Trees a la Lola, and OnBoard mini album

There are a ton of pics to this post! First up, the trees ATC card I made for today's Limited Supplies Challenge (LSC180 - Lunch Notes). The challenge was to make an ATC-sized card (2 1/2" x 3 1/2" when folded) to fit in someone's lunchbox, briefcase, etc. This is what I came up with:
And can I just say, I'm pretty proud of the creativity on this one *wink*. There was a 'bonus challenge' to use one of those $1 stamp sets we all buy and rarely use, so I pulled out this build-a-flower set that I had found at Target, and instead of seeing leaves, I saw a tree! Then, I was contemplating how to make the trunk, and thought of the stick in my Cold Play set, and realized I could use the round snowman-building-blocks as more trees!! I was excited, and came up with these 3 cute little trees. I called them "Trees a la Lola" because they remind of one of my boys' favorite shows, Charlie and Lola. The show is adorable...it's a mix of cut-paper collage and animation, and I love the imagination Lola has, and the way Charlie takes care of her (he's Lola's older brother). Anyway, I stamped the shapes onto patterned paper, cut them on, adhered them to a 'sky' colored patterned paper, and stamped on the 'trunks'. I love them! I think I'll make some more tonight *smiles*

(*Note to GINA - if you're reading this and my parents are around, stop now and come back when they're not...this will arrive next week!)

Next up, a mini-album I made for my mom. I've included a bunch of the pages, so you can see how I put it together. I used SU!'s On Board mini album, and covered the front with some SU! paper from a couple catalogs ago. I love the soft colors in it, and that they're semi-boyish. I used a 'brushless watercolor' technique to stamp the image on the front...a technique I saw Tim Holtz do on The Carol Duvall Show ages ago. I love that it allows you to mix colors on a single image and make it look seamless (like the Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, and Pumkin Pie I used here).
I purposely left the front rather 'plain' because my mom has told me she likes to carry them around, and I didn't want her to have to worry about the cover getting beaten up.

Inside, I used a repeating theme, and then added photos to support them. I like this approach because it gives a clear organization to the album, lets you group seemingly unrelated photos, and makes for a cohesive whole. I chose the titles 'family', 'food', and 'fun' to go with the stamp on the front...that "It's the little things that make life big".
And the closing page - with the biggest 'little thing' of all:
Thanks for stopping by and hanging though all my blabbering! *smiles*
~Michelle

Supplies used (ATC card):
Paper: Very Vanilla (SU!); patterned papers (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Stamps: Cold Play, Happy Harmony (SU!); Mini Make a Flower (Autumn Leaves)
Other: Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dot' embossing folder; ribbon

Supplies used (mini album):
Paper: Bashful Blue cardstock, Petal Patch DSP (SU!)
Ink: Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa (SU!)
Stamps: Happy Harmony (SU!); Chelsea Alphabet set (Inkadinkadoo); Antique Lowercase Alphabet set (PSX)
Other: flowers (Prima Marketing); brads (unknown); Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain, On Board mini album (SU!)