Musical Cast Guest Book Album

You can use a guest book for so many special occasions in your life. I always feel like I'm apart of those when I get to work with you and create special books for just the occasion.

One of the things I love most about where we live is our local community theater. A few Christmas's ago, my husband got two tickets and we went to a holiday orchestra concert.  I loved it. Not only did I get to dress up for the night, but I got to sit up in a balcony with my program in hand and enjoy the music.

I love music and I enjoy musicals.

Which brings me to the special book I wanted to share with you today, this one for a high school musical being put on this month.

Hot off my crafting table....
"A Day in Hollywood, A night in the Ukraine"

Doesn't that sound like an awesome musical? 

The inside pages are lined with "From the Cast" on the top for the members to sign and give to the director/teacher afterwards as a gift.

I used left over scraps from the book to make this blank music note card to go along with it.

The red on black looks amazing.

Go break a leg! or so they say in the Theater I'm told.
Wishing them a full house and wonderful night for their show.

And, in the meantime, I'm off to bake cookies and sing a few carols with the kiddos.

It's getting close to Christmas, what's left on your list?

Fisker Cutter Paper Tool Review

My paper cutter is probably my most used tool on my crafting table. I've had it a long time, like as old as my youngest child, who is in second grade now!

I love my cutter, but over the years, the numbers have started to fade. (Yeah - I've used it THAT much!)

Sadly, after all these years, the blade has gone dull, but hey 7 years of use is pretty good for a blade, wouldn't you say? But it doesn't do me much good trying to cut pages for inside my books and most the time now, they tear. When I want torn sheets, I tear them myself, not from my cutter though....

While onlines shopping during the Black Friday sales, I indulged myself in a tool this year. My husband encouraged me when I asked him if I should, he said, "Go for it" and I did.

I got a new Fisker's Paper Cutter.

I choose this one for a couple of reasons:

1. Self sharpening blade
2. Size - cuts 12 x 12 papers
3. Density - cuts up to 10 sheets at a time (although I usually only cut 5 so I haven't tested the full 10 pages yet)
4. Blade lock (with kiddos in the house getting into stuff when I turn my back for minute, this is a must)
5. The price. very reasonable.

You can see the new vs the old here on my crafting table.

While my new cutter doesn't have the second slide cutter like my old Purple Cow Cutter did, I honestly never used that second cutter so I'm not really not going to miss that extra feature I never used. 

Also, my old Purple cow had a metal paper holder there by the blade, my new Fisker's paper cutter has a plastic one, put it puts a tighter hold on the paper so you don't have to hold down as hard as the metal one.

And the feature I didn't realize it had and am really getting used to (in a good way) is the blade holds itself up. It used to be I had to lean forward so the blade handle would rest on my shoulder to hold it up while I rearranged my paper to cut, the new Fisker blade stays up one you push the blade up to position your paper. 

And so, after a week of cutting, I'm pretty pleased so far with the use of this cutter. 

Now to see if this cutter can last as long or out last my old one.

I got this cutter from Amazon.com, you can find it here.

Happy Crafting! I'm off to make some books. :)

Sorry, No Custom Orders for the Summer

It rained last week. 

It's raining today, and although I'm grateful we're not having floods in this area like we did several years ago, I'm sad to say, my basement studio has accumulated water and is still drying. 

The rain today, doesn't help. 

I've had to tear up the mat flooring and it looks like we're going to have to reseal the basement and waterproof it. It's an old house, we've lived here for nearly seven years, I suppose this is just one of those every 10 - 20 year maintenance things for houses. 

It however, has put a big damper on book making. As you can see, everything has had to be packed up and moved to higher ground. Aka, my dining room and laundry room. 

It'll will be a few weeks before everything is dry and sealed and I'm able to work again. With that being said, I'll be traveling for a few writing conferences in the following weeks and the family vacation is around the corner. 

What does this all mean? 

Due to current circumstances, I will not be accepting any custom orders from now until June 4th. I have reduced the number of the listing in my etsy shop to the books and cards that are pre-made and ready to ship out. 

If you have placed a custom order in shop within the last week, don't worry, I'll have them shipped out shortly and within time of your event dates. 

My etsy shop will is going into vacation mode from June 7th through July 8th. 

