MINI ALBUM: Live Laugh Love

Hello! How are you doing? It has been raining daily since last week and I was just so lazy over the weekend that I did not want to move. I can't remember if I've mentioned about a mini that I was working on for Ria, one of our colleagues who came back from Maternity Leave. I think I did.

Anyway, I should have given this to her last month during our small welcome back surprise for her, but I wasn't finished with the album yet. 

Here it is.

The album measures 8 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 8 1/2". The pages are at 8" x 8".

Let's start with the cover. Like what I usually do with mini album covers, I used chipboard and reinforced the folded parts with double sided adhesive tape and tissuestock coated with Mod Podge. After drying, I adhered the designer papers. I decorated it after all the pages were in place.

I used minimal embellishments on the front of the cover. I adhered a length of lace trimmings on the part where one designer paper joined another. I stenciled a brocade at the middle of the cover with light molding paste. The light molding paste is perfect. It added dimension to the project and at the same time some texture. (If I prefer molding paste on my cards and art journal, I love using light molding paste on minis.) I then affixed a wooden embellishment and added the sticker and paper flowers. I glazed the wood veneer and flowers with metallic acrylic paint. I also put in the sentiment 'Live, Laugh, Love' and stamped on the background. And of course I made the closure using the technique I learned from Cathy McGrath.

Now for the pages... I cut eight 8" x 8" board papers and adhered eight designer papers. I stenciled with light molding paste on each one which would serve as the background for the photos. After drying, I went crazy with my stamps and ink pads. I stamped here and there. Then I made the hinge. I adhered it onto the spine of the cover and decorated the inner cover. I made pockets for the tags and additional photos. Afterwards, I adhered the pages onto the hinge one after the other. 

The mini is easy to make but it takes a lot of time to complete with all the coating and stenciling and drying. I'm pretty sure I'll be making another one in the next few weeks or so. People's birthdays are coming up (and so is mine!). 

I hope you liked it. Thank you for looking today! Have a great week!



MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Chipboard, Moods Board Paper Stormy Gray, Rives Board Paper Tradition Black, DCWV 12"x12" paper pad Vintage Lane, Eno Greeting 8"x8" paper pad Sweet Life, Rosie's Studio Sticker Book of Phrases, Eno Greeting 3D Stickers, paper flowers, manila tags, Eno Greeting Wooden Embellishment, organza ribbon, lace trimmings, Golden Light Molding Paste, The Crafter's Workshop Stencil Mini Brocade and Chicken Wire Reversed, Kaisercraft Clear Stamps Perfume, Butterflies, Windsor, Botanical Odyssey and Flutterby, Prima Marketing Clear Stamps Vintage Vanity #1, Heidi Swapp Mixed Media Clear Stamps Script, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, Rose Madder and Aquamarine, StazOn Midi Ink Pad Emerald City, Ganache, Spiced Chai and Cloudy Sky, FolkArt Metallic Acrylic Paint Pearl White, Stanley Glue Gun, Canvas Corp Tissuestock, Mod Podge Matte, Aleene's Tacky Glue

PAPER BAG MINI # PR-2015-01: Treasures of the Heart

Hello there! I haven't posted for a long time so I am bombarding my blog with late posts. This one here is another commission from Ate Nadia. She wanted to give something to her friends in Slovenia (I might be wrong about the country, but she said she'll be sending it abroad.) They are a couple and their favorite colors are pink and blue so she asked if I could make a mini using these colors. I had a slight problem with the pink part because she asked me to use bright pink on the cover and I don't usually use this color on my projects so I have limited supplies. I rummaged through my stash and came up with this for the cover.

I used Liquid Pearl to add more pink element to the cover.

I affixed a couple of paper flowers, 3D stickers and buttons to add more dimension.

I learned a new technique of putting the ribbon to close the album from Cathy without punching a hole onto the cover or adhering the ribbon underneath the designer paper. What a very neat idea! Since I do not own an eyelet setter, this technique allows me to put a closer without exerting too much effort. All I need is hot glue and filigree!

I did not add charms on the spine, but only a filigree. I wanted to stamp or write something at the bottom, but I refrained from doing it. It would be up to the couple to put something there.

She liked it. I hope the recipients would like it too.

By the way, this is the first time that I tried this type of mini album. I got the idea from Cathy McGrath who used Kathy Orta's hidden hinge technique. I was looking through a couple of mini album tutorials when I stumbled upon hers on Youtube. I basically followed the instructions on her video, but of course I made changes to the measurements. You can find her tutorial on her channel Megs Garden.

Hmn. I tried to upload a video of the mini, but the file might be too big for blogger. It would not take it. So, I will just post it on my Flickr account. You can watch it here.

I am quite happy on how this mini turned out. I will make another one as a wedding present for Ate Lablab and Kuya Daniel. Thank you for stopping by today!

