Cat Mini Album

Today I'm sharing a mini album I made for my dog groomer. It's a cute 4-inch by 4-inch cat book. I create pet cards for my groomer that she sells to her clients and now she's going to take a few mini albums. I'm starting on a dog one now that I'll share when I finish it.

For the pages I used 4-inch coasters. They are so perfect for this type of project. I picked them up last summer on eBay. I think there were 100 in the pack. I bound the book using spiral binding wires from We R Memory Keepers.

I hung a charm from the binding with jute. I've had alot of my cat embellishments in my stash for quite awhile, so I'm not sure who the manufacturer is.

Here's a top view. I used six coasters for the pages. There are a total of 10 pages and room for 22 photos using the photo mats that are included throughout the book.

For the patterned paper I used DCWV The Pet Stack. The solid papers are also from DCWV. On this page I added dimension by adhering the photo mat with pop dots. I added a brad that says "purr..." On the second page I added a pocket. I used the open scallop punch from EK Success for the border. The pocket holds one photo mat and a tag with cat quote. I typed up three quotes in Word using different fonts and then adhered them to shipping tags.

I left this page blank so the recipient can add a photo or whatever strikes their fancy. On the next page I added a vertical pocket and added a cat quote sticker. I'm not sure who the manufacturer is for this sticker as I used stickers from NRN Designs called Cat Quotes and from Cloud 9 Designs called Simple Thoughts. This pocket also holds two photo mats.

The first page here holds three photo mats and the second one has one mat and one tag. I used another cat quote on the band.

To add dimension to this page I added a metal embellishment to the top of the photo mat. I popped it up with pop dots. I left the next page blank since the paper was so cute. A photo can also be added to it.

On the first page shown here I made a flip book that has five pages. I watched a tutorial on how to make this from my friend Susie over a Creative Cafe. She creates beautiful books! Be sure to check them out if you get a chance. I did make a video of this book that you can see here.

This post is linked to these parties: All Things Fee, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, A Round Tuit, A Marvelous Mess, Inspire Me Monday, Handmade Tuesdays, Made by you Monday

Thanks for stopping by!

Mod Podged Car Coasters

I gave this set of coasters I made to my brother for Christmas. He liked them so much that he asked me to create a set of six using another image for him.

I found these coasters for a steal of a price, but I needed to make them a little more presentable!

My first step was to cover the edges with Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Gesso.

I then added some of Claudine's Charcoal Black Studio paint and some Extra Time Studio Slow-Dry Medium onto my craft sheet.

I swirled them together with one of my brushes. I bought the whole set of Ranger brushes at Archiver's and I love them!

I painted over the gesso with the Studio charcoal black paint. I didn't need to paint the whole coaster because I knew I was going to cover the center with cardstock. I added two coats of paint and made sure it was completely dry before starting the Mod Podge process.

Before I started my project I chose what patterned paper I wanted to use. This is an older collection from Graphic 45 called "On The Boulevard & Haberdasher" from the "A Proper Gentleman" collection. I love all of their collections! I don't care how old any patterned paper is that I use from any manufacturer. I use whatever fits what I'm creating at the time and what I like. Since I'm a paper hoarder, I have to use what I have!

I gathered all my supplies to start the Mod Podge process. That handy dandy roller on the top right in the photo is actually something I bought years ago from Pampered Chef. It's supposed to be used to rolling out pizza dough. I think I used it once! One day I needed something to smooth out a project and well, the rest is history! It's become a handy tool in my craft room. I use it alot!

This is where you have to work quickly because you don't want the Mod Podge to dry. First I spread a layer of  Mod Podge onto the coaster.

I added it to the back side of the paper I was putting onto the coaster.

I smoothed the paper on the coaster. I didn't cut my paper to go to the edges since I wanted the black to show. Once the paper was on, I added another coat of Mod Podge.

I then added the car I had trimmed out and another coat of Mod Podge.

You can see where it's starting to dry in this photo.

All four are ready to completely dry.

I wanted to rough up the edges a little, so I sanded them.

I sanded them so that the original color would start to peek through. You couldn't even tell that it was pink. After the coasters were completely dry, I sprayed them with a clear acrylic sealer from Plaid.

I love working with Mod Podge! Coming up in another post is a canvas I made for one of my daughters for Christmas.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Products I used for this project: Purchased coasters, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint, Gesso & Extra Time, Graphic 45 Patterned Paper - A Proper Gentleman Collection: On The Boulevard & Haberdasher, Mod Podge.

This post is linked to these parties: Made by you Monday, Tip Me Tuesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday