enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

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I finally got started on a physical journal to hold my monthly "she & he" musings and photos.

It's laughably simple and that is completely the point. I wanted an album that I can update a few times a year forever and ever. And by forever and ever, I really hope I am right.

95% of the scrapbook projects I do are just for fun. I really don't think about the "future Elise" or our kids reading/looking through them. But this is totally different.

This album is our story. Elise & Paul. She & he.

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I am including in this album the essentials : the text from my monthly blog posts, the life events, and for now, our weekly photobooth strips. 

Everything has a format.

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Monthly "she & he" posts are printed on kraft cardstock in black 9pt helvetica font. And then on goes a photo from the month that was printed at home with a thin white border. And around the whole thing is a machine stitched line in white thread.

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Life events get a page with a photo from the event and a blurb. I make big and mini albums for all sorts of events. This album is not to provide detail. This is to provide a time line. Again, it's our story in a simple form. These pages are printed on semi-gloss photo paper at home and then a machine stitched black line is added.

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For the photobooth strips, I want to see how many I end up with over the next few months. I will probably sew them into place by stitching right on the plastic page protectors.

Supplies : album from Target, page protectors by American Crafts, kraft cardstock from Kraft Outlet, letter stickers & photo paper from Office Depot.

I'm excited to try and keep this up. A photo a month of our family (obviously future little ones would get added in) + a quick write up of what happened to us kept for years? That would be awesome.

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67 responses to “the she & he book.”

  1. Alyssa Byron Avatar

    Cutest thing ever! 🙂

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  2. RachelG Avatar
    RachelG

    Fantastic!

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  3. Lydia Avatar
    Lydia

    Love it…and I love those albums from Target!

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  4. alison Avatar

    what a blinking fantastic project! I love love love this idea!! 🙂 thanks for sharing!

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  5. Kate Avatar

    I would love to start sewing on paper or card to decorate cards and scrapbooks but have been too afraid to damage my machine. What size needle do you use and do you need to make any adjustments to the tension or stitch length?

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  6. kim Avatar
    kim

    This is perfection! I love this idea to pieces and think that considering I’m getting married in a few weeks – this is going to be my next project – to start something like this. My fiance is starting to put little photo pages together in illustrator from events and things we attend..this could be a great way for us to start a tradition together 🙂

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  7. Deb Avatar

    I love this idea for an album, Elise! Great way to document your thoughtful blog posts too.

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  8. Colleen Avatar

    I LOVE this album. I love the simple format, the simplicity, the focus on documentation. I really wish that I had started this when we got married last October (as I had intended to do something similiar). Now I think I need to do something. Keeping it simple means no excuses, and I NEED a no excuses sort of project.
    Love it. Thanks so much for all the sharing and giving that you do.

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  9. elise blaha Avatar

    exactly – no excuses is the name of the game. Have fun & thank you!

    Like

  10. elise blaha Avatar

    I use just the regular needles that came with my machine. Nothing special. And no adjustments to anything because I don’t know how yet …
    I have heard that denim needles work best if you are going through many sheets of paper. But for these, it’s just one. The stitching is very imperfect – especially on the photo paper surface. Works though. 🙂
    Hope that helps!

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  11. Dani Avatar

    It’s a FABULOUS idea! Love it. Great format and simplicity!

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  12. krys72599 Avatar

    LOVE the idea of having your fiance work with you on this!

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  13. krys72599 Avatar

    So Elise, I’ve been married 11 years and with hubby since 1990. What are the odds I could go back and recreate something like this?
    I’m thinking I might just try it – at the worst the initial timely would be a bit skewed as I find photos and go back and fit them in…
    LOVE your projects and your designs… I would have never thought to make “life events” a different color page, to set them off from your “she & he” pages… You’re so creative!
    And btw, am LOVING your class!

    Like

  14. donya Avatar

    Simple but totally inspiring. Love it, Elise!

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  15. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    This album is gorgeous in its simplicity. I love it!

    Like

  16. Vicki Avatar

    Wow. WowWOWWOW! I love this! Simple perfection.

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  17. Sara Avatar

    I adore this idea. Simply perfect. Will be so awesome to look back on even a few years from now.

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  18. katie Avatar

    really inspired by this! I starred it in my google reader. 😉

    Like

  19. Molly Irwin Avatar

    adore!
    Just to let you know: Ali mentioned your poster as “pick of the week” yesterday in the paperclipping roundtable discussion.

    Like

  20. kristy Avatar
    kristy

    LOVE this idea – so cute, and you’ll love looking back on it. May I suggest you ensure you add years to your dates (like “they moved to San Diego on May 16, 2010”)? I see how easily my parents forget dates that I’m sure at one point they never would have thought they’d forget!
    Again – loving this and will have to recreate somehow 🙂 Thanks for your constant inspiration!

