Mass Production...assembly line style

I love to create projects in mass production mode. But so often, I hear that stampers don't create this way because they don't know how to, or simply don't take the time to do it. It's a great way to get lots of projects done for gifts, to fill your stash basket, or to simply use up some of those supplies you have been saving to use.

When I mass produce(which means making more than one like item at a time), I like to work in an assembly line. To get a visual, think of that old I Love Lucy episode where Lucy gets behind in the chocolate factory. I also think of my mom who told me she once worked at Hallmark and her favorite assembly line jobs were gluing feathers and adding glitter to cards.

So you wanna see what I made? I always like to take gifts for my friends at CHA, so I decided to make some cute journals for the Papertrey girls. When working in mass production style, it's always smart to have a good idea of what you want to create in advance. I had a sketch drawn out and knew just what I wanted to do. I usually make one finished piece first or just lay it all out so that I know everything fits together good. When mass producing, I finish each part of the finished pieces in steps, then assemble all the pieces....I don't finish one notebook one at a time.

I started out by stamping lots and lots of picnic baskets from Vintage Picnic onto patterned paper. I used two October Afternoon designs and one design from Papertrey's Green Tea Leaves patterned paper pack(the Aqua Mist color). I knew I wanted 3 baskets on each of my notebooks, so I stamped 27 baskets to make 9 finished notebooks. I used a W3 Copic Sketch Marker to add some shadows to the picnic baskets. So: stamp baskets, add marker color, cut out with fine tip scissors. What a cute little pile.
Next up, I wanted one of each Vintage Button colors of New Leaf, Aqua Mist and Melon Berry. I hand picked each button from my stash, laid them all out and tied them with Vintage Jute Twine. Gotta love the buttons!

Then to save some time, I printed my sentiments onto Kraft cardstock using my computer. I punched out 9 scalloped circles, stamped 9 loopy circles from Borders and Corners Circles(one of my favorite stamps of all time), stamped 9 little leaf images and then inked all 9 circles with Vintage Cream ink. I did each step times 9. I also cut out 9 strips of the orange/cream ribbon (Martha Stewart) and 9 strips of the green/orange stripe ribbon.

Then it was time to do something else like make supper or break up fighting redheads. Interruptions happen often when mass producing, so be prepared. I like to gather up all my goodies and place them in separate containers (like my vintage tin molds found at antique shop). This way, I can keep all my little pieces organized and come back to them later. Or if I need to work on another project, I can easily push this project aside and come back to it later.

Now it's time to assemble my notebooks. The notebooks are junior notepads that are cut in half (Kinkos or any place that can make cuts)...final notebook measurement is 2.5" x 8". Cardstock cover goes around the front, left hand spine and back of the notebook. I use Scor-Tape to adhere back of notebook to the cardstock. Also click on the *notebooks* label at the end of this post to see more of my notebooks. I first cut, scored and folded my notebook covers using Ripe Avocado paper. Polka Dots from Polka Dot Basics were stamped using Versamark ink. Then I cut and stamped Kraft cardstock pieces using SU! Only Orange ink and Polka Dot Basics II. All edges were inked with Vintage Cream ink.

Below you can see the notebook covers with the polka dots. The actual notebooks are called junior note pads and can be found at any office supply store or office supply aisle.

I then adhered all the polka dot pieces to the notebook fronts. Next up is adhering all the fun embellishments. I sorted my pieces into 9 separate little piles. This way, I could sort my basket patterns and get the buttons all lined up correctly. I then went to work and adhered all of the pieces to the notebook fronts.

Next up, I up adhered the sentiment circles to the notebook fronts with pop dots. I also adhered the ribbon snippets and then trimmed them with scissors.

And here's my finished pile of notebooks. My favorite part of mass producing is seeing all of my finished projects grouped together. Makes me smile big time!

Here's a little close up shot of the sentiment circles and the ribbon.

And I couldn't forget to add a hand stamped circle to the back, using Trademarks and orange ink on Kraft cardstock.

I packed all these goodies up and had them ready to hand out at CHA! The Papertrey gang loved them, especially Jane and Julie! I tried to give my notepad to David but he didn't want to be teased by the guys at work. Totally understandable, David!

I hope you think about mass producing once in a while. You don't have to do it every time but it's sure a great way to tackle gifts, Christmas cards and to just fill up your stash. It's so nice to have some extra cards and gifts on hand. Good luck, Lucy!