But...I'm not crafty. {Insert sad face here}

Alright people...I've heard it a thousand times over the years. "I wish I was crafty like YOU!" "I wish I could make gorgeous Christmas cards! They are so lovely!" "I just don't have that talent." Insert sad face. Well...take that frown and turn it upside down because let me tell you a little secret...you ARE crafty. As crafty as anyone out there and this is your year to WOW your friends and family with some out of this world Christmas cards at the Scrapbook Studio!
The sweet Lori Colton has put us all to work designing cards and with the coordinating genius of Amanda LePage there will be 13...yes you read right!...THIRTEEN different cards for you to make for the unbelieveable price of $35! It's a come and go thing...at your own pace...EVERYTHING is supplied! Just bring your own scissors and adhesive and get ready to absolutely dive into the Christmas spirit with music, cider, cookies and much more! No stuffy, uptight "classroom" atmosphere...just beautiful stations with everything you need pre-cut, in a kit, complete with instructions, photos and sample cards. Can you tell I am a little wee bit excited about it? LOL For all the specific info...find the details HERE! And just a tip...if you are tied up that weekend and can't attend, I bet if you ask really nicely you can purchase a kit to take home and complete at your convenience! BUT spaces are limited so don't put this one on the procrastination list. It's going to be oh so fab!

It's a country thang

It's really no secret. I loooove texture. I stick things on scrapbook pages that most people throw away. So when my neighbour's lawn was littered with birch branches I pulled a quick "thief in the night" escapade and gathered up a bunch. I used some on my Brown Eyed Girl layout. And some went on this sweet little card I made for a gorgeous country wedding we attended. We sat on hay bales under a brilliant sun surrounded by swaying trees and listened to my cousin and his new wife exchange their vows. It was so natural and beautiful. Don't get me wrong...I love zipping around in my convertible with a Starbucks in my hand. But I never forget my roots. I still know how to milk a goat, ride a horse and drive a tractor. I think it's that country thang that keeps my scrapbooking earthy, simple and touchable. Glue some nature to your pages. You'll love it!

'Nuff said

It's quirky and tempermental. Like me. I never in a million years expected it. I guess it's my version of getting diamonds from my Hubs. 1977 was a great year. It was meant to be mine. The Triumph Spitfire. 'Nuff said.

Want to WIN?!

Hurry hurry HURRY!!! go to The Twinery and enter to win some FABULOUS prizes!!! This is a fairly new site to me...but their stuff is OH so yummy! Head on over there and throw your name in to get your hands on some crafty crafty twine for all your artsy needs!

MY definition of an amazing life...

Not blogging for over a month because you were living at the lake. THAT is my definition of the very best life I can lead. Chillin' with friends, lazing in the boat with our fishing rods (I limited out one day! Can you spell FISH FRY?!) s'mores, reading lots of books with my boys and just being a Mum. A dirty one. Who hugged and kissed even when the receiver was a little slimy. Who face painted every strange kid we came across just for the fun of it. Who helped catch frogs and snails and minnows...with my bare hands! Who loved and squeezed and cooked and ran and played and did a hundred thousand under ducks on the swings. Did my art room grow mold? Metaphorically speaking...Probably. Did my garden show signs of serious neglect? YUP. Was I hiding from the phone? Absolutely. And will my boys remember this as the #1 best summer EVER? You bet your bikini bottom they will. QUICK! You still have time...go enjoy the rest of summer! Blogland will be here when you get back. I promise. xo

Sieze the day!

I read an amazing quote by Erma Bombeck today:

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say "I used everything you gave me."

Love who you are, what you are and what you do! Do things that make you proud to be you! Create! Love! Laugh! Use everything you have! Treat people as you want to be treated! Let's make the world an amazing place!
The colour on this came out a little wonky in the photo...it really is a deep chocolate brown. I used real birch twigs pilfered from my neighbours lawn! LOL I love using things that create lots of texture. Happy creating!!!

July 1st and a whole lot of...beer?

I don't drink beer. But I am a big fan of the Molson commercials. So in keeping with the tradition of posting the Joe Canadian rant on my blog to celebrate Canada Day here are some other Molson commercials I have appreciated over the years. Happy Birthday Canada. Still lookin' good old girl!









