Conversation Starter - Cosmo Spinner Card

It was time to get this project out of my mind and into the real world - "What's On Your Mind?" is one of about 12 mini album ideas that I have posted on the fuse box with a magnet. (yep, a big ol' attractive fuse box is on the wall smack dab in front of the chair I sit in while creating - I tried to make it pretty with extra photos, and useful as well - with my creative TO DO list as well as my "dream team" list.)

The idea began with Magistical Memories "Gears" chipboard album. As soon as it arrived I knew the Cogsmo papers in my stash were perfect! THEN Cosmo Cricket introduced spinner cards!! This product took my mini album up a level, from "oh, that's a cute album" to "oh, can we sit down and play with the album?!"

If you have a child nearing the teen-age years, you may have noticed a lapse in one-on-one conversation between parent and child. I remember age 3, where Kyle talked non-stop, asked the question "Why..." and "What..." over and over again. Then there were the early years of elementary, he would come home from school and eagerly share his day. Now that he is going into 6th grade, we are more likely to get an "uh uhh" or "a huh".



Kyle already thinks this album is cool, and we haven't played it yet. Because I wanted the spinner card to be functional for actual interaction, I didn't add any patterned papers to the front as I wanted the arrow to spin freely. The idea is to use the questions on the inside pages as starters, spin for an answer, and get a good laugh. It will help reduce the stress acquired through the day, and make having a real conversation with your teen more approachable.

I loved adding additional gears with Cogsmo die-cut shapes, smaller Magisitcal gears, and of course Tim Holtz Idea-ology.

Here are the inside pages with ideas of the questions you might include in your album.


I looked through photos and was thrilled to find ones that worked for the questions we might ask our son about after a day at school.

These two photos were from a photo shot - Kyle being melodramatic - I promised him I would use them some day!

The last question will give me a chance to learn if anything is bothering our son. Because we have been spinning for answers and lightened the mood, I think the "What's On Your Mind?" album will be a valuable "tool" for our parent/child relationship, go beyond the typical answers and get to "what's really on your mind."

Granted, I create a lot more layouts than mini albums. I can whip out layouts in no time, but I must admit, when I finish a mini album it becomes a little treasure, and I have checked one more off my to do list. I hope you like the concept shared here, and perhaps consider making one of your own if you have a child who is a bit on the quiet side.