December 9, 2010

Christmas Mini Album

Hi! This is Barb and I am back to share another project with you! With the holidays fast approaching, I wanted to make a quick yet meaningful gift to give my parents when I head home for the holidays. Here is what I came up with.....
I decided to make a mini out of tags! I am going to fill this book with pictures of my parents with all the grandkids during Chrismas the past few years. I know my parents will love it and so will the grandkids... a  gift that will give for years to come!

Now for the details... I started with an empty cereal box.

 I used my Gypsy to design the tags I was going to use. There are many choices out there but I used the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge and made all the tags 4 in. x 7.5 in. I wanted to keep this as a mini but wanted it big enough to add photos to!

I cut the tags with my deep cut blade set at 6 on max. pressure. I cut them 2 times and they cut perfectly....

After the tags were cut, I changed my blade on my Cricut back to the regular blade and cut out several coordinating papers. I used DCWV Tis the Season stack. I liked that they had fun, non-traditional colors and the papers are thick. 

Once the papers were cut, I brushed some glue onto the tags I had cut and lined up the patterned paper and pressed down. I was careful not to let it wrinkle or get air bubbles... which is pretty easy to do with these thicker papers!

Here is a tag that has been glued together. I covered both sides of the tag. By the time you get both papers glued on, the cardboard becomes pretty sturdy.

I decided the order I wanted the tags to be in...and then I started to decorate! That's always the fun part!

Here is my cover! I used some Martha Stewart border punches on the white background paper that I sprayed with Perfect Pearls (along with the white Prima flowers!) The Merry Christmas title is from Celebrate with Flourish cartridge. I used various ribbons to hold the book together and added a charm just for fun!

Here are a few of the pages... all ready for the photos to be added!

I have kept the inside of the book pretty simple because I want to be able to add the photos and still have some room to journal. My parents have 10 grandkids and I need to have room to add pictures of all of them! I also want to include some of our family traditions!

Sheila... thank you for letting me share my mini on your blog with all your readers! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and I will be back in January with a new project! God Bless!

11 comments:

Celeste B. said...

Beautiful job!!! I love them!! Thanks for the ideas! :)

GabyCreates.com said...

Oh thanks for the tutorial, this is much much easier than covering chipboard and having to trace it, sand it....
Easy tutorial to follow thanks to your instructions!!
Gaby

Java Jen's Creations said...

I love mini books and this is a gorgeous one!!! What a wonderful tutorial!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

papillon digital design said...

Very beautiful! Mini albums come handy during the holidays

mfc.melissamade2 said...

Barb - I love this album!!! I save all my cereal boxes too and use them for things!! This is really beautiful though - I love the papers you chose and how perfect for a Christmas mini!!!
hugs
M

Sheila aka SassyLady said...

Barb, this is a WONDERFUL mini album!!! Love all the yummy papers you used and what a great tutorial to help us do one on our own! GORGEOUS! Thanks for sharing with us today.

Sentimental Scrapper said...

WOW! I LOVE your mini album Barb!!!!! This is gorgeous!!!!!

Cheryl Boglioli said...

Love your color combos. Your parents will cherish this mini album. :-)

Lisa said...

WOW what a Cute album. I love the patterned papers. Thanks for giving me another idea, that would make a cute birthday album too or any holiday. That is such a beautiful keepsake.

flowerdisco said...

the mini is adorable.

I have yet to try the cereal boxes. Great idea!

Did you used Modge Podge?

Maria said...

Gorgeous mini album! Thanks for the tutorial.