This decorative box holds a mini scrapbook album I made for my daughter’s thirteenth birthday. I call it Turning 13: Advice for Life, created as a mini album and storage box set. It might mean more to me than my daughter right now because after all, she’s 13 and it’s not cool shoes or some type of electronic gadget. But I’m okay with that. The Turning 13 scrapbook album is a wonderful keepsake with messages from all the important adults in her life.
Turning 13 Scrapbook
I labored over this project and loved every minute of it. Many members of the family sent me their best “Advice for Life” and now she has many pieces of good advice to refer to over and over.
Becoming a teenager has been a tough process for my daughter. We work daily to cope with the challenges of ADD and bi-polar disorder. Teenage life throws a range of things in the mix. We work hard to give her all the tools she needs to be the best she can be. The Turning 13 scrapbook gives her caring words from family members she admires to remind her on tough days that she is supported, loved, remembered and never alone. What better advice can you get than that?
When I get merchandise from scrapbook company Studio Calico, I just can’t part with these boxes. They beg to become something else. Maybe a kid’s secret notes box or the place for grandma’s letters. They aren’t for anything practical because they are just too nice for that. These I-can’t-throw-them-away boxes make the perfect mini album home. And I am really happy with how the two items came together.
Covering the box with scrapbook paper, Washi tape and other embellishments is an easy process. Pick coordinating paper to your project and cut accurately. In the Turning 13 scrapbook project, the sides have my daughter’s initials and birthday to customize it a bit more. I don’t know about you, but I never get tired of laser wood cut embellishments.
The mini album is a simple flipbook, 4.25” x 6.25” with a ribbon threaded through a single corner hole. Each spread has a page for the person’s advice and a page for the their photo.
I did some of my favorite treatments in this album including layering a lot of elements, along with hand stitching, Washi tape, enamel dots and dimensional stickers. There is also a pocket for a pull out card, brads, wood and foam. Each spread became individual little works of art. Mostly I loved thinking of my relatives and how lucky we are to have such a close-knit family.
Who knows, maybe she’ll pass on this advice for life to her 13-year-old someday. I hope so.
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