Hello CVS crafty friends! I was super excited when Joyful arrived at my door and I totally love it. I don’t know about you but by the time Christmas is over I am a little over it. Also my Christmas photos always seem to be taken in a rush and therefore are usually quite average and one’s I probably wouldn’t put on a layout.
So making a Christmas mini album in November makes sense, its already to go and it doesn’t matter if photos are not perfect!
I used a Christmas tree cut file from the Silhouette deign store. I cut extra pages in paper and vellum, all in all I can add about 12 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch photos.
I used a coloured O ring to secure my pages and added some die cut banners finished off with some machine stitching. The top part of the tree is too small for photos so I added a scalloped border, a vellum cut and fussy cut some flowers to create a feature.
Under the vellum I used a chipboard piece. You will see that I have added machine stitching to my borders to add texture. I have also used foam tape to add dimension. I like my albums to look a little chunky.
So I can add numerous photos I always create an accordion paper piece, which I use a bone scorer, here I scored at 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches. Here I added the chipboard bird with foam tape but in a way I can use it to also lift the accordion in and out.
I love to use vellum to soften and break up the pages. I added a border and attached with machine stitching, this not only looks pretty but will stop the vellum for curling up.
The embellishments of Joyful are beautiful and plentiful, chipboard, die cuts, puffy alphas, puffy stickers, glitter stars and wooden flairs. I have used all of them on my mini album!
The larger back two pages I cut from 12×12 papers but every other paper is from the 6×8 inch paper pad. I always purchase a 6×8 inch paper pad exclusively to create mini albums and cards, saving my 12×12 papers for layouts exclusively.
There are many Christmas mini album options and that can be put together quickly, especially when you have such fab embellishments like Joyful does. I can now tick this off my Christmas to do list!
Thank you for stopping by and if you have any questions on my mini just leave a comment.
Hi Cocoa Vanilla fans! Danni here with a little paperclip mini album using the 3×4 pocket cards from These Days collection. This was super easy to make and looks so cute! I have been struggling with documenting lockdown memories, so I decided to focus on all the positive moments from the first half of last year. The cozy, homey elements from These Days were absolutely perfect for this project.
I have had this large paperclip for quite some time, so I was pleased to find it was the perfect size for this album. I chose a handful of my favourite 3×4 pocket cards, then cut some long thin strips of patterned paper for the hinges. I made these into loops with glue and staples before threading them onto the paperclip. You can see the full process in video on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio YouTube channel.
I printed a handful of my favourite ‘staying home’ memories and printed them to 2×3 inches. This is the perfect size for a tiny 3×4 album. I decided to decorate the pages first and add them to the hinges at the end. This made the decorating process much easier.
I decorated the cover with a puffy heart and some fussy cut butterflies. On the inside of the cover I included a fold out with a timeline of events. I secured this with a paperclip and a soft pink velvet ribbon. I love tactile elements like this in mini albums!
The inside pages were decorated with all the tiny elements from These Days collection. I used a bunch of the tiny clear stickers and puffy stickers, especially the hearts. I also used several fussy cut butterflies throughout as well as a bunch of fussy cut florals from the A5 paper stack.
I left plenty of space for journaling to be added in later. Where I had more than one photo per page, I added a hinged paper flip. The fantastic thing about this album is the pocket cards are already so beautifully decorated, I only needed to add small details to enhance them.
I just love how this album turned out, and it was so simple and quick to make. I will definitely be making more of these in the future! You can see a flip through of the finished album and a tutorial of making the hinges in the video linked below. Happy scrapping!
Hello Hello! Its Michelle here with you today. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful festive season and are all rested and ready to see this crazy year off and start a fresh new one in the next couple of days. I have another instalment of Christmas Memory sharing for you all – the second half of the 2019 album I shared with you last month featuring loads of bits n bobs from the very cheerful Merry & Bright Collection. Like the first post, this one is also very photo heavy so lets jump straight into it..