And I still laugh right out loud at this one:

A Party For Poopsie

My little niece {who I have called Poopsie since she was born!} hit double digits this year. Shut up...I know, right? When did she get so grown up?! My sis put on an epic rock star birthday party and Poopsie was the main attraction. She wanted something to give to her friends that was crafty and fun. So over to Auntie's art room she came and we cranked out these adorable take away containers for a dozen of Poopsie's closest friends. The die to make the container is compliments of Just Scrap It! and was super easy {and cheap!} to put together. One sheet of 12x12 white card stock per container. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.


My sis wanted an artsy activity for the girls to do at the party so we left the containers completely blank. A wonderful canvas for many Camp Rock and Justin Bieber stickers and of course gobs of glitter and jewels! But Poopsie wanted to put her own sparkly flare on it and settled on a great new cupcake stamp set I bought last summer. She stamped, stickled and gemmed the tags all on her own! I was SO proud. A little hand written message and I thought we were done. But my little Poopsie likes glittery things almost as much as I do so we added some jump rings and an assortment of charms and beads to the ribbon handle. Simple. Cute. Fun! Home made gift bags do not have to be expensive or complicated. Poopsie's Mama filled them with hair accessories and lip gloss. Perfect!

The very BEST competition I ever lost-Camp Croppin' 2011

I can't believe I haven't blogged about Camp Croppin' yet!!! Many things have been going on...you know how it is. Whenever I sat down to blog it, something else came up. Election. Layouts. Whatev. So here it is! We had an AMAZING time!!! As always. Camp Croppin' really is what you make it. And every year it just gets better and better for our crazy group! This year Flat Amanda was retired to make way for ACTUAL AMANDA! Truth be told...she is WAAAY more fun! But don't tell Flat Amanda that, it might hurt her feelings. I think you can check out her antics HERE.

Photo by Barb Riley's camera (who took this one?)

The classes were outstanding as usual and I got to be a Tent Mum for the wonderful people of Prima and Stampendous! What a great day that was! A highlight for me was meeting Matt from Bo Bunny. At first I was SO disappointed that the ladies would not be there in their matching sweaters with their songs and laughs. And then the product was changed from Timepiece to Gabrielle. I know. They sent a boy and I wasn't getting to work with the product I had been drooling over!!! Shut the province down. But Matt was a RIOT. He truly loves his company and it really shows. He even modelled the coveted Bo Bunny purse for us. I don't think I have ever wanted to win a draw so badly! But it went to our own Lori Colton so at least it is in our little scrap family!

Photo by Barb Riley

Another highlight for me was the keynote speaker. When talented, strong, inspirational women speak...you should listen up. So I was super happy when I found out it was Katharina Doyle from Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. I hold both her and Jackie Ludlage in high regard. They wanted something and they ran after it. Admirable. Photo by Allison Orthner Photo by Allison Orthner
Who had the camera we were actually looking at? Anyone? Anyone? Buhler?

On to the prizes!!! The competition is always one of my fave parts because every single dollar from the entry fees goes to the children's hospital. And that just makes me feel so good! Our friends from last year Leonka and Marilyn were in attendance again! These girls are definitely honourary Saskies. They are such a hoot. Leonka rocked the journalling prize and then read it to the group. It was epic. Standing ovation afterward. It was an honour to be in that room.

Photo by Barb Riley

After we all had a good cry when Leonka was done at the podium we were cheering for the photo prize and eagerly anticipating the rest of the prizes (they SO ROCKED) when the third prize was called and Amanda and I whooped it up big time and had to poke her several times to get her attention...it was Corinne!!! Can I get a WOO HOO?! She was so engrossed in making her cards she didn't even realize it was her! So the 2 green tables went wild yet again!

Photo by Barb Riley

Second prize was announced and then the biggie...Top winner! We were really rooting for Amanda...her layout was the ugliest cry we have all had in a very long time and I can't wait for you all to see it in an upcoming edition of Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. Epic isn't the word. On pins and needles we waited for the announcement we hoped...nay...KNEW would come...

Photo by Barb Riley

Cue Team Green to go WILD again!!! Seriously, we needed a whole lot of tissue!!! It was so amazing!

Photo by me with Barb Riley's camera
Photo by Barb Riley
Photo by Barb Riley
Where on earth would we be without each other? Having supportive friends who will cheer for you is so important. I felt honoured to be part of the loudest, rowdiest team at Camp Croppin'! You don't mind...do you Megan? We love your event and just can't be anyone but ourselves when we stampede through your doors!