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Small white paper bags, Elit Board Paper Vellum Pale Cream and light blue, Elit Rhapsody Specialty Board Royal Blue, Authentique 12"x12" Genuine Collection Friendship, Sampler Pack, Eno Greeting 12"x12" paper pad Elegant Flowers, Eno Greeting 3D stickers, Eno Greeting Die cuts Elegant Flowers, My Mind's Eye Chipboard Shapes Memorable "Perfect", Dear Lizzy 6x6 paper pad Serendipity and Polka Dot Party, lace trimmings, shrink plastic embellishments, organza ribbon, paper flowers, silk flowers, buttons, brads, crystals, Kaisercraft Clear Stamps Butterflies, Botanical Odyssey, True Friendship and Bundle of Joy, Bo Bunny Clear Stamps It Is Written and Gateway, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps Inspirational Lift and Bird Mini, Prima Marketing Vintage Vanity, Something Blue, Ranger Archival Ink jet Black, Ranger Distress Ink Walnut Stain and Tattered Rose, StazOn Midi Ink Pad Ganache and Cloudy Sky, Ranger Liquid Pearls Flamingo, Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies Captivating Square, Tranquil Moments, Valiant Honor and Adorning Labels Twenty-Five, Cuttlebug Machine V2, Ranger Heat It Craft Tool, Stanley Glue Gun

ACCORDION MINI

Hi! What can I say but I'm sorry. I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. I have been busy with life and I got sick again. So, I didn't get to write anything recently. 

Anyway, I have been meaning to post the accordion mini (the first ever accordion mini that I made), but unfortunately, I did not get to take photos of the finished project. TT.TT. I made it as a farewell gift to our manager and I was so much in a hurry that I didn't get a snap or two before putting the whole thing in an acetate box and handing it over to the recipient.

[Sigh.] At least I have two photos from when I started making it so it's not that bad. Just look at the paper pad I used for the project. I almost used all of the designs to cover the 12 panels. I made several pockets to hold tags and photos. I also added strips of paper to tuck in some more of the tags. I went for vintage on this project so I basically inked all the papers with Distress Ink Walnut Stain. 

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Moods Board Paper Stormy Gray, Eno Greeting 12x12 paper pad Happy Birthday, manila tags, printed photos, jute twine, lace trimming, Kaisercraft Clear Stamps Botanical Odyssey and Bundle of Joy, Prima Marketing Clear Stamps Lifetime #1, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps Inspirational Lift, Bo Bunny Clear Stamps Gateway, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, Ranger Distress Ink Walnut Stain

DT PROJECT FOR BEE HAPPY CRAFTS: Memories

Hi! It’s Monday once again and I am still awake. I would certainly be so sleepy at work tonight. Anyway, I am here to show you the mini that I have been working on since last week. Well, it is not yet complete. I mean I have not decorated it yet since I might embellish each page depending on the pictures that I am going to put in there. I still couldn’t decide how to prettify the cover. So, I am going to store it away for now and start the decorations perhaps in a couple of days when I have the pictures. I will make another video of the whole thing once I figure out what exactly I want to do with it. 

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Brown Paper Bags, Illustration Board, Kraft Folder, Moods Board Paper Stormy GrayTissuestock, Best of Studio Calico Sampler Pack, Kaisercraft Clear Stamps Butterflies, Flutter, Windsor, Perfume, Honey Comb, Dictionary Meanings and Madame Boutique, Prima Marketing Clear Stamps Vintage Vanity and Advert 1, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, Beauty Premium Pigment Ink Pad Black, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Walnut Gold, Butternut Squash, Jack O'Lantern and Coral Reef, Modge Podge Classic Matte, Reeves Gesso, Double Sided Tape

CARD# HPJ-2015-19: Safe Travels

This is the back of the mini.

Hi! How are you doing? It’s been ages since I last posted, or made something crafty for that matter.

Did I tell you that our roommate Kiteng is going to Italy for three months? I think I haven’t mentioned it in my previous post. Anyway, I wanted to make her a farewell card. I discovered a website called snapguide a week or so ago and I found several of the artists and crafters that I follow on IG there. Almost all of the DT members of Graphic 45 have an account and they share the written tutorials of their projects there. One particular project that got my attention was Ginny Nemchack’s wallet fold mini album. I thought it would be perfect for Kiteng. I can tuck in some photos and mini tags for her.

This was what Ginny made. What a great project!

So she was supposed to go home last Saturday and would not be coming back to our apartment before her flight on the 27^th. It so happened that I did not get to make the card/mini album by Saturday. Hmf.

