Two Scrapbook Friend Designer's Feature

Two Scrapbook Friends is encouraging us, designers to develop features where we can share about something that we feel passionate about. Today, I want to share my passion in mini album with you.

While growing up, I have always admired albums. I don’t know if you remember the early 1980’s, Scratch and sniff stickers were timeless items that many young children would buy like crazy.   I collected many different scratch & sniff stickers and placed them into an album. Then in my early 20’s, I made some albums out of pretty fabric and laces. Showing the picture below. I made some personal, baby and wedding albums for my family and friends. A decade ago, I entered into the scrapbooking world and I could work on my layout in any size of album.

Now, I have papers surrounding around me. I would like to share my love for mini-albums. I will be showcasing ; “Decorating Pre-Made Mini Albums”, “Creating Mini Albums from Scratch” and “Making Mini Albums out of Everyday Items”. Creating mini albums is a wonderful way to preserve your memories, and of all the different kinds of mini albums that you can make.



“Decorating Pre-Made Mini Albums”

With the variety of mini album shapes, materials and sizes available, it is no secret that mini albums are a hot topic. With store-bought, pre-bound albums, the opportunities for making your mark are only limited by your imagination. And the choice of mini album themes is just as endless – you can scrap just about any topic you can think of. So go pick up your pre-made album of choice and create a fabulous mini book in a snap! All you need are some photos, your favourite supplies and a little creativity.



Three Ring Album

I get to indulge my love of all things paper and glue. Plus I get to travel to new places. I wanted to document it via mini albums. The idea of documenting conjured an image of file folders, so I can add some maps, journaling, photos and embellishments to complete this mini road trip album.

Scalloped Chipboard Album

Chipboard scrapbooks are fun to make and give as gifts to your family and friends. Even people who aren't normally interested in scrapbooking are amazed to see how a chipboard album can be used to showcase their favorite photos. This fun chipboard album can be decorated to your liking.

I got this scalloped chipboard album for Christmas from my dear friend, Laureen. Laureen chose all the Christmas patterned papers, glued them and trimmed them to cover the chipboards. I added pictures and embellishments to the album. I decided to use sepia photos to neutralize the colour of patterned papers .

Tabbed Cinch-Bound Albums

I also received this gorgeous black, white, purple, and teal album from my dear friend, Laureen for my 40th birthday. I love the way Laureen used scallop tabs to categorize  the activities throughout the evening of the party, the tabs indicated; the beginning of the party, journaling written by each friend who attended the party, photos of me being shocked and surprised, cards contest, decorating cupcakes, and lastly, a group of friends. To finish off the girly design, Laureen added some bling, stickers, clips and ribbons to the pages.

"Creating Mini Albums from Scratch”

Mini album mania isn’t limited to books you can buy in the store. A little folding and cutting are all you really need to create your own mini album from scratch. Sure you have to start from the beginning, but making an entire album with your own hands is so rewarding! Just like store-bought mini albums, those you created from scratch can be crafted into loads of shapes, styles, and themes. Plus making your albums from square one, gives you a reason to stock up on chipboard, heavy-weight paper and colour cardstock.



Tag Album

Tag albums are some of the easiest. One of the nice things about them is that they can range from very simple to elaborate and unique, making them easily adaptable for almost any situation. You can start with pre-made tags, or make your own out of cardstock, adding embellishments such as reinforcements for the hole. The easiest way to do this is to cut one tag to the size and shape that you would like, and then trace it to make as many tags as you want. I created album tags to focus on Holiday Cookie Recipes, and they would be a perfect Christmas gift or cookie exchange party favor.

Accordion-Fold Album

Creating an accordion fold album is easy. I can either fill a page with a photo or print small photos on the page. You can make your own using a single sheet of 12×12 cardstock. This album is all about my son’s age chart. How could I not love it? I created this album for my sons’ school project. My son can do “Show and Tell” to his classmates. I added a very simple design to the album. Not only is this album delightful to look at, but it makes many good memories.

"Making Mini Albums out of Everyday Items"

With all the paper scraps we, scrapbookers may not be the best at being “green”. But you can make the most of what you‘ve got and reinvest everyday items into truly one of a kind mini album masterpieces? See how you can turn your own trash into treasures with these creative projects.

Coaster Album

You can find some coasters at a bar or restaurant. The result: a small mini album that can easily fit on a desk or shelf. I love sharing this delightful little book highlighting my family.

Child’s Board Book Album

Thrift stores hold more hidden treasures. You can find a well-worn child’s board book at second hand stores or, even at dollar stores. You also can find unwanted books in your kids’ bedroom or playroom. I decided it would be an excellent sturdy base for a mini scrapbook. I created it with appropriate child-related papers and added photos and anecdotes of my darling boys.

Fabric Album

I am not a seamstress, but my mother in law is a fabulous one. I do share MIL’s love of fabric, and I enjoy incorporating fabric bits into my scrapbooks. My MIL created this fabric album for my darling son. It is a collaborative all fabric album and it is as tactile as could be and certainly a visual happy place to spend time. Each page is handmade, sewn, embellished into the binder using rings. MIL gave a basic set of dimensions, shapes, colours, textures and numbers. I love that freedom and how each page is so uniquely different and stylistic.

If you have a mini album or altered project that you would like to share with us. Please do so, we would love to learn something from you.


Sharlene