Let me show you how I threw these together in record time. Yes, you really can make them that quickly.

First find yourself a kit to suit your theme. This awesome Australiana kit from Viva Artistry was made just for me….no not really, but I did ask for one and here it is. You can pick it up tomorrow at The Digi Chick should you fancy it for your Australia Day celebrations, scrapbooking a trip downunder or making a memory page about some Aussie friends.

Anyhow – lets get back to the cake toppers shall we?

This kit has the cutest stars in there so I decided to use them as the focus of the cupcake toppers. This is one way you can save some time when making a project. Look for an element in the kit that you can use without having to alter it.

After overlaying some of the stars with stamps and elements from the kit I printed them out. You will also notice that I printed some strips of papers from the kits. These are about an inch wide and run the length of letter or A4 sized cardstock.

Seriously – I eyeballed it so it’s not rocket science here. If you want them all perfect and pretty looking then make them all an inch wide. Remember this is a quick project! Cut all your pieces apart, and the strips too.

Ink up the edges – if you feel like it. If you are short on time then let them be.

Now score lines every 1/2 inch along the paper strips. You can use anything blunt, like the back of a knife or blunt pair of kids safety scissors  – just stick a magazine or something a little soft behind it if you don’t have a score tool.

Cut a small circle of scrap card stock for the back.

Now concertina them up to make a little fan.

Stick some double sided tape to one end then join it up in a circle to the other end. It should look something like this.

If you look closely you will see I have used hot glue on the little card stock circle. This is what makes the project so much quicker. You can use liquid glue or even a glue stick but you will need to weigh the medallion down over night till it dries.

Let the glue cool slightly. It allows the medallion to stick firmly quicker – and saves burnt fingers.

Push the medallions down flat. Working with your fingers to hold the folds in at the top while holding either side at the bottom, then pushing down with one finger and easing it down. Hold it together and stick it down over the top of the glue on the little circle. Hold for a few seconds then set aside to dry while you work on the others.

Add your stars or chosen elements and wooden kebab sticks or extra long wooden toothpicks with the hot glue too. Again you can do this with any liquid glue. It will just take longer to dry.

Add them to yummy scrummy cream cheese topped carrot cupcakes (or whatever takes you fancy) and enjoy your party celebrations!

Oh – and to all my fellow Aussies out there – have a fabulous Australia day!

Let’s turn that around and try the reverse – just for fun!

This week The Hybrid Chick Challenge is to take a digi layout and turn it into a  paper layout. Easy peasy right?

You can use one of your own previous layouts – or chose one from the awesome gallery at the Digi chick and lift one you really like or have admired there.

A couple of tips for starting out.

• Choose something that is fairly simple if it is the first time you have paper scrapped.
• Look at the elements on the page or in the kit you are using and see if they will be easy enough to cut out. Intricate cuts can take time and may just make you chuck it – ask me how I know that?
• Keep borders and other fine paper elements to minimum of quarter inch – makes it far easier to stick them down.
• Feel free to write your own journaling instead of printing it out.
• Feel free to print your journaling instead of writing it.
• Enjoy the process
• Go here to my previous post if you need help getting started or for ideas on how to go through the whole process from digital kit to paper layout.

Now for some eye candy and inspiration. You can click on the main digi images to see them in the gallery.

Here is my original digi layout.

Here is my digi to paper layout.

And a close up.

Here is one by Judet

A closeup..

Great detailing on the layers.

This one from scrapperjade is the digital original,

This is her paper version. Look at how she has picked out some awesome fabric and wool flowers to match.

This last digital layout is from Jomi.

You can see her digital to paper layout below  is inspired by her original but gorgeous in it’s own right and rather than copying exactly she has made a totally new layout. Very cool!

Look at that dimension.

Ok – so enough eye candy. I hope that has given you some ideas to start.

Our challenge this two weeks is sponsored by Mari Koegelenberg  from The Cutting Files. Mari makes the cutest hybrid items and is now making it so much easier for the rest of us with her wonderful files. No cutter, no worries – they come in png too!

Have a look at these cute little doilies…imagine the possibilities with these on a paper page.

Mari is giving away a $5 gift certificate to one random player in our Digital to Paper Layout Challenge.  Isn’t that cool!

How to play.

Create a paper layout using a digital layout for inspiration. You can print your digital papers or if you are a paper scrapper then feel free to join us with your traditional supplies. Or why not mix it up – that is all the fun of hybrid!

