Encre, papier, ciseaux

Halloween Mini-Album

I am so elated with how this mini-album turned out. Earlier this Spring, Simple Stories did a Live YouTube presentation and Jana showed the pages of three mini-albums designed to be classes for the company. I thought they were so adorable and I particularly liked how they had done a lot of insert pages and flip-ups and totally changed how the pocket protectors are used. This left me totally inspired and as soon as I had a free weekend, I circled back to that video to have a closer look and try putting together a mini-album of my own.

A few years ago, we had an Halloween party at my place. We all dressed up and took family pictures and then my nieces went on a candy treasure hunt to find treats I had packaged and hidden around the house. Because I had quite a few pictures of this day, I figured a mini-album would be a better format than individual scrapbook pages. Two years ago, I had fallen in love with the Boo Crew Halloween collection from Simple Stories and preordered pretty much every item from the collection from my local store. I figured this collection would be a great pick for the mini-album since I had plenty of elements to choose from. I went all out on the embellishing to see how much of a dent I could make in the collection. I have to say, I'm amazed at how much paper and embellishments I still have left considering that I didn't hold back at all on decorating my pages.

The album has 18 pages overall (9 front and back), so here are a few highlighted details from it.

Page 1: One the elements that immediately made me fall in love with the album Jana was sharing was the flaps that fold over the plastic of the page protector. One of the reasons I started disliking pocket scrapbooking really quickly after giving it a try was how confining it felt (both with thickness and width) and how everything felt very grid-like when you leafed through an album. This way of doing pocket scrapbooking breaks out of that mold and makes the best out of those pockets. On this page, I am using a regular 6" x 8" protector, but by using 12" x 12" patterned paper, I'm able to cut a 6" x 11-3/4" piece, score at 8" and fold the piece over, showing the backside pattern. When picking a pattern for this, make sure you think of how you are cutting and scoring the paper if the pattern is directional. Inside the flap, I used a 3" x 4" cut-apart to make a pocket, in which I slid one of the tags from the cut-apart paper.

Page 2: The foam stickers are wonderful to add depth to a page, but they can definitely distort the plastic of the protector once you slip the page in. Those stick really well to the page protector, so you are better off sticking them outside of the protector rather than on the page. My page initially felt a little bare, so adding the foam words really filled up the space nicely.

Pages 3 and 4: This was the very last page I put together. In a different album shown in the video, Jana had done half-page inserts with patterned paper and I really love the idea. I decided I could use it as a way to fit two more portrait-size pictures in my album, glued back to back over the piece of paper. I rounded the corners, added the scalloped border sticker and punched holes using an empty protector as reference. Having those smaller inserts that are not full-sized really make the album more unexpected and dimensional, and that type of insert does not limit you to any picture size or orientation.

Page 8: I had a few pictures from the candy hunt that were not the best quality, because the girls kept moving around quickly and the lighting was not always the best depending on where they were standing. I still wanted to include some pictures to remember the fun we had, but I made them smaller so I used a four quadrant protector for this one. This is one of the format that fills very grid-like to me, and I found that I was able to work around that by adding my stickers on top of the plastic. For example, I had put the "broom hair, don't care" over my niece's picture on the right and I really wanted to add the broom sticker to go with it. I tried adding it to the "Trick or Treat" cut-apart piece, but it was hiding the text too much and made it unreadable. I finally realized that if I put the broom outside of the pocket, I was able to position it exactly where I wanted it and it instantly made the whole page more pleasing. The same is true for the banner sticker at the top. I was trying to get the candle lined up with the edge of the picture and having the black line fall in the middle of the picture was really throwing the balance off, so when I lined up the black piece with the edge of the picture, the candle was hanging off the side of the protector. I thought about cutting it off, but I liked this detail, so I decided to test it as is (adding powder to the back to take the sticky off). Because I'm using a ring binder, there is plenty of room to turn the page without damaging the candle, so again, this helps break the grid off.

Page 10: This is another element from the sample album that I loved. You use a 10½" x 8" piece of patterned paper and score it at 6" to create a narrower flap. I used a circle punch at the top like in the example, but I had noticed that the Bits & Pieces included a few circles so I made sure to add one in my half-circle punchout. This is another spot where I added the foam stickers (Trick or Treat?) since I had the room to accommodate the bulk. On the front flap, there's a bunch of text on the pattern, but one part caught my eye and made me laugh - Beware... be very, very ware! I wanted to make sure to draw attention to that part, so I used the candlelight from the bits and pieces nd added the hand with the finger pointing to those words. At the top, I added the adorable mummy die-cut and I added foam and enamel stars around it.

Page 12: This page also uses the flap concept, and I used the October 31 calendar page as a tab. I didn't like having the back all white when the panel is opened, so I worked a few stickers on it to decorate it. I recently purchased some border dies from Photoplay that are meant for slimline cards. I don't really make those long cards really often, but I figured the longer border dies would come in handy for scrapbooking and they sure do! It was my first use of this wonky edge and I absolutely love the look. I also pulled out this Halloween paper fringe from Tim Holtz and it looks totally awesome! The candy word is a foam sticker.

Page 13: Now this is a fun detail to point out. It appears (if I interpreted what I saw on the video properly) that a pocket was created over the page protector by gluing a cut-apart over it and sliding elements inside the pocket. This is again such a cool way to not be restricted to the pocket sizes of the protector you are using. Here, I had two different patterns from the back of the image slid in the "3 x4" pockets, and I used a 4" x 4" cut-apart, glued in place with sticky strip on three sides, with a cut-apart tag slid in. I added some vanilla flower trim that was purchased years ago.