Last night we were quite surprised when she came knocking at the door while we were preparing for dinner. Whoa! I really thought we wouldn’t be seeing her till September. I guess not. Heh. For that, I took the opportunity to make the album. I was able to finish it. Woohoo! I just put it inside a paper bag. It was kind of heavy because of all the layers of cardstock and designer paper, but it looks really great. I hope she likes it. I would probably make another one for a wedding then I’ll tuck in a gift card.

As I have mentioned earlier, I got the idea for the mini album from Ginny Nemchack. You can find her tutorial here. Basically, I just followed how she did hers. But since I wanted a bit more dimension, I added some metal charms and lace to the front of the card. I did not make it bulky so that Kiteng can bring it wherever without worrying that it will get damaged. I mostly just used the designer papers from the collection.

Oh. And by the way, my base was 17 ½” x 17 ½” instead of 12” x 12”. I first tried the latter, but it was too small for what I had in mind. If you would like to make your own, you can also use a different size of paper for the base.

Here are the rest of the photos. Thank you for looking today. An altered box is coming up next.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Manila paper, Rives Board Paper Tradition Black, kraft paper, Graphic 45 8x8 paper pad Come Away With Me Collection, printed images, metal charms, gears, brad, studs, self-adhesive crystal, lace trimming, grosgrain ribbon, foam tape, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps Inspirational Lift, ColorBox Cat’s Eye Queue Pigment Ink Chestnut and Black, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Cuttlebug Machine V2

BOXED MINI ALBUM

Hi there! I have posted about the wedding gift I made for a friend last December on my tumblog, but I have made some changes to it. Since I haven’t given it yet to her (Gaaad, it’s almost March!), I decided to change the photo folio into a mini album.

If you might recall, I received a commission for a guestbook last month and I made something like a mini album to hold some photos of the event as well as doodles and what not from the guests. I loved working on that particular project which got me to think of making a smaller version with more pages for Miss Karen. I was done with the original photo folio, but I didn't quite like how it turned out so I made a mini album. Hah! It doesn't look that good (hey, I only started making them), but it is way better than the folio!

Okay. So I had made the box first.

I altered a box from my stash of Papemelroti boxes. I coated it with several layers of gesso until I was satisfied with the coverage. I then stenciled the sides of the bottom with molding paste and used a different stencil on the lid. After which, I applied distressed crackle paint on the sides of the lid. When everything was dry, I inked the edges of both the bottom and the lid. I also used an ink pad to color the stenciled brocade on the lid. Before putting the decorations, I stenciled some dots on the surface of the lid with different colored ink pads.

I adhered wooden flourishes to the corners and put down the embellishments one by one. Of course it wouldn't be complete without the pearls and the crystals. I just love it! Maybe I’ll also alter the round boxes that I've been keeping for almost two years now. Hmn. Perhaps I’ll do it this weekend.

As for the mini album, the page assembly was the same as the one I used on the guestbook. If you haven’t seen it yet, I got the idea from Brenda Bliss on one of her video tutorials. You can find it here. 

This is the back part of the mini album. I didn't put anything else so as not to get in the way when writing on the pages.

The cover, though, was a bit different. Instead of using patterned paper to cover the chipboard base, I coated it with gesso, added a length of lace trimming and coated the whole thing again with gesso. I stenciled on the spine (the same one I used on the box bottom). Like the guestbook, I also wanted to add a detachable set of charms on the spine which I did by affixing a piece of lace trimming with a jump ring on the top part of the spine.

I made a video of the different parts of the mini album so you can also see what the inside looks like.

Thank you for looking today! Have a great weekend!

*NOTE: I've written this post a month ago, but then I missed to publish it that's why the side comment on the first part of the post says 'It's almost March.' I hope you don't get confused. Thanks again for stopping by!

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: (For the box: Papemelroti box, Marie's Gesso, Golden Molding Paste, Ranger Distressed Crackle Paint Rock Candy, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Stucco, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, The Crafter's Workshop Stencils Mini Brocade, Art Is and Mini Swiss Dots, Eno Greeting Wooden Embellishments, wooden flower, paper flowers, metal charms, self-adhesive crystals and pearls, Kaisercraft Pickled Pear Collection Sticker Sheet, Graphic 45 8x8 Secret Garden Collection, paper scrap, Kaisercraft Clear Stamps Botanical Odyssey, Elmer's White Glue, glitters, Stanley Glue Gun, glue sticks, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Cuttlebug Machine V2); (For the mini album: Multi-purpose board, Elit Board Paper Pale Cream, My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two 6x6 paper pad Blush, Kaisercraft 12x12 Forget-Me-Not Collection, Bo Bunny Etc Collection, The Edwardian Lady's Diary, stationery sets, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Stucco, lace trimmings, paper tapes, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, Kaisecraft Clear Stamps Botanical Odyssey, double sided tape, Glue Stick, hot glue)