You have two weeks from today. You must leave us a comment on this post on the Hybrid Chick blog linking us up to your original digital inspiration and your new paper layout. You are welcome to put them in The Digi Chick Gallery.

Spread the word and Have fun!

I started with this layout which I did back in March.

The kit is Sweetiekins, a beautiful collab from Jennifer Fox and Shawna Clingerman.

After opening the original digital layout file in Photoshop I needed to decide what would have to stay flat and what could be printed out to cut and assemble.

You can see in the screenshot that many of the elements are fairly simple shapes. Those would work well on separate layers.  However a couple of things were overlapping like the ribbon and the pen swirl at the top. We would need to handle those in a different way. I’ll get to that in a minute but first I needed to resize my page so the whole thing would be in proportion.

The album that this is going in has pages that are 7 x 7. An odd size perhaps but easy enough to handle with the resize feature. The original file is 12×12 so it was just a case of changing the size to the 7×7 and leaving the dpi at 300.

The first of my layers to be printed were the photographs. I was able to pull both of these over on to a 4 x 6 Epson Glossy photo paper where they just fit. If you look closely you can see some black swirls. I wanted to include these so before pulling the photo with the swirls over from the original layout I duplicated the swirl and clipped it down to the photo. Now when I cut the image out it will have the little swirly bit that would be above included.

This was printed out and allowed to dry while I worked on the rest of the layers.

Here you can see my final print page. I pulled my background, along with the swirl and text onto a new document the size paper that it was to be printed on. Next came the border, without the shadows here. Then the alpha, flowers, tags and rick rack were also added to the page. I often print out two alpha’s in case I slip with the cutting.

The green pattern paper that is my very background was also pulled over ready to print on another cardstock.

The file was then printed out on 8.5 11 River Linen from Red River Papers giving me that lovely textured cardstock feel to the whole thing. If you can be patient, then wait for the ink to dry real well before using it. If not – go for it!!

Now it was time for the fun stuff.

I use various types of scissors, a nice fine edged metal ruler, scalpel (this one is from Bind It All) and a guillotine to cut apart the pieces. Small tip scissors are essential for cutting fine flowers and alphas. Tape runner, doubled sided tape and Zigg glue were chosen to put it all together.

Here you can see close up the background with the swirl and text. Now it could have stayed this way with the extra pink edge on the same level, and if you don’t want the fuss of cutting it out go right ahead and leave it that way. I wanted it to be exactly like my original with the green showing through, and the textural look to the layers.  If you wanted the green could have been added in here where you can see the white gap  and you would have just one layer for all backgrounds.

Mine was cut out.

Using the metal ruler and the sharp blade made this relatively easy. First I cut off the outside edge with the guillotine then cut the inside of the pink away. I would suggest if doing anything this fine you would want to make sure it is no smaller than a minimum 1/4 inch.

Ask me how I know this?

Then you can use the 1/4 inch double sided tape to effortlessly attach it to your page.

After everything was cut out, I laid it all out approximately where it was going to be attached. I had already decided to use a matching real ribbon instead of a printed one. Then with various forms of adhesive dependent on the size of the element all were attached except for the alpha. Starting with the background paper and working forward each layer was glued down. Take care to match up the photo with the swirl edge to the background. It helps make sure your photo is in the right place. Then add your other elements looking at the original digital file to determine what needs to be attached first working your way upwards.

I did consider using real rick rack but preferred the subtle colour of the paper one from the kit and didn’t have any handy like it in my stash.

Placing your alpha loosely on the page, pull out some ribbon, already shaped in to a bow, and guesstimate the amount you will need to feed in through the alpha. I usually allow a little extra that can always be trimmed.

Then after gluing down the bow section, work your way across, crinkling and gluing the ribbon into mountains and valleys and threading through the alpa letters. Glue each of the letters down too as you get to them. Then go back and glue the other ends of the ribbon the same way giving a nice balanced look.

Add any more elements to the top and you are done! In the photo above you can see how nicely adding that swirl edge to the printed photo tied in the whole layout with a more cohesive feel.

That became the basis for this new key holder that of late has become even more of an essential for our new abode. Yes, this house has 4 different sets of keys. We use three of them, and the other one they have not even given us yet.

The frame itself is made from MDF and is pretty solid so should hold up to daily use far better than the canvas may have. Having the mirror in there will also be handy for a last minute check before heading out the door.

The mirror comes out like a photo would. So after removing that and the back piece I measured the sides and the gap in the middle. Then in my digital editor I created a document that was the outside dimensions of the frame. To get my digital papers and design accurate I then used the guides in the program to show the middle area that would be removed so I could avoid putting the design there.