… starting with the middle of December. There was lego building, tree building and secret letters from Twinkle our Elf. I’ll leave links for all the products I’ve used at the very bottom of this post
This time of year is also when Leila or one of us in this house tends to fall ill. In 2019 for Leila sadly it was a stomach bug that had her wiped out next to the undecorated Christmas Tree’s for an entire day
I created a flip/ shaker pocket to conceal the photo and journalling from that day using a label from the cut apart sheet Oh What Fun and ’14’ from the Countdown paper. There’s some glitter and a couple of ephemera hearts sprinkled into the front of the pocket on top of the pocket page card. To keep them all in place I sewed the flap directly onto the pocket page below.
Over the page I’ve kept things pretty simple using more numbers from the Countdown paper. I’ve repeated this step through the entire album to keep things cohesive.
In between the pocket pages I’ve added a giant paper tag insert using 2 pieces of pattern paper from the A5 paper stack – Joy to the World and the text side of Oh What Fun. I’ve created the round glitter shaker over the top of the floral pattern using the large circular wreath ephemera piece, some left over clear packaging, a tonne of sliver glitter and machine stitched around the wreath to keep out closed. I added flowers and banner from the ephemera pack, then stapled a piece of coordinating ribbon to the top.
I kept the text side of the tag blank as the album is already quite bulky, plus theres a lot going on in the photos to the right. The 18th of December last year was quite the busy day – we treated ourselves to a new car and Twinkle got up to mischief in my craft room creating signs for the Christmas Tree. It was a sad time for Leila saying goodbye to our first family car, but we were all very excited with our new wheels!
Top right of the pockets is another see through glitter pocket using the numbers from the Countdown paper, a single puffy gold star and machine stitched along the top edge to stop the glitter going everywhere.
As we start to creep towards the last third of the month it gets a little busier. The end of school, long days at work, House Elf getting up to mischief and HOT HOT HOT weather.
Another flip pocket using pocket page cards, ephemera and some off cut strips of Jingle all the Way (candy cane stripe) conceal more photos of Leila’s last day at school. One a photo of the crazy mask she made and the other a photo with one of her favourite teachers ( not shared for privacy reasons)
This kid is a hoot! An accessory sticker was perfect to embellish the photo I took of a well needed coffee at work. What a crazy time of year working in Pharmacy can be, and not because its Christmas!
We made it to see Santa to share with him all the things Leila was hoping to receive for Christmas. I had Leila write on the Dear Santa card herself which was the perfect touch to this spread. If you’d like to do the same with your children you can find this card on the Oh What Fun cut apart sheet.
We didn’t get the chance to ‘trim the tree’ until quite late in the month. The lead up to and start of December is always chaotic for us with work, school and Leila’s Birthday so the poor tree always gets neglected until the last minute. We make sure to enjoy it for a few weeks into January before packing it all away.
I used some of the wonderful woodgrain found on the Seasons Greetings paper or in the A5 paper stack as a base for this mini layout. I cut a frame out of the Candy Cane stripe Jingle all the Way to frame the photo then layered 2 trees from the ephemera pack and some stickers to finish it off. On the right hand side I used the darker green print of Oh Christmas Tree to cut a tree design cut file from CUT to YOU. I backed it with some clear velum and sprinkled glitter within each circle to create twinkling lights. I’ve machine stitched the tree onto the Oh What Fun paper to keep it in place.
On the back I created a simple sequin shaker pocket using another ephemera frame and adhered it to some Countdown paper with ephemera pieces and a strip of ‘Christmas rainbow’ diagonal stripe that can be found along the bottom of the Oh What Fun paper.
Over the page I kept the pockets simple using cards from the pocket page card pack. I also documented a photo I screen shot from facebook when our beloved country was on fire.
Were on the home stretch now, just a few more to go…
Another simple insert between pages of photos using vellum, ephemera pieces and a puffy gold star
with a very similar cluster created on the reverse to coincide with the photos of family from Christmas Eve.
Another photo heavy spread with pocket page cards as fillers with the addition of a couple accessory stickers and a cute ephemera house
All the fun of Christmas Day contained in 1 spread. This is literally all the photos I took on this day minus a few extra blurry ones. I chose to live the moments in person rather than a face behind a phone camera, but I’m happy I took just these few.
