I love chipboard, and therefore it is impossible to not also love Maya Road products. And when I was perusing the internet looking for some craft bargains a few months ago, I noticed this great chipboard home album on offer, and simply could not resist. I was pleasantly surprised when the package arrived, as the book looked much bigger than in the photo, and there were 8 pages of strong and sturdy chipboard to use as pages and external covers. I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for.
In August last year we moved from a flat to a house. Still renting unfortunately, but a step in the right direction for sure. As we were packing the boxes, bubble-wrapping the Denby crockery, and dismantling furniture, it made me think back and remember all the other occasions where we had to move house. I started to count in my head all the various places I’ve lived, and how my life has changed along the way: living with family, going to University, living with friends, my first flat with Craig… it was easy to remember each location but hard to imagine being back in that situation again.
I’ve counted that over the modest 26 years of my existence, I have lived in a grand total of 14 different locations. Some for just a temporary time span, others for longer, but all in all, I have been registered at 14 different places of residence in my life – what is even more worrying is that 12 of these were in the last 8 years!
I want to share with you my mini book which pays homage to each and every location which I have called home throughout life. This book is called “Home is where the heart is, but I’ve lost count” and each page is a reflection on that era of my life. Throughout the next week or so, I will be posting pictures of each page for you to see, and tell you about the story behind why I have designed each page in each particular way. Some are more elaborate than others, but all in all the book is a mish-mash of colours, styles, designs and themes – as this best reflects the variety which is the spice of my life.
The cover
To start off this series of blog posts, here we have the album cover. The book came with the four squares cut into the first chipboard page to give a window effect, and I loved how this looked. Even if it didn’t have this window, I probably would have tried to cut it out myself, as this is a really great way to make the first page remarkably different from the rest of the inner pages. I also think its really cute as it gives you a sneak peak through to the inside too.
Products usedt
For the cover, I used a page of blue pattern paper from a DCWV stack and using Trimcraft acrylic stamps and a Ranger Archival ink pad, I stamped some flourishes around the edge of the book. I knew that I wanted to use a Heidi Swapp heart chipboard shape, and I found some great wing shaped chipboard shapes from Bisous that complimented this perfectly. The word home is also from Heidi Swapp, and the flourish label and black arrows are also from Bisous ‘crave’ line. The white metal embellishment is from Making Memories, and the gaffer tape is a 7 Gypsies favourite of mine. Sorry but I honestly cannot remember where I bought the key charm, but it is super cute!
I hope you like my album, and be sure to check back soon to see the rest of the pages.
NOTE
I’ve decided to put a gallery here with all the pages all in one place now that each one has been featured individually. Thanks to everyone for all their kind comments.