Page 16: Instead of a flap, you can create a pocket on this one by folding the paper over the front and gluing it in place or in this case, I stapled both sides. I slid two pieces inside. The first one is a leftover die-cut from a frame done on a prior page, on which I punched a slit at the top to add ribbon. I fussy cut a big pumpkin image and added it to the tag with dimensional adhesive. The second piece is two tags from the cut-apart sheet, cut together and folded it in half to make a mini-booklet. I finally (after many years) managed to find a tutorial on how to put pictures together in Photoshop Elements to print smaller-sized pictures at home without using an app, so I used two 1½" x 3" pictures inside the booklet.

Page 18: One of the papers had 2" x 2" cut-aparts, so I used those with a page protector that had two rows of those small squares. Again, I used the concept of gluing things over the protector with dimensional adhesive to give the page dimension.

All of my pages have been put in a temporary 6" x 8" binder that I had on hand. The colour would fit, but the snowflakes, not so much, so they will be transferred to another album once I can find one in the right colour for Halloween. I will probably add a few embellishments to the album itself once I have it.

This mini-album took a full three days of work to get done, but it is arguable one of my favorite mini-albums I have ever put together, in parts because the Boo Crew is one of my fave Halloween lines I've worked with. I love the grey/orange/vanilla combo and the adorable characters and images.

 

  

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Black Foil Sheets, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Decorative Brads, Foam Stickers, Cardstock Stickers, Bits & Pieces, 
Washi Tape, Enamel Dots: The Boo Crew (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Mini Album, Mini Dimensionals, Twine, Black Sparkly Organza Ribbon, Curvy Corner Punch,
Black Rhinestones, Pinking Heart Border Punch, Tango Tangerine/White Trim,
Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Natural/White Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Buttons (Foof-a-La); Decorative Clips, Black Messy Stitches Rub-Ons (49 & Market);
Decorative Scissors (Fiskars); Reinforcement Pack Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs);
Baker's Twine, Beetle Black Mini Doilies, Black Sugar Brads (Doodlebug Design);
Rhinestone Flourish Stickers, Wax Seal Stickers, Black Square Rhinestone Stickers (Recollections);
Enamel Stars (Bella Blvd.); Dies (Coco & Reno)

 

In the Leaves Mini-Album

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Not a Card)

About a year ago, the owner of my local scrapbook store put together a mini-album kit based on the In the Leaves collection from 49 & Market. I had this kit and I finally put it together. Most of the album is based on the instructions I had received, but I did adapt a few elements here and there based on my own pictures. I decided to use pictures that were taken when we rented a cabin a few years ago during summertime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Rub-Ons, Clips, epoxy stickers: In the Leaves (49 & Market)
Ink: Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Trims (Stampin' Up!); 
Enamel Dots (Your Next Stamps); Embellishments (Queen & Co)

 

 

Lemon Twist Flipbook

Inspiration: YouTube tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz 

I decided to take a break from scrapbooking tonight and tried out one of Michelle's mini-album tutorials. I kept digging through my paper collections and it took me a while to finally make up my mind, but I'm happy with my selection as it worked out well. I picked Simple Vintage Lemon Twist from Simple Stories.

I followed Michelle's instructions to create the pages and I did one of the angled pocket, the one with the flap and the vellum one, but then once I realized that she was repeating the same pocket on the other page, I went rogue and started creating something different.

One of the first additions I made was gold washi tape to the binding, as I didn't like seeing the exposed folds. I kept the front page simple by only adding an ephemera piece, popped up on dimensional adhesive. On the first page, I glued an angled pocket made following Michelle's instructions. I added black corner stickers and in the center, I added a large black grommet I've had for years and glued a decorative brad in the center. I rounded the corners of a cut-apart image and placed it inside the pocket, adding a butterfly sticker to the top. On the right page, I used another cut-apart image, with the bottom corners punched with a ticket corner punch. I added a paper clip to hold it in place and hid it under a chipboard banner. (I've freed up some drawers this weekend and I've started organizing some embellishments by colours. This is how I found this embellishment, which initially was part of a winter collection and that I wouldn't have thought to use). I added a heart sticker to it.

It should be noted that I added the tab die-cuts are I was putting together the album. The round tabs are from Elizabeth Craft Designs' Planner Essentials 1 set. I thought they looked a little bare so I dressed them up with decorative brads, which fit perfectly and look so nice on them.

On page 2, I added a cut-apart since I already had the paper clip there. I rounded the corners and added a piece of teal washi tape. On the right page, I used the rounded corner frame from the same Planner Essentials dies, popped them on foam adhesive strips to create a pocket and I slipped a small tag punched with a decorative topper punch, on which I added a large eyelet and black sparkly ribbon. I added a cardstock sticker from the collection.

For pages 4 and 5, I decided to try mimicking an actual file folder. I cut a piece of patterned paper, created tabs, cut a V in the center, rounded the corner and added it to the album using sticky strip. I added die-cuts to embellish the bottom.

On page 6, I added a little envelope based on Michelle's instructions. On page 7, I created a vellum pocket and I die-cut the edge using the #9 Borders dies from Photoplay. I added a cardstock sticker to the edge.

I lost track of time but I'd say this took between two and three hours to complete.

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Decorative Brads, Bits & Pieces,
Cardstock Stickers: Simple Vintage Lemon Twist (Simple Stories)
Cardstock: Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: #9 Borders (Photoplay); Planner Essentials 1 (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Accessories: Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Gold Washi (Graphic 45);
Black Grommet, Black Stampin' Dimensionals, Elegant Tag Topper Punch,
Black Sparkly Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Jumbo Eyelets, White Eyelets,
Gold Cord (Stampin' Up!); Chipboard Banner (Echo Park); Cool Summer NIght Enamel Dots (Altenew)

 

Wild Asparagus Envelope Accordion Album

Inspiration: Tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz

I had so much fun putting together this mini-album based on Michelle's latest YouTube tutorial! I'm trying to shop my stash and pull out collections that I didn't have much time to play with. The beautiful Wild Asparagus collection from My Mind's Eye was one of them. I almost changed my mind as I was about to create the mini-album as I thought I could make something more kid-friendly that could be gifted to my nieces, but I decided to stick to initial idea and use the papers I had pulled. I'm so glad that I did, as I'm really happy with the final result!

