Accomplished Graduation Mini Album Tutorial for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hello, Friends!  I’m honored to be guest designing at Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts!  I love to work with these gorgeous chippies, and I’ll be featured on the GSL Blog each Wednesday this month.  It’s graduation time once again, so I thought I’d kick things off with a little Graduation Mini Album Tutorial that I made with Authentique’s Accomplished collection and some wonderful chipboard accents from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.

Supply List for 6″ x 6″ Graduation Mini Album Tutorial

• Graduation Shape Set
• 10 Words Set
• Steampunk Lightbulb Set
• Authentique 6″ x 6″ Accomplished pad and chipboard elements
• Black Chalkboard Paint
• Picket Fence Distress Paint
• Marcasite Embossing Enamel
• Sanding tool
• 3 sheets of 12×12 kraft cardstock
• circle punch (3/8″)
• Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• Corner Shaping Tool (I used Crop-a-Dile corner rounder and Deco)
• Tammy Tutterow Waterfall 2 die
• Prima Tassels
• White Delicate Stitched Satin Ribbon
• Ivory Burlap String
• Black Argyle Print Grosgrain Ribbon
• Button from your stash
• Scoring tool, glue, Scor-Tape or adhesive of your choice.

Accomplished  Graduation Mini Album Tutorial

This tutorial will focus on the construction of the mini album base and on the treatment of the chipboard.  You can build this base for any occasion or theme.  You can use these photos as guides to help you decorate your mini.

Begin by cutting  2 strips of kraft cardstock to measure 6″ tall x 12″ long.  You will need 3 of these strips.  Lay the long strips side by side, overlapping on the 6″ side and glue or tape them together by overlapping the edges 1/4.  Keep the edges straight .

Once the glue has dried, score at 6.  Fold and crease.  Score again 5.75″ from the first score line.  Score and crease.  Score again 5.75″ from that crease. Score one final time 6″ from that crease.  Trim  the excess and set aside to use inside the album.

Accordion fold, and then glue the 2 5.75″ sections together along the sides and bottom to form a pocket.  Now you will have a mini album with 3 pages and one large pocket in the center.

Paint all the chipboard black.  While the silhouette of the graduate and the Hats Off sentiment are still wet, sprinkle with Marcasite Embossing Enamel and heat emboss.  Tap the edges with Picket Fence Distress Ink.

If you plan to add a ribbon closure to your mini album, do so before you decorate the cover.  Just run a strip of Scor-tape around the center of the album from front to back.  Peel off the backing and add your ribbon, being sure to leave enough overhang to create a bow.

Accomplished Graduation Mini Album Tutorial: Creating the Inner pages

Create the pocket page this way:

• Line the album base with the paper of your choice.  Shape the corners with a Crop-a-Dile if desired.
• Cut a 3.5″ tall x 5″ wide piece of designer paper.  Score 1/2″ in on sides and bottom.  Bevel the edges.  Fold in.  Use a circle punch to cut a thumbhole.  Glue the flaps onto the mini album base.
• Cut three 4″ wide x 4.5″ tall rectangles from kraft cardstock.  Shape the edges with a Crop-a-dile.  Punch a hole in the top.  Add a small O ring, ribbon and tassel to create a tag mini in the pocket.
• Top this page with the key that you’ve painted black.  Lightly sand the edges to add a little distressing.

• Use the Tammy Tutterow Waterfall 2 die to create a 3 page waterfall feature on the right hand page.  Top the cover with the painted silhouette of the girl graduate.  Sand lightly to distress.  Add sentiment stickers
• Cut photo mounts to fit inside the center pocket. Clip together with a gold binder clip.  Add ribbon and burlap string.  Tuck into pocket.

I cut little banner flags from scraps and added them to the upper left hand corner.  Here’s a close up of the waterfall page.

Graduation Mini Album Tutorial: Flip Page Feature.

The next page contains a flip feature.  Think of it as being a waterfall page on its side.  Here’s how to proceed.

• Line the album base page with designer paper of your choice.
• Cut 2 rectangles of designer paper to measure 3.5″ wide x 5.5″ tall.  Score on the left hand side at 1/2″ to form the hinge for the waterfall.
• Cut 2 rectangles of kraft paper to measure 3.5″ x 5.5″.  Score at 1/2″.
• Alternate designer papers with kraft papers to form the flip feature.
• Add painted graduation cap to the front page.  (I distressed lightly with sand paper.)
• Add circle punch outs to form tabs on the flip pages, as seen in the photos.

Turn the page, and add the painted/distressed key on the left.  Add one of the circle punch outs to the right hand page to form a tab.

I used the lightbulb from the Steampunk Lightbulb kit because it complemented the lightbulb paper and sentiments in the Accomplished papers so very well.  I love the texture the distressing adds to the chipboard.

I used a white Sharpie Painty pen to add the writing to the chipboard diploma, then tied with a ribbon.

Here’s a good look at the final flip page combined with the back inside cover.  I used the word “Dream” from the 10 Words Chipboard set.  The female grad silhouette was painted, distressed and added to the far edge of the final page.

As you can see, this is not a complicated construction, but it has lots of room for journaling, photos, mementoes and more.  It’s a great place to capture your graduation party memories, and it would be fun to have guests write words of congratulations on the blank kraft pages.

There’s even room for journaling or a large photo on the back cover.

I hope I’ve shared some fun ideas with you in this graduation mini album tutorial.  The chipboard elements really brought this album to life, and they were so easy to prepare.  I’d love to hear from you if you decide to make one of these albums yourself!

Thanks to Gina at Gypsy Soul for inviting me to play with her pretty chippies today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy