May Mini Album Tutorials and Challenge

As we say farewell to April, our hearts are overflowing with thanks for the tremendous support you have given to our challenges thus far!  Make sure you visit the April challenge HERE to see all of the beautiful entries.  Sadly, today we are saying goodbye to DT member Gloria Stengel.  Gloria, thank you for your wonderful projects and support!  We wish you the very best.  That leads us to a Design Team Call...

I’m looking for a couple of makers (bloggers only) to share design team duties which include:
1. Creating one mini album per month (with options for months off).  One photo will be shown on the challenge post and a tutorial will be added to your personal blog.  Your project will be due by the 25th and posts will go live on the 1st of each month.
2. Rotating with other DT members to post one complete tutorial on challenge blog within the year.  You will add one photo on your personal blog and link to the tutorial on the challenge blog.
3. Commenting and supporting challenge entrants.
* The term is variable, though we request a one month notice before leaving the team.

Please email Autumn at teamclark@rocketmail.com with questions or applications.  Include your blog and social media links with a permalink to your favorite handmade book(s).  Please note this is a teaching blog and all projects, even if they are CASEd from another designer, must be tutorial based (photos or videos).  Applications will be taken through May 15.

As 2018 continues along, we launch a brand new challenge with a super sponsor, Lindy's Stamp Gang!  One lucky winner will receive a $25 voucher for the Lindy's website!

Website - https://www.lindysgang.com/

Blog - https://lindysgang.blog/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/lindysgang/

Our team is working hard to provide you with an amazing variety of mini album tutorials for your inspiration.  Hop around to each designer's blog for the full reveal and tutorial.

Autumn

I designed an album with G45 Nature Sketchbook papers that will perfectly fit up to 26 4x6" photos.  Each envelope style page has a pull out that houses a double-sided photo mat.  Come and see how to make this brag book for your favorite photos at SewPaperPaint.

Astrid

I recently returned from a trip to Australia and before I left made myself a little notebook to keep my memories in.  If you want to see how I made the cover and how I did the inside pages, there's a full tutorial on my blog.

Nancy

I adore file folders! There's so much you can do to alter and add pages to them. This month, that's just what I did with the one you see above.  Please visit my blog (Art-From-The-Heart) to see what & how.

Alison

I've been playing with some of the Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays to create the shimmering look on my Clockwork Notebook.  Do come and visit me at Words and Pictures to check out all the details in close-up and find out how I made it.

Anne

During a 'purge' of my craft room I found some chipboard ATC bases.  I used several Stencil Girl stencils and Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays to create my mini album.  You can see more on my blog.

Gloria

I have created a long and skinny mini album using Graphic 45 policy envelops and washi tape!  Every envelope contains a large tag!  To see how I constructed my album, visit my blog Scraps of Life.

Inna

Hi! I used Stencil Girl stencil, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chipboard and Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays and recorded a video tutorial for you. You can see more on my blog.

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I hope these peeks have sparked your imagination and you will pay the design team blogs a visit plus play along with our challenge, which ends at 11:55 pm EST on May 31.  Join us on May 7 for our April winners announcement.

Our challenge follows a few simple rules:

Any Handmade Book Goes.  Enter any form of handmade mini albums, scrapbooks, journals and book arts.  Our focus is on completed works, so no layouts or journal spreads that are not part of a complete handmade book project.  You do not have to provide a tutorial, but we wish you would.  Feel free to use one of the DT tutorials to make your project and give proper credit where due.  No back linking allowed.  You must add our badge to your post and link to our challenge to be eligible to win the prize.  Combine with any other challenges as applicable.  No limit on entries.  Permalinks only and no back linking.  Share the love by visiting and commenting on other entries.  Please become a follower.  That's it - have fun!

* Make sure to add our badge to your post *
and link back to our challenge. 

*NEW*
Submit your entries to our Facebook page for extra love.
Tag us @minialbummakers with your entries on Instagram for a repost.

Please note: This is a public blog and by linking your project you agree to have your name, blog link and the creation you linked posted shown on this blog and other Mini Album Maker Challenge social media sites. If you do not agree to this, please do not join in the challenge. Also, remember that any comments and/or linked projects left on this blog will be visible/clickable by third parties as this blog is public.  We will not share your information willingly for any other purposes.  (This was posted to be in compliance with the new GDPR law that will soon become effective in the EU, and will also apply to blogs located in the US if blog visitors reside in the EU.)

