Cardboard Scrapbook

My mom has lots and lots of pictures of every family event - every one of them labeled in her handwriting and put in 3 ring binders.  She often tells the story of how we all moaned and groaned every time she took out the camera (and we still do - but in a joking way!) but that we always come back to her if we're looking for a certain picture or trying to remember the name of a certain campsite in South Dakota.  I know she's thinking "I told you so!" in all caps!!

Anyway, I think her documenting all those everyday moments was passed on to me and I have taken pictures and labeled and stored them for years.  When scrapbooking became popular, I went to a few Creative Memories parties and was hooked.  Things have certainly evolved since then and there are a lot more ideas and raw materials to work with which I love.  I just wish I had lots more time to get caught up.  I initially did all my albums chronologically (like my mom did) but then started doing little "breakaway" albums for vacations.  That seems to work best for me.

This past week, I ventured out into the cardboard scrapbook realm.  I've never done one before and the one that I will post here is not yet complete (I'll update the page when it's finished).  The initial appeal of this book was the cost.  The cardboard set was only around $5 at Michaels.  I bought some embellishments and some paper, but ended up using scraps and stuff I had on hand.  I also decided to ModPodge the whole thing.  

The finished cover - ModPodged and all!

Also, instead of doing the trip chronologically as I usually do, the tabs inspired me to block the book into sections; sightseeing, restaurants, family, etc. 

Let's get started!!

I kind of played around with the first page or two before I committed and glued things down.  I was especially reticent because I had no idea if this thing was gonna work.  I cut all the items and fit them to size first.

Then I ModPodged the entire piece of cardboard.

I put all the pieces on and used scrapbooking glue for anything that didn't touch the cardboard - just as I would do for a regular scrapbook.

I took a credit card and a blank piece of paper and pressed it all down tightly to reduce any bubbles or gapping that might occur.  Then I covered the whole thing with ModPodge - even the embellishments.  

 After it dried, it had that nice ModPodgy thick covering.  

The page above is finished.  The "smile" is cardboard, and the ModPodge sealed it nicely.

In addition to paper and embellishments, I've used things we picked up on the trip - motel card keys, maps, ads, business cards from restaurants, napkins - anything and everything that would add to the interest factor of the pages.

I have a few more pages to finish, but I really like the heaviness of the cardboard and the ModPodged pages seem to invite you to touch them.  So different from my usual albums where everything is covered in plastic so that any fingers can't damage the pictures.  After mounting the remainder of the pictures, my next step will be to tie lots of fiber and ribbon scraps around the rings and then I will be done!   I'll post a pic when I'm done!!