Yesterday I posted the mini album I received in a swap.  Today I want to share the mini album I made for my swap partner.  I took a ton of pictures — I think because after spending so much time making the album, it was hard for me to part with it.  I felt like it was part of the family 🙂

I made several wonderful discoveries along the way while making the album.  First and foremost, I discovered some wonderful mini album tutorials on Etsy.  You can find them in Cathy’s shop, which is called SoMuchScrap.

I have been researching minis on the internet for a long time and knew I wanted to make something with interactive pages.  After finding Cathy’s tutorials, I knew this was the way to go for me.    I purchased her binding tutorial and her Je’ T’ Adore tutorial for a 6″ x 6″ mini.  All I did was change the papers to a fall theme.  The tutorials are excellently written and have step-by-step instructions as well as pictures to guide you through each page.  Another plus about purchasing from Cathy is that she readily answers any questions you might have.  So, with big thanks to Cathy, here is my mini.

I used paper from BoBunny’s Forever Fall collection.  The solid cardstock is all from papertemptress.com.  The brown trim and ribbon are from Joann’s.  Another discovery I made was book cloth — I used imitation suede book cloth to cover the spine of the album and a glue specifically designed for bookbinding.  I was amazed at how easy it was to apply the cloth.  I picked up these supplies at Hollander’s.

The title is from two Spellbinders dies, Labels 4 and Grommet Tags.  I embossed the bottom layer with the Distressed Striped Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I added highlights with a copper ink pad and sponge.  The “Autumn Splendor” is from a Close to My Heart stamp set with the same name, heat embossed with Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s embossing powder.

That is another of my discoveries — Lindy’s Stamp Gang‘s products.  I bought their Autumn Leaves Mega Set and I can’t say enough good things about it.  I love their sprays and embossing powders — they are gorgeous.  Look at the heat embossing close up — their powder not only embosses but also adds a shimmer, which you will see in the second picture.

The dragonfly is from a Martha Stewart punch and I sprayed him with Lindy’s Starburst Spray and dried him with a heat gun.  I added a chocolate pearl to each side of the tag.

The rhinestone embellishment is from Michaels, from their Recollections brand.  I made the three flowers on the front, using Spellbinders Jewel Flowers and Flourishes for the sunflower.  The two smaller flowers are cut with my Cricut using the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  I added Stickles to the centers of the small flowers and Flower Soft to the center of the sunflower.

On the spine I hung a charm on a Tim Holtz ring fastener that I made with supplies I picked up at Joann’s. This was my first time making a charm — and I love the way it turned out.

The pendant is glass and it reminded me of a leaf shape — so I figured it would go well with the album.

OK, let’s look inside the album.  Here are pages 1 and 2.

The first page has a pocket and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on it.   There is also ribbon running under the sentiment.

The sentiment is a graphic I got from the Internet and cut out with a EK Success punch.  I made the leaves using a Cuttlebug die.  I found this video on making leaves and they were really easy to do.  She uses the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die for her leaves, but I found them to be too large for what I wanted.  The Cuttlebug die leaves were just the right size.  The leaf on the right has Crackle Accents on top of it and the leaf on the left has matte medium coating it.

I made two tags to sit inside the pocket, using Distress Ink, stamping, heat embossing , and seam binding ribbon to create them.  The ribbon is colored with Lindy’s sprays.  

The pumpkin is from a Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss die, the sentiment is computer generated,  and there is another dragonfly from the Martha Stewart punch.  I kept the backs simple.

Page 2 is an interactive page, folding up and closing with a small magnet.  I used Basic Grey magnetic snaps throughout the mini.   The Scrabble letters are from a Whimsy stamp (Spell It Out), heat embossed with Lindy’s embossing powder.  The sunflower is from a Heartfelt Creations stamp, colored with Copics and cut out.

This is page 2, partially open, revealing a tag inside.  The flowers are Recollection from Michaels, sprayed with Lindy’s Starburst Spray and topped with Stickles in the centers.  The pocket that holds the tag is a label shape from Spellbinders, cut in half.  The rectangle on the mat at the right is attached only at the bottom and right hand side to create a pocket to slip a photo in.

I learned so much making this mini — like how to make tabs for tags using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  I watched this video.