Lastly we round out the month with a few crazy faces from New Years Eve. Every year so far this crazy kid has been awake and ‘celebrated’ it well and truly into the new year with us. Last year it was on the couch watching fireworks from around the country on tv with her beloved stuffed animals.. and a few crazy selfies with me. You’re welcome lol
Well friends thats a wrap on my 2019 Christmas Memories album, and my creative shares here with you for 2020. Its been a crazy year for us all, and I cant wait to see what the next year brings.. Lets hope its a little less chaotic than 2020 but a heck of a lot more happy!
Thank you all for your love and support throughout the year.
Hi CVS friends, with Christmas almost upon us and recently receiving the new Merry & Bright collection I just had to make a mini album in preparation of those Christmas photos.
I only made a 6 pages in this album because to be honest most of my Christmas photos are usually less than average, but I can add the best or highlights!
I used a cut file from the Silhouette Design Store. To protect my album cover I cut one in acetate and used an embossing file (stars) to add texture. I added a pop-pom tassel for that little something extra. I love the coloured O rings you can now get, I chose some teal ones to blend in with the colour schemes of Merry & Bright.
I used the 6×8 inch paper pad for this album, another reason I love 6×8 inch paper pads, the smaller prints are perfect for mini albums and mini albums. I used Season Greetings paper wood grain side to create a thin border and Oh Christmas Tree paper over top. I embellished with florals from the die cut ephemera, a phrase sticker from the Accessory Stickers and finished off adding a flair and puffy gold star.
Here I created a pocket and made a tag. I have used Jingle All the Way paper for the tree page and tag. I added the Santa card from the Oh What Fun paper.
So I could add multiple 2×2 inch photos I added a accordion flap to the page adding another paper element from the Oh What Fun paper.
I added two die cut baubles, a puffy star and finished off with a sprinkle gold paint across the page. I used the Oh Christmas Tree Paper as my base paper.
For my last page which I used Star Bright paper, added a frame die cut and created an embellishment cluster. You will notice I added a machine stitched border around each tree page to add texture and definition.
You could obviously add lots more pages or create double sided pages depending on how many photos you want to add, the good thing about mini albums like this you can make them bulky and they still look great.
Hi CVS friends today I have a mini album to share which I created for my sons up and coming 18th birthday. This album is a tag flip album inside an album cover, inspired by Lorilei Murphy (@roseposey_studio). My album is created using the awesome new collection Legendary. I will add my photos later.
To make the album cover cut a 10×5 inch strip from BRAVE HEART paper. Cut another strip at 3×5 inches from the ALL STAR paper. Using a bone scorer, score the larger paper strip at 4.5 in from the edge and then do the same from the other side which leaves the centre fold at 1 inch. Score the smaller strip at 1 inch both sides. Before attaching binder strip I added machine stitching to the edges of both paper strips. I then embellished the cover keeping in mind the theme for my son.
I punched a whole in the centre of the back album cover and added an eyelet for strength. So I could add more photos and a letter for him I added a envelope to the inside using the ALL STAR Paper, adding a velcro dot so it would stay closed and finished off adding a die cut from the EPHEMERA pack and an ACCESSORY STICKER.
Now its time to create the tag flip. I first chose the papers I want to use and journal cards from the EPIC TALES paper (I used both sides for the album pages) and added machine stitching to all of them to add texture and visual interest. I created another cover so to speak, 18 Legendary (perfect!).
Some of the ephemera die cuts I used I added stitching to them, like this star, it really adds a wow factor. I hand cut some tags to vary the paper shape and sizes. I also used foam tape to create a 3D effect.
The largest paper strip for tag album is 3×4 inches so it fits perfectly inside the cover.
Not all pages have spaces for photos, they are inspirational quotes for my boy!
I used some of the paint brush strokes from the CLEAR STICKERS on some of the white background paper strips to add a little mixed media feel.
I cut 2×2 inch paper strips as frames for my photos when I add them. You can see I used the ACCESSORY sticker sheet to add word and phrase sentiments.
I added FLAIRS and ENAMEL dots from the collection for finishing touches.
The other papers I used for the tag pages were WILD ONE and TOTAL LEGEND.
I had such fun making this album and tag flip, LEGENDARY the perfect collection! Thank you for stopping by today and stay safe and well in these current times.
