Sometimes I feel like crafting, even crafting a mini album, but am no where near in the mood to do everything required. So as an alternative, I thought I’d try a pre-bound mini album. I chose Prima Marketing’s Tiny Journal, which is from their Memory Hardware collection by Frank Garcia.
I figured such a small album (it sports 4×4″ pages) would be perfect for my (rather enormous) stash of 6×6″ paper pads. I went for the Together paperpad by Mintay Papers, which I felt would suit the kraft-colored Tiny Journal pretty well.
Having tried my hand at it, I feel there are some pros and cons to these pre-bound albums. So in the video, after I show you the finished project, I’ll share some thoughts: what’s it like to work on a pre-bound album, which pluses & minuses did I encounter, and – most importantly – would I do it again?
Share your thoughts in the comment section! Have you ever tried one of these pre-bound minis?
I’ve worked many moons on this project, but I’m very proud to (finally!) present: my latest mini album!
This is a hefty girl, with 10 multi interactive page assemblies plus interactive inside covers. I needed four(!) 12×12” + one 8×8” design paper collections, OMG.
So this is a real stash eater, for all of you out there who’ve been hoarding collecting their design papers for quite some time…🤡
All of the gorgeous papers I worked with were by Stamperia. I used the following collections: Lady Vagabond, Sir Vagabond (8×8″), Time is an Illusion (2 packs), and Clockwise.
Anyway, here are the video and some pictures, feel free to leave a comment or ask any questions!
So I finally made it to the end of this new mini album design project I set out to do several weeks ago. If you want to skip straight to the video, scroll down to the end of this post.
I’ve felt significantly less creative energy since the lockdown(s) started, so I’m having trouble crunching out new album designs every month, like I used to. But, I got this one done, and it’s definitely NEW!
I designed what I’m calling a faux paperbag mini album, and because it also sports four fold-out and/or popping elements, I added ‘pop-up’ to the title as well. But there are more themes than it just being faux paperbag and having pop-ups. It is also rich in belly bands, plus it offers several micro envelopes. So if I wanted to be precise about it, my design would be called a Faux Paperbag Pop-up Belly Band and Micro Envelope Mini Album. Phew, that would be a mouthful…
If you’re wondering why the “faux”, well, I didn’t use actual paperbags. Instead, I created my own, while still employing the techniques that are typical for a paperbag mini, like the binding style, as well as the many flaps and the way they are styled.
If I managed to charm you into wanting to create one yourself, then head on over to my shop. There are lots of customers who left reviews, so I recommend rummaging through those if you want to check what other crafters think before you make a purchase.
The papers I used were from AliExpress this time, so I guess you could also consider this another AliExpress product test. I have to say I loved this Paper Designer or perhaps Enogreeting pad (I’m still not sure what the brand is actually called), with its beautiful graphic designs in vintage colors. Moreover, it measured 18×18 cm (7×7″), which I believe is quite unique in the papercraft community.
I suspect it may be a dupe for an older Kaisercraft collection, but if it is, I’m not aware of it. If you do recognize it, please leave a comment below!
I also did some mixed media techniques this time. Not only on the napkin fold element in the back of the album, but also on the spine, for which I altered a piece of pitch black book muslin and turned it into a nice muted slate gray pattern on an antique bronze base.
As for the cute little pop-up I added to one of the page layouts, I used a pop-up die for that. And I did a video tutorialon how to use it, a couple of blog posts ago.
I also did a video tutorial for the Twist & Pop element in the album, you can find that here.
And last but not least, the video tutorial for the Napkin Fold element at the end of the album, is only one click awaytoo.
So, finally, here’s the end of my blabbing along endlessly. On to the video! 🙂
No tutorial for this one yet, let me know if you’d be interested in one
A couple of years ago I designed and created a very sturdy folio mini album, with the nature-themed Time to Flourish collection by Graphic 45. My mother now owns it, and she asked me to fill it up with some of the awesome closeup pictures my father took, mostly of flowers, insects and birds in their own garden.
And since it’s always nice to see a handcrafted mini album filled up with pictures, I thought I’d share it with you one more time 🙂 .
In the video I’ll be sharing some general tips for filling your mini albums with pictures:
Don’t be afraid to rigorously crop your pictures when your page design or paper pattern requires it;
Die-cut your pictures into shapes, like circles, rectangles, squares, labels;
Apply glitter glue or liquid pearl all around the edges of some of your pictures;
Fussy cut the main subject from your pictures if the background or the rest of the picture is boring or irrelevant;
Trim your pictures down to miniature size to fit them onto smaller tags – simply find a picture with a small main subject;
If two pictures don’t fit onto one page, use washi tape as a hinge for one of them and stack them;
And last but not least, my favorite: color-coordinate between your pictures and your design paper as much as you can!
If you want to create this yourself, check out my tutorial. I also did a second iteration with a masculine paper collection, you can find that one here.
With the current year nearing its close – and what a bizarre year that has been – I’m considering some new ideas for my blog and Youtube channel. Counting the fact that we haven’t been able to go out shopping and hunting for new craft collections on the one hand, and given the fact that many of us may have lost (part of) our incomes, I figured next year might be a No Buy Year for me, as far as craft supplies are concerned. Or, to be more realistic, at least a Buy Less Year.
