Anything Book Tip: Adding A Photo Group

I'm currently working on a special Anything Book of my own. My book is Mermaid, and it is recording my personal and business transformation. What I'm sharing today comes from my personal book.

This week, I visited my local IKEA and ended up taking a series of pictures that I wanted to add to my Anything Book as a group. I could have added them as a gallery and take up a whole page. But I decided I wanted to try something different.

So I got the idea to use an IKEA showroom map brochure (tri-fold) to hold these pictures together. They are free and available in the store.

I used a showroom floor mpa from IKEA to create a mini book inside my Mermaid Anything Book (art journal).

First, I trimmed the brochure down to just under 6 inches, the height of my Anything Book pages. Then I glued it into the book at the outer edge of a page.

Next, I started adding the photos. I created both wallet size and 2x2 inch sizes of the photos. I laid them out and started looking for items to fill in between them. Mostly, I used postage stamps and matchbook covers because they are about the same size and my photos. I also added in some washi tape and I made a tab from some scrap paper. It's an art journal, so anything goes!

Here's what the finished mini book looks like:

The IKEA brochure installed as a mini book at the outer edge of a page.

Here's the front of the brochure covered with photos, stamps, washi tape and a matchbook cover. If you pull on the tab, the accordian fold opens up to show you all three panels.

The IKEA brochure opened up to show all of the images inside.

I chose items with the lime green color of my top for extra fun. As you can see, I took some silly pictures of my shoes on the escalator and at one of the ubiquitous blue arrows located throughout the store.

I called this my Cheeky Monkey day because I felt silly taking pictures of myself in the mirror front of various cabinets (and in one showroom mirror). But once I started taking them, I was on a roll.

On the back side, I wrote the story of this day and why I was taking the pictures.

The back side of my mini book has my journaling about this day and these pictures.

You might want to use this idea for a visit to a park, attending an event, or anything else that provides a brochure. By using the brochure as the basis for the mini book, it ties together the photos with the place. I covered the brochure with image, but you could strategically place them so that your brochure is still readable. There are no rules! Do what seems good to you.

Anything Books tend to get bulky at the rings. So by adding some bulk to the outer edge of the page, it helps to balance out the thickness of the book. It also keeps from adding even more bulk to the ring area.

I loved this idea so much that I immediately added more brochures to the edges of several unfinished pages. These are still empty. But when I fill them, I'll share them here.

You can do this! You can create a beautiful record of your normal, everyday life with an Anything book. Check out my Etsy store for more information about my Anything Books. An Anything Book is an art journal where you add your own art or use it as a scrapbook of your daily living.

Saturday Package Fun

Early this afternoon, my door bell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone.

Turns out, it was my friendly US Postal Service carrier and she needed my signature for this package.

A package for me from Hong Kong.

A few weeks back, I ordered some washi tape from a seller on Etsy located in Hong Kong. I love washi tape and I use it to embellish my Anything Books. I wanted to expand my selection, and I needed to replish my stock.

For those of you who don't already love washi tape, let me tell you a little bit about it. You can think of it as patterned masking tape. It comes from Japan where it's made from washi paper. The adhesive is more like our post-it notes, so it can be removable. I love the wide range of patterns available. But it's often hard to find in local stores.

I hadn't expected this package to arrive for another 2 weeks!  So I grabbed my camera and a pair of scissors and slowly openned my package.

I love postage forms, so this one really excited me.

I spent time looking over the package before openning it. It got a little smushed in transit, but the package was beautiful. I loved the row of stamps across the top and the customs declaration form is beautiful.

I love this about my life. Little things like this excite me. I see beauty everywhere around me.

I opened the package in reverse of how they wrapped it.

I quickly figured out that the package contained a box inside that was wrapped with this manilla paper held together with tape (of course). So I started to disassemble the package working in the reverse direction that it has been wrapped for shipping. First I openned the ends. I love that I found this end first.

After openning the ends, I sliced the tape open along one side. From there, I could remove the paper wrapping and reveal the box inside.

I carefully removed the paper wrapping to reveal the box inside.

I was surprised to see so much English on this box, especially after seeing the bottom. It made me wonder if I might find this exact product on the shelves of my local asian grocery stores. Then, I wondered if this box had been used to make brownies for the person who wrapped my package!

The use of recycled and upcycled materials to send me supplies that I will use to make my own recycled and upcycled journals thrilled me! I'm definitely saving this box in my stash to reuse in a future Anything Book project.

My new tapes were tucked inside a cellophane envelope and placed into the brownie box.

I opened the end of the brownie box and carefully slid out a cellophane bag that contained my rolls of washi tape. They were gorgeous! I loved seeing the care and thought that went into preparing my package for shipment around the world to me.

My new rolls of washi tape on top of the beautiful packaging.

At last, I could spread out the rolls before me and look at each one carefully. Next up, they will go into the glass jar where I store my tapes. The paper wrapper will go into my stash, and so will the brownie box. In fact, you can look for pieces of them to show up in future Anything Books!

Everyday Items of Beauty

Tea Tags Assortment, originally uploaded by sarcoptiform.

For a couple of years now, I've been collecting the small pieces of life that normally get thrown away.

What I've noticed is that there are many beautiful things that pass through our lives that normally don't get a second look. These things were created by designers as part of products. They serve their purpose, but they don't ever get the spotlight.

Here's a great collection of tea bag tags, one of the many items I've been collecting and using in my Anything Books. They are beautiful, colorful, and they are all different. While you might stare at your tea bag tag while you are waiting for the water to boil, it's something that slips into the background of your day.

What mundane items inspire you with their beauty?

Take a second look at the things around you.