I followed Michelle's instructions for the envelopes and binding but when she started embellishing her album, I had a look to hear her advice, but then I started going where inspiration led me. I liked her tag idea for the second envelope and I created my own using a sticker from the sticker sheets, backed with cardstock. I added an eyelet and ribbon, plus an acrylic embellishment and a charm. I picked from the chipboard embellishments for the third envelope, to place something that would peak out over the edge. While I liked the striped paper, the result was a little loud, so I decided to break it up by creating an additional pocket out of blue polka dot paper. I simple rounded the bottom corners and punched a half circle at the top. I decorated it with a few stickers and I added a gold-rimmed tag (purchased ages ago). I punched a piece of patterned paper and then added a bit of ribbon. I used a gold clip to keep the envelope closed (more for looks than necessity). On the left side, I added stickers and leftover paper pieces to create interest.

On the first envelope, I added a vellum envelope like Michelle was showing. I wasn't too keen on keeping the sides open, so I used a scalloped border die at an angle on the front part and I used sparkly washi tape to close the sides. (On a side note, I added adhesive strip so that it would stay put as sparkly washi tape has a tendency to not stick well.) I added a few stickers to the pocket and then I looked through the journal cards to see what I could fit in there. I needed one that I could trim down to fit the envelope. I initially cut down the blue card with the flower and it looked nice, but when I trimmed the quote and added it to the pocket, it looked much better, so I left the first card aside to use later. As I did, I realized that I could make a pocket for the front cover with it, though. I only added tape to the right side and the bottom edge, so that you can slip things in that are larger, as the left side remains open. I added two additional journal cards, one of which I decorated with stickers and a mini antique tag. I added the bunny sticker on the pocket (with a gem for the tail) and another acrylic piece as well.

I liked the idea of putting the front flap over the album cover, but didn't like how it was not staying flat, so I decided to use a velcro dot. The front cover felt very bare, so I started thinking about what I would add to it. I liked Michelle's idea of simply clipping a tag there, but I quickly realized that my journal tag were too large and getting in the way of the velcro. So I picked my favorite image, trimmed it down to size using a scalloped rectangle die, but the white background was not contrasting against the polka dot paper, so I decided to mat it. The scalloped rectangle comes from a die kit that it made to use with pocket journaling. It includes a panel with a fold in the middle, so you have a piece you fold in half and if you slide the back part inside the pocket, you get a flap. For a minute there, I decided I'd do a flap that would wrap around the album, that I would glue on the backside and use as a flip-up part on the front. Again, after cutting the paper, I soon realized that the velcro was still getting in the way. I did like the flip-up idea, so I improvised: I punched a half-circle on both layers of the flip base, glued it to the front of the album, and I added my image to the top using dimensional adhesive. Now, the velcro was closing properly. I added a pink journal card inside the flip, punching a half-circle again to accommodate the velcro. I could have trimmed the card down, but I was liking the little bit of pink showing at the bottom for added interest, so I left it.

I started looking at embellishments to do the finishing on the album. In my box of really old embellishments, I found this wooden-looking flower that I've had for over a decade. Not sure where this came from, I think it might be upcycled from packaging or jewelry. I was liking the look and size added to the front flap, so I decided to go for it. I added a sparkly gem to the center. I scored one of the tab stickers and folded it in two in the center of the front flap. I added a little sentiment sticker at the bottom, with two pink pearls on each side. I added a Frosted Finishes embellishment to the top of the flip. I added a few gems and opals here and there and was done.

I have a feeling I might want to revisit this mini-album concept again in the future and make a new version using a different paper collection.

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Elements, Journal Cards, Stickers: Wild Asparagus (My Mind's Eye)
Cardstock: Tranquil Tide (Stampin' Up!) 
Dies: Pocket, Frame and Flip-Up - Extra Frames (Elle's Studio); 
Stitched Scalloped Borders (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Velcro Dots, Wooden Flower, Twill Ribbon, Gingham Ribbon, Gold-Rimmed Tag (Unknown); 
Clever Clasps, Frosted Finishes Embellishments, Mini Vintage Tags, Trinket Crowns,
Elegant Faceted Gems, Opal Rounds, Petal Pink Rhinestone Gems, Genial Gems,
Share What You Love Artisan Pearls, 1" and 1-1/4" Circle Punches, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Maxi Heart Eyelets (Stampin' Up!); Sweet Caroline Baker's Twine (My Mind's Eye);
Sparkly Gems (Recollections); Décos mots doux Céladon et Rose thé (Florilèges Design)

 

10 Things I Love About Summer Mini-Album

Inspiration: Flip Book Tutoriel from Pinkstrawberryz

After finishing a scrapbook layout with the Beach Bum line, I left my scraps out, fully intending on making another project with the scraps. I ended up going through Michelle's YouTube list and randomly picking one I hadn't tried. The base of this album measures 10" x 12", which worked out well since I had a few full pages left in the package and matching cut-aparts. I had a lot of fun putting this one together and decorating it, using border and tag dies and ribbon scraps. As with most of Michelle's tutorials, it's easy and the result is just lovely. I also ended up using all of the remaining bits from the matching die set, so that felt very satisfying. I think I can probably squeeze one last card out of the remaining scraps, and then whatever is left will get divided into my scrap drawers by colour. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Die-Cuts: Beach Bum (Fancy Pants Designs)
Dies: Happy Day Tags (Carta Bella); Slimline Edgers (PinkFresh);
Wave CutUp (The Cat's Pajamas); Pocket, Frame and Flip-Up (Elle's Studio)
Accessories: Big Designer Buttons, White and Soft Sky Cotton Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Circle Punch, Eyelets, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/8" Lucky Limeade Organza Ribbon,
1/8" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!); White Ric Rac, Sparkly Button (Unknown);
Halloween Party Doo Dadz (Buttons Galore & More); Sparkly Enamel Dots (Pink & Main);
Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic); Corner Chomper, Green Jumbo Eyelet (We R Memory Keepers);
Gold Sparkle Crystals (Studio Katia)

