baby photo album covers

A few of my co-workers commissioned me to create something creative for these clam-shell binders that we filled with archival photo sheet protectors.  We turned them into photo albums where the new mothers can print and store photos of their newborns. 

The first was having a baby boy, but I didn't know what colors she was using in decorating the baby's room, but the baby boy blue still worked out just fine.  This was my first try, but I think it looks pretty good.  I used two old shirts (the two striped pieces) and three swatches of new fabric in the design.  It needed some more interest so I added the ribbon and buttons.  I used HeatnBond Ultrahold fabric adhesive to adhere the fabrics to each other.  Then I used a low-temp glue gun to wrap the fabric around a matte board I pre-cut to place on the binder's cover.  I did not want to puncture the binder itself because that would weaken the cover and open holes for pests and dust. It was dull looking with just the fabric, so I decided to stitch down some ribbon and buttons for interest.  I probably could have done this prior to gluing it to the board, but I also think that stitching through the board secures the buttons and thread more.   I then glued the finished cover to the front of the clam-shell binder, and voila!  Baby Boy Blue Cover for a photo album.

The second one was for a co-worker having her first baby girl.  The new momma-to-be is all about pink and bling, so I knew that it needed to have a little more glitz than the Baby Boy Blue.  I used to have a pretty pink button-down shirt that had some clear sequins stitched in the front, so I cut two swatches of this fabric, including the gem snap-buttons.  I used this for the top and bottom sections of the design.  The middle swatch of fabric comes from a pink knit shirt I found in Goodwill years ago.  I dug around in my beads and found a few that seemed to match and add some bling to the overall feel of the cover.  The beads on the ribbon in the middle section can slide up and down a little on the iridescent ribbon.  The beads and ribbon at the bottom half hide a rough edge in the pink plaid, and it was stitched down in-between each bead section.  I am not a big fan of pink, but this one turned out quite well, I think!  Hello, Baby Girl Pink Cover.

breaker-switch

It has been a long time to feel
the electrical current flow,
strike through this stagnant blood
and spark fire in a kiss or touch:
arms enclose, shoulders hug,
silent love murmurs red.

Daydreams of inappropriate 
matches, smolder in my guarded
words, hide-and-hide moments,
wait for a match to ignite and
burn the dreamed love letters,
stolen evening wishes.

---
Over-worked emotional babble. :P