I made the backs of all the tags the same — I created a little spot for journaling.  I used the Cricut cartridge Simply Charmed for the notebook paper, using colored pencils and a ruler to go over the score lines.

This is page 2, fully opened.  I created corners by cutting a square in half and embossing them with Darice’s Fall Leaf folder. The stamps I used throughout the album are either Close To My Heart, Inkadinkado, or from Michaels $1 bin.

Next up are pages 3 and 4.

The leaf is from a Spellbinders die and the sentiment is heat embossed.  The square the leaf is on is only glued at the bottom and left hand edge to the page — to create another pocket.  There is a mat that pulls out with a ribbon tab.

The mat is good sized.  This is the back, which I stamped with a Close To My Heart Stamp.  I used Memento Rich Cocoa Ink for the stamps that aren’t heat embossed.

Page 4 is another interactive page.   The title is from the Simply Scarecrows Cricut cartridge and sprayed with Lindy’s Starburst sprays.  The small leaves are from a Martha Stewart punch.  The ribbon opener features a brad from the BoBunny Forever Fall collection and closes with a magnet.

And here’s what it looks like open.

Now were moving on to pages 5 and 6.

Page 5 has a mat that pulls out of a pocket and folds over, forming the front.  It is held in place with a magnet.  I kept the front simple, adding a couple of leaves and another dragonfly.

This is page 5 open.  There is a tag inside.  The pumpkin on the mat is from the same Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss die that is on the tag in the pocket on page 1, with the leaf cut off.  It is attached only at the bottom and left side, so a photo can slip inside.

Two pictures of the mat, front and back.

Page 6 has a waterfall feature.   The BoBunny charm sits on two Spellbinders ovals.  The brad is also from the Forever Fall collection, using dyed seam binding to wrap around it as a closure.

Each layer of the waterfall has an embossed trim strip at the bottom and a pocket with a tag at the top.  This is the uppermost layer.

Here is the tag, partially pulled out.

The second layer of the waterfall.

This is a close-up of the brad.  I again used the Martha Stewart border punch for the leaf border.

This shows how the waterfall closes.  You will also notice two brads in the spine of my album.  Cathy’s binding tutorial shows how to add strength to your binding system by not only taping it to your spine, but by adding brads.

We’re getting near the end.  Here are pages 7 and 8.

Page 7 has a pocket at the bottom.  The label is a Spellbinders die and the sentiment is heat embossed.  There is another pull out mat in the pocket on this page.

Page 8 features a mat that folds around to the front and is held in place with a magnet.  There is a pocket at the bottom and the curved oval shape (a Spellbinders die) is attached at the bottom to the pocket only.  The embossing is from the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls folder and is highlighted with gold metallic ink.  And there is one more of those little dragonflies on this page.

This picture again shows how wonderful Lindy’s Stamp Gang products are — look at all that sparkle.  I used more than one color on the dragonfly.

This is page 8 with the mat partially out.

And we’re to the last of the pages, pages 9 and 10.

Page 9 is a fun interactive page.  It has a brad and seam binding closure.

The sentiment is attached at the lower and left edges only, forming a pocket.  The small leaves are the negative cuts from the Martha Stewart border punch, sprayed with Starburst Spray.

Page 9 opens to reveal another tag.

The left side of the page then opens up to reveal two more spots for photos.

Page 10 is the inside of the back cover.  It has a pocket at the right hand side with a folded photo mat tucked inside.

I again used some Recollection brand rhinestones on the pocket.

The photo mat features a hexagon made with the BoBunny paper using an Epiphany Crafts tool and  bubble cap.

How cool is that hexagon?

This is the inside of the mat.

And, finally, we are to the back cover of the album.

Thank you for taking a “tour” of my mini album.  And I want to share my last discovery — I discovered that I love to make mini albums.  I am already planning my next one.

• BoBunny Forever Fall Collection
• Cricut cartridges:  Flower Shoppe, Simply Charmed, Simply Scarecrows
• Cuttlebug:  Divine Swirls folder, Distressed Stripes folder,  Fall Leaves die, Cut and Emboss Pumpkin Spice
• Spellbinders:  Labels Four, Grommet Tags, Jewel Flowers and Flourishes
• Lindy’s Stamp Gang embossing powder and Starburst Sprays
• We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board
• Martha Stewart punches
• Recollections rhinestones
• Stickles
• Flower Soft