 

Happy Summer Mini-Album

Inspiration: YouTube Tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz

I started my day with a mini-album based on a tutorial from Michelle. I ended up adapting mine and changing how I did the last few pages. I recently purchased Elle's Studio dies that are might to create insert for pocket page scrapbooking. Since the mini-album has 3" x 4" pages, it was the same format as the dies, so I was inspired to make an insert. In order to be able to pull it in and out, I couldn't glue the sides of the panel together, as I would have made the space inside the pocket narrower, so I used large gold washi tape on the backside and it worked perfectly. I also love the binding look it creates, it looks really pretty.

On the front page, I also did a layered pocket instead of die-cutting the actual front of the album. I made a first pocket with the lemon pattern and a second pocket with vellum. I added the puffy sticker with the words "Happy Summer" to that front page. I made a little tag using the Say What? Gift Tags dies from Lawn Fawn and added green seam binding. I also added a little curved puffy sticker underneath the pocket slit. I slid the largest Dotted Tags from Waffle Flower. It looks so pretty with the top showing outside of the album.

The second, third and fourth pages are similar to what is shown in the tutorial. I like the idea of the hidden clip - I'll want to reuse that idea and make more for other projects. On the fifth page, you see the insert I made. I used the die that lets you create a rounded tab at the bottom, so you get two colours and it makes it more obvious that there is something hiding underneath. I used more puffy stickers on this page as well, and a leftover piece from a tag I had cut off.

On the last page, I liked the idea of the hanging element, so I used my Folk Hearts dies on woodgrain paper. The white of the woodgrain paper was not matching the white from the patterned papers, though, and was clashing so I used a blender brush to ink the heart in soft pink ink and it looked much nicer. I added an eyelet and a few stickers to dress if up and added it to the page using yellow baker's twine.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Vellum (Stampin' Up!); White Woodgrain Paper (Memory Box)
Patterned Papers, Puffy Stickers, Element Stickers: Summer Market (Carta Bella)
Dies: Dotted Tags (Waffle Flower); Say What? Gift Tags, Puffy Cloud Borders, Lacy Heart Stackables,
Outside In Stitched Heart Stackables (Lawn Fawn); Folk Hearts (Essentials by Ellen)
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, 2½" and ½" Circle Punches, Baker's Twine, Eyelets (Stampin' Up!);
Washi Tape (Various)

 

Paradise Flip-Fold Mini Album

I was inspired by a tutorial put together by my local scrapbook store owner for an online event last weekend and I used the Paradise collection from Mintay (from last year) to put together this adorable clip-fold album. I used thin chipboard for the base and patterned paper for the flip-fold inserts. I was a little hesitant when I first started and unsure how to embellish my album, but as soon as I started putting together a few elements to add inside, inspiration kicked into high gears and I stayed at my desk for hours working on putting everything together. I was wondering how well the album would close once I started embellishing, but I was surprised to find out that everything falls into place very nicely. I did avoid using any foam adhesive and layered everything flat, to make it easier.

I have a pastel glitter paper pad that I pulled out to add a few shimmery accents here and there. I used the "Paradise" Thicker from the Heat Wave pack and my net die from Les ateliers de Karine, which works so nicely with the papers. On the bottom left panel, I created a little side pocket using one of the cut-aparts and I slipped two tags die-cut with the Dotted Tags dies from Waffle Flower.

I used my Scalloped Pocket die in the top center panel. The die itself is more like a library card pocket, with a rounded back, but I only used the bottom part to make it smaller, and I added pearls along the scallops to decorate. Another cut-apart card was matted with white tissue paper. I handcut a lot of designs from the pattern papers and from the cover page of the kit. I even use the name of the collection from the branding strip as a little sentiment on my bottom center panel.

When the flaps are completely folded, you see a side pocket in the center, created with a design from pattern paper and lined with vellum to make it easier to slide the insert in. On the left panel, I glued a slip at the top and bottom so inserts can be slid underneath. 

When you close one more side of the mini-album, you see a panel decorated with sailboat pattern paper. Over it, I added a tropical panel created with Stampin' Up!'s now retired Tropical dies. I added white foliage over it as well and a mini-pocket created with the Sidekick Essentials 6 dies from Elizabeth Craft Design. Isn't that little pocket adorable? It measures 2½" x 2" so it's small! Love how it looks in the tropical flower print.

On the front of the album, I made sure to showcase one of the prettIy patterned papers from Mintay. I will say that I'm impressed the the designs of the Mintay papers, but I also find it challenging to use them in projects because they often do full-page images, which are hard to layer on without hiding the beautiful design. Here, you see most of the scene (even though the umbrella sadly got mostly cut off). The beach sign is partially hidden when the album is closed, but you can fully see it as soon as you open the side panel. I have to tell you about this "Paradise Street" metal sign that I added to the front. It was made by Making Memories. in 2010. And it was been sitting in my stash for that long. The travel theme of the embellishment pack made it harder to use due to its specificity. I was thrilled when I realized that the paradise sign fit perfectly in the design's open space, had the right colours and words on it and was a great way to finish off the album cover without hiding the paper. I know there's a school of thought where if you have not used something in years, you should get rid of it, but I think you only should if you don't love it anymore. 

