Wendy Treseder

Travel Scrapbook - Europe 2016 - Part One

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd share with you a little project.

I've been slowly working on this travel scrapbook journal ever since we got back from our trip to Europe last November. I actually started making the book on the trip and packed a little kit of papers and essentials to take with me that fitted snugly in my luggage.

The pages of this book are mostly made using envelopes, with a few different items such as cards and paper bags, thrown in for good measure. The beauty of the construction of this type of book is that the pages don't have to be identical in size and/or shape, so you can really add whatever you like to it. It also lays nice and flat despite having quite a lot of stuff on the pages and in the pockets, because of the way it's made.

If you're like me, you're a bit of a bower bird and, especially when I'm travelling, I seem to accumulate a collection of bits and bobs along the way. (aka. precious treasures, that I simply MUST keep!) The bonus in making this type of book is that all those little treasures can be stored together WITH the photos so you can see everything at once.

This way this book is constructed is one of my favourite go to techniques and probably the easiest to make. I put together a You Tube video (below) to share with you, which walks you through the internal pages of this unfinished book. The video goes for about 10 minutes and you'll have to excuse my croaky voice, my rambling thought patterns and scary old lady hands, but I hope it may inspire you to create a book of your own.

 

Stay tuned for a more detailed "how to" construct this type of book in the next week or so. I'm also planning to share with you how the cover was made, and eventually I'm hoping to be able to show you a finished album! yay!

And now back to my costume making.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Wx

 

The Ultimate

Is there anything better than new cute stationery? There probably are lots of things, but this week I found a few really cool items that made me smile.

One of them is my "ultimate" notebook. I started thinking about what would be perfect for me, right now:

• A5 size - not too big to fit in my handbag, not too small to write in
• A zip pocket - for storing business receipts and fabric samples on the go
• Pages that can be used for designing, writing lists, note taking and jotting down ideas
• Spiral bound - so pages that can be easily torn out and transferred to client project folders

So with this list in mind, I headed off to Officeworks....and voila! There it was! My ultimate notebook. It was like I MADE IT HAPPEN! 

And then (of course) I made it mine.

Super cute, right? And by some magical co-incidence, the colour of the elastic band totally works with one of my Wendle Handmade stickers. Like it was "meant - to - be".

I also made some dividers for the main part of the notepad, because I like keeping stuff organised.

To do this, I ripped out a page to use for a template, traced the holes to punch on some scraps of pink cardstock and then just snipped the back of the holes to slip around the metal rings. See how cool the pages are too, the dots are great for designing, but also good for writing.

What's your favourite stationery find lately? 

Happy crafting!  Wx

I lost my best friend & I'm hearbroken

10 days ago we lost our beloved dog Bowie.

I was on my usual morning walk with him along the river, on our way home from the beach, when he was run over and killed on the pedestrian crossing. I won't go into the full details, but it was horrific and I went into shock after witnessing it. 

But, it wasn't just horrible for me. Bowie was a much loved member of our family and we have all been devastated by the loss of him.So many times I look for him when I arrive home, or I drop a crumb on the floor and wait for him to appear and clean it up. We miss his little paws clicking on the floorboards and his dramatic drops to the floor to sleep.His mad rolling around on his back (salmoning) and his little huffs when dreaming. Without all his little noises the house seems very quiet and empty.

He was very much a mummy's boy and followed me everywhere around the house. If I went to the office, he went to the office. If I went to make a cup of tea, he followed me into the kitchen, waited, then followed me back into the office. Every night he came to bed when I went to bed, then slept on the floor beside me so that first thing I did every morning was give him a little "good morning" pat. I'm just so grateful to have had him in our lives. He brought us so much joy. 

Today I faced my fears for the first time since it happened and walked by myself on our usual route along the river, to the beach. I was so anxious approaching the crossing and had a massive lump in my throat going past. I even had a little cry! But I'm sure that if I keep it up, I'll get better and better at passing that spot without tears.

I'm also grateful for the outpouring of love from everyone. I guess most of us know the horrible pain of losing a loved pet and I'm so thankful to everyone for their kindness and thoughtfulness at this tough time.

To end on a cheery note. Here's my daughter Chelsea's border collie pup Trevor (aka Trevor the Terror). I babysat him on the weekend. He's a snuggler, so I got to give him lots and lots of cuddles. I also couldn't resist dressing him up in some left overs from my latest costume project and he was happy to pose for me. Isn't he a pretty boy? :)

Wx