The guidelines in blue come in quite handy when centering or scaling a pattern too. I used some brushes from Jessica Sprague to make the edges look inked.

For this project I chose to use Red River Paper products. Their River Linen card is wonderful with a really authentic linen like texture and nice matte finish which is perfect for the look I wanted and the spot it will eventually hang.

Then came the fun bit! I knew I wanted to use digital key elements for the wording at the top and the search was on. Little projects like this can be made extra special by picking one dimension of a kit and using that. Which meant I needed a bunch of keys. You can of course go on a hunt in your stash. Or for a little more fun use the keyword search in The Shop, or ask in the Forums for the element you are looking for. Sometimes these little elements are not always so visible, then choose your favourites. The bonus is you may end up with a fabulous kit you missed! You can often just purchase the elements on their own if you don’t want the whole kit.

Here are the kits I used:

I also used a couple of papers from Le Petit Oiseau by Sugarplum Paperie. One of which I re-coloured using the hue saturation slider. Then layering one paper over the other and lowering the opacity gave me the tone and look I was after. If you like a paper and it is not quite right for your needs play around with layers and the colour slider and see what you come up with.

After arranging all the keys in a pleasing way, really working on the shadow layers for all the keys enhanced the overall look of the piece. I suggest trying different layers of shadows and variations in size and opacity.

After printing on the River Linen paper I allowed it to dry overnight. I usually do this (if I have time) when I am going to be gluing my printed papers.

In the meantime the frame was painted using a combination of burnt umber with a touch of black acrylic paint. I was after a rough edged kind of gurngy look so did not bother with a primer coat first. However I have found that it is best to dry brush the paint on rather than using water. It seems to stop the paint soaking in too much. Two coats were needed around the edges and I did not paint the back.

Turn your printed paper design over placing the frame on the top and tracing with a pencil the bit that needs cutting out for the mirror. Yes, you can see another paper design/colour trial on the back as I wasn’t sure what would look best where I want to hang the key holder. Rather than waste card I simply printed it on the back – the paper really is that nice!

You can see how nicely the paint coats on using the dry paint technique.I could paint the back but it is going on the wall and this way it saves on paint.

Cutting out the center piece using a ruler to keep myself yourself on track is the next step.

The using a stamp ink pad that matches your paint and a finger tip sponge go around all cute edges. Do both the outside of the paper and the middle. This helps your cut paper edges to seamlessly blend into the paint.

Here you can see the digitally inked edges. Kinda neat being able to do it without a stamp pad. Glue the printed inked paper to the front of your frame, add a few key or cup hooks to the front and it is ready for use. Don’t those keys look 3D?

Speaking of love , with June and wedding fever just around the corner you may be attending a wedding. Or perhaps even planning one yourself.

It is wedding week here at The Hybrid Chick and we have some awesome wedding related tutorials and projects here to inspire you.

Today I want to show you how to decorated this Love frame. Pretty it up in the bride and grooms choice of colour and use it as a gift for the special couple. You might even want to make it in your colour scheme and keep it for yourself.

Mind you, you can’t go wrong with white – or black!

I have used:

• Kaiser Love Frame (purchased in Australia)
• White & Black Paint
• Digital Scrapbook Kits – Fabrications Classic from Quirky Twerp and Foxy Chic from Jennifer Fox
• Lace
• Ribbons
• Emphimera – little heart charms
• Bling – stick on crystals
• Glue Stick
• Hot Glue Gun
• Fabric Flowers
• Buttons
• Thread

I always start my wooden projects with a coat of white paint. Just plain old house paint as there is nothing “crafty” in big enough supply available here. This is a semigloss and it seems to work well sealing the wood and giving a nice base to work on.

After letting the paint dry, sand the rougher edges down with some sanding paper. It looks nice like this and it was tempting to leave it my usual shabby white – but this time I am after more drama which meant giving it a couple of coats of black paint too. Let each layer dry well in between coats.

Now hang it somewhere pretty and you are done!

Just kidding.

Print out some strips of paper and tag’s from the kit of your choice. Here you can see I have done some wider bits as well as narrow area’s and also a few different choices in paper design. This is usually done before I paint, so I know my paint colour choice will work with the paper. Plus it lets the printed paper dry out really well. Important if you are using glue or mod podge so as to make sure there is less likelihood of smudging.