Finally, I kept thinking I should add a little dangle to the edge of the album, so I wired wrapped three beads together and hung them using a jump ring. As I was pulling my jump rings out, I saw the crimps I recently purchased, so I decided to do a ribbon ornament as well. I can see why those have been extremely popular online recently. They are really addictive! It's so much fun going through my box of ribbon scraps and putting together the right colour combo to match my project. I have cumulated so much ribbon over the years that getting the right colours is not a problem... Adding the two dangling embellishments to the edge of the album made a huge difference, adding dimension and texture. Just be careful if you add something to the edges of the album and remember that when you open the album, the spine then goes flat on the table. My first idea was to do a long line of beads, wrapping twine around the cover of the album, but then I realized that the beads would really be in the way when opening up the album. By doing the dangle, I can rotate them up, out of the way when I'm opening the album, so this works much better. Always test how the flip-up parts are going to go before you glue anything down to avoid surprises.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Till We Meet Again (P13)
Ink: Petal Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Paradise (Mintay)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad (Memory Box)
Dies: Borders (Photoplay); Sidekick Essentials 6 (Elizabeth Crafts Design);
Tropical, Botanical Builder (Stampin' Up!); Scalloped Pocket (Fun Stampers Journey);
Stitched Square Frames,Simple Wavy Banners (Lawn Fawn); Dotted Tags (Waffle Flower);
Grillage (Les ateliers de Karine)
Accessories: Ribbons (Stampin' Up!, May Arts); Panorama Metal Plaques (Making Memories);
Heat Wave Thickers (American Crafts); Thick Baker's Twine, Brads, Clear Drops,
Expressions in Ink Ephemera Pack, Banners Pick a Punch, Distressing Tool (Stampin' Up!);
Crimps (DeSerres); Beads, Jump Rings (Bead Landing); Pearl Rectangles (Nuvo);
Watercolor Florals Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing); Velcro (Amazon);
White Tissue Paper (Dollar Store); Mini Hearts Cotton Candy Glossies (Pure & Simple);
Corner Chomper (We R Memory Makers)

 

Farmhouse Market Triple Pocket Wallet

Inspiration: YouTube Tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz

Michelle recently posted a super cute tutorial on her YouTube channel and I promised myself I'd come back to it as soon as I had time to sit down and craft. My last scrapbook layout was made using the Farmhouse Market collection and I thought the soft papers would look great as a wallet. In her example, Michelle uses the same patterns for all of her pockets, but I chose to vary the patterns on mine. 

You will see she uses four pieces of paper cut to the same size: three for pockets and the fourth to create a pocket flap. If you look at around 10:45 of the video, you will notice that there is a gap between the flap tab and pocket, so you can see the other patterned paper peeking through. I wanted a cleaner finish, so to create my flaps, I used a 3-1/4" x 4" piece of paper, scored at 1-3/4". Then, the tab (the piece you slide inside the pocket) covers everything and you get a seamless look.

My other tweak was adding a little pocket to the front of the wallet as well. Mostly, I wanted to incorporate a second pattern to make the front more interesting, and instead of gluing a piece of paper flat, it made more sense to make it a pocket. I added gingham ricrac cut with a stitched die and I used one of the collection sticker to embellish the front. 

I recently found a set of velcro dots in two sizes online and this worked out perfectly as I used the 10 mm size on the inside pocket and the 20 mm size on the front of the wallet. I didn't have any specific use for this in mind when I made it, but with Mother's Day coming up and Quebec still being in confinement, I thought I could gather messages from my sister and my niece to put in this wallet and send this to my Mom to let her know we're thinking of her. She lives out of town so we rarely get to spend Mother's Day together anyway, but there just have been a lot of missed milestones this past year so I think mail is even more meaningful than usual. With that in mind, I created inserts in matching cardstock colour for each pocket and I added tabs or punched corners to each, along with small stickers, to embellish them a bit.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Stickers: Farmhouse Market (Carta Bella)
Accessories: Velcro Dots (Amazon); Stormcloud, Moss Green and Bluebell Pearls (Studio Katia);
Flower and Leaf Mini Punches, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Score Tool,
Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Mini Stapler (Stampin' Up!); Corner Chomper (We R Memory Makers);
Stitched Ric Rac Die-namics (My Favorite Things); Planner Essentials 11 and 21 Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

 

Carpe Diem Mini Album

Inspiration: Tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz

I'm sharing another minialbum that was inspired by a cool tutorial from Michelle's channel. This one piqued my interest because it is entirely made of 6" x 6" patterned paper. I looked through my paper pads in that size and I found that a lot of them are not double-sided, which is the key to this design. I found the Carpe Diem paper pad (2016) and decided the designs would work well. All I used was the paper pad and the matching brads and I incorporated a few ornements (ribbon, paper clip, puffy stickers, doilies) and I ended up with this. The result looks elaborate but the design is surprisingly easy to put together.

 

This is the front page of the albu. Once I had all by base page assembled, I wrapped the spine with a piece of polka dot paper from the same pack, punched with a scallop border, to make it look more finished. I used a cut-apart from the pack to add a little plate image in the center. I left it blank for now and can add text to it once I start filling the minialbum with something.

 

The text strip is only glued at the top and bottom so you can slip stuff underneath. I made an envelope using the Mini Envelope Punch Board - I finally got my end on one. I love my regular one and use it all the time, but the smallest sizes are still pretty big so I decided having the smaller version could be useful. Love it as much as my other one so far! The envelope was decorated with a cut-apart and a puffy heart sticker. I added a star puffy sticker to the sentiment strip and a decorate brad as well.

