -- using the 6x6 mini pads: Blueberry Hill & My Friend Birdie. I also used a few stickers on the cover and some journalling stickers throughout the pages of the album. Here's a little peek:

LOVE the little chipboard journalling tag (owl) on the back page of the album. I inked it with (pink) dye ink and then whitewashed some paint onto it. A bracket and some journalling complete the album.

The second project is a party invitation created from a pocket (actually it's the packaging from some of nikki's sticker collection). I've mixed a few different lines on this invitation (new & older): Blueberry Hill, My Friend Birdie & Bella's Cutie Cut-Ups.

Using the chipboard tree shape (from the chipboard albums), I snipped off the "trunk" to create the end of a balloon. With some paper from the My Friend Birdie mini pad, a few stickers, a stamp, some doodles & journalling, I set the balloon sailing with some ribbon -- it's tied to the bottom of the balloon and then taped inside the pocket.
I created a 3D flowers and attached it to the pocket with these corduroy brads -- they rock!!!! love ALL the colours!!!! Also used my pinking shear scissors around these fabulous labels.

Hope you find a little bit of end-of-summer inspiration here today.

enjoy,

jill