Usually I have an idea of the desired outcome but don’t know exactly what I want to use on the piece. So I gather up a bunch of ribbons, and other pretty things in the colour scheme and have them ready. Here are some for inspiration.

You can even paint them if the colour isn’t what you need.

Start by laying out some paper strips and other bits you have collected on the wood piece. Tear the paper, and cut around the edges to fit the letter or frame.

To get the paper to fit roughly cut the paper strips and tear down some of the edges. This can be made easier by lightly folding the edge over, not creasing it real hard though – just a little. Then tear the paper towards yourself with the printed side facing you.

When you have done that you can also curl some of the edges around using a thin skewer or shish-kabob stick. When you are happy with the layout of your pieces begin to glue them down, starting with the paper. I like to use the glue stick for the paper as it allows me to slide it around a bit and position it right.

For the lace, flowers and ribbons I prefer to use a hot glue gun.

Keep adding ribbon and bling till you are happy with the result.

Add a little tag to the frame – you could write the bride and grooms name on there. Or the wedding date.

I hope you enjoy creating your own Love gift!

This little box has stored love notes written by family members for years now and it was time for it to have a revamp. I kind of knew how I wanted it to look but was really waiting for the right digital kit to bring me some inspiration.

Then I saw Nesting Instinct from Kellie Mize over at The Digi Chick and it suddenly all came together.

A match made in heaven!

Here are some of the items I used. The usual glue, paper punches, scissors and elements for use in decorating the final product. I gathered up ribbons and flowers but wasn’t sure what colours were going on until the patterned paper was on the box.

The patterned papers in the kit were printed on Epson Premium Presentation Paper. I had roughly measured each section of the box, added a bit extra then made little templates for each piece. After reducing the size of the pp to about 7×7 (instead of the usual 12×12) I layered it down and pulled the pieces onto a new page the size of the Epson Paper. A bit of fudging allowed me to get all the pieces of PP and the Alpha on 3 sheets.

Using the glue stick I pasted the uncut alpha onto two more layers of scrap pp. This made them a lot thicker and sturdier but not as thick as chipboard.

Leaving those to dry then next thing was to trim up all the pieces of pre-planned paper to fit the box perfectly. The idea was to make them slightly smaller than the area they were intended for.

Some of the pieces had to be shaped to fit. Either end of the top was arched and neither was the same. Custom cutting helped here – as does marking each pp and the matching end it needed to go on. Nothing worse than having to try and remove something that you realise is wrong when you come to do the other end. 

Then using a Making Memories paper distressing tool, to create some texture and shabbiness, I ran along all the edges of each patterned paper.

Then lightly inked the edges with a light brown stamp pad for more shabby’ness!

After that it was time to stick all the various shaped to their corresponding position on the box.

Here you can see the paper pieces don’t quite meet the edges of the box. Perfect! Exactly the effect I was aiming for.

Isn’t that alpha just gorgeous! Now you know why I was compelled to use this kit.

The letters were dry by now and ready to be cut out. A very fine pair of scissors like the Cutterbee’s are essential for this job. Some of those corners are very tight and normal scissors just don’t get around in there. A craft knife or scalpel works well too though I tend to be hard on them and they break.

Then it was just a case of decorating it to look pretty. After experimenting with some doily punched paper and various ribbons I settled on this simple gathered brown one and let the gorgeous paper and alpha from Kellie shine.

The alpha is attached, as is the ribbon, with hot glue. I like to put a big glob on the area’s that need to be raised (a bit like mounting tape). Let that cool slightly, then put a smear or dab of hot glue on the lower areas – like where it will touch the ribbon and place it into position. Don’t leave it too long though, or the big blogs will cool too much to stick.

Some matching flowers, a bit of bling and the box was like new again. Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Hoping your day is filled with Love.

Happy Valentines Day.

Don’t ask me how I know that.

You could even use if for digital essential supplies that you have added to your photo editor – like actions, brushes and styles.

This album is simple and easy to put together. Just decide how many discs you want to store in it, create a page for each one and perhaps some spares.

Here is how I did mine.

Measure up the size you want to make it. I used an approximate 6″ x 6″ format. The outside covers are 6.25 x 6.25 inches and the inside pages slightly smaller. This is also perfect size if you are using A4 cardstock to print on. Print it border-less and fold in half and this creates the perfect pocket size to hold a cd.

I made a template out of a scrap print run and cut the front fold to the side so you can see the angle I have used. Keep this as a template for tracing the pages later. Then print one piece of cardstock for each page. For my album I printed various patterned pp on the front and back to give bit of variation through the album but keeping it all in the same colour tone.