On the right side, I created an envelope. I sort of messed up the measurements a little bit and ended up with two fold marks, but I found a solution that I love to work with it: I created a third scoring line in the middle, folded the pocket accordeon-style and I created little inserts on each side, also folded as accordeons, so that instead of having a flat pocket, you can slide something a little more bulky inside. It look so cute and you wouldn't guess it wasn't made to hide a mistake.

As you can see, the pages are folded so that they are not the same width, so you can see the next page poking out from underneath a little. This is a cute little detail - and the reason why getting the measurements right is key!

 

On the left side, I decorated the backside of the envelope with cut-aparts and punched pieces. On the left side, I created a little envelope by simply folding a piece of patterned paper and punching the top, as shown in Michelle's video. I slipped one of the cut-aparts inside and added a decorative brad.

 

In the original tutorial, the flap is glued close to make another pocket, but I decided to left mine as a folding tab for variety. I added patterned paper and cut-aparts to decorate. On the right page, I created a coin pocket as shown by Michelle. I glued a little bit too fast and forgot to put in fasteners first and when I tried using my Crop-a-Dile on the glued envelope, it was not reaching far enough and the circles were far too close, so I decided to turn the envelope around to hide my boo-boo, glued the tab down and have the top of the envelope open to slide something in. I added an envelope cut-apart to decorate and a second one on the right upper corner to fill in the space a bit.

 

The last page show two pockets on each side. On the left one, I assembled two cut-aparts together so that I could pop the typewriter up on dimensional adhesive and I used a paper clip to old the cut-apart in place, with a bit of ribbon on the paper clip to fancy it up. Decorative brads were added on opposite corners, and on the right page, I added a black mini doily (from Doodlebug) and some more cut-aparts.

 

This is the backside of the album.

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Decorative Brads: Carpe Diem (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Mini Envelope Punch Board (We R Memory Keepers); Mini Stapler, Lucky Limeade Ruffle Ribbon,
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Circle Punch, Mini Scalloped Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Gems (Recollections); Bell Pepper Trinkets Puffy Stickers (Bella Blvd.);
Beetle Black Mini Paper Doilies (Doodlebug Design)

 

Halloween Town Mini Accordeon Album

Inspiration: Crate Paper Tutorial + Little Red Wagon #573 (Halloween)

So this project started out as a short tutorial I caught on the Crate Paper channel on YouTube. Seemed small and simple and I let myself believe that this could be something I could create quickly. Yeah... Not so much. First of all, the Crate Paper videos tend to be more process videos than actual tutorials and even though there's a few measurements on the blog post (in cm, which is not a big deal because I've been raised on those in school, but I do tend to favour using inches to measure when I craft), you really have to read a lot between the lines. 

I used the cut-apart sheets from the Halloween Town collection (not a new one, something pulled from my stash from a couple of years ago) and had twelve 3" x 4" images that I wanted to use as the inside pages. Which meant I had to figure out new dimensions. The accordeon is what really threw me for a loop. It took three and a half versions of it before it finally worked. The first one was made of patterned paper and the accordeon was too narrow, so the accordeon was simply refusing to fold on itself when the album was closing. So I tried glueing some of the accordeon together to help. It didn't. First fail. I tried a more traditional binding where I spaced the folds more and glued the inside together. I did it from memory and I don't think it was right. Right in the bin it went. The last accordeon, made out of cardstock and with scoring lines spaced ½ apart, worked much, much better and it was the winner. It should be noted in the video, the crafter shows that she glues each end of the cardstock cover. I would advise against that, because if your accordeon is even slightly off when folded, the covers of the album will not line up properly when closed. (This was one of the many problems I experienced with my first accordeon.) It took a lot of struggling, but I pushed the two accordeons down in place and closed the top cover in place lining the front and back together before burnishing the adhesive in place. You need to use strong adhesive to make sure the binding does not come apart.

I didn't have any Halloween pictures on hand to put right away in the album, but I focused on embellishing the covers and inside pages. It went pretty quickly as I used up a lot of stickers from the element sticker sheet, and I added a few homemade die-cuts here and there, a border punch, sequins and pearls and sparkly pens and markers. This turned out pretty cute. 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Soft Suede, Shimmery White
Patterned Papers and Stickers: Halloween Town (Echo Park)
Glitter Paper: Champagne (Unknown); Black (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Cute Cobweb, Build-a-House Halloween Add-On (Lawn Fawn);
Stitched Ric Rac (My Favorite Things); Stitched So Sweetly, Black Stampin' Write Marker (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Chevron Ribbon, Pinking Heart Border Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Shimmery Gelly Roll Pen (Sakura); Assorted Moonstone Sequins (Simon Says Stamp);
Metallic Rose Gold and Marigold Gems, Wildflower Sequins Mix (Pretty Pink Fresh);
Ripe Persimmon Pearls (Studio Katia); Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More);
Black Shimmery Washi Tape (Unknown); Blush Rosette Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo);

Going Mini Again!

Inspiration: YouTube tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz

I found another interesting mini-album tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz where she mentioned she was only using small paper scraps. I went back to my Halloween Town collection from Echo Park, which, by the way, is still not completely killed even after making a third mini-album with it! I really like how this one turned out and I think this is the one I will give to my youngest niece, because it is easier to handle than the last one I put together.

I followed the instructions and included my own embellishments using remaining stickers, washi tape, punches and my trusty Planner Essentials dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs. I am getting so much use out of these dies! I think the fact that they are called planner essentials is misleading, because the bits and bobs included in the sets are perfect for any kind of crafting.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn); Green Glitter Paper (Unknown)
Patterned Papers and Stickers: Halloween Town (Echo Park)
Punches: Corner Trio, Circle (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Planner Essentials 2 and 21 (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Accessories: Eye See You Sprinkles (Doodlebug Design); 
All the Trimmings Embellishments, Faceted Dots, Silver Elastic Cord, Eyelets (Stampin' Up!);
Decorative Brads (October Afternoon); Copper Metallic Floss (DMC);
Deco Scissors (Fiskars)

 

Feels Like Frost Mini-Album

Inspiration: Video tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz on YouTube + Sunday Stamps #237

I'm always on the lookout for new ideas to try out, especially simpler projects that I can try out with my niece as she both enjoys creating on her own and having me prepare projects we can assemble together. This mini-album is really simple, just folding and gluing and I particularly like that you start with a 6" x 6" piece of paper, which opens up a lot of options.

