Make and Take

Ok, I promised all of you a make and take and here it is! I didn't do step by step instructions because really what I did here was pretty straight forward and simple. All the photos come first and then the text so you can read and then refer back to each page!

Girl Friday Going Green Mini Album

In honor of Cosmo Cricket officially being FSC certified I thought it would be fitting to create a little make and take project to bring my crafting full circle into the "green" arena!
So I decided to use the tags that come with my daughter's clothing to create a mini album. So I am recycling the tags and at the same time using FSC certified papers to do it!

First, I've been collecting tags with this in mind for awhile. Do you have any idea how many different sizes and shapes of tags are out there? I guess I never paid attention until I decided to save them and recycle them into my crafting. Not only do they make a cool mini album but you can cover them and use them as gift tags, journaling tags, etc.

For this project I chose 4 different sized tags. I decided I wanted a book that is staggered and varied in styles of tags. So I have a variety here that when layered turns into a cool layered mini album! I also wanted to use Girl Friday because it is a cute and fun line which is perfect for my fun loving 5 year old daughter!

Once you have the tags you want to use the next step is to get the tags covered. I did this by simply tracing around each and covering it. On two of the tags I attached cardstock to one side and went around the outside edge with my paper edger scissors to create a fun border accent. I did this on the first and third page, and then placed my patterned cardstock over the top of it. I also inked the edges of my pages with some fun ink colors! Then I punched a hole in each and added the ball chain to my new mini album. Notice how the mini album is layered with the shortest tag on the top and longest tag on the bottom. There are so many ways you can put a mini album like this together by using tags all of the same size or varied! Be creative!


Here is a picture of the album after it is finished so you can see how it layers and works together. Once your album is covered simply add your photos and journaling areas and then embellish around them. The theme of this mini is "3 Things to Know About Me" which I created representing my 5 year old. You will see the individual pages and how I created each below. For the cover I added the bee from Girl Friday Ready-Set-Chip and put some distress stickles on it for a little bling and texture. I also used some rub ons and ribbon.


On many of the pages I cut elements or portions of pieces out of the patterned cardstock, element cards, or cut-apart borders that are all part of the Girl Friday crafting kit. So on the left you have an element card that I cut down to fit. On the opposite page I cut a photo using a circle punch, mounted it on orange cardstock and trimmed around it with my decorative paper edger scissors. I attached a ribbon around the smaller section and tied it in a knot.


On the left page I used my circle punch to punch a lined area of the element cards and again use decorative edger scissors to create a mat using green cardstock this time. Then I cut 3 elements out of Girl Friday patterned cardstock and added some glitter to each and then placed them around the journaling block. On the next page I repeated the circle design with my photo adding a chipboard flower, patterned paper butterfly, and some rub ons. Again I used glitter to give the elements some sparkle!

On page 5 I kept my wallet sized photo as is and place it on a mat. Then I simply added a patterned paper flower to each corner sprinkled with glitter. The journaling on the next page is the grid patterned paper I cut and inked the edges and placed on my page. Then I added a rub on and a little bee. On the edge of the page I punched two holes and tied some Girl Friday ribbon through.

The back cover contains that cute little ladybug from the Girl Friday Ready-Set-Chip. Again I added some glitter to make it into the girlie book I had in mind! Then I finished it off with the "My Life" rub on!

I went back to the ball chain I added in the beginning and place the letter "M" for Meliah to personalize it with a monogram. I added some glitter to the dots on the "M." Then I tied some Girl Friday ribbon on there and also added a little ribbon from the previous Honey Pie release.

You can see a couple more pictures if you head over to http://www.cosmocricket.typepad.com as well as a cute story from Julie!


There is so much you could do with these little tags! I think one of my favorite things of all is looking at all the pieces you get in a Cosmo Crafting kit and then cutting out all kinds of little elements to play with and embellish my creations with!

So there you have it, a green project! Simple and fun and very creative! I would love to see your interpretation of this idea! If you decide to create something out of clothing tags I would love for you to share. Just come back to this post and leave a link to your creation so I can take a peek!

I would love to see what creative ideas you come up with!

Have a green day!

Lisa