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Flexible Spine Mini Album by Gloria Stengel

Hello Mini Album Makers! It's Gloria with you today, from Scraps of Life Blog. It is my turn here on the Mini Album Makers Challenge Blog to share an extra tutorial for April. This is a special style of spine that I want to share, so let's get started! 

This is the mini I created, with a sewing theme, using the new Authentique Stitches paper collection. I do NOT sew, but my mother did, as did many of my aunts. I have a few friends who also sew. And while I do not sew or quilt myself, I love sewing odds and ends, and I also love pretty fabric! 

This mini is a LARGE size, measuring 8" x 8" x 2". The inside has four "stacked" pages! There are lots of pockets and flips and pull-outs! This is the perfect gift for someone who quilts and takes photos of their projects! 

Such a large mini requires a lot of cardstock and decorative paper! I had one 25-pack of dark brown cardstock and one 25-pack of natural cardstock on the desk. I used most of it! I also had FOUR, count 'em, FOUR sets of the 12" x 12" paper collection and used almost every scrap! If you want to make such a large mini, you do need lots of paper!

Here is a view of the flexible spine. What I mean by a flexible spine is that the spine is NOT made of chipboard, which would make a rigid spine. Instead, the spine curves and allows some "give" or "flex" in the opening and closing of the album. I love the look of these curved spines, but they can be a bit of a pain to make. Getting things measured and lined up can be a chore!

Let's get started! With this type of album, I always make the spine piece first.  

I cut the brown cardstock to 7 3/4" x 9 1/8". Since the covers are 8" tall, I need to make my spine just a tiny bit shorter, so I cut the cardstock at 7 3/4" tall. I do not want my pages to be the same height as the covers because it can cause the mini to look a bit messy. 

To make the hinges, score on the 9 1/8" side at: 2", 2 1/2", 3", 3 3/8", 3 7/8", 4 3/8", 4 3/4", 5 1/4", 5 3/4", 6 1/8", 6 5/8", 7 1/8".  Place double-sided adhesive on the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th scored sections.

Use the double-sided tape to attach the 1/2" hinge sections together. Your hinge mechanism will have a 2" binding section at the beginning and end of the hinge.

Each of the four hinges will be 1/2" tall with a 3/8" gutter between each hinge. (I hear some folks call this gutter space a "gusset" but to me a gusset is something totally different! I have always called the space between pages a "gutter," so I will use that term.)

Flip the hinge mechanism over to the back. Now, we need to make sure that this piece is very STRONG or it will rip when we add our pages. This is especially true of a book this large. I used wide, double-sided tape to attach a piece of Tyvek to the back of my hinge. Tyvek is quite difficult to rip!  

Note: Tyvek is a a paper product that is thin, but very durable. In fact, they use it to wrap houses before they put on siding or stucco! My piece of Tyvek is a mailing envelope that I cut up! Anytime I get one of these in the mail, I hoard it for book-making!  

I covered the Tyvek with a piece of decorative paper cut to 7 3/4" x 5 1/4". Now, set your spine and hinge piece aside while we make the front and back covers.

For the covers, cut two pieces of chipboard to 8" x 8". Trim decorative paper to 10" x 10" and attach the chipboard to the center. Angle the corners and then wrap the chipboard with the paper. (You can use cardstock instead, but the decorative paper I used is pretty thick and wrapped nicely with ZERO cracking!

This is what the front of the covers and the spine/hinge look like. 

Flip the covers over so that the inside is facing up. Place double-sided adhesive on the inside edges of each piece. Make sure your covers are oriented the correct way if you have a directional pattern! 

Place your covers 2" apart. You may need to attach them to the table with some repositionable tape to hold the covers in place and to keep things lined up properly. I have a grid mat on my table, which helps me keep things straight.

REMEMBER! Your hinges are slightly shorter than your covers. Make sure you attach the hinge with about 1/8" of the cover showing at the top and the bottom of the hinge.

Attach the spine/hinge piece to the inside of the covers. Use the strongest adhesive you have!

Place some decorative paper onto the inside of the covers. I also added a pocket made from cardstock to my covers.

Here is what the front of the mini looks like, with the front cover on the right.

When you close the covers, gently curve the spine. Once your pages are attached, it will hold its shape.

You are now ready to add your pages. I did not do a tutorial for the pages, because you may make any style of page you wish! My pages are all 7 3/4" x 7 3/4". I attached the pages to the hinges, making 4 pages, 8 sides. Each page may have a pocket, flip up, or pull out portion.  (See below.) 