Because of the size, the Feels Like Frost became my starting point, as it also happens to match the Sunday Stamps challenge colours very nicely. I used the new Have a Hoot bundle, as the tag in the die set are the perfect size for each part of the mini-album. I also made a tag to slip inside the central pocket using the Delightful Tag Topper punch, new in this year's annual catalogue. I threaded some Basketweave ribbon (from the combo pack) held in place with white baker's twine and I added a little heart from the Pkayful Pets trinkets on it. (Doesn't have to be pet-related. The kit also includes bones, which could probably be worked into an Halloween design as well.)

The owls were embossed in silver on a vellum tag and I stamped them again in Basic Grey ink on Shimmery White cardstock and colored them using the Stampin' Blends markers. I usually use the Shimmery White cardstock to watercolor on, but when you use the markers, the shimmer really comes out! I die-cut the owls using the dies and layered them over the vellum tag.

I added a Shimmery White tag in the center panel and added a Highland Heather poinsettia at the bottom, topped with an Elegant Faceted Gem in the centre. On the front, I used a vellum tag with "Happy Holidays" embossed in silver powder on it and I added little twigs die-cut with the Pekk-a-Hoot dies around the tag.

I glued my ribbon on the back of the mini-album and added a cute bow stamped on Misty Moonlight DSP using the Gift Wrapped stamp set. The bows matching the punch would have been a little large, so I picked a smaller bow and handcut it out. Love this added little touch.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Enveloppé d'amour (Gift Wrapped), Chouettes pensées (Have a Hoot)
Cardstock: Seaside Spray, Misty Moonlight, Vellum, Shimmery White, Highland Heather, Purple Posy
Designer Series Paper: Feels Like Frost, 2020-2022 In Color
Ink: Misty Moonlight, VersaMark, Basic Grey
Accessories: Playful Pets Trinkets, Poinsettia Dies, Peek-a-Hoot Dies,
Stampin' Blends Markers, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Delightful Tag Topper Punch,
Elegant Faceted Gems, Playing with Patterns Resin Dots, Basketweave and
Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack, Circle Punch, White Baker's Twine

 

Mini Pocket Folder

Inspiration: YouTube tutorial by Pinkstrawberryz

This is the last tutorial from the YouTube video I drew inspiration from to prepare projects I could make with my niece. This may be my favorite yet, if only because I used a piece of paper I had leftover from the Shimelle Little by Little collection and it looks really cute used up like that. I again went to my Planner Essentials dies to add embellishments. It happened that the tab I had leftover from my school project was the perfect shade of aqua to fit with this project so that was a nice coincidence. Another one was that when I pulled out my white cardstock to finish the tab, I found the word Joy stamped in soft aqua ink on a scrap, so I punched it out with a circle punch and added it inside the project.

This could be used on its own and filled with notes or embellishments, or it could be added to a scrapbook page as an interactive elements that opens.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Unknown (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Little by Little (Shimelle for American Crafts)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Planner Essentials #21 (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Ink: Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Island Indigo Baker's Twine, White Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon,
Elegant Faceted Gems, Circle Punch, Delightful Tag Topper Punch (Stampin' Up!);
White Rickrack (Unknown); Hole Reinforcer Punch (We R Memory Makers)

 

School Days Mini Folder

Inspiration: YouTube tutorial by Pinkstrawberryz and The Paper Players #504 (Back to School)

This is a second project that I picked up from the YouTube video tutorial I was watching and that I thought would make a nice and easy project to do with my niece using paper scraps. The starting paper again measures 6" x 6", which is easy to come by. Because the Paper Players challenge's theme was Back to School, I was inspired to pull out the oh-so-fun School Days papers from Doodlebug Design. 

I wanted to fill the folder with something so I used my new Planner Essentials #21 dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs. They include sheets torn from notebooks, which were perfect here. I used the little cut-aparts from the paper pad to decorate the front and inside the folder, using a green paper clip to keep one in place. The little arrow and the tab are from the same Planner Essentials die set. I don't do planners, but this die series is SO useful for paper crafts in general. And I'm always amazed at how many dies are included for a very affordable price. Can't recommend those enough.

To finish it off, I added a icon sticker, a resin dot on the tab and two star shape sprinkles as well and tied it shut with red baker's twine. I was planning on making this really simple since it was only supposed to serve as inspiration for my niece, but it turned out way cuter than I anticipated. That's Doodlebug for you!

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Icons Stickers: School Days (Doodlebug Design)
Dies: Planner Essentials 21 (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Accessories: Real Red Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch,
All the Trimmings Embellishments (Stampin' Up!);
Star Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Design)

 

Clear Spine Halloween Mini Album

Inspiration: YouTube tutorial from Pinkstrawberryz

I've recently put together a mini Halloween album with the Halloween Town collection from Echo Park (dating back a couple of years). I knew I had to put together a second so that each niece could have her own. Today, I randomly spotted a mini-album tutorial linked on Instagram, so I went to YouTube to check it out and instantly knew it was exactly what I needed. Quick, small but incredibly cute. Putting together the album was really quick (maybe an hour at the most), but I spent the rest of the afternoon working on embellishing it. That is where most of my time was spent, but it you were to stick to stickers and simple tags, this would be really quick and easy to assemble.