Even though I do love the competition part and now have several layouts in my albums that I adore, I was the proudest of my own little fundraiser for the hospital. I made 250 cupcakes and toted them all the way to Calgary. The ladies were more than generous with their donations and I am so thankful for that.


Photo by Allison Orthner
I love this event for the people, the laughs, the cries, the FUN! {And maybe the late night snacking too!} It is wonderful to attend something with all my scrap friends and just be laid back and comfortable. Busy...in a good way. And just soak in the great atmosphere. I know they say third time is the charm but I am headed toward my 4th year.

Camp Croppin' 2012. Who is in?!

{I did not break out my camera even once. So if I have messed up any of the photo credits I apologize!}

Yes, I wore an orange sweater

With the passing of another Mother's Day I find myself missing my Gram more and more. We spent a lot of time with her...from the day I was born until I was 10 years, 4 months and 19 days old. And in that short amount of time she made such a deep impression on me. Of what is right and what is important. How to love a family. Craftiness and how natural it is to work with your hands. I think even though the time was short...she had a big hand in shaping the woman I am today. The woman was a whiz with knitting needles. She could do anything. She was especially good at cables and could add them in without a pattern. She taught me to knit when I was 7 and I will never, ever be as good as she was but it makes me feel closer to her when I work with wool. Almost all the women in my family can work with wool in one form or another. It's a special thing we share. And Grandma was a firm believer in keeping a child's head covered as well. So when we were about 4, 3 and 2 (yes we are that close together) she knitted all 3 of us matching orange sweaters with hoods. The yarn went on sale at Woolworths (where she used to work) and so...orange it was! LOL Not the most fashionable by today's standards but we wore them everywhere.
This layout didn't come together like the vision in my head but it is mostly about the journalling anyway. So I will call it done for today and maybe come across some more photos of us in the orange sweaters and do another layout in the future.

Thanks for the love Gram. xox

What would YOU die for?

We use the term really lightly..."Oh my gosh I would just DIE!" But what would you really die for? I would die for my Hubs. My kids. Both standard answers. Would you die for your Faith? Would you die for your freedom? Would you die for the right to VOTE?

Take yourself back to any power struggle in our history. What would have happened if a person like Hitler was able to take power? A dictatorship. {Many words in this post are linked. Click for definitions and more information}. Is that what we want for our society? Maybe it would just be easier. Then we wouldn't have to make the effort to drive down to the civic centre 4 times in 7 years. Ugh. Such an inconvenience. I bet it was inconvenient for a mother to receive 4 separate letters from the government telling her that all of her boys had perished. It was inconvenient for the more than 44,000 Canadians who died in WWII alone. Who lay shot to pieces in trenches. Or were gunned out of the sky as they parachuted in to some unknown part of the world. A part of the world they had never been to but were willing to go for the freedom of their country. And it was probably very inconvenient for the women and children of the countries where the wars were fought. Losing their homes and land. Having loved ones lost. Never knowing what became of them. I would guess it would be pretty inconvenient for someone like Elie Wiesel to witness babies being torn from their mothers and thrown away like garbage. Have you read Night? You should. It might influence you to feel blessed to live in a country where we are free to express our faith, politics and opinions.

This all might seem over dramatic...but aren't politics dramatic? We should be vehemently passionate about our country and who leads it. And taking the time to vote is a very small, infinitesimal way to show that we DO care. The excuses of "No time" or "Don't know who to vote for" just don't cut it. {Want info? Go check out the Vote Compass} It's like a slap in the face to every person who ever put their life on the line for Canada. No matter the year. No matter the war. Or saying you will spoil your ballot as a form of protest. What protest? The protest of wasting your right to vote when there are people all over the world who would die for that right? Why don't you protest by educating yourself on which party you agree with the most and vote for them? Don't like the parties? Start your own. If you don't like what is happening politically...I have news for you. YOU have the power to raise your voice and change it. Any Canadian can vote and any Canadian can join/lead a political party. Nobody will gun you down. Or steal you from your bed in the night. Support your party! VOTE! And if someone disagrees with you...take a deep breath, gather all that party knowledge you have been ingesting and have an honest-to-goodness debate with that person. An intelligent exchange of ideas and opinions. Both sides trying to change the others mind. It's exhilarating. It's our right. It's Canadian.

Monday May 2nd, 2011. Be a role model. VOTE.

