Handmade Mini Album - Part 2 of 2

I hope some of you are trying this mini album....it's fun to make!

After you have glued the spine you will need to add your decorative front and back covers.

Use the same gluing procedure getting out all the air bubbles with the bone folder as before. Then miter your corners. Run your bone folder around the craft board to make a slight indentation. This will help train your paper to fold up and around nice and neat. Go ahead and glue all edges of the front and back covers and smooth as before. Use the tip of the bone folder for a nice neat tuck at the mitered corners.


Now it's time to add the inside covers and inside spine. Just repeat the same process as the front of the mini album.

Once you have the spine glued then I run my bone folder down the edges and fold each cover back a forth a few times. Now it looks like a real book!

Punch two holes in the spine so you can attach a ribbon or fiber for the decorative handle. I use my cropadile for this since the crafty board is quite thick.

It should look like this.

Add your decorative handle by threading each end from the outside to the inside and tying a square knot. I add fray check to secure the knot.


I layer all my inside papers together and secure with 2 brads or eyelets. I attached two sequin flowers in the brushed silver brads for this book.

Now you have the front and back of all these paper sizes to scrapbook on. There's plenty of room for pictures and journaling and any other embellishements you choose to add.

Enjoy your book!

Handmade Mini Album Part 1 of 2

I really enjoy making these mini-books for scrapbooking specific themes. These can be used for baby, pets, specific yearly holidays, events (ex: sporting, showers, etc.) and by adding a few additional pockets you can hold all the ephemera you need to archive the moment.

Here is a little photo tutorial on the highlights of how I make this 5"x7" mini album. I hope you try one too. They are ADDICTING!

I cut my mat board to the sizes I need. One piece for the front, one for the back and one for the spine. I purchase "Crafty Board" for my books. You can get this from The Paper Mill store http://www.thepapermillstore.com/gsearch.php?substring=crafty+board&x=50&y=12 It's a 40 pt board and quite durable. There are many other sources also.





Then off to choosing all your cardstock for outside, spine and inside. I love the Club Scrap papers because of their thickness. I want my books to be as durable as possible. I believe that they will be passed down to many younger generations and many little hands (and big too) will be handling these mini albums. Durability is a must!



Mark the center of your spine cardstock and mat board. Centering is VERY important for a professional look.


I always use book binding glue for my book projects. I really like how easy it is to work with but it also makes the final product look professional. It allows me to make crisp edges and corners. The use of the bone folder helps achieve this look. Please use it, you can't go wrong and you'll never try to make another fold without it :-)

I first apply the glue on my mat board directly from the bottle. Then I take a brush (foam or bristle) and spread the glue evenly. Make sure you cover every bit of the mat board and spread throughout. It should have a nice amount of coverage but never runny or messy.


Add your cardstock and smooth out completely with the bone folder. Make sure you are removing any air bubbles if they have formed. In this pic I am doing the spine first.

Use the same process for the front and back mat board covers. I measure a line on the mat board for reference. I want to leave a small area between the spine and front and back covers so it can be comfortably folded.

For this bookI used a heavily textured paper on the spine that gives the appearance of real leather. Just LOVE it!

Once you have the spine glued, fold back and forth a few times. This trains the paper fibers to go where you want them to go for the end product.

In Part 2 we will finish the covers and the fun inside pages!

TFL

Darlene

Snowman Angel Gourd

I'm not quite sure if this gourd will end up looking like a snowMAN or a snowWOMAN but it will definately have some angel wings on the back. I loved making those snowANGEL patterns in the snow when I was a child so I decided to paint this gourd with that idea in mind.

I took this plain gourd, base coated it in Lt. Buttermilk acrylic paint and then drew on a few designs.
I have quite a bit more to paint and of course I need to put the sealer on but it's looking like a snowPERSON :-)

More to come......

Red Glimmer Hearts

I came across this wonderful heavy glimmer felt at the store yesterday and I knew exactly what to cut out of it....Hearts of course! All this bling makes my own heart go pitter pat.

They also had a very pretty royal blue too so I have cut snowflakes out of that color. Check out the Etsy shop for more interesting listings this week.

New Birdhouse Gourd

I am really happy with how this birdhouse came out. I decided to make the heart around the entrance and call it a "Love Nest". The bookshelf and all the goodies it displays is on the back side of the gourd. This gourd measures 12" tall and is 9" in diameter. The entire gourd has been softly spatter painted for a country look. This gourd reminds me of a happy spring morning. I think here in Michigan we will need to wait a bit for that season though.

This is a view of the back

A closeup of the cute little rag doll with her her little apron on!

Crocheted Poinsettias

I took a small break from cleaning gourds and crocheted a set of these poinsettias yesterday. They were very quick and easy to make with a warm holiday feel. I hand embroidered the french knots in the center for a realistic look. That really brought me back to the old days when my mother and I sat and did the old fashioned cross stitch (not the counted). After all the gourd cleaning and crocheting my hands are feeling the workout! I need to head outside before the rain hits and finish raking the leaves and cutting back the hostas and then all the perennials are ready for winter. We had some snow the other day but that has now melted. The weather forecast is calling for rain turning into snow by this afternoon and Saturday total snow so I'm heading out now to see what I can accomplish. Have a great day!

Old World Santa

I decided that even though the snow isn't flying here yet in Michigan it's only a matter of time! To get me in the holiday spirit I painted this kettle shaped gourd like an Old World Santa. He's painted with more toned down colors for the Old World look. He has a nice pine needle bottom detail with red berries throughout the garland. I painted his arms and hands at his plump little sides and added a cute detail on his hat with a beautiful gold metallic edge. Santa has a full and curly beard and those rosey chubby cheeks tell you how cold it's been outside! He'll be looking for a home off of my Etsy shop on Monday. You are getting a sneek peek of all the closeups before the listing is up :-)

This gourd would be a great addition to your table as a centerpiece or anywhere else in your home that needs a little Christmas cheer. I have sealed Santa with 3 coats of urethane for indoor, as well as, outdoor use. If you shake him you can hear the gourd seeds inside. Kids love to hear the sound! He's very durable so a few little shakes from the kids won't hurt him at all. Shaking Santa also centers the seeds to the center of the bottom of the gourd so he will sit nice and straight on your table.

Who can resist this cute face?

He measures 9" tall and 7" wide (23" circumference). He reminds me of the roly-poly toys when I was a little girl. TFL!