Hello my sweet friends. We continue to inspire you with projects made with brand new “Legendary” collection. I made travel themed layout with this line already and this time I decided to make a mini album. I am a mom of two girls and very lovely beagle dog Pirat. It was a great opportunity to change pink and glitter into some other color palette :) After all, he also deserves his own pages, right?
I decided to use circles as a base of my album. I picked some solid patterns from the papers included into “Legendary” collection: All star, Offbeat, Wild one, Total legend, Explorer, One way, Outdoor type and Brave heart. They are very colorful and perfect for any type of project, not only masculine ones.
I used every single item from “Legendary” in this album. Various products add various textures and this is something I am always aiming for. This line can be easily mixed with some older boyish collections from CVS – “Boys rule” and “You rock“. I used some bits and pieces from them to add some decorative hanging element on the album ring.
Each page holds one or two pictures taken during different occasions. My boy is fancy, lazy, sporty, elegant and crazy. “Legendary” line is filled with pretty starts so you can find this motif on almost every page. I mixed them with tabs and words from sticker sheet and ephemera pack. I also added few flair buttons and titles from Titles pack. I finished my project adding enamel dots. here are all the pages included into this mini book:
That is all for today. Do you like my album? Isn’t Pirat the cutest dog ever? It was so fun to scrapbook so many pictures of him at once. He is already a senior dog with 13 years behind him so I cherish every single photo I have. Despite his age he is still full of live and loves to play.
Thank you for stopping by and see you in two weeks <3
Hi everyone! Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing a baby girl mini album I created using the super pretty ‘Midnight’ collection. (You may recall that I made one of these a few months ago for one of my sons using the ‘Boys Rule’ collection – you can see that post HERE) As it usually goes when you have more than one child, you can’t do something for one without doing it for another, hence I am back today with this album created for my daughter.
I began this mini album with an unbranded 6 ring pink planner I purchased from eBay. This planner came completely empty, and unlike the last planner I used (which was from Kmart), this one features a magnetic clasp to close it, rather than the elastic band. I also used an adjustable 6 hole punch (also purchased from eBay) that I set up to fit the rings in the planner.
I used pieces from most of the patterned papers from the collection, cutting a variety of sizes and shapes to use for the pages. I then punched each one with the hole punch, ensuring they were not all aligned the same so that they would sit at varying heights within the album. I also added some additional decorative detail to some of the pages using an assortment of border punches.
I created “tip-ins” for some of the pages using patterned paper adhered with washi tape. This allows you to extend on the amount of space you have on a page to add extra photos or journalling, or even hide journalling underneath, just like I did with my daughter’s birth story above.
Remember you don’t always need a photo on each page – it adds extra interest to an album to intersperse purely decorative pages, or pages that simply feature a sentiment throughout, such as the page featuring fussy cut flowers from the Bloom & Grow paper and a Die Cut Title word above.
Another way to help anchor photos into an album and ensure they appear as a cohesive part of the page design, rather than just stuck over the top, is to add embellishments that overlap part of the photos. Alternatively, don’t be afraid to use an entire photo as a page in itself and punch directly through the photo. (Matte photos tend to work better for this, rather than glossy.)
To continue to provide variety throughout the album, try turning some of the elements vertically on the page; or have a horizontal page opposite a vertical one. (It also adds an extra level of interactivity to have people rotate the album to look at them.)
A great way to include a series of photos is to print them as a photo strip and fold them accordion style with a tab sticker to pull it out with…
The photos fold out and then fold neatly back into the album, only taking up the same amount of space as one photo.
Create small pockets from scrap pieces of paper to hold journal tags. For a final interactive element, I uploaded a video taken during the drive home from the hospital with my daughter to my YouTube channel (set as private) and then created a QR code for it. This allows it to be scanned by a QR code reader on a phone that links to the video and plays it. (My children LOVE these!)
There is much more to this album than I could show here. If you would like a look at the entire album, I have a flip through below:
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Until next time, happy scrapping!
Hi everyone! It’s hard to believe we are mere days away from Christmas isn’t it? I hope your preparations are going well and that you don’t have too much left to do.