Artist Profile

I adore art. Ok...you might say "Well DUH Kate. You're an artist." But I don't just like a certain type of art. I love all art forms. I appreciate the beauty of a person's talent even if it is very different from my own. Or should I say especially if it is different from my own? I love to browse Etsy and bookmark my favourite unknowns and order things that make me smile and put all these wonderful things in my own art room to inspire me. Sometimes I know the person and it makes it that much more special. And sometimes I love them because they are dear to me. My Godmother has been somehow involved in every single milestone of my life and now I am blessed enough to spend time with her daughter Chelsea. She is a lovely young woman who has this shiny spirit you just can't take your eyes away from. She is a dancer and actually makes her living doing what she loves and when she needs a break...she creates. She is currently on an open ended visit home because of the disaster in Japan. That is where she lives and tells me she can't wait to get back. She is not only a creative inspiration to me but also a beautiful example of loyalty, dedication and faith. The last time we got together I was telling her about art journals...something I have been researching but haven't sat down to try yet. I was previously inspired by my friend Corinne. So now I have all the supplies to do it...I just need to get dirty. LOL Chelsea and I were talking about different forms of art journals and she has already done her first page! It perfectly reflects the technique. I am in love. She does these amazing canvases!!!

And often uses scripture in her work. Love.

This one is hanging in my art room.

AND she paints. Swoon. Who inspires you? Who is your favourite artist? Creativity really does feed your soul. xo

Just like yesterday...

Today is cold and snowing and yucky. Sunday was the first day of Spring? Yeah right. So yesterday I was shopping on line for some to die for stamps by Just Cre8. Today I bought some beautiful art on Etsy that makes me really happy. Click the sentence to check out Johanna's Etsy shop. Her paintings make my heart smile. She also has a BLOG.

This is the print I bought.

And isn't this little guy just adorable???


Hubs has been gone for 10 days now. I'm telling ya...if he doesn't get home soon I am going to have to buy shoes. And a purse. LOL

I {heart} online shopping

I developed this love for online shopping when we lived waaaay up North and it was cold and snowy and I had nothing better to do than get out the old credit card and make happy things show up at my door. LOL So now and then I like to relive the good old days even though I am in a city now and can go out whenever I want. Except when the kids are puking. Like everywhere. So of course what is the very best pick-me-up when you are house bound with sick kids? Buying scrapbooking supplies online of course!!! Just Cre8 used to be my fave online stomping ground for forums/galleries/challenges/etc. Sue Sykes has closed up shop but the store is open right now for a major clearance sale and I just couldn't help myself! Use the promo code SAVEBIG25 and receive an additional 25% off your order until April 3rd! {FYI: the coupon code needs to be entered on the first page of your cart way at the bottom.}

I love the custom stamps and may or may not have added a couple to my collection.


What are you waiting for??? Go shop!

Weather...and work in progress

I found this photo via my friend Bonnie on Facebook who got it off the Northernhorse.com page who got it from somewhere else. How is that for a photo credit? LOL I followed it as far as I could. But it made me laugh. And in this weather...that is hard to do. So I thought while my blog sits for the rest of the week while I work on projects and gather up my "after" photos of my art room...you'd enjoy a giggle. At the expense of a shivering prairie girl. xox

Art...and the freedom to create it

One thing I struggle with on a daily basis is the cleanliness of my art room. I am fortunate enough to have an entire room to create whatever I want...and more often than not I am either creating on the floor in the living room or not creating at all because I can't breathe in my room. That is an absolute travesty. If I am not using the room, I shouldn't have the privilege of having one. Period. So I was discussing with the Hubs last weekend some cost effective options to fix the issues I had. Yes I would love to rebuild my studio all custom and matching and wonderful...however...I am also realistic and know that this is not our "forever" house. So it would be a shame to spend the money, time and effort only to have to say good-bye to it in the coming few years. I wasn't expecting what happened. Hubs took a look at what I was thinking of and said "ok". That was it. And the discussion ended and I thought maybe we would look into some building materials next month. I was fairly pleased with the space I had at that moment because my friend Corinne had come over to spend a few hours helping/telling me what to clean and directing me in my purge. Her favourite thing to say was "Just let it GO Kate!" It was a fabulous time! So I have to admit I was a touch disappointed when I came home the afternoon of said discussion with the Hubs to find my room in ruins. Absolute chaos. With Hubs in the middle of it with his tools beside him telling me to come clear off my desk because it was going bye-bye. I had no time to process what was happening but he obviously wanted to get a move on with the project. LOL These "before" photos are from several months ago. This was the room at it's worst and it had taken on a nasty personality all of its own.

