So we are starting something new here at Fire and Ice Designs. Every Sunday we want to feature YOU! You the designer and creator of a Build A Book project! Our goal is to showcase the Build a Book in use. We will be looking for Build a Book projects throughout the internet and searching for new techniques and eye-catching designs.
This weeks Sunday Hot Spot is:
Shaina Nunnelly
Tell us a little about yourself:
Growing up, my passion for office supplies was transferred to scrapbooking. I still get lost in the smells, textures, and colors that scrapbooking provides me. So my passionate affair with paper products keeps my creative juices flowing, especially since there are new products coming out all the time. I like to use photoshop for tweaking my pictures and for journaling (my handwriting is really terrible!) but I will never stray from true paper scrapping. My four kids and my patiently supportive husband continue to be my inspiration as well as my biggest cheerleaders. When I'm not scrapping, I love to watch movies, have parties, and clean my kitchen. (I know. Weird, right?) I also have an obsessive habit of writing in my blog. It makes me happy.
Tell Us about your project:
I was given the Fire and Ice Build a Book by my LSS to showcase the product. It was my first time doing an acrylic album, but I admit, I had been longing to try. I loved that it was a completely blank canvas. I could turn it into whatever color scheme I wanted to.The owner also gave me some product from "The Little Yellow Bicycle" to promote as well, so that is what I used for the album, as well as some buttons and ribbon. I jazzed it up with some Prima flowers as well. I chose to leave the acrylic clear, but that didn't stop me from inking the edges. I think it gives everything such a finished look. You could do the same with paint, too! I really liked the idea of seeing through the album, so when I was assembling the pages, I would lay the assembled pages over the one I was working on, to see the placement of everything, and to make sure it worked not only as a single page, but as the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th page looking from the front of the book. My first page I made my layout center, and the second page I moved it up and to the right. The third page I moved to the bottom, and the 4th was at the top. This gave visual interest to the book, and it also gave it some nice movement. I kept a lot of white space throughout the album. Not only did that help with being able to see through multiple pages, but it also kept it less chaotic and gave it a very clean feel. I also mixed and matched color photos with black and white as well as sepia-toned. Don't be afraid to do that. It is fun!
Tips for the Build a Book user:
When working with a clear product, what you do to one side inevitably will show through on the other, so that makes adhesive a bit tricky. So I had to get creative in my glue placement, as well as how to turn the back of the page into the front of another. Before I tacked anything down, I always turned it over to see how it would work and what I could do with the following page. I also inked both sides of the paper before I glued it down, so that when you turned it over, it didn't look so much like the back of something, but rather the front. I also used double sided paper, with a different print on the back side. And finally, rubon flourishes worked great for this project since they looked the same on both sides. Just be sure that if you use any type of wording, that you position that on a part that won't show through, since it will be backwards on the next page! I loved that the choice of binding was left up to the user. I had some ric rac that I had used throughout the project so I alternated that through the holes and knotted them together at the top and bottom, leaving enough slack to be able to open the pages completely.
What do you love about the Build A Book?
My favorite thing about the Build A Book line are the different sizes that are offered. I can't wait to mix and match them for another project. And as I said before, I love that they are clear; a blank canvas to start from. There's nothing better than creativity!
What Fire and Ice thought of this album:
Michelle Van Etten-"I love her use of staggering the pictures down the pages so each photo shines through the next page but does not cover. The rub ons add texture and detail to the pages. The use of ric rac laced down the book to bind it is really unique. I will have to borrow that one. I am glad you are our first hot spot congrats and keep up the great work!"
For more pics of Shaina's project check out her blog.
Thanks Shaina for your great tips and marvelous project!
If you have a Build a Book project in the works, link us to it through one of our blogs, and you may be the next Sunday Hot Spot!
