Fun Hybrid Projects!!!

Note:  While the papers used in the following projects were standard "paper" scrapbooking papers, you could just as easily do this by printing out some of your favorite digi backgrounds and elements.  My next one is going to feature some adorable  Mary Fran backgrounds.

I got to go to a new crop in Rockaway, NJ this weekend.  I had an absolute blast with my friend Patti and my SIL Tina.  It was Tina's first crop and she did an amazing job on a gift book.  She bought a ton of stuff from our good friend Judy O'Donnell, so I know she's hooked!  Judy Got me addicted to albums made out of words when she introduced me to Chatter Bookz last fall.  Then I went to the Memories Expo this past May and found Creek Bank Creations and their amazing Bloom Book kits.  They can help you put together a kit to make a book out of any word or name and they also have numbers!  As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make a GRACIE album. Patti had told me to keep an eye out for anything new and cool for her so I grabbed her a Keira and Kendall for her twin baby girls.

Well, Patti and I have been wanting to work on these projects together since May and we finally got the chance.  We had an absolute blast, but it was quite a bit of work and a little nerve wracking because we weren't sure we were doing it right.  A couple of times we each cut our letters out backwards and had to redo them and that was before we hit up the Crystal Lite and Vodka!  While the chipboard from Creek Bank is very heavy duty and takes well to thick gluing and sanding, it isn't as smooth as the white chipboard of the Chatter Bookz so I'm not sure how it would look if you wanted to paint instead of paper.  The samples that I saw at the Expo were painted and looked okay, just a little flat.  Maybe a coat of modge podge glossy over the paint would help if you wanted to go that route.  Certainly less time consuming than the paper process!!!

So this is what it looks like before you get started.  The letters are not attached to the lengths of chipboard.  You have to line them up yourself. 

Then you decorate the letters and book pieces separately and attach the letters afterwards.   Here it is with the papers adhered to the letters (all papers are Basic Grey). Look far left and you'll see a little bit of a background from Mary Fran's Summer Breeze peeking out ;-)

Meanwhile over at Camp Patti she got all of her letters done for Keira's book in these beautiful soft and subdued colors....

when she found some other papers they fit her little wild one's personality much better!  She realized the softer colors would work better for Kendall.  Luckily they share some of the same letters in their names so she only had to switch out the I and the R.

Then it was time for us to begin sanding down the edges of the letters to smooth out the places where the paper and the chipboard meet.  That took a TON of time and my arms are still aching!!!  Here's Patti demonstrating her using the table for leverage technique while showing off her new Kenny Chesney T, a constant reminder of her VIP seats at Thursday night's concert ;-)

Sanding completed it was time for me to cover my book pages with paper.  I decided to go with solids for the book pages hoping the letters would stand out more.

Finally I inked the edges of my letters with Walnut Ink from Ranger and glued on my letters.

Patti was finished a little bit behind me since she had decided mid-stream to change color schemes...

Don't they look great???  I started putting in some pix, but didn't take pictures of that yet as I'm still embellishing.  I cannot wait to finish this up!  It was so much fun!!!  I may order the word FAMILY next. What I really like about these books is that the letters start out separate so you can go really crazy decorating, distressing and inking whereas with the other books from Breezy or Bo Bunny etc, the letters are part of the board from the beginning. 

Patti and I have the inside scoop on a local NJ lady that Judy is working with, who is making some really unique chipboard albums.  They will be debuting this weekend at CKC in Valley Forge PA.  We're tying to figure out a way to get out there for the show for some serious shopping!!   I'll link you up when her website is live and you can order from her.  I got a sneek peak at a Star of David album and it was really cool.  I hear she's got albums in the shape cupcakes and ice cream cones she'll be selling at CKC!!!!!

Comments

[Michele Angelo]

I loved them. Cool idea and they look great.

[Michelle Filo]

wooohooo :) *heart hybrid* thanks for the tutorial!! the letters must be a pain to cut though....but totally worth it, right?
xoxo

[Patti C]

Yeah, I made it to DigiPick, although it is not Digi. I had a blast making these, and cannot wait to finish Kendall's. That will be nightly after they go to bed. I will be purchasing one for Joey as well, he was a little jealous!