Laserowe Love Watermelon Friends Mini Album: Crafting with Sophie on My Birthday

Hello, Friends!  Last week was a whirlwind!  But I managed to squeeze in time to spend a day with my sweet Sophie Grace making this Laserowe Love Watermelon Friends Mini Album.  Oh, what fun!  Sophie spent my birthday with me, helping me to design and and decorate this delightful little mini album.

Sophie is a veteran crafter.  She began playing in my studio shortly before she turned 3 years old.  Now that she’s 10, we can tackle meatier projects, like this mini album together.  Since I knew the focus of our time together would be filming us decorating the album, I took a little time the day before to prep the album base and pages.

Laserowe Love Watermelon Friends Mini Album: The Basics

The base for this album is an older version of the Graphic 45 Tag and Pocket Album.  There are 48 pages in that album, and I could never manage to make one and have the covers close!  Plus, it took forever to make and used a ton of material.  So I began by “gutting” the album.

• First, insert a kraft knife carefully between the interior spine and the binding mechanism.  With a little effort, you can lift the entire thing out in one piece!
• Next, use scissors to cut the 6 sections into individual bundles.  Each bundle has 4 pages.  I chose to work with just 2 sections, and set the other 4 aside for later use.
• Now, score an 8 1/2″ x 5 3/4″ piece of kraft cardstock at 1 1/2″ on both ends . Then score at 1″ intervals between those 2 marks.  Follow THIS tutorial to create a tab style binding for the album.
• Next, adhere the binding in the center of the album spine and burnish well.
• When you are ready to add your 2 page units to the album, simply slip the open edge over the tabs and use adhesive to seal in place.

TIP:  I find it easier to decorate the pages before adding them to the album.

To create the shabby chic finish, paint the album inside and out with ivory chalk paint.  Then come back and lightly sand the edges to reveal the kraft base beneath.

Laserowe Love Watermelon Friends Mini Album: The Basics: Designing the pages

Each page in this cute album has an interactive element to it.  Here’s a little guide for making the pages.

• Front Pocket: Cut a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ panel of green cardstock.  Then score on the long side at 5 3/4″.   Adhere the designer paper behind the pocket, then adhere the sides of the pocket for a quick and easy pocket page.
• Tip in pages: Cut the cardstock base to measure 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″.  Score at  3″ for left  hand tip  in, or at 5 1/2: for right hand tip in.

To make the hidden pocket insert page on the left:

• First, cut  base cardstock to measure 6″ x 6″.
• Next, score 1/2″ on the sides and the bottom.
• Now trim out the bottom corner pieces.
• Fold the flaps to the back side of the panel and adhere to the album base.  This creates a “channel” for the insert to slide into, and allows a little more room for the insert.

To make the insert:

• Cut cardstock to measure 4 3/4″ x 8 1/2″.  Score at 3 1/2″ on the long side.
• Line the panels with designer paper.
• Slide the longer side of the insert behind the page.
• Decorate!

Pocket Pages are part of the album page unit.  Simply line the top and bottom with papers that play well together.  All set!

Sophie and I will show you how to make these cute little bookmarks in the video.

Laserowe Love Watermelon Friends Mini Album: The Video

If you’re ready to get your craft on, you can watch Sophie and I make the album together in this video.

This was such a fun way to spend my birthday!  And I think Sophie enjoyed it, too.

I hope Sophie and I shared some tips, tricks and techniques that you can use in your own crafty adventures.  If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cheerio,

kathy (and Sophie!)

SUPPLY LIST

• Graphic 45
  • Tag and Pocket Album, Kraft
  • A few sheets from Bohemian Bazaar
  • One sheet from Flutter
• Laserowe Love
  • Watermelon Summer
  • Watermelon Friends
• Ribbon
  • Summer Rose and Dusty Olive Seam Binding
  • Gold Metallic String
• Embellishments
  • Flip Flop Charm
  • Mini Butterfly from my stash
  • Ice Cream Button
  • Pink and Green Buttons from my stash
  • Retired Petaloo Flowers from my Stash