Articles : Tutorials - Paper Crafting

"Thankful 4" Mini album

November Crop Class

Supply list from the Shoppe:

Fancy Flower Album 508-00184
2) Poolside Houndstooth 49-30989 (X 2 sheets)
Poolside Small Floral 49-30988
Poolside Big Dot 49-30987
Poolside Lattice Die Cut 49-30991
Mocha Brocade Flocked 49-31004
Mocha Geometric 49-31002
2) Mocha Toile 49-31001  (X 2 sheets)
2) Mocha Floral 49-31003  (X 2 sheets)
Mocha Geometric Die Cut 49-31005
Mocha Dimensional Sticker 49-31041
Poolside Journaling Book 49-31025
Poolside Shimmer Alpha 49-31043
2) Chocolate Pearls 508-02792

Additional supplies from your Stash:

-Brown Ink
-Circle cutter (or a punch, die cut machine or other mode of making a 3" circle and a 6" circle)
-adhesive (the album is made of MDF therefore you need an adhesive that will stick to this material.  My ATG gun worked fantastic with
the material.  A liquid glue or Modge Podge would also work.) 
-Ribbon in blue and brown (The MM Paperie line has ribbon in a brown and a blue set.  They would both match perfectly and are gorgeous but weren't in my budget.  I used ribbon I had on hand in matching colors)
-BG File Set- You don't have to own the Basic Grey set but I have found this set to be the best for filing in small areas such as the flower on the front of the book. 
-6 Binder Rings (1" is the size I used)- I purchased a pack of 40 at the Office Supply store and have seen them sold individually at LSSs.  PM if you have any questions on locating them.  Kaisercraft now sells them in colorful sets and ACOT carries them. 
-corner rounder
-Exacto knife (and surface to cut upon)
-Pencil
-Cropodile or other hole punch

Completed Album:

The album comes with 4 MDF "pages".  To make it easier, I am going to number them 1-8 with the cover being page 1, the opposite side of it being page 2, the next page being 3, etc.  When cutting your papers, cut the paper from the edges as opposed to the center of the 12x12 piece.  We are using some of the papers for multiple pages and you will run out if cut the pieces from the middles. I linked all of my photos with the image in the gallery.  If you would like to see any of them larger, you can click on them to take you to the gallery where you can view them larger.

Page 1:

STEP 1: For the first layer, grab the Geometric Mocha Paperie.  Flip the paper over so the geometric pattern is facing up and place the front cover face down (ie. the holes for the rings are on the right.)  Trace the outline of the cover with a pencil.  Make sure to trace the flower as well.  Cut out the cover piece and also the flower.  I found it was easier to use an exacto knife to cut out the flower.  Glue to cover, file edges and then ink edges.

STEP2: Grab your Poolside Houndstooth PP.  Cut a piece 3 5/8" x 4".  Use your corner rounder to round the edges.  I recommend using temporary adhesive and placing it on the front cover.  Flip the page over and trace the flower holes.  Flip it back over and remove the paper.  Cut out the flower holes using an exacto knife.  Ink and adhere to cover as seen in photo.  There is another way to do this but it is more difficult.  The MDF pages are pretty thick and using an exacto to cut out the flower petal holes once the patterned paper is adhered is harder.  But, if you would rather adhere the paper with permanent adhesive and then cut them from the reverse side, you could do it that way.  Remember to sand the edges and ink your paper.

STEP 3: Cut a 3" circle out of the Toile Mocha paper and ink the edges.  Here's where all of the tedious work of cutting out the flower petal holes in both previous layers pays off.  I held my cover up the light and was able to place the circle in the precise location I wanted it.  The light will filter through the holes and help you place the circle over the entire flower symmetrically.  Once you get the exact position of the circle over the flower holes, you will need to temporarily adhere the circle to the page, flip over, trace the flower petal holes, flip back over, remove the paper and cut out the petal holes using an exacto knife.  OR, you can adhere with permanent adhesive, flip over and use an exacto knife to cut out the flower petal holes.  Sand the edges of the flower petals and ink.

STEP 4: Embellish your cover.  I used the title "Thankful 4".  You can change this to make it whatever you want.  Here's how I did mine.  I adhered a small scalloped circle from the Mocha dimensional stickers to the center of the flower.  I added a number 4 from the Poolside shimmer letters in the center.  I placed the word Thankful around the outside of the Toile Circle using the Poolside Shimmer letters.  I used the 3 mm and 4 mm size Kaisercraft Brown Pearls and placed them around the outside of the circle.  I alternated the sizes to keep from running out.  The sizes are given on the package if you want to use the exact same size as I did. 

STEP 5: Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

Page 2:

STEP 1:  Using your Poolside Hoondstooth cut a piece 4 1/4" x 4 11/16".  Adhere the paper with the houndstooth pattern showing so the solid blue shows through on the front cover.  Remember not to add glue where the blue shows through on the flower petal holes!!!  I found it was easier to place my adhesive on the actual album instead of the patterned paper for this page to make sure you don't get it on the paper that shows through on the front cover.  File the edges (especially around the rounded corners of the page) and ink the edges. 