I've made my spine a little too wide, I find (2-3/4" between the two covers). It would probably have been better a little narrower, but this is the kind of kinks you run into when you make a project the first time. If I was to make another one, I'd make this smaller.

On the right side, where the mini-book is assembled, I somehow miscalculated on one of my pieces and made it larger than the others. I only realized it after I had put glue on it and was ready to glue it inside the album. Because it was full of glue, it would have been hard to cut it to the right size, so I decided to just stick with three pages instead of four and I added a little pocket on the front with a leftover piece of pumpkin-print paper. The back page was decorate with the Gift Wrapped bundle, which I've been really loving (currently sold in Stampin' Up!'s August-December minicatalogue). The bow was embossed with sparkly black powder.

I die-cut two tags from the Planner Essentials 21 set, layered them and held them in place on the acetate using a purple eyelet. This avoided the problem of adhesive showing up inside the album. The tags were stamped with the Happy Halloween stamp set from Doodlebug Design, another item I received really late last season and didn't have time to really play with. I used other images from the same set to stamp the bottom of tags. I also colored and die-cut the little spider to add on the spiderweb sticker I had added to my mini-book section. I cut apart the Happy Halloween! sentiment to keep only the Halloween word, which I stamped and used on my front pocket, layered over a star.

The front and back cover stars were die-cut using the Outside In Stitched Star Stacklables dies out of Shimmer Sheetz from Elizabeth Craft Designs and held in place using Doodlebug sugar-coated brads. I love how it looks. 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Happy Halloween (Doodlebug Design); Enveloppé d'amour (Gift Wrapped - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Marigold Morning, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!);
Shimmer Sheetz (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Patterned Papers and Stickers: Halloween Town (Echo Park);
Acetate from Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); VersaMark
Dies: Happy Halloween (Doodlebug Design); Outside In Stitched Star Stacklables (Lawn Fawn);
Planner Essentials 21 (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Sentiment Labels (Simon Says Stamp)
Accessories: Tangerine and Beetle Black Sugar Coated Brads (Doodlebug Design);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Tag Topper Punches, Baker's Twine, Ribbons, Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Midas Touch Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Markers (Copic);
Amethyst, Apricot Glaze and Bora Bora PEarls (Studio Katia);
Marigold Gems (Pretty Pink Posh); Black Sparkle (Ranger)

 

Let It Snow Mini Album

Inspiration: Crate Paper YouTube tutorial

I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately to try and find inspiration for new projects. I've shared earlier the mini fan-in-a-box album I've put together after finding a tutorial on the Crate Paper channel and that led me a down a rabbit hole of many mini-albums videos that were all more fantastic than the next. I immediately moved on to making another one based on their Merry Days album tutorial. I quickly decided to use the Snowflake collection from Crate Paper not only because it's gorgeous but also because I was so enamored with this collection that I purchased most of the elements from it. I knew that would make embellishing the album fast and easy.

While the former mini-album was put together in an evening, this one was put together over the course of almost a full week. And I will say that I stayed really close to the original. The tutorial only shows how to put together the first couple of elements and then the other are variation of the same idea, so they flip through the album but don't necessarily show the steps. I stopped the videos are various intervals and built similar pages based on what I had from the collection and in my stash, but it was heavily inspired by what was shown. It was my first no-binding mini-album so I preferred to stick to what was being shown to get the hang of it and then I can take more liberties in future projects.

Speaking of liberties, I only realized after I started putting together my binding with paper that their are using fabric for the cover of the album on the video. And I soon found out why - the paper is thick and makes the album cover stick out! Maybe if you are using lighter weight patterned paper, it would fare better, but then again, you do want your cover to remain nice after being handled repeatedly. Because I figured out the cover was really stiff as I was starting to assemble it, it gave me time to add two pieces of ribbon inside the cover before I added the lining so that I can tie the ribbon shut.

The only thing I haven't made yet are inserts for the pockets. I guess I can figure those out when I'll be adding pictures to the album. Because the collection is winter-themed, I think it opens the door for the Holidays or something more general. I'm not sure what I'll put in there and if I'll keep it or give it away. I might be getting a jump on my gifts for this upcoming Christmas. This could be something that my parents would enjoy if I filled it with family pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Saisons colorées (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Vellum, Sage Shadow (Stampin' Up!); Burnished Rose Mirror Card (Tonic);
Burgundy (Bazzill)
Patterned Papers, Puffy Stickers, Stickers, Layered Tags,
Washi Tape, Ephemera Pieces: Snowflake (Crate Paper)
Punches: Hole Reinforcer (We R Memory Keepers)
Dies: Alphanumeric Label (Tim Holtz for Sizzix);
Stitched So Sweetly, Doily Builder Thinlits, Stitched Nested Labels,
Blizzard Thinlits (Stampin' Up!);
Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle Windows, Road Border (Lawn Fawn) 
Embossing Folders: Large Polka Dots, Scripty 3D, Northern Flurry (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Gold-Foiled Tag, Stampin' Dimensionals, brads, eyelets,
Share What You Love Artisan Pearls, Pearl Basic Jewels, Faceted Dots,
Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements, Pearlized Doilies, Clear Chunky Glitter (Stampin' Up!);
Enamel Dots (Simple Stories); Buttons (Autumn Leaves);
Copper Paperclips (Office Supplies); Sugar Plum Flairs (My Mind's Eye);
Metal Holder (Making Memories); Wooden Button (Unknown);
Circle Template (Coluzzle); Sweet & Tart Heart Sprinkles (Trinity Stamps);
Warm Golden Glow Sequins (Little Things from Lucy's Cards) 
Ribbons: Powder PInk Shimmer Ribbon, Real Red Curly Ribbon,
Silver Tinsel Cord, Merry Merlot and Copper Reversible Ribbon,
Delightful Dijon Mini Striped Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)