I chose papers from the Mega Collab kit at The Digi Chick this month.

This kit titled Limitless: The Collection, is available together or in 2 parts – Open Sky and Daydreamer. They all co-ordinate beautifully and are just gorgeous digital or printed out for hybrid.

The covers are glued to spare chipboard and then Mod Podged over to make them more durable. Let them dry overnight or a bit longer before trimming them to size. I find by doing it this way you can easily get the glue all the way to the edges without too much mess.

Then fold all your printed sheets in half and trim them down to your chosen size. Trace the angle and cut it off too. I also printed out little labels from Roben Marie Designs Studio 365 Journal & Date Bits. On these will be written the name of the cd and also any pertinent information like license codes and download id’s. That way should I need to re-register anything it will all be there together.

Inking the edges gives them a nice finish too – especially on little bits like tags where you have a scissor cut edge.

Then just bind it with your chosen method. I have used my trusty Bind It All however you could use a couple of  O or D’rings, perhaps some sting or ribbon also with just a few punched holes. All of these would like quite nice.

Then to dress it up. My front label is printed and cut out, then inked around the edges. Attaching it with some 3d or mounting tape gives a nice bit of variety to the front. Add some layered flowers, some Scrappers Floss from Karen Foster, pretty ribbon and whatever else you fancy.

Displayed, or on a bookshelf – now you’ll be able to find all your discs in one easy go.

For this card I chose to hand stitch a Christmas type star and layer it up with a digital kit from The Digi Chick. Vintage Yuletide Mega Collab from Roben-Marie Designs and Hazel Olive Designs is a must have kit for your scrapping this Christmas. Mega does not even really begin to describe it!!

These cute little embroidered fronts are not as difficult as they look. You will need some paper, card stock, thread, a giant needle or spike, a needle for the stitching and a towel to make your own hand stitched card.

First you will want to draw your shape to embroider on a piece of paper. You could also use a digital outline or shape from your editing program. Just make sure it is fairly simple to start with.

Then layer up a towel and your chosen cardstock colour. Choose cardstock that will coordinate with the colour of thread you want to stitch with. Here I have chosen red as a contrast with the metallic gold thread I planned to use.

Take a spike and punch through the outline of the shape. You can pre-space the holes by drawing them in beforehand like here. Or if you are really clever and not too much of a perfectionist you could eyeball it.

Now if you don’t have a spike you can use a pearl headed pin, hat pin or even a large needle pushed into an eraser to protect your fingers while punching the holes. Whatever works right?

You should end up with something like this. Make sure to punch a hole in the middle. Thread up your needle and you are ready to begin stitching.

Turn the card over and stick the thread down with some sticky tape. I find this easier than a knot. It does not pull out or create a big bump on the back. Begin at the side, taking the needle and thread through to the front of the card stock.

Then working from the front continuing stitching all the way around the shape. Work from the outside, coming up from behind and going down through the middle on the front. The threads tend to sit better that way.

When you are finished tuck the tail of the thread under the sticky tape or use another piece to hold the end down. You should then end up with something a little like this.

I also decided to add some “sparkle” by adding random stitches around the outside which you can see on the finished card. Something to resemble starlight twinkling!

After you have made one of these you will find them very quick to do. You could carry a little zip lock bag around in your purse with your pre punched shapes, a thread and needle and just work on them when you have a couple of minutes. Great while waiting in line somewhere.

Then add them to a handmade card.

I like to make my cards up as they would look in a digital version first. Then drag the layers across to a page ready to print and cut out. As a hint, adding a stroke or shadow around white backgrounds helps you to find your cutting edge easier too.

Layer it up with some three dimensional mounting tape, inked layers and any other embellishments you might like.

Now there is a card that looks like a whole lot of thought and love has gone into making it.

Then Danielle Engebretson brought out her cute cute cute complete digital kit called, of all things, “I Do Love You”. You can’t get a much better marriage of idea’s coming together than a fab template and the right kit. Oh, and did I say “cute” enough times already?

It really is!  

I used Kelleighs templates and made up two drawer sets, printing off extra elements from Dani’s kit to add after. Also printed the back side of the papers so that the inside looked pretty too. Gloss Modge Podge was applied to all pieces. If you would like to see how I do that you can read about it here or here on another project.

Then the modge podge was also used on both surfaces of the two matchbox bottoms to glue them together. A couple of pegs come in handy to hold it together as it dries. Leave this a fair while to dry so that nothing moves later.

