Saturday, August 15, 2015

Tag and Pocket Mini Album


Hello! It's Nancy here, and I'm thrilled to be presenting the Saturday Step by Step. You're probably thinking, "Oh no, another flower tutorial"- lol! I do love making flowers, and I did think about it. In the end I decided to change things up a bit with this Tag and Pocket Mini Album.


I was playing with my Alterations Tag and Bookplates die, planning a tag mini album for a friend. I wanted a different look than my usual tag mini's, so I created my own pockets to perfectly fit each Alterations tag. The pocket doubles the space for photos, journaling and embellishments, and they are amazingly simple to create.    


1. Cut a piece of cardstock to 7 1/2 inches wide by 7 3/4 inches high. You can cut your pockets out of plain cardstock and cover them with design paper, or you can cut them from a sturdy weight design paper. I used Maja Design's Coffee in the Arbour for my album. 
     

2. Score the 7 3/4 inch side at 1/2 inch and again at 4 inches. 
3. Turn paper to 7 1/2 side and score bottom at 3/4 inches.
4. Fold along score lines.   


5. Cut away the two sections indicated on the diagram. 


6. Round the corners of the bottom fold. 


7, Using a 1 1/4 inch circle punch, punch a half circle in the center of the pocket, as indicated in the  diagram. You may punch the half circle on both sides if desired.         


8. Apply Wonder Tape to the inside of the 3/4 inch bottom fold and the outer edge of the 1/2 inch side fold. 


9. Carefully line up the 1/2 inch side fold to the the side of the pocket and adhere .
10. Carefully fold the 3/4 inch fold over the bottom of the pocket and adhere.  


11. Punch holes to bind your album. I used a Cinch, but you can use any type of hole punch or binding system you have. This simplest hole punch will work well. You may punch as few holes as you wish. The pocket album can easily be held together with one ring binder.   
           
     

12. Die cut desired number of tags for each pocket you create, using the Alterations Tag and Bookplates die.   
                    

Now for the fun part... embellishing!! I layered, distressed, and stitched the papers for my cover, popping everything up with Ranger foam tape.  


I added a vintage photo as a focal point, which I stitched to a frame of design paper. 


I stamped my sentiment in Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink. 


I colored white paper flowers using Tim Holtz Distress Markers. This is a great technique when you don't have time to make your own flowers from the paper collection. The variety of colors in the complete set allows you to match the shade of your flowers to whatever paper collection you're using. I dust my flowers with a bit of Gesso for a shabby look. 
    

I added a twine bow. I love the simplicity of twine bows. 


I added a twine bow to the top of each tag to act as a handle. 


The inside pages are embellished simply. I chose coordinating patterns from the paper collection. The first page is a 'faux envelope' I created with the Spellbinders Oval Floral die. The second page contains a sentiment and a punched 'faux pocket'. All of the tags are created with the Alterations Tag and Bookplates die in coordinating Maja Design paper.  


You may personalize your albums in any way you desire. You may make your embellishments as detailed as you wish. No two albums need ever be alike (unless you want them to)!   





It's an honor to be with you today. I hope this gets you in the mood to make minis! These are so fun and easy. You can create them in bulk for seasonal albums and holiday gifts. It's never too soon to start working on your Christmas list! Also, we have a new challenge underway at The Frilly and Funkie Blog. Don't forget to check it out and get in on the fun and prizes!       

Hugs,



30 comments:

  1. Nancy, this is superb!!! I'm always daunted by the length of time something like this would take to create but you've made it so easy to do. Thank you for sharing. Jenny x

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  2. Fabulous tag book, love your design and gorgeous flowers Nancy. Must have a go at making one of these. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
    Julie x

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  3. Gorgeous and love the step outs! I always have to have a few tries at making pockets and this is nice to have it spelled out!

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  4. Holy cow Nancy, this is beautiful and brilliant!! I will be bookmarking this one for future reference! Love the flowers and the stunning shabby style! Great tutorial. hugs :)

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  5. Thank you! I think I could even do this! Beautiful mini album and lovely flowers. Will bookmark this.

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  6. Thank you! I think I could even do this! Beautiful mini album and lovely flowers. Will bookmark this.

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  7. What an absolutely gorgeous idea Nancy! Your step by step instructions are fabulous and as usual your design and emblleishments are stunning ! Sue C x

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  8. What a shabbylicious creation, Nancy! I love the color palette and the whimsy of the photo on the front. The flowers are gorgeous...and you can share a flower making tutorial with me any day of the week!

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  9. This is classic Nancy pretty and shabby - love it. Your instructions for making the pockets is fabulous. I have been wanting a binding system for a while so I need to check the Cinch one out.
    Hugs!
    Cec

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    1. Thank you so much, Cec! The Cinch is my fave. They have two binding systems, one with round holes and one with square. I like them both, just depending on what I'm making.

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  10. Nancy, your little album looks gorgeous! I love the way you have decorated it, the binding looks so professional too. Thanks for the steps and measurements! Hugs, Anne xx

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  11. What a beautiful gift of a mini album you have made! I love the papers, the stitching and those mouth watering flowers! What a sweet idea, and so classically shabby!

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  12. That's a pretty petty tag book Nancy. So feminine and delicate. Loved the flowers and the use of twine bows as pull outs for the tags.

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  13. Nancy, what a lovely tag album and wonderful tutorial, thanks for sharing your techniques and expertise!

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  14. This is so unbelievably stunning! So beautiful and feminine, it just wants to be adored by so many!! Totally in love with this Nancy xx

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  15. Nancy, absolutely WONDERFUL project!!! Love this and will pin to remember! ;0

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