Today is my turn to share some of my favourite projects that I created during 2019. I am starting off with a layout that features the stunning ‘Happiness’ collection that was released earlier this year. I adore this range, with all its bright colours and beautiful florals. This page also features a photo of myself and a few of my crafty peeps that was taken at a retreat, bringing back some fun memories too.
This layout was actually inspired by a page from my fellow team member Gwen, as part of a “scraplift” theme that we did earlier in the year, and I love how it turned out! I even got my scissors out for some fussy cutting for this page, because those flowers were just begging to be cut out! One of my other favourite things from this collection is definitely the Clear Stickers – especially all the “painty” style ones!
You probably already know that as a mum of twin boys that I am partial to a good boy page; so for my next favourite, I couldn’t go past this mixed media layout of my dynamic duo using an old favourite – the ‘Totally Rad’ collection from 2016. I actually created this one whilst I was at the Cocoa Vanilla retreat, and besides the end result, I think I also love it because I created it whilst I was so relaxed and in such good company. (Seriously, if you have never been to a retreat before, make sure you put it on your bucket list!)
Despite the fact that this collection is no longer available, there is good news for fans of this range that may have missed getting their hands on it. This collection was recently released as a digital range, which you can purchase to print and cut at home! It includes all the papers (which are easy to print A4 size on a normal home printer); all the cool elements, and Zoe has even included three A4 sized ready to print PDFs, so you just have to print them off and cut them out. You can find the bundle in store HERE
My final favourite layout from this year also featured one of our older collections – ‘Life is Beautiful’ and a photo of my daughter and one of her best friends. This range was released waaay back in 2015, and to date it still remains a firm favourite of mine. The colour palette is just SO fresh and pretty, with the navy, aqua and apricot colour combination.
This layout is also a favourite of mine because it features butterflies. (And anyone who has seen my tattoo will already know how much I love butterflies.) I created these large layered butterflies using cut files from Cut to You, which I coloured with Distress Oxides, backed with some of my precious patterned paper scraps, then topped with butterfly stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. Combined with fussy cut florals and just enough ink splatters, it makes my creative heart happy. (This range is also now available as a digital collection and you can find it HERE)
Finally, I have to give a mention my other favourite project from this year that wasn’t a layout at all. It was the mini album that I created recently using the ‘Boys Rule’ collection for one of my sons to document the time following his premature birth. This one invoked all kinds of memories as I put it together (both good and bad) and truly was a labour of love.
You find my post with all the details of the album HERE or watch my flip through of the album below.
That’s all from me today, wishing you & your families a very merry Christmas! I hope you get a chance to spend quality time with the people you love most, and make plenty of happy memories to document later. XX
Hi everyone! It’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you and it’s one that is pretty special to me.
Today is World Prematurity Day – a globally recognised day that is aimed at increasing awareness of preterm births, as well as highlighting some of the challenges that are often faced by these babies and their families. Each year approximately 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely, including all three of my children. My post today is for all those babies born too soon.
For my project I decided to create the first in a series of mini albums for my children to document the time following their births. (It has taken me over 7 years to get around to tackling the photos of my boys and all the memories that come with them, so please bear with me for the long post today.)
I began my mini album with the fabulous ‘Boys Rule’ collection and a small 6 ring planner that I purchased from Kmart. (These make perfect mini album covers once everything is removed from the inside.) After choosing the patterned papers I was going to work with, I cut them into a variety of sizes to form the pages of my album.
I used an adjustable 6 hole punch (purchased via eBay) to punch holes on each of the pages, and then used white hole reinforcement stickers (from my local newsagency) to help protect the holes from becoming damaged through handling.
On some of the pages I added extra interest by using border punches to create decorative edges. This, combined with the variety of different page sizes, placements and patterns throughout, is what gives the album so much character.
If you are planning on giving something like this a go, be sure to mix things up as much as you can! Don’t feel like all your pages have to run vertically – a horizontal page thrown in here and there not only adds extra interest but makes the album more interactive as it is turned to be read.
Depending on the theme of your album, you will find that some pages require no more than a photo and some simple embellishments; whilst others may have lots of journaling and very little room for embellishments.
For the sake of continuity across my album, I printed most of my photos in black and white with a few colour feature shots added in. I printed them in a variety of sizes and orientations as well.