View from the door:
Big shelf/extra desk space. I forgot to snap a pic of the top of this shelf where all my project boxes and albums were kept. Oh my word. Let your imagination run wild.

Peg board and original desk space. Wait a minute...is there even a desk under there?!?

Childrens area.

In the months since this photo I did a few things like getting rid of the 6ft kids table and opting for a desk with drawers. And of course did a bunch of cleaning and purging. But I still had hot spots that were hard to control simply because things were piled on the floor and had no storage. Insert the Hubs and his need to complete projects right now.

Soak in the before photos...and I will post after photos next week. They rock!!!

Here is a little something I created on the floor...LOL. I have been so in love with birds in the last year. This is an 8x8 canvas with some Tim Holtz, Hambly & Elsie Flannigan, ink, metal, bling and a bunch of crackle paint. I love shabby chic home decor!

What does your space look like? Does it make you happy? Do you need some inspiration and encouragement to change it? Leave a comment and send me a link! I'd love to see it! xo

What I want out of Camp Croppin'. A photo experience.

Ok...what can I possibly say about Camp Croppin' that I haven't already said HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE? I've done it all...I've said it all. In a nutshell...it's my favourite event and never disappoints. So let's take a stroll through photo land, shall we? Of all the things I want out of Camp Croppin' this year.

I'll take several of these please. Leaving at 6am on Friday can take it's toll on a gal. Cause you know I didn't sleep a wink the night before and won't be falling into bed again anywhere before 4am! Venti extra hot creme brule latte. But Kate...Christmas is over. Oh, the weather was confusing me for a second there. Make it a Venti triple shot extra hot mocha no whip please.

The second we blow into town we do a spot of shopping. Just as a warm up.

Shopping really does work up an appetite, doesn't it? Peanuts Sports Bar has the best steak sandwich I have ever had. Hands down. This is not a real photo of one...but it's close. Note to self: take a photo of the real sandwich so you can do the deliciousness justice on the blog.

After cleaning our plates at the bar we need to switch gears...scrap mode! Classes! The beauty of new products! Sigh. Prima.
Stampendous...I am in love with your bird cages. Please bring some for us to play with. Thank-you.

I'm imagining many colours of mist...and getting many of them on my shirt. Because it's like a moth to a flame I tell ya.

And my favourite...Bo Bunny. I am looking forward to seeing which of the famous Bo Bunny sweaters will be worn this year. Because I saw some new ones that they embellished themselves with the new trims! Crafty ladies they are.

After hours and hours of gluing myself...to...myself I might need to unwind a bit.

And a couple hours after that...I will have to wind back up!We will scream and cheer, laugh and cry, meet and greet, scrap and craft! Not to mention the serious hangover you get from all of the PRIZES!!! Then we will stagger home and eagerly anticipate next year.
And if you have forgotten how much I love Camp Croppin'...maybe this will refresh your memory.

Need some inspiration before the event? Head over to the Scrapbooker's Paradise blog because they have an amazing new challenge team!!!

Join in on a rockin' good time that also benefits the Alberta Children's Hospital! Check out the Camp Croppin' Website for more information. And I will see YOU at the Make N Take table! xox

Another fabulous use for Glimmer Mist!

Here is what is going on at our house today:

It started out with the Daddy snowman. And he of course needed a face AND accessories. LOL Then it was so nice out they continued with the Mummy snowman. Then I heard Hubs chuckling and my oldest shouted "DAD! She needs a BRA!" Then he ran in and asked if he could have one of mine. Um...no. So I took a chance that blogland could handle some naked snow boobs. LOL

I was busy running up and down the stairs to my art room every time someone thought of something cool to put on the snow people. My last trip up I grabbed...wait for it...that's right...the GLIMMER MIST! I have said it before and I will say it again...I spray EVERYTHING with this stuff! You might remember my popcorn garland of 2009.

The boys got a little rowdy with it {they apparently take after their mama!} so it got taken away before the "snow kids" could get some colour. Aw, come on Dad!
I love all the details...like the older "snow-son" has missing front teeth...er I mean buttons. Matches our 6 year old right now!

