Something to Brag About

    Instead of a little wallet photo, imagine the joy dear granny will have in pulling a little brag-book out of her purse to share with her friends at bingo night!
    Author:
    Updated:
    Original:

    As a mama, we have plenty to brag about—our adorable children of course! While its nice and easy these days to share pictures and cute anecdotes of our child with the click of a button over the internet in email or blogs, I still believe a handmade gift or surprise in the mail is needed from time to time—and not all grandmas are online!

    Instead of a little wallet photo, imagine the joy dear granny will have in pulling a little brag-book out of her purse to share with her friends at bingo night!

    A brag-book is any kind of little album or booklet with special pictures that can be lovingly looked at, and small enough to carry around in a purse or keep on a nightstand. As always, the sky is the limit—but here are three very easy and copyable ideas for you to flash your favorite snaps around in, even if you have never scrapbooked before!

    IDEA # 1—pre-made album. Total time taken to create: 20 minutes (but you can stretch it out to a whole episode of Grey’s Anatomy!)

    This is a nice and easy one for the beginner or pressed-for-time scrapbooker. Pick up a cute blank album from your local scrapbook or craft store, stick in some cute photos and pop it in the mail!

    Comment

    Supplies Needed:

    Small ready-made album (one pictures is by www.makingmmemories.com)

    Photo Tabs

    Pen

    Scissors/Paper trimmer

    Photos

    Label stickers (optional)

    Steps:

    1. Crop/trim pictures to fit on pages.

    2. Adhere pictures with photo tabs, varying placement for added interest.

    3. Add simple journaling/dates directly to pages or on label stickers.

    Comment

    *Extra ideas:

    Get kids to write a message or draw a picture on some of the pages.

    Order your prints in matte finish to prevent fingerprints showing on well-loved pages.

    Comment

    Comment

    IDEA # 2 - Pics in a bag! Total time taken to create: 30 minutes.

    Sometimes you want to send a friend/relative a bunch of recent pictures. Instead of just sending them in an envelope—whip up a cute little pouch bag to slip them in. You can take it a step further and sew/bind the photos to create a little booklet.

    Comment

    Comment

    Supplies needed:

    Felt sheets

    Fabric scraps

    Sewing machine

    Hole punch

    Ribbon

    Tag (optional)

    Steps:

    1. Cut 2 pieces of felt approx 5x7 inches.

    2. Cut or tear strips from fabric strips. Hold one piece and machine stitch end—keep sewing (straight stitch) as you scrunch the piece of fabric into a spiral. Use 2nd piece of fabric to complete the spiral circle, creating a flower.

    3. Lay flower piece of felt on the other piece and stitch the 3 sides to form a pouch/bag. Messy stitching looks GOOD!

    4. Hold 2 photos back to back and stitch together. Repeat with all photos you are using.

    5. Punch hole in bundle of photos and tie with ribbon.

    6. Add tag to the ribbon and slip bundle into the pouch.

    Comment

    Comment

    IDEA # 3—Mini photo sandwiches. Total time taken to create: 30 minutes.

    So you’ve got a lot of pictures to share but you don’t want them to end up in a shoebox at granny’s house—nor do you want to invest the time or money on supplies to create a full-on album. This is the perfect solution for you—the transparencies are cheap as chips (you may even find an old box of them already in your office), and will protect the photos from cups of tea and cake crumbs!

    Comment

    Supplies needed:

    Photos

    Paper trimmer

    Sewing machine

    Transparency sheets (from office supply store)

    Hole punch

    Ribbon or lace

    Letter stickers/label stickers (optional)

    Steps:

    1. Crop all photos to 4x4 inches.

    2. Adhere 2 pictures back to back.

    3. Trim transparency sheets to 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches.

    Comment

    4. Sandwich the 2 photos in between 2 sheets of transparency and use a zigzag stitch to sew around all four sides. (Repeat with all photos/pages)

    5. Line pages up and punch 2 holes in the side, bind with ribbon or lace/fabric strips.

    *Extra ideas:

    Instead of photos on every page, you could mix it up with cute paper, kids artwork, journaling etc.

    Add stickers or words to the photos before layering in-between the transparencies.

    Comment

    Comment

    The possibilities here are endless, so grab yourself a stash of your favorite kid snaps and start thinking about some ways to cheer up someone’s mailbox.

    Of course, you may end up loving them so much that you forget to drop them in the mail and drop them in YOUR purse instead!

    Enjoy!

    —Emily J

    Comment

    Related

    Lifestyle

    Hand-Made Mother's Day

    If there was ever a holiday to make something with your own two hands, it's Mother's Day! Remember keeping that macaroni necklace and glitter-laden card a top secret as you squished it into your backpack and headed home on the friday before mother's day? I still have that bursting-with-pride-oh-I-hope-they-like-it feeling as I give a handmade gift! This year I'm giving my mother several framed pictures of my daughters and I, along with a little mini-book she can keep close-by with special pictures and space for her to write her memories in.

    Lifestyle

    Capturing the Little Things

    I have a little game I like to play when I’m feeling frustrated with the state of my house, or wishing I had a prettier couch or nicer kitchen appliances. I take myself on a little photo walk around my home, and capture the small and happy details.

    Lifestyle

    Mini Love - Mega Impact

    Ah, the mini book. Don't underestimate it's power. A small album made from, well, pretty much anything you like is fast becoming my favorite way to scrapbook and create.

    Lifestyle

    No Supplies? No Worries!

    Scrapbooking can be a costly little hobby. What with all the trendy papers, embellishments, stickers and those must have tools, a girl can do some serious damage to the monthly budget. If you’re new to scrapbooking, you may feel overwhelmed at the thought of stocking up on products to get yourself started. I’m here to help! Scrapbook products are fun, but not totally necessary. With a few basic supplies and a little imagination, you will be whipping up creative keepsakes in no time.

    Lifestyle

    Around and Around...

    When was the last time you opened your mailbox and found something fun in there from a friend? Gone are the days of notes on pretty stationary, or an envelope full of photos - they’ve been replaced with blogs and friendship chain emails threatening years of bad luck if you don’t forward it on!

    Lifestyle

    Sew Easy

    I'll let you in on a little secret. While I love to be crafty, make books and go nuts with my sewing machine on my scrapbooks/journals - I'm not much of a sewer.

    Lifestyle

    Family History Fun & Simple

    Last year when I went back home to visit my family in Australia, my mother pulled out the coolest thing I have seen in my entire life – a handmade, hand-bound, hand-drawn, hand-written (you know I love the ‘hand’ stuff) giant comic book documenting the 3 month trip her and my dad took as newlyweds.

    Lifestyle

    Love At Home

    For me, Valentines Day brings back painful memories of my teenage years - hoping desperately that the mail would bring me a note from a secret admirer, that the guy I had a massive crush on might actually feel the same way and send me an encrypted message to prove it.