While that was drying I worked on the decorative bits. One full size brown piece to go around the two boxes would give it extra strength. Then using this fab doily edge punch from Martha Stewart I made a pretty edged strip from the plaid paper printed from the kit.  Isn’t that paper just gorgeous!!  Prints up perfectly too on the Epson Premium Presentation Paper.

After attaching the brown paper from the kit and the pretty edged plaid pieces right around the outside I cut one of the scraps to the right size and glued it to the bottom. This piece was not modge podged on the outside. Using hot glue to adhere small wooden beads to the bottom was the next step. I was not willing to take the chance that the shiney surface of the modge podge may have not taken the hot glue so well which is why I did not use it on the bottom.

Assemble the inner drawers, adding some elements from the kit and using a good amount of hot glue behind some wooden buttons for “drawer handles”.  Add some pretty ribbon and anything else that will go with your theme.

Now what to include. Well, that is totally up to you.

However here are some quick ideas:

• Miniature Bubblebath, massage oil & body creme
• Candles and Matches
• Aromatherapy oils
• Chocolates
• Mini Voucher booklets for various “date night” treats and ideas.
• Disposable birth control (if you use it )

If you can bear to give it away, create a matching gift tag, fill it up with some goodies and perhaps a list of  “ideas” for the romantic couple.

Or – keep it for yourself! Your other half may just decide they like this hybrid scrap thing!!

Anyway – back to the notebook. In my effort to travel lighter I started making up travel notebooks or diary’s a few years ago. They needed to be specific for the time away. Wanting something compact that fit all my needs and still looked cute had been an impossible challenge to find ready made. Which ended up in me designing something that has become a yearly ritual to make.

I call this my “Brain in a Book”.

The little notebook I found at a local stationers. They are about A5 size and come with three plastic dividers and a plastic front and back cover. The best bit about them is they have an elastic piece attached at the back. This comes around the front and keeps it together – which is perfect for being dragged halfway around the world.

The dividers help me find things easy. One is for the things I have to purchase while home that are unavailable here. We start making a list about 3 months before we go and just add to it till we leave. It then gets transferred into the diary to have on hand when shopping. Often that means things like scrapping items, stamps and other craft stuff to go with my digi scrapping. Oh – and Vegemite!

The second section is for things we have to deal with while home, and contact details for people we have to see. The third section is to journal the trip and keep notes of memories and things I want to scrap when we return. Journaling prompts and places visited. Addresses of new friends etc.

Still this was not enough. It needed a diary section for keeping track of all the people and places we have to see. It sure helps when you arrive home to have it ready marked out for all those who leave it till the last minute to try and book in to see you.

So creating some date calendar pages and a layout for the front and back came next. I just make up weekly pages for the time we are away and an overall month page.

Pull the wire rings apart carefully so you can reuse them if you want. Measure your page size of the ones already in the notebook and make your layouts and calendar pages the same size in your editor. Choose a pretty kit and decorate these.

I have used two gorgeous kits from The Digi Chick on this one. Both Cool Cool Summer by MKC Designs and I Do Love You by Dani Alencar work perfectly together in my current favourite colour combo.

Then another page is made double the width of the pages and left joined down the middle. I cut off the top half of one, score it with the ScorPal, fold it over and use tape runner to secure it around the edge. Any collected receipts and business cards get put in here.

The first time I altered one of these I used the front paper cover as a template and traced the holes with a pencil.Then cut them out with a craft knife. This works quite well, just takes a bit of time.

By happy co-incidence I pulled out my Bind-It-All to check and it was exactly the same distance as the pre-purchased paper holes. Yippeee!! This cut down on my prep time a lot.

After putting all the pieces in the order I wanted, making sure my calendar pages were in the right order, I used the Zutter Bind-It-All to cut the holes again using the front paper as a template. This helped to make sure they all lined up nicely with the pre-cut paper that came in the notebook.

Then it was just a matter of assembling it all and adding the o’wires to join it back together. In this case I used the lovely Antique Silver O’wires from Zutter. This colour looked nicer with the kit colours I had chosen than the black. In the past I have just re-used the original wires that come on the notebook, carefully squeezing them back together.My daughter snaffled the black one and made a book for herself with it.

Of course I had to add a little ribbon.

This cute notebook now combines all my needs into one neat handy  little package saving me the necessity of carrying a journal, a notebook, a diary and an address book.

Guess I have achieved a little success on my way to traveling lighter.