Hopefully within this time our basement will be finished and / or I will have found a new place to set up my book studio again. 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Teacher Notepad Gift Sets

 I've had a lot of school themed papers lately and with Christmas just over the horizon I have already been thinking of Teacher gifts. I'm one of those people who carry a note pad with me to write things down all the time. When I travel I take notes in a note book.

I've made up a bunch of these not only for the kiddo's to give their teachers, but I'm heading off to a craft fair in a few weeks at a local high school and thought these would be a neat gift set package.

I've got the tablet, the book mark, and the matching pen in this set. 

 I've tied them all together at the binding and attached a gift card that is blank inside to write an note. All the teacher has to do is pull the string tie on the gift card and the book mark and pen will slide out with the card. So you don't really even have to wrap it if you don't want.

I've added these to my shop, too.

As always all my books include a free personalized name card on the front of the cover. These tablets are no exception, so you could easily have them personalized with your child's teacher's name.

When Should I Order My Book?

I get this question a lot.

When is the best time to order my guest book?

Or sometimes it's just,  Is it too late to order?

When I got married, it was one of those things that was a given. I needed a guest book for my wedding day. I had it on my check list along with types of decoration supplies for shopping a nearby party store. Yet, I didn't buy my guest book there. I wanted something more personalized and matched the rest of my wedding theme. So, I bought an old guest book and recovered it.

(One of these days I'll have to go up into the attic and pull it out so I can show you all.)

But today, guest books are either well thought of or left to the last minute. Most of the time they fall in the latter category.

I can't tell you how many nights I've prayed for a book to reach it's destination on time that even with priority shipping was going to arrive on the day of the event. Now that is close!

How do you avoid higher shipping rates and the stress of whether or not it will get there on time?

Here are some tips from my experience of working with all of you for the past several years on Etsy.

1. Know what you want when you contact the book maker and be as detailed as possible. Don't be afraid to send links or photos of your event theme or ideas of what your looking for.
2. Be prepared to compromise when time is running short.

If you were to contact me today to create a custom book for you, here is the waiting time I'd give you.

Custom hardbound (2-4 weeks completion time)
Custom paperback (1-2 weeks)
Pre-designed paperback (1 week)
Pre-made paperback (ships within 48 hours)

Keep in mind, that these are completion times. You'll need to add on the time for shipment. Most of my paperback are shipped USPS First Class mail. It usually takes about 3-9 days for delivery depending on your location within the US. Outside the US takes almost two weeks or more. And if time is running out or you choose any hardbound book, I generally ship them PRIORITY MAIL that gets it there a little faster - 2 to 3 days in the US.

I've been considering making all my books PRIORITY MAIL, but don't know how you all would feel about the $2.00 up charge in postage for the faster rate all the time. Of course, you can let me know how you feel about switching the postal options in the comments below.

And tell me, at what time before the big day did you realize you still needed a guest book?



Thanks for stopping by!  Won’t you take a minute and like me on face book?  Right over there to the right?!  Why thank you!  Also sign up to receive these posts by email so you don’t miss out on any projects, easy do it yourself tutorials, or all the fun we are having here!!! 

Gray and White Vintage

I've been working on a new guest book cover design this week. I recently received a custom order request for something vintage inspired in gray and white.

Usually the first thing I do when I get a request like this is seek inspiration over at Google images. I love these three images that I found just searching under the phrase "gray white vintage"

This one really caught my eye with the yellow. There's nothing more inspiring then vintage frames right?

I' always looking for patterns of color when seeking inspiration for a new design. I really like the above pattern in gray and white, what a great background for a book cover or accent.

Then there is this card box by a fellow Etsy artist. I like the shabby distressed look of the box and the little detail of the silver and pearl between the flowers.

But I'm think with all the gray and white there needs to be a little pop of something. Maybe a color or something that just stands out.

What do you think?

Pin It in 2013

This year is going to fabulous!

It's a time to simply and try new things. So here in 2013 I'd like to invite you all to join me in organizing, simplifying, and beautifying our homes and our hearts. 

My shop remains open and I'm looking forward to the new challenges of designing one of a kind guest books, albums, in journals this coming year. But I'm also looking forward to designing some new creations as well and expanding my creativity for both everyday living and special events. 

I've added a new feature today to the blog. Please feel free to join me on Pinterest and/or share my creations with the new Pin It button you'll find at the bottom of my posts. 

I can't wait to see what you all have been up to. Don't forget to share your creations in 2013!

Thanks for stopping by!  Won’t you take a minute and like me on face book?  Right over there to the right?!  Why thank you!  Also sign up to receive these posts by email so you don’t miss out on any projects, easy do it yourself tutorials, or all the fun we are having here!!!  xoxoxoxo MrsChadT

 

The Best of 2012

As we prepare to go into the new year, I thought I'd do a year in review of what I think are some of my most creative designs. Okay, I admit, they're just my favorites!

I can't wait to see what 2013 brings! How about you? What was your favorite thing about 2012?

Wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MrsChadT

Music Note Photo Booth Guest Book

This is a custom 7" x 9" shoe string bound book that I created for a wedding today. It was the last of the music note paper that I have in the white and black. Inside are blank white card stock pages for adhering photo stripes from the couples photo booth.

How fun!

Sheep Embellishments

Remember the twin lamb book?  These are the original sheep I designed for the cover. I didn't want the sheep from the create a critter  cartridge I have, so I cut and made my own.

 However the client changed their mind and decided to print and cut sheep from their invitation so they would be exact.

So, it looks like these little sheep will be heading to the ADD ON section in my shop. If you know about my add on section, then you know you can buy a guest book and add any of the available embellishments from my shop or request one to personalize your books.

These are just a few of the new ones being added this month.

If I'm missing a type or theme in the shop, please let me know. I'll be happy to add it for you.

Twin Lambs

 

Another sweet custom order for a baby shower of twins!

Matching Guest Book Album and Photo Album!

I had a few scraps left over, so I included some cute little lamp tags (above) and a matching guest book sign (below).

                                            I used sheer ribbon to do stitch the binding.

 

 

 

 

Guest Book Sign

 

This month (November 2012), whenever you order any Guest Book from my Etsy Shop, you'll receive a FREE Guest Book Sign with every guest book purchase.

New Moon Coptic Journal

My bookbinding team on Etsy put up a challange to design a book for Halloween. I haven't been working with coptic stitch lately, so I thought a journal would be nice. I pulled out this moon paper and went to work.

 

I started out with 12 gray signatures. Each signature has 10 pages. I stained the edges with cranberry ink.

Then I stitched all the signatures and the covers together using a natural shade of linen thread.

 I stained the outside of the linen thread with the cranberry ink. I choose this new moon inspired paper with the dark tree branches to give it that spookiness and appeal to those twillight fans and zombie lovers.

 Inside I used a crackle paper on the inside cover. I had a spooky tree stamp so I placed it on the first page in the same cranberry ink.

To add another unique element to this new moon journal, I took simular printed paper to the cover and stuck in the center and quarter signatures.

I really enjoyed this challenge, and look forward to creating more journals in the future.

Wedding Tag Book

I have to say I'm quite impressed how this custom wedding tag book came out. Two hundred tags and vellum pockets machine stitched to the pages.

Little Hoot in Yukon

I made up three of these sweet little forest themed owl books and as of today there's only one left in the shop. I'm working on altering the design to create a variety of color choices, but for now there's only one left, while in the mean time this baby book is on its way to the Yukon.... South Yukon Church of Christ that is. :)

 

Many Blessings to the new parents!

Polka Dot Monkey

Today's book feature is a custom order that I completed last week. The shower is themed with dark browns and polka dots. I just happened to have a piece of this polka dot cover paper. Isn't it too cute?

I think there is one more sheet of this cover stock in my stash.

Inside are blank white card stock pages for attaching advice cards.

I'm spending the day today with family, I hope you all have a great Sunday!

Fall Wedding Inspiration

Now that it is fall, I'm working on a new book cover design that pulls out all the rich wonderful colors. I don't know about you all, but the leaves have been starting to turn colors here in PA and they are just beautiful! And I must say inspiring. Today, I wanted to share that inspiratation with you for all the brides preparing for a fall wedding. I've gathered some of my favorite fall wedding photos from pintrest and google to share.

photo compliments of Wedding Divas

photo compliments of cheap wedding solutions

Monday, I'll reveal my fall leaf inspired book cover I've come up with.  Have a great day!