"All life is an experiment"...

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good morning!

I thought I would start my blog off with a quote as today I'm showing you a "smash book" that I created for my dear daughter to capture the important moments in her life.    Smash books have become so popular in the past several months.  As a paper crafter, I thought I could make a homemade one to tailor it exactly to her needs.  There are so many wonderful youtube videos and blogs on it - lots of inpiration, great techniques and good tips.

So here is my take on the Smash book.

I started with a old journal - similar to this one - and removed all the used paper being careful in opening the coil binding as I will re-use it.

I wrapped the cover with 2 sheets of cardstock, added black duct tape down the spine to reinforce it (which I distressed with a sanding block) and then placed cardstock on the inside of the front and back cover.  I also used 7 Gypsies antique brass corners to reinforce them and add a finishing touch.  The band is just an elastic headband but I think we'll replace it with a ribbon which is more to my daughter's taste.

I then cut several sheets of GCD Studios Antiquities into 6 x 9 inches, leaving a 1/2 inch space on top and bottom and 1 3/4 inches on the side.  This spacing is important as in a smash book you tend to use paper clips and other items that stick out but with some spacing everything gets protected by the cover.  I also made a number of tags, pockets and envelopes which I placed throughout the book.

On the left is the inside cover with the first pocket page that shows the paper clips.  

On the right, is one of the pages showing the tag, envelope and lined paper. Isn't the paper wonderful?

I had intended to give it to her as a Valentines' gift but I couldn't wait.  She was really happy and immediately started to fill it. 

Here are a few finished pages to give you some ideas.

This took a few hours to put together - not accounting for the trip to my local scrapbooking store for the metal corners and to the dollar store for the duct tape!  A special thank you to my husband for letting me bounce ideas off of him these past few weeks (and not rolling his eyes!) and for recommending and installing the brass corners. 

The boys in the family are wanting one now and my daughter wants another one for her summer trip to Greece. So it looks like this was a good idea!  I don't have a binding machine yet but I think I'll need to add the Cinch 2 to my wish list.