This is our snow family today. Enjoying the beautiful weather {while it lasts} and just making some really good memories. Out of normal every day stuff. Because that is the stuff I love to scrapbook! Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Bless others this week with the truly beautiful you! xo

A Starbucks Book Tutorial

This was the project I did while I was at the Bloomin' Inn because I was told there would be plenty of space to haul in my sewing machine. There totally WAS. It was so great. My good friend Char had asked me if I would do a Starbucks book for her after she saw the one I made HERE. Now I certainly am not going to lead you to believe I invented this idea. I love to blog hop and several years ago I saw it on Wilna Furstenberg's blog. I enjoy her style so much and she is delightful to take a class from. She had posted this digital Starbucks book project on her blog but...I was not doing any kind of digital at that time so I just ran with the initial idea and made it my own. Now I love them so much I ask for extra cups every single time I am in Starbucks! Which reminds me...I need to collect up some more before they bring in that hideous new logo. It is so not for me. But I digress.

Start with a cup and a cardboard sleeve. Carefully cut the bottom out of your cup. You can use any size but make sure it is a new cup...I have never had success washing a used cup unless you dig that wrinkled wet paper look.
Flatten the cup and cut up both sides to form the front and back covers. Cut out the Starbucks logo from the cardboard sleeve leaving as much extra around the green circle as you can. Now if you are a very clean and straight scrapbooker this may be stepping out of your box. There is nothing precise about these books. They are very gypsy looking and are not meant to outlive your grandchildren. So toss aside the ruler, get out all your bits and bobs and just go with it!Note*** I accidentally cut really close to the green on this one. I usually leave as much cardboard as I can so I can sew this circle onto the front cover***

I use the front cover as a guide to trace out as many pages as I want. Use good, heavy card stock or chipboard! Remember, not everything needs to accommodate a photo. I love to put in pockets, transparencies, little journal tags and whatever else strikes my fancy. So the pages I do here are only a base. Watch out if you use a trimmer while doing this...the pages are somewhat V shaped. Smaller at the bottom and wider at the top.

Then I start with the front cover and work my way to the back! The covers are always my favourite because they can actually handle quite a bit of abuse. I like to do really heavy sewing on them...it makes me happy. But first I dive into a little ink and glimmer mist just to give it an interesting base.

And then hop on the sewing machine to make it look like this. I love to use the extra cardboard for making tabs. And what project is complete without ric rac? I take the front cover just to this point...there is MUCH more I want to add but I still have to bind it. So stop yourself from adding and move on. Just for now.

The inside of the front cover. I stamped it with a messy background stamp and added the chipboard buttons to dress up the sewn circle. If you don't know what else to go with, a stamped quote is a nice go-to embellishment. It had a good number of pages so I will just highlight a few. I used scrap fabric to create a pocket and tag.
The green cloud is not part of the page...it will hang all on it's own as a smaller page. Don't be afraid to mix it up and add different sizes and shapes! This type of book is wonderful for using up scraps of things you didn't want to throw away but had no idea what you were going to use it for. I have a whole Rubbermaid bin full of stuff that falls into that category!

This photo actually shows 3 separate "pages". There is the base page, the cute little polka dot transparency and the chipboard key which attached to one ring and kind of nicely hung out all on it's own.

Inside the back cover. I have a thing for bar codes.
Back cover. Love that sewing. It adds so much texture.

When I am done all the pages I put them all together and see what my best plan of action is for binding. I generally like to use the metal rings...2, 3 or 4 depending on the size of the book. You could also sew it together (my poor little EuroPro!) or use a Cinch or a Zutter. I happen to have a Zutter but I find for this project I don't like how the coils sit. It's all a matter of taste. So I line up the front cover how I want it and punch the appropriate amount of holes with my Crop-A-Dile. Then I hold the next page against the cover and punch it too. Then the third page against the first page and so on and so on using the previously punched page as a guide for the next page so it all lines up.
When I am all finished lining up, stacking and binding I finish blinging up the front cover and add ribbon to the metal rings. You can use as much ribbon as you want...I just put 3 pieces on the top ring for a little more embellishment.

Funny side note...I happened to use a bunch of chipboard puzzle pieces on the cover and on a few of the inside pages and Char got all excited about it and thanked me for using them when I gave her the finished book. I was a little confused. Um...you are welcome? For using puzzle pieces? Then she reminded me that the puzzle piece is the logo for Autism Awareness. Char's youngest is autistic...and I had forgotten about the significance of the puzzle piece and just used it by accident. Wonderful coincidence! It's a God thing. xo