Don’t be afraid to add embellishments such as stickers or journaling directly over part of your photos, or to include pages that have no photo at all and are simply decorative. You can even punch directly through photos and use them as a page in your album.
One of the other benefits of making your pages different sizes is being able to get a “sneak peek” at what is coming on the next page. This adds to to the anticipation as you leaf through the album.
To further enhance the cohesion across the album, I typed all my journaling on my computer. When putting each page together I began with photo/s and journaling placement first before deciding on embellishments.
For an extra bit of fun, add some interactive elements such as tip-ins, pockets, or pull out tags. You can see how I used one of the small cards from the Die Cut Ephemera pack with a couple of pieces of washi tape to form a tip-in (fold out flap) to include my journaling underneath.
One of my tips for putting together each page in an album is that whilst I approach each page individually, I am also mindful of what is on the facing page. You can see how I carried across the same colours in the spread below. (Working with the same collection throughout the album helps enormously.)
The only other embellishment I included in my album were a few stickers from the ‘Love Always’ Accessory Sticker sheet, as it had a few more love-filled and generic phrases that suited some of my photos.
Another way to mix things up with your photos is to create a collage or include a series of shots taken close together. (And let’s face it, who doesn’t take 20 shots when you are trying to get the perfect one?!)
I know I have included a LOT of photos in this post, but sometimes the best way to explain things is to show them, right?
My final tip if you are going to create something similar in a planner cover or album, is to not forget about the extra pockets that are built into the cover. I made some small tags to tuck into the front of my album and added some extra photos, and in the larger pocket I included a letter to my son with some of the details about his birth story.
If you are interested in seeing a few more details of my album I have filmed a flip through of the entire thing so you can see how it all looks together:
Thanks so much for sticking with me through my long post today. I do hope I have inspired you to try creating something like this yourself. It could make an ideal Christmas gift for a loved one, or just something for yourself to treasure.
Hi everyone! Paige Evans here and I am so excited to show you this new mini album created with the beautiful Unforgettable collection!
I have been super inspired by Amber’s handmade mini albums lately so I created the first part of the cover based on her tutorial and then made hinges for the pages and photos to stick to. On the cover I decorated it with a “family” foam sticker, “snapshots” sticker, butterfly button, a few enamel dots, and half of a round floral sticker.
One of the patterned papers in the Unforgettable collection has blocks of 3×4″ cards so I trimmed those out and turned them into page pockets. First I placed the cards back-to-back and then made a notch with a circle punch at the top. Then I used a sewing machine to machine stitch around the left, bottom, and right sides to complete the pockets.
Another patterned paper in the Unforgettable collection is filled with blocks of different patterns so I turned those into tags to tuck into each pocket and machine stitched around the tag edges to create texture.
I snapped a loose leaf binder ring through an eyelet that I attached through the album edge and then looped on four paper tassels from the collection for a charm.
The design is basic: one pocket page followed by a photo page, repeat six times for 12 pages. I adhered two 3×4″ photos back-to-back for every other page. I used photos from our annual family photoshoot taken by the talented Jennifer Simmons of Everleigh Portraits. We had them taken in downtown Denver in front of some super colorful buildings which just so happen to match this collection to a “T”! It was meant to be.
Here is the opening page with a few die cuts, button, and enamel dots.
And here are all the inside pages which I decorated with supplies from Unforgettable.
I added a sticker or die cut to the tags that pull out of each pocket, but they could also be used to add additional photos and journaling! I may go back and do just that. I have lots more photos from our session that I want to highlight.
Here are a couple more photos of the finished book:
I hope you are inspired to pick up the Unforgettable collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio and create layouts, cards, and other projects with it! It’s a beautiful line!
SUPPLIES:Patterned paper, stickers, die cuts, enamel dots, tassels, buttons: Unforgettable collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio
I only made a 6 pages in this album because to be honest most of my Christmas photos are usually less than average, but I can add the best or highlights!
I used a cut file from the Silhouette Design Store. To protect my album cover I cut one in acetate and used an embossing file (stars) to add texture. I added a pop-pom tassel for that little something extra. I love the coloured O rings you can now get, I chose some teal ones to blend in with the colour schemes of Merry & Bright.
