Tag Archives: Min Albums

Victorian Christmas Envelope Album Tutorial

Prima Victorian Christmas Envelope Mini Album Tutorial for Throwback Thursday by Kathy Clement Kathy by Design Photo 01

Prima Victorian Christmas Envelope Album Tutorial for Throwback Thursday

Hello, Friends!  If you are a fan of all things Victorian, then you are going to love this Christmas Envelope Album Tutorial.  Welcome to Throwback Thursday!  Normally I would tell you to grab a cuppa and a snack while we talk all things papercrafting.  But this Victorian Christmas Album seems to call for china cups, linen napkins, silver spoon and crumpets.

As many of you know, I have been in the process of re-organizing and purging my tiny studio.  As is always the case, I found some forgotten goodies that inspired this Throwback Thursday.  Prima’s Victorian Christmas Collection was released in 2015.  I fell in love with it immediately.  All those jolly Victorian Santa Claus images,  sweet birds and vintage toys captured my imagination.   When i also found a forgotten stash of 5″ x 7″ burgundy envelopes, the concept for this envelope album was born.

Now,  I did not invent the idea of using envelopes to make a mini album.  It’s been around forever.  But I did make a few innovations to make the concept my own.  I’ve created a little video tutorial to guide you through the steps of making the album base with something wonderful from your crafty stash.

Some Helpful Tips and Tricks

This album measures about 5 3/4″ x 7 1/2″.  That’s because I used envelopes for 5″ x 7″ cards.  But you can use whatever size envelopes you have in your stash as long as they are all the same width and height as one another.

Adding canvas and fabric to the cover design really strengthens and reinforces the album spine.  Ranger Industries makes a Sticky Back Canvas that is really easy to work with.   I highly recommend it.  Just measure it to size, peel off the backing and press it in place.  Easy peasy!

If you choose to use a fabric spine as I did for this album, there are a couple of things to bear in mind.

  • First, don’t use fabric that is too thick or stiff.  It will make it hard to open the cover.
  • Next, stitching around the edges will keep the fabric from fraying.  If you don’t sew, you can use a product called Fray Stop for this purpose.
  • Stitch your buttons in place before you adhere the fabric spine to the base.
  • Adhere your fabric spine with a strong adhesive like Red Line Tape or Scor-Tape.
The Picture Show

This little gold letter box is a charm that came as an add on to the collection.  Fill it with festive greenery for a fun detail.

Use foam dimensionals or waste chipboard to build up lots and lots of layers.  Look for Christmas greenery in the floral department of your craft store.  The Christmas pick this greenery came from was on clearance.  I love a good deal!

A Peek Inside

Because Victorian Christmas had a countdown cut apart page, I decided to turn my album into a December Daily.  You’ll see all the details in the video tutorial and tour below, but I thought you might like to see a few detail shots here as well.

Double waterfalls with magnetic closures offer a great way to use up scraps.

Use a circle die to create an interesting edge on your envelope pocket pages.  These also make it easier get photos and recipes in and out of the pockets.

There are so many wonderful Victorian Santa Claus images in this collection.  It just makes a fun lap book, even without photos or journaling.  But I included lots of room for both.

TIP:  Add even more of a Victorian Vibe to your envelopes by brushing the edges with gold paint.  I did not have any gold paint in the studio.  So I brushed the edges with Prima Gold Crackle paste.  It worked beautifully.

Envelope Album Tutorial

If you’d like to see how to create the envelope album base, please enjoy this tutorial and video tour with tips and tricks.

 

Do you have this collection in your stash?  Or have you ever made an envelope album?  I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Please note:  Throwback Thursday projects are designed to inspire you to get into your stash and make something new from something old.  Because many of the products I use for Throwback Thursday are older or retired, I may not be able to link to them.  But I bet you have a suitable substitute in your crafty stash!  

 

 

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace May 2020 Club Kit

Simple Stories Simple Vintage Garden District Mini Album with Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace DOM May 2020 by Kathy Clement Kathy by Design Photo 01
Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace May 2020 Club Kit
Simple Stories Simple Vintage Garden District Mini Album

Hello, Friends!   I’m here to share the Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace May 2020 Club Kit for National Scrapbooking Day! I’m totally smitten with this month’s club kit because it is gorgeous, versatile and so easy to use.  This die affords almost limitless possibilities!  I envisioned a shaker top mini album the minute I opened it up.  So I pulled out my Simple Stories Simple Vintage Garden District collection to make this flirty, springtime mini album.

This sweet little album measures 6″ x 6″ with a 1 1/2″ spine and a shaker frame made from the Fleur de Lis Grandeur Fold Over Die from the APG DOM Kit.  The intricate swirls and layers are just dreamy!

TIP: Mat the shaker frame on a square panel that has been die cut from the paper collection, matted on plain cardstock and backed with foam dimensionals.

TIP: Die cut flowers from the paper collection using the petal die that comes with the DOM Kit.  Mix these with packaged flowers to create a lush garden on the cover of your album.

TIP: Wrap the album cover with a ribbon closure.  Then add some dangle charms to the spine.

A Peek Inside

Create a simple stacked binding for your album by following these steps:

  • Cut (2) 18″ x 6″ panels of cream cardstock.
  • Score one panel at 6″ and 7 1/2″.  Fold.  Tuck the fold into the corner of your scoring tool and score again at 7″.  Trim off the extra panel.
  • Score the 2nd panel at 6″ and 7″, and 11 3/4″.  This will form the center pages and a flip page.
  • Now center the 1″ spine over the 1 1/2″ spine and adhere to make the album pages.
  • Have fun and decorate the pages.

The first page set features a little magnetic flap pocket and a flip page.

TIP:  Die cut 2 of the corner pieces.  Adhere together between layers of designer paper to form a decorative pull tab.

TIP: Cut (2) 5 1/2″ x 12″ panels of designer paper.  Join together with Scor-Tape.  Score this long panel every 4 1/2″ to form an accordion pull out mechanism. Attach the flap of this mechanism to a to the flap of an 8″ x 6″ panel of designer paper that has been scored at 6″.

Tea Party in a Box

Because you have a 1″ spine in the middle of the album, you can add a 3/4″ deep box pocket on the left hand page.  Fill it with what I call a tea party in a box.  “Gift wrap” a tea bag, chocolate, and cookies.  Then tuck in the box with a vintage silver spoon and a honey stick.  Once the treats are consumed, photos can be stored in the box pocket.

 

Cut paper panels wider than the album base, then score to make flip pages. Add a waterfall feature and decorate with a die cut panel. The waterfall is built on the front side of a tip in page on the left.

Create a little tag pocket and pull out page on the front side of the flap.  Interactive elements add so much to an album like this.

Here’s a peek behind the tip in page on the left.  Create a little string tie envelope to store photos or small mementos. There’s room for a nice sized photo on the 5 1/2″ x 6″ flap.

Video Project Share

This short video tour will let you see how all the project pages and mechanisms work together.  I hope you enjoy!

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace May 2020 Club Kit

You can find more ideas for using this month’s Club Kit HERE.  If you’re not a member of of the Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace Club, you can subscribe HERE.  To purchase past Club Kits, click HERE.

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and ideas for using this month’s Amazing Paper Grace Club Kit.  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below. You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Cheerio,

kathy

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