My Mamma's Christmas Present!!!!

Hey there crafty girls!! Ok... I'm feeling better. Last week, was a rough one, but I took a few much needed days off work (Wed., Thurs., Fri. & yesterday) and finished up all all of my holiday preparations and went with the family to Orlando. It was a nice trip. I was feeling pretty crappy the whole time, but I forced myself to not be the Grinch. I’m not sure I fully succeeded, but I did try.

Anyway! Last night, I finally finished my mom’s (crafty) Christmas gift. The only things she asked for were a really nice knife set & new frying pans (I got her both). The only other thing she said she wanted was a stamp holder like what I made for my Lawn Fawn Stamps. She just recently started paper crafting, and had joined the CK Club and a card of the month club. She’s having fun with it, and also has started a little (clear) stamp collection. Besides this, I also got her inks, mini (6X6) paper stacks, and a Fiscars Stamp Press (so that I wouldn't have to get her a bunch of clear acrylic blocks).

Sooooo.... for her stampy home, I decided on an clear album (an arrow) by Clear Snap. I traced/cut a bunch pages from plain ol’ chipboard to alternate them with the clear pages and decided to make it a combination “stamp holder/mini scrapbook” for my mom. {I used all new pics. - that I haven’t even given her copies of yet - so she should be pretty excited about that ;).} Then I went to town decorating with October Afternoon’s Modern Homemaker papers/letter stickers/badges/Mini Market stickers/element stickers. Siiiiiigh... when I saw this line, I just knew it was perfect for this project for my mom! Ok, so, what I'm mainly sharing is the scrappy pages, but remember, inbetween each scrappy page is a clear page to house her clear stamps :D. Here’s a first look!
I’m actually hyperverbal (self-diagnosed...) So that’s the explanation on the loooong title of the book: “LOOK! It’s Kathy’s stamper keeper & creative inspiration” ;) OOOOOOH WELL! I made the flower on the over by making 3" by ½" & 2" by ½" strips of paper and layered them around a punched (Martha Stewart) scalloped circle, gluing them with Glossy Accents and finished it off with a Badge. The other side of this page can house stamps. I love that you can see my hubbys surprised face popping through the cover ;). I wanted this to be encouraging and uplifting...and fun for her, so, each page has a “theme” that I wrote out with the letter stickers in the set. Like, this one is “PLAY”. I made the book before I had the pictures and then tried to print pics according to the page’s theme. In case you can’t read it, the sticker on this page says “Mom, I hope you have fun getting crafty! Remember, creativity heals! Love, Heather”:
This next page is her boyfriend, Mike and his kids on Thanksgiving: I HAD to use this stamp!!!! I've been dying to use it since I got it, but haven't had much opportunity. I got it in a Studio Calico kit (that I got, basically, JUST for the stamp!!!) And thought it was perfect for the “BE SILLY” page: This one I had already labeled “BE STRONG” and when I saw this picture of my son jumping into her pool it made me LAUGH OUT LOUD, and thought it was perfect!! Then this is a look how the pages will look with stamps on them! That’s right, I got my mom her 1st Lawn Fawn stamp set to include in the book. It’s one of the newest sets “Hello Friend”. I thought it’s be perfect!! My only mistake is not ordering a set for myself :(: This is my Mike, Paige (my niece, whom my mom is raising), and my mom herself! This was actually their Christmas photo, came out really nice: This, of course, is my babies ;): For this page, which I had already titled it "LIVE & CREATE", so, how perfect was it that I had just taken these pics of the kids and my mom making Christmas ornaments, from last weekend!! This is the last scrappy page. Titled “U.R. LOVED” with a pic of my mom & my sweet little Lulu.
This back (inside) page is actually a clear page. I covered the back (actually the back cover) with paper. As you can (kinda) see, I added a set of American Crafts alpha/number stamps: This is how I decorated the back of the book. I just COULDN’T NOT use that clothesline!! In the end, I finished it off with various ribbons and just love how it came out!

Well, that’s my share (probably for the week). I hope it makes you smile! I feel so happy to have completed it and think she will love it! God bless you all and your families this Christmas.