Mini Album for Katie

I made this mini album for my friend Katie. Katie and I actually met on Facebook. We both make cards for Operation Write Home and we are also part of a swap group on Facebook. She told me about Mini Album Scraps in November 2011 and I decided to join. One of the first swaps I joined was the Mini Album Swap. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Katie was my swap partner!

Katie is going to be a Grandma very soon (Congratulations!) and she requested a baby themed mini album. Her only request was that it wasn't too baby-ish. I picked up the Hopscotch paper line by K&Co. I made the album 6"x6" and used my Bind-It-All to bind it. I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink to ink all the edges. This album has room for lots and lots of pictures. There are at least 3 tags of various sizes on just about every page, plus 3 of the pages have a "mini within the mini" that will each hold 7-12 MORE pictures. Most of the ribbon that I used actually came from Katie. She sent them to me as a "hostess treat" for hosting a swap that she participated in. I hope she didn't hate the ribbon because it's coming back to her in her mini album!

I made a "baby" charm dangle from some metal tags I had in my stash. They were a door prize at the grand opening of a local scrapbook store. I have had them for about 3 years and never even opened them. I'm glad I finally had a chance to use them! I attached the dangle to the binding with a safety pin.

I have enjoyed participating in swaps over the last 2 months, but I think it is even more enjoyable when you know the person who is receiving your swap. I hope Katie loves her album and fills it up with lots of cute pictures of her new grandson!

Check out the video below for all the scrappy details. :)

Bank Envelope Mini for Ann

I made this mini album for my swap partner, Ann, at Mini Album Scraps. The swap rules said to make a mini album out of coffee sleeves or coin envelopes. As an alternative, we could also use bank envelopes, which is what I used. After I completed my album, someone from the group posted this video, which gives an excellent tutorial for making your own coin envelopes for mini albums that also provides lots of extra space for pictures. I'm definitely going to use that style next time!

OK--on to the mini album that I made...

I made this mini with 6 bank envelopes and used my Bind-It-All to bind it together. Ann said she wanted to use this album for pictures of her daughter and wanted the colors to be earth tones. I found the perfect paper line (and on sale, too!) to use for this project. I picked up a paper stack from K&Co called Edamame.  I bought the Designer Mat Stack which had 18 double sided papers that were 6.75"x4.75." I used 17 of the 18 sheets, plus one sheet of paper from the 12x12 pad. (I loved the paper so much that I had to go out and get some for myself!) I also bought a package of journaling spots, handmade flowers stickers, a set of butterfly stickers, and a package of the 12" border strips.

This album has LOTS of tags, with tons of room for journaling and/or photos. I inked all the edges of the paper and the envelopes with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I created 2 mini albums within this mini album. Each one allows room for 7 pictures. One is a waterfall album which will hold photos about 2.5" square and the other is a fold out accordion type album that will hold wallet sized photos. I also made a stick pin for the front and a dangling charm that is attached to the binding with a lobster claw clasp. The ribbon came from my stash. I purchased the crochet lace trim and the other trim on the front came in a box from my mother-in-law. I have used that trim on several projects. I did use my Vintage Photo Distress Ink to darken the trim since it was very white and the white just didn't go with the album.

I had a lot of fun making this mini album and I hope Ann likes it!

See the video below for all the scrappy details. :)

Vintage Romance Tag Swap

These are the tags I made for the Vintage Romance Tag Swap at Mini Album Scraps. You may recognize the paper from another set of tags that I made last week. : )

The paper line I used was Vintage Valentine by Fancy Pants Designs. The piece of paper I used for the front of these tags had lots of vintage postage stamp type images. After I cut the paper, I decided that it looked best going horizontal, instead of vertical like a traditional tag.

These tags needed to include at least 4 embellishments. I used some trim that came in a box from my mother-in-law. It was so very white! I used vintage photo distress ink to make it more "vintage." I made a paper flower from some striped paper from the collection. I also made a stick pin and a charm, which can both be removed and used on another project, if desired.

Check out the video for all the scrappy details.

Journal Spot Swap

I joined several swaps in December 2011. One of them was a Journal Spot Swap at Mini Album Scraps. For this swap we had to make a pocket or an envelope to hold a journaling tag. The color scheme was neutral (black, brown, white, cream, etc).

I had just finished making a wedding mini album as a gift and still had the paper stack out. I knew that the Black and Ivory Fusion by K&Co would be perfect for this swap.

Check out the video below the photo for all the scrappy details.

Victorian Valentine Tag Swap

In December 2011 I joined a couple of swap sites. One of my crafty goals this year is to expand my creativity and try new crafty-type things. Swaps are a great way to do that. Swaps are small. You don't have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff (only a little bit of stuff!) since you only have to make a small number of items (usually 3-6) for the swap.

The first swap I joined was a Victorian Valentine Tag Swap on Life on the Scrapbeach. The requirements were that we had to include at least 2 embellishments, have a creative pocket on the tag, and include a homemade stick pin or charm.

I was able to pick out my paper right away. I went to my local scrapbook store and said, "I need some vintage valentine paper." The owner told me that she had the perfect paper for me. And she did! I used Vintage Valentine by Fancy Pants Designs. After I got the paper, I was kind of stuck. I didn't know where to go from there. I thought about it for a couple of weeks...and then...inspiration struck! Check out the video at the end of the post for all the details. :)

Christmas Flower Swap

I made these flowers for the December 2011 flower swap at Mini Album Scraps. The theme was Christmas and we had to make 5 cards with 3 handmade flowers on each card. The flowers could be made out of any material. Since this was my first time making flowers, I chose to use paper. I used 3 different pieces of double sided patterned paper from the Peppermint Twist line by We R Memory Keepers.

There are hundreds of tutorial videos on You Tube about how to make flowers. I just picked one that looked easy and I could use supplies that I had on hand. Each flower is made of 6 or 7 (can't remember!) 1.75" circles. I inked the edges, poked a hole in the middle, then misted them with water. I crumpled them up and let them dry for a few minutes. Next, I un-crumpled them and put a brad through the middle. I scrunched up all the layers around the brad and let them dry. After about 10 minutes or so, I pulled the layers apart and added a little more ink to the edges.

The red card tag base is A2 size. I ran it through my cuttlebug with a snowflake embossing folder. I attached my flowers (with a glue dot) to a narrow tag made with a left over strip of patterned paper. The tags are just tied together with several pieces of Fun Fur Yarn.

This was my first flower swap and I enjoyed making these flowers. I watched so many tutorials on flower making on You Tube. I'm looking forward to trying out some new techniques on future swaps.