Shopping my stash would be a great way to go about that, being that by now my stash probably rivals the inventories of many a small “Craft Shoppe” (sorry, not sorry).
So to give that a try before dedicating an entire year to it, I shopped my stash for my latest mini album. What I found was an almost forgotten treasure: TheSweetest Thing – Lavender collection by My Mind’s Eye. I only had ten design paper sheets, a couple of brads and a journalling card, but I decided to make do and use them all. I also borrowed a chipboard piece from a different collection and threw in an bunch of flowers and some feathers for good measure.
And here’s what I created: a sweet little two-page album in landscape mode! Tutorial available for all of you stash-shoppers with probably many a ten-sheet paper collection 🙂
And should you find mostly 12-sheet collections in your own stashes, that’s no problem at all: either add an extra album page, or simply add more photo mats/tags/booklets.
Enjoy! And please leave a comment: will you be shopping your stash more the coming weeks/months?
If you look at Papermania’s Nature’s Gallery collection you may think ‘spring’ or ‘summer’, but it definitely also gives me ‘muted fall colors’ vibes.
So when a group of colleagues asked me to create a ‘nature-themed album’ for a colleague who is retiring this month, I immediately suggested this collection.
They wanted a brag book for about 10-20 pictures and with 15 tags – one for each colleague to write a ‘waving goodbye’ message. So I created a 2-page mini album of about 7×10 inches, which looks elegant and sophisticated – yet is quite thin.
If you want to see it in different colors, check out my earlier version in bold autumn colors here.
There’s an easy to follow tutorial waiting for you in my Etsy shop, should you want to make some yourself! (They’d make great Thanksgiving or Christmas gifts 🙂 )
Enjoy the video and feel free to leave a comment in the comment section, either here or on Youtube!
Here’s my latest mini album, Graffiti-themed this time! Meant for a young man turning 16 soon, his mother (my friend) asked me to create a paperbag mini for her son. It has been a while since I made these; I did a romantic shabby chic version and a Christmas version several years ago, and this Graffiti version has been the first one since.
This time I used some of the mixed media techniques I recently started adding to my papercraft repertoire – which added a whole new dimension of fun to working with design papers!
Recently my mother asked me to fill the Treasured Memories Mini Album DeLuxe I designed for her when my father passed away, with their wedding pictures from 1968. The black & white pictures truly look amazing in this album!
This album design is very luxurious and offers room for many pictures, large and small. You can play with any possible album theme of course, especially if you have many pictures you want to keep in it. Just choose papers suitable to your taste and the occasion you have in mind.
To give you an example of how this album would look with different papers, check out my Joyful Reminiscing version. There’s also a tutorial available so you can create your own beautiful tome! 🙂
My latest gatefold mini album isn’t as large as all of my previous ones; in fact it’s a very decent carry-on size of 14.5 x 15.3 cm (5¾ x 6”). I chose Bo Bunny’s summer-colored Serendipity collection, which is full of birds, feathers & nests, but with kind of a twist.
Also, this time I didn’t just mat the pages; I worked with lots of photo mats, which I blended with design papers while creating my own page mosaics. Use repositional tape for the photo templates, so you can easily remove them and replace them with pictures of exactly the same shape and size.
This one is a fun one again: it only takes three page assemblies to make it, but with lots and lots of page flaps, pockets and tuck spots! Of course there’s a tutorial for all of you who’d like to create and customize your own. Bonus: you get a free cutting guide with all of the photo templates and mats I used, so if you want you can completely imitate my photo mosaics – though of course you can design your own too! (or create more than one and utilize both techniques 🙂 ).
If you’re in the mood for a larger project, I’ve got just the thing for you! 🙂 For here’s my latest design, a gatefold mini album with a small box pocket and a bonus project, a mini folio!
If you’re going to work many hours you should choose the loveliest papers you can find, for you’ll be looking at them for quite some time 😉 My choice this time was the Dear Diary collection by Mintay Papers. Very lovely indeed.
So, enjoy the show & tell video, and of course some pictures below. Tutorial available!
I guess I’m into some mailable minis… So here’s a different design altogether! You only need 1 sheet of cardstock and some design paper. The flatter you keep your decorations, the easier it will fit into an envelope and off through the mail.
In this video I’m showing you an example of such a 1-sheet album, and I’m also taking you with me through my decorating process.
Btw, you can turn this project into a mini album page for my Double-Stacked Too mini album design. There’s a video class series for that entire album available here.
Hope to have inspired you to create a fun & quick project!
Sometimes you want to mail someone more than just a card, especially if they’re far away and you still want to give them something special. Well, meet my Mailable Mini! This is a great way to send an elaborate all occasions card-slash-mini-album.
The two examples I’m sharing with you today are a birthday version and a commemorative version. One for a man, the other for a woman (my aunt) but filled with pictures of a man (my late uncle). So for both I used the masculine themed Barbershoppe collection by Kaisercraft. For my aunt, I used more feminine embellishments plus a rose paper on the back, for the man, I left it at clean and straight as possible, with of course a little bit of technique – in the form of a magnetized closure.
If you want to make one yourself but don’t know how, there’s a tutorial in the second half of the video. I’m also gladly referring you to my free video tutorial on matting, so enjoy!