The inside front cover contains a large pocket. Page 1 has a side pull-out mat. Plus, the page has a band holding two small photo cards. (To view the interactive pages, check out the video attached below!)

Page 2 has a side flip-out. Page 3 has a top flip-up with a large pocket hidden underneath. I used tons of pretty paper, photo mats, and some great chipboard elements from our sponsor this month, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts!

Page 4 has a side side pull-out mat, plus a divided page flip-out. Each of the flip-outs has a pocket. Page 5 has one photo mat flip-up and a side side pull-out mat

Page 6 has a side  has a side flip-out containing a pocket. Plus, the page has a band holding two small photo cards. Page 7 has a top flip-up and a bottom flip-down (is that a word?!)!

Page 8 contains a side side pull-out mat and a fun waterfall element, with a hidden pocket! The inside back cover contains a large pocket.

Check out all the interactive elements by watching this video!

This was a fun project to make, and I would love to give it to someone who will add photos to each page!

The last thing I do when I make a mini album is decorate the cover! I save the cover until the end because I don't want to mess it up while I work on the inside of the book!

This cover is pretty simple...just a ton of paper flowers with a few sewing embellishments tucked around the fun title block!

Visit my blog for my full supply list and see my prize give away!!!

We hope you get a chance to play along this month. You could be a Mini Album Makers Challenge Winner and have a chance to win a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Prize Pack!

Thanks for joining me today!

Gloria Stengel: Scraps of Life

April Mini Album Tutorials and Challenge

Happy Easter friends!  From all of us at Mini Album Makers, we wish you a blessed day.

March brought us a record number of entries and we are just so happy to see your works and visit your lovely blogs!  Make sure you visit the March challenge HERE to see all of the beautiful entries.  As we truck along through 2018, we launch a brand new challenge with a super sponsor, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  One lucky winner will receive a bundle of laser cut chipboard elements!

Website - http://www.gslcuts.com/Store/

Blog - http://gslcuts.blogspot.co.uk/

Instructionals and Kits - http://gslcuts.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

Our team is working hard to provide you with an amazing variety of mini album tutorials for your inspiration.  Hop around to each designer's blog for the full reveal and tutorial.

Astrid

I recently re-discovered my Geli plate and made many different prints. I decided to make a tag pocket wallet booklet to keep them in. If you want to see how I made the covers, put the pocket booklet together and see some of the prints and what I did to finish them, do come and visit me on my blog.

Nancy

Hi to all Mini Album Makers. Today I'm sharing a very simple bookbinding called piano hinge.  You're invited to stop by my blog Art-From-The-Heart for a step-by-step of this super easy binding.

Anne

Although I have made many journals in the last year or so, I have never made a Junk Journal, so I thought I would take the plunge and make one for the Mini Album Makers Challenge for April.  Please visit my blog if you would like to see more...

Gloria

I have created a beach-themed mini album using pretty paper form our sponsor, Graphic 45 and some pre-made tags and pockets that I found in my stash. To find out how, and to see how I crated this collage-style cover, visit my blog, Scraps of Life.

Alison

With limited supplies to hand, since I'm working away from home at the moment, I've gone with a simple accordion structure for this month's album.  If you'd like to see what unfolds on the inside, and what that deliciously textured cover is made from, do come and visit Words and Pictures.

Inna

Hello! ))  No, it's not a piece of cheese. This is a notebook. ))  If you want to know how I did it, then go to my blog. I have prepared for you a small video tutorial.

Autumn

My goal this month was to create a mini album design especially made with one 6x6" paper pad.  I have shared the steps along with an updated cloth cover tutorial at SewPaperPaint.

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I hope these peeks have sparked your imagination and you will pay the design team blogs a visit.  We welcome you to play along with our challenge, which ends at 11:55 pm EST on April 30.  Join us on April 7 for our March winners announcement.

Our challenge follows a few simple rules:

Any Handmade Book Goes.  Enter any form of handmade mini albums, scrapbooks, journals and book arts.  Our focus is on completed works, so no layouts or journal spreads that are not part of a complete handmade book project.  You do not have to provide a tutorial, but we wish you would.  Feel free to use one of the DT tutorials to make your project and give proper credit where due.

No back linking allowed.

Please add our badge to your post and link to our challenge.

*NEW*
Submit your entries to our Facebook page for extra love.
Tag us @minialbummakers with your entries on Instagram for a repost.

Combine with any other challenges as applicable.  No limit on entries.  Permalinks only.  Share the love by visiting and commenting on other entries.  Please become a follower.  That's it - have fun!

An InLinkz Link-up