If you've attended any of my recent events, you might recognize this cute little brag book that I demonstrated. The inside holds 5 clear envelopes that are the perfect size for 4×6" photos. What an excellent way to show off your own pictures, or put together a personalized mini-album as a gift for a friend or family member!
I absolutely love how inexpensive and easy it is to make this project! Be sure to check out my Bird Brag Book project
tutorial for complete instructions. I can see this as a thank you gift for bridesmaids, photo book of the grandchildren for grandma and grandpa, memories of a child's school year to thank a teacher, classmates photos for the graduate…the ideas are endless!
The Clear
Envelopes come 50 per package for only $4.95—add some card stock and
embellishments and this project comes in at around $1.50 a piece for a
5-page (10-photo) book! Or, you can add more pages to make the book as large as you need it to
be to capture all the memories from your special event.
I've featured several new items on this project, my favorite of which is the Scallop Trim Border punch that you can earn free with a $50 order. You can find out more about how to use this pretty punch in this post. The background paper is from the Designer Series Paper Stack, and the "friend" stamp is from the new With All My Heart stamp set.
I am also starting to falling in love with the new Extra-Large
Two-Step Bird Punch.
Awwww! It's this card sweet?! My Love Doves were created with Whisper White card stock using two of
the punched wings. I sponged the outer edges of all pieces with Bashful
Blue ink to give them dimension. The trellis is cut from the Lattice
Bigz Die and the heart is the new Small
Heart Punch, which is also made in the same punch style as the Bird
Punch, only it's a mini version.
Extra-Large Bird Punch 
This is the first punch that Stampin' Up! has offered with multiple shapes designed to layer on top of one another—you get a bird, a wing and a branch he can sit on! Use it with different colors of card stock, or even decorative paper like I did with the wing on my Brag Book Bird.
New Punch Style
How do you like the new, sleeker punch design introduced in the Mini Occasions Catalog? The locking mechanism on the bottom allows them to be stored flat—either stack them or line them up like books on a shelf or in your drawer! The label of the image on the end is very helpful for finding the punch you are looking for in a hurry.
While I don't believe that Stampin' Up! will be changing the design of the existing punches, any new punches they offer will be in the new style. Yay! We've already seen that these new punches are capable of punching more intricate designs, like the bird branch or the Scallop Trim Border, so I'm excited to see what Stampin' Up! will offer in the future!
Well, I'm off to go experiment more with my Bird Punch! I've seen some awesome projects online that I can't wait to try out!
Stamp with you soon! ~Angie