Corner Bookshelf

Corner Bookshelf from"House Tour: South Street Seaport" at Apartment Therapy. Metropolitan Home: March 2008. Downtown apartment of architect Jeffrey Povero and Jeffrey Schneider.

Another bookshelf idea. Custom bookshelves that take advantage of the ceiling height and the corner of the bedroom. Love it!

Boxed Letter Cushions

Boxed Letter Cushions from The Yvestown Blog. I love all things typographic. We have a silver "B" gracing our mantel as we speak. Perhaps our couch is in need of a "B" pillow.

Super fun for children who are just learning their letters, or even in a preschool/kindergarten classroom. Can't you just imagine getting to cuddle with the "letter of the week"?

A2 Envelope Album

A2 envelope booklet from Paper Source. My mom has a tradition of making scrapbooks to celebrate milestones in people's lives. She asks that person's friends and relatives to write a note and send a picture to place in an album. It's always such a surprise to get a note from a friend that you've lost touch from. This project could be used similarly, with friends gathering notes, photos, and mementos. Or to collect mementos from a single vacation. Directions from Paper-Source: "This easy to make book is a handmade and personalized way to organize all of your small odds and ends. Each envelope page can hold something different such as- "to do" lists, stamps, tickets, coupons, and business cards.
step one: Choose your envelopes. You will need an odd number, anywhere from five to ten. We have used an A2 size here but, almost any size side-opening envelope will work.
	step two: Using a glue stick, adhere the envelopes together by placing adhesive on the inside of the flap of one envelope and using a bone folder, burnish it to the front of the next envelope.
step three: Fold the pages accordion style, making the pointed flap of the first envelope the cover of your book.
	step four: Add a ribbon closure. Cut a small opening the width of the ribbon on both sides of the last envelope and run the ribbon through.
step five: Using labels and colored gel pens indicate the contents of each envelope "page". Fill with all your odds and ends, fold up, and tie the ribbon closure to keep everything safely tucked inside."

Pajamas Party

Christmas Party Tradition from Skip to My Lou. They invite friends over to read Christmas stories. The catch is that everyone has to come in their pajamas.
"There are no fancy clothes or fancy food and kids are definitely invited. At first the guests (especially the adults) might be shy about wearing their pajamas—but we insist. We sit around reading Christmas stories, drinking hot chocolate, sometimes we do a craft(decorating gingerbread houses and making gift tags are a favorite), and we eat a few simple snacks. It is such a special way to spend a cozy and relaxing evening with friends. We enjoy listening to our friends favorite Christmas books and as some of the children have gotten older they enjoy reading the stories also. I can’t say enough about how special the evening is for us. It is a moment in this busy time of year to slow down and remember what the Season is about!"

Here's the copy for the invitation:

"We would like for you to join us for
a Christmas tale
We’ll gather for a story about a
little sleigh bell
We’ll be in our pajamas so that’s
how you should dress
All aboard headed north on the
Polar Express
Your time and date

Please bring your favorite Christmas
story to read!"

Holiday Collage

Holiday Collage from Ali Edwards' blog.
"This week I received a Land of Nod catalog in the mail that had a cool collage of stamped elements in a white frame. I immediately tore it out and began thinking of ways I could create something similar myself using all my holiday supplies (if you have not gathered up all your holiday supplies together into one convenient location, now is the time to do it). I picked up an inexpensive frame with mat at my local all-purpose store (I love that I can get groceries and frames all in one place) and went to work.

Each of the patterned paper squares are 2 inches x 2 inches. Manufacturers include: Chatterbox, My Mind's Eye, Daisy D's, KI Memories, Basic Grey, Creative Imaginations, and Scenic Route.

Additional elements include:

• KI Memories: chipboard elements
• 7gypsies: stickers
• Marah Johnson Decemeber 25th: rub ons
• Danelle Johnson Art Warehouse: stamps
• Daisy D's: rub ons
• My Mind's Eye : tag
• Memories Complete: "happy holidays"

I ended up with a black frame and a white mat."

Could I do something similar for my Christmas card next year?

Butterfly Punch Collage

Weekend Creative Punch Collage from Ali Edwards' blog. I'm so glad I found this amazing lady's blog. And what a wonderful project to lead me there.
"This collage was created using a Martha Stewart butterfly punch and a variety of different scraps of paper: junk mail, scrapbook paper, pages from old books, etc. My white sheet of background cardstock was cut to 10x8 to fit into the mat of the black frame. I used tiny foam dots as adhesive. There's no real method to choosing which papers to use - I tend to go for a balance between text, lines, dots, etc."

I love this idea as a gift for my mom or for the pastor of my church. Who else wants a repetitive collage.

Picture A Day

Picture-A-Day, a custom heirloom book by GoodStock. I love this company and this business idea. I really wish that I would have thought of it first. I wonder if she needs any additional employees?!?! But this is still a lovely idea, one that I hope to have the resolve to do for my babies someday. Simple graphic design, occasionally a quote, but mainly just 365 photos of a cute baby. With self publishing houses like blurb.com and lulu.com, this is something I could put my own spin on.