"Mommy Loves Hats"

It's true.  I adore hats and luckily my girls do too.  I created this mini album in response to a challenge on the Show Us Your Stuff blog, a challenge blog all about handmade things.  I really love challenge blogs because they push me to do something outside the box.  Here is what I came up with for this month's challenge.

"Mommy Loves Hats" 

Supplies:  Paper, Die Cuts, Stickers (My Little Shoebox), Letters (My Little Shoebox, Jenni Bowlin, Pink Paislee), Ribbon & Pearls (Michaels), Deer Button (Purple Pumpkin Crafts), Crochet Flower (Abbie Torroll), Chipboard (Basic Grey), Buttons (Creative Café, Dollar Store), Fuzzy Trim (Dollar Store)

There are several handmade items throughout the book, some made by yours truly and others I've purchased.  The cute little deer button you see is one of Purple Pumpkin's designs.  I discovered them awhile ago but just recently made my first purchase.  LOVE their stuff.

The second handmade item on the book is the pearl and ribbon trim you see on the dress and on the spine.  This one I made and I couldn't be more proud of myself.  My daughter has a necklace fashioned similiarly to what you see here so I decided to try my own version for scrapbooking.  I am hooked.  I am already dreaming up different colour combinations to make.

To recreate the look, you will need ribbon, coordinating pearls, a needle and thread. That's it.

Pinch the ribbon, put a stitch through it to hold it in place and then add a pearl.  Repeat until you have desired length.  That's it, that's all.  It's really is that simple.

It really didn't take long to make and the results were really worth it.  At least I think so.  Grin. :)

I  also made the hat on the front cover.  I had the cover finished and when I looked at it a few hours later the title read to me "Mommy loves BATS" at a quick glance.  BATS!?!  Oh dear.  I decided perhaps I should add a hat in case there was any confusion as to whether or not Mommy loves hat or bats.  I printed some clip art from the computer and paper pieced the hat together with bits of patterned paper.

Here's a peek at the inside pages:

This is where the sketch and other challenge requirements come into play.  I had to use a number in the title and the following sketch, in addition to a handmade embellishment.

This gorgeous crocheted flower was made by the same woman who made the knit hats in the book, Abbie from Heart Smiles.  I had to save this beautiful bloom she used to package the hats in.  It seemed fitting to add it to this book.

I'm thinking I'll probably be a Grandmother before I ever get to this goal, but I'm throwing it out there just the same.

So there it is.  My love of hats in photos.  Thanks so much for visiting and thanks also goes out to the ladies at Show Us Your Stuff for the fun challenge.

One more thing before I sign off.  If you want a chance to WIN your own handmade embellishments by Purple Pumpkin, check out their blog.  Here's a photo of the prize.

Cheers!