    Like

  21. Christine Meier Avatar
    Christine Meier

    My cousin JUST got married and I am thinking about how perfect this is as a gift….now to see if I can create it in a digital format cause paper and I don’t get along so much anymore. Maybe I will try both though, you never know. Your blog is AMAZING and very inspiring, thanks so much!!

    Like

  22. desiree Avatar

    this is so cute. how awesome it will be for you and your family in the future!

    Like

  23. Julia Avatar

    love this project elise! the simplicity of it is stunning!

    Like

  24. Franziska Avatar

    I really really like the style! I like the simplicity of the book, the kraft cardstock, the stitching, the single photos, the page protectors… I think I like everything. 🙂 It’s so my taste. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. elise blaha Avatar

    thank you! and thanks for letting me know! thats so awesome.

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  26. milkcan Avatar

    Love this idea!

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  27. elise blaha Avatar

    Thank you! I will be adding the years for sure. Its just that that page is right next to Ps graduation page and they were a day apart, so I left off the year.

    Like

  28. teresa Avatar
    teresa

    Wow, what a great idea Elise. Just a simple timeline of your lives. Love the format too, with the stitching. So simple, yet so effective. Thank you for sharing!

    Like

  29. kim Avatar

    love it!! your blog & shop will be featured on my blog tomorrow, so keep an eye out! 🙂

    Like

  30. Em Avatar
    Em

    truly lovely!

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  31. Flo Avatar

    this is a beautiful project 🙂

    Like

  32. chris Avatar

    I love how simple this is. I’ve started doing a She-He post monthly on my blog (inspired by you) but as my husband is offshore it becomes a lot more SHE than HE. Thought that counts though.
    I DO adore how you’re taking care to create this timeline and this is really an awesome way to scrapbook. Little tidbits here and there of your life, and mostly, of life’s important events. The big things. Love it.

    Like

  33. elise blaha Avatar
  34. elise blaha Avatar

    I thought about that. Not sure how it will go during Pauls deployments. I think I might print out sections of his emails …
    Love that you were inspired by the idea. 🙂

    Like

  35. elise blaha Avatar

    I think that would be so cool. Go back and try. Worse case, you refind some fun photos.
    Although Paul and I have been together for about 4 years, I decided just to start at the married life.

    Like

  36. Brianna Avatar

    I love this idea. Can’t wait to do it in the future.

    Like

  37. Maeghan Del Rosario Avatar
    Maeghan Del Rosario

    This is such a fantastic idea! I think it would be a great idea for keeping a book for each of my kids! The scrapbooks and “yearly milestone calendars” are quickly piling up and this would be a clean, more concise, “only the important to me” way of keeping track of things. Maybe using office file folders for dividers? You’re amazing!

    Like

  38. Miranda Avatar

    This is incredible Elise! I am completely inspired and impressed. I’ve been married six years and I’m pretty sure it isn’t too late to start a similar album of my own. 🙂 This documentation of your life together is absolutely priceless. Bravo!

    Like

  39. elise blaha Avatar

    I have thought about including dividers for years. That would be really cool. I am hoping to stuff these binders to the gills and pack a few years into one before having to start a new one. Love the idea for doing them for kids. Am hoping to just work the kids into ours … well see!! 🙂

    Like

  40. Charmaine Avatar

    The format of the album is so awesome! Love it!

    Like

  41. andrea Avatar

    I think I am going to do this when I turn 20. It sounds like a lot of fun + simple.

    Like

  42. jessica o'brien Avatar

    i am dying!!! DYING of this awesomeness. love it. there was a b+w photobooth at our hotel + i was telling scott, “elise has one in walking distance from their apartment!!!!!” i think he was relieved we did not 😉

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  43. elise blaha Avatar

    ha! I know, poor Paul. Hes a good sport.

    Like

  44. melissa Avatar

    coolest idea ever.
    you are so rad.
    now i am sad i didn’t do this for us when we started dating/got married

    Like

  45. Lindsey Avatar

    love the machine stitching
    always an inspiration!

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  46. Alexa Avatar

    love.love.love.

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  47. melissa Avatar

    love it! what a great and simple idea. i might need to work this into the girls books, since i am having a hard time keeping up.
    thanks for the great idea!

    Like

  48. Monika Wright Avatar

    He’s a keeper…so neat that he sees the importance of your history!

    Like

  49. Jo Avatar

    Love it, Love it, Love it!
    Wishing I had started one of these when we were first married! I am feeling inspired now…
    Thank you for sharing!
    xx

    Like

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