The Little Book of Tea

I finished the first Little Book of Tea!  

It is a very simple little book made up of pockets that hold the tea bag sachet and a tag.

I printed lots of little saying about tea and attached them to the pages.

One of my favourite tea quotes from Robert Browning.

Pocket page with tea bag and tag.

and I made these little teabag tag bits for the tags... 

The variety of teas and their tags.

It didn't take me long once I made myself sit and get on with it and now I can refine it and make a couple more.

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This is my desk this chilly Wednesday morning... you will see that I am just finishing off the 4th little Family Birthday book.  Yes, 4 of them! LOL  You see, there is me and my three brothers... so I thought it would be fun to make us each a birthday book of the family.

This one is for my eldest brother.

My brother with his two children.

So I added photos of the family members to the relevant month in the book.

July is a busy month for birthdays... two brothers, my Dad and my niece

and I left enough room for extra birthdays or anniversaries to be added if needed.

I used some papers for this one that I have had since Saudi Arabia so I feel great that I have made a smallish dent in the stash of papers ... its always difficult making stuff for my brothers because I have to be so careful with colours... all three of them are colour blind and see reds and browns as greens so it will be interesting to hear how he likes this!! :)

I won't bore you with all the pages... or Julia will be on my case for a very long post! LOL

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I'm back!  Wooo hoo!  It seems like I have been away forever and I have really missed all the lovely WOYWW friends.... but I can now sit at my desk and play with paper and glue again... so I am definitely a happier bunny.  This is how my desk looks at silly o'clock.  I am making a mini book.  Thought I had better make a start on a few gifts as the big C word is looming high on the horizon and I haven't even made a start on C cards yet!

This is the stepped back a bit photo... you can see that there is still a lot of sorting out to be done but at least everything is out of boxes and I can take my time in finding permanent homes for things.

and a quick turn to the left reveals more mess.... and a lot of patterned paper... probably wouldn't need to buy anymore in my lifetime... and am going to have a go at using old stash before buying any new and see if I can get the stash levels down to a manageable level... yeah right, well, a girl can try!!

I am looking forward to visiting people and catching up on what has been going on in the last 6 months... if Julia hasn't kicked me out for being AWOL for so long.

Tag Envelope Book Thingies

I was in the groove and went ahead and made some more of those concertina style tag pocket mini books.  This one I really like in cream and black with just a touch of colour from the gems in the flowers. 

This is it opened with the tags inside the pockets.

The tags are quite a decent size with mounts and space for journaling. 

This version is in Kraft cardstock and muted colours with dragonflies on the covers. 

Inside with the pockets and tags in situ. 

Black and brown version which just felt right as soon as I started, so I think these really are my favoured colours to work in!  This one also has dragonflies on the covers. 

Inside with the tag in the pockets. 

Some of the tags showing plenty of room for a photo and journaling.

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This is my work desk this warm sunny morning!  Hmmm, yes, apologies for the mess, I am still working on the mini (which is becoming less mini by the hour) book for Neet and Flat Susan travels. You can see the normal tools of the trade on the desk, some travel/journey themed stamps and papers. 

This should give you an idea of the design, two large matchboxes on the base, hopefully these will give Neet somewhere to store FS and her luggage safely! The mini mini book between the two matchboxes and the larger book on the top. 

Short and sweet this morning waiting to link up to our leader, Julia over at the Stamping Ground (and she has new boots, perfect for stamping everything in sight)!!

Mini Book

Appearances can be deceptive... because this little mini is made from one sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock.

I was trawling Pinterest when I came upon it here and though it isn't in English, it is easily understood and the measurements are very easy to follow.

So when you unfold it, you have three sections.

The right hand one is a pocket with a tag inside.

I added extra tags to the other sections, so there is plenty of room for photos and journaling.

and then unfold the last section and you have two more.

I added a little book to the bottom left page and tags to the others.

and this the bottom row on the other side...

and the tag inside the pocket...

and this is it stood up... you have to admit, its a lot of real estate for one sheet of paper!! 

I'm thinking they would make great little gifts for Christmas.

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I am still working on the mini book that you make from one sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock... it's coming together gradually and once I have this one under my belt I think any more will go a lot faster!

I just got back from the hairdressers... noticed that Julia has the post up so this is going to be ultra short and sweet this week! LOL

I'm trying to figure out what I can do with these... any suggestions very welcome!  See, this is the hoarder in me... I cannot throw these out and I have loads... because it what my teabags are boxed in! Yep, I drink a lot of tea!!

so far I have used them inside my drawers to keep my inks and little bits organised...

and those little stamps that get lost when you put them in a big basket or box...

But there must be something else I can do with them!

Annie's Little Square Book

Now that she has it in her hands, I can show the little book that I made for Annie/Wipso and posted off last weekend.  Jo of Jozart has no idea what she has started... our Annie, creator of all sorts of lovely sewing projects, got a tag book from Jo to put her WOYWW ATC's in... and Annie had a go at making one and has now joined us on the dark side making mini books!

Whilst chatting on facebook I offered to show her how to make a few of my favourite minis and Annie decided that she would like to try this version... so I made this one up and sent her the destructions.

It is an easy mini and opens up as a display book but if anyone had been a fly on the wall the other night when Annie was trying to put hers together... let's say Tenna pads were an additional requirement I hadn't thought about at gone midnight and a continent away for this particular one on one class!  Annie was making frogs and pyramids... I know, I was impressed too, but what she was trying for was the fold that makes the little pocket on each corner page!

Each of the four pages are attached together with the little pocket for tags 

and for a little mini you have quite a lot of real estate for putting photos and journaling.

If you fancy trying one for yourself you can find the instructions here.

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Here we are again with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Check out the leader of the desks, Julia, if you wish to join in or find out more.

This is my desk bright and early this Wednesday morning!  A cup of tea, a mini I just finished off for my Granddaughter with the letter that will go in the post with it and that unopened project... yep, still procrastinating on that one!

I have been watching YouTube video by Kathy Orta and just had to try out her hidden hinge binding system!

Brilliant isn't it?  Love the gusset gaps between each page so that you can embellish to hearts content without making the book totally unmanageable. 

 Inside front cover... I am hoping that my Granddaughter will add all the treats and special days she enjoys during her summer vacation.

 The pages are those little coin envelopes... so you can see it is a wee little book but with all the tags and pull-outs and fold outs she should have enough room for some favourite photos and journaling.

 Little booklet slides out on this page...

 A little pocket on the front with a tag, and larger tag inside the envelope page.

 A side pocket with tag on this page and larger tag inside.

 A fold-out page for photos and journaling and larger tag inside.

 A slide out tag plus the larger one inside...

 and this is the spine... it looks so neat and square... I hope she enjoys it and it encourages her to look at the everyday things that make life special.
I am off out for coffee with a couple of ladies this morning but will be back by lunchtime to start on my rounds of desk hopping!!

Oops... got Kathy Orta's name wrong, thanks Caz!!! :(  Have added the link to the hinge binding video.