Hi! Stephanie here with you today for this month's mini album tutorial!! I had so much fun putting this little book together and I can't wait to share it with you.
I always love compiling our goals and thoughts about the previous year at the beginning of the new year. This year, I had everyone write down their favorite moments from 2013. I decided to put them all together in a pretty mini album!
The album I'm sharing today is so easy and fun to make. It's a simple pocket mini album made by folding together pieces of patterned paper. You could also use envelopes instead of patterned paper, but I think patterned paper makes it look much prettier!! :)
1. Start by gathering your supplies. I used various papers from the Collectable collection, as well as from The Sweetest Thing collection.
You'll also see I pulled the blue chevron paper from the Mistletoe Magic collection. Although it's a Christmas collection, a lot of the "b-sides" of the papers can be used anytime!
I also am using a cut file as my "cover". If you would like the use them same cut file, you can download the file HERE.
The words are from a poster I saw on Pinterest. I felt like the words encompassed the theme of this little album perfectly!
2. After you have cut your cover page with your die cutting machine, trim various patterned papers into strips to place on the backside of your paper.
I used the MME decorative tape to hold my strips into place before sewing the edges down. If you don't plan on sewing your paper strips into place, I would recommend using a good adhesive to make sure your papers don't slide around as you handle your book.
3. Next you will want to trim down the patterned paper for the inside of your book. I just randomly cut my paper anywhere from 5x12 inches to 7x12 inches. You will be folding your paper in half and these will be the "pockets" of your album.
4. Using a sewing machine or washi tape, close the edges of your book, leaving the long side open. You should only have to close up two sides since the "fold" of the paper is your fourth side.
You can make as many pockets as you would like....it's totally up to you! I decided to make five pockets for this book. One for each of us in our family and then one extra pocket to hold our goals for 2014.
5. After you have sewn your sides and created your pockets, stack them together as you would like them to be in your book.
6. Starting with the bottom layer, apply adhesive to the top of the pocket and then place the next pocket onto the adhesive. Continue in this fashion until all of your pockets are adhered together.
**Note: I started with two small strips of adhesive as you can see above, but ended up adding a bit of adhesive near the opening of the pocket to help discern where the pockets opened. Use your best judgement as to where to use adhesive.**
Now the "base" of your book is completed and you have little pockets for holding photos, journaling, etc.
7. If you would like, you could add a ribbon around your book to hold it together and keep the insides of the pockets from sliding out. You will need to add the ribbon before you add the front and back covers of the book.
To do this, simply grab a ribbon and wrap it around your book to measure how long you should cut it. Cut the ribbon.
8. Stitch the ribbon (or use strong adhesive) to hold the ribbon to the back cover of your book. I am using a smaller piece of white card stock for the back of my album. I wanted the pretty patterned papers to peek out on both the front and back.
9. Adhere on the back and front covers of your book. Tie your ribbon and your book is completed! Yay!
You can use this little pocket mini album for just about anything! It would be perfect for holding thoughts and journaling for the new year. You could add more pockets and use it to keep a favorite "monthly memory" throughout the year. At the end of the year, you would have a completed book on your shelf.
Here's a collage of my finished book. As I mentioned, I created a pocket for each of us to record our thoughts and memories from 2013. I also added a pocket to hold some of our family goals for this year, 2014. It will be so fun to look back at the end of the year and see how much we've grown and how many goals we've accomplished!!
Supplies:The Sweetest Thing collection (patterned papers),Collectable collection (patterned papers),Mistletoe Magic collection (patterned papers),Cut & Paste collection (stickers, chipboard stickers, labels), Decorative Tapes
Thanks so much for stopping by today!! I hope this tutorial has inspired you to make a mini album of your own!! Be sure to link up any projects! I would love to check out what you made!