 STEP 2: Cut a piece of Mocha Toile paper 3 1/2" x 4".  Round 2 corners (the top and bottom right).  Ink Edges. 

STEP 3:  Using the Mocha Geometric die cut paper, cut out the pattern from the edges of the paper.  Adhere the Mocha Toile from Step 2 and the Geometric accent towards the left hand side of the page. 

STEP 4:  Add pearls to the centers of the geometric shapes (resembling flowers) and in a row of 3 at the bottom of the page.  NOTE: I love adding the Kaisercraft pearls anywhere you would normally add brads- in the centers of flowers and in groups of 3 as an accent.  They are self adhesive and take all of the work out of adding brads to the page (but still provide all of the benefits of accenting your design.)  They are also great accents on chipboard letters and chipboard swirls. 

STEP 5: Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 6:  Embellish with a Mocha Dimensional Sticker.  Here I used the Sweet Memories sticker and added pearls on either side to resemble brads.  You could change the sticker to go with your photos or preference.

PAGE 3:

STEP 1:  Using the Mocha Toile paper, place the toile pattern face down (the polka dots pattern will be face up).  Place the page face down on top of the paper (the holes will be to the right).  Trace the outline of the page and cut out.  Attach to the page, sand and ink edges. 

STEP 2: Rectangular scalloped journaling page (see the picture above) should be cut to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2".  Ink edges.  Attach to top right corner of the page using photo above as reference.

STEP 3: Cut Poolside Big Dot paper piece 2 1/2" x 4 1/2".  Round the corners, ink and attach to the top right side of page using above photo as a reference. 

STEP 4: Cut a strip of the Mocha Brocade Flocked paper to use as an accent for the page.  Ink the edges and adhere to your page. 

STEP 5: Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 6: Embellish with  Poolside shimmer swirls from the Alphabets and pearls.

PAGE 4:

STEP 1: Grab your Poolside Houndstooth patterned paper.  Place the houndstooth pattern face up and place your page face down on top of the paper.  Trace the outline of the page and cut out.  Adhere the pp to the page, sand the edges and ink.  

STEP 2: Cut a piece of Mocha Geometric die cut paper 3 1/2" x 4 1/2".  Round the corner on the top left.  Ink and adhere to the page using the photo as a reference for placement.

STEP 3: Cut a Poolside scalloped circle journaling spot vertically.  Ink and adhere below the Mocha Geometric pp.  

STEP 4: Using an Exacto knife and cutting mat, cut a flourish from the Mocha Floral pp and glue to the page.  If you don't want to hand cut the flourish, you could always move the dimensional sticker down to cover the "seam" between the 2 papers.  Remember, you don't have to follow my directions 100%.  You can make this your own by substituting different accents and papers.

STEP 5: Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 6: Embellish with pearls and Mocha dimensional sticker.  NOTE: I used my pearls to accent the swirls. 

PAGE 5: 

STEP 1: Using the Mocha Floral patterned paper, place lines pattern face up and your MDF page face down on top.  Trace, cut out, and adhere to the page.  Sand edges and ink. 

STEP 2: Grab the Poolside journaling page seen in the photo, ink and adhere to the page flush with the left edge. 

STEP 3: Add a strip of Mocha Flocked Brocade striped pp using the photo as a reference for placement. 

STEP 4: Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 5: Embellish with pearls and a dimensional sticker.

PAGE 6:

STEP 1: We are using the Poolside Big Dot patterned paper for the background.  Place with the striped pattern face up and your page face down on top.  Trace the outline of the page and cut out.  Adhere to the page, sand the edges and ink. 

STEP 2: Cut Mocha Toile paper 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  Round the corners, ink and adhere on the right side of the page using the photo as a reference. 

STEP 3: Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 4: Embellish the page with pearls and Mocha dimensional sticker.

PAGE 7:

STEP 1: Using the Poolside lattice die cut patterned paper, place the patterned side face down and your page face down on top.  Trace and cut out.  Adhere to your page, sand the edges and ink.

STEP 2: Cut a strip of Mocha Flocked Brocade patterned paper 1 1/2"x 6 9/16".  Ink the edges and adhere on the right side of the page using the photo as a reference for it's placement.

STEP 3:  Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 4: Embellish with dimensional sticker and pearls.

PAGE 8:

STEP 1: Cut Poolside Small Floral PP into an approximately 6" circle.  Ink the edges and adhere to the right of the page.

STEP 2: Cut from same piece of pp a 2" x 6" strip of paper and round the corners on the left top and bottom (with the small dots facing up.)  Ink the edges and adhere overlapping the circle.

STEP 3: Cut a strip of Mocha Flocked Brocade patterned paper, ink and adhere between the large circle and polka dot strip of paper. 

STEP 4:  Hole punch the holes for the album rings using a Cropodile or hole punch.

STEP 5: Embellish with dimensional sticker and pearls.  I added some of the shimmer flourishes in the top and bottom right corners.  I also added the year to the top of my dimensional sticker to date my album.

Binding the album:

Using rings, combine all of the pages.  Then embellish them with ribbon in shades of blue and brown.

Now, you can add photos and journaling.  I plan on adding photos and journaling about all of things I am thankful for.  I hope you enjoy your album!!!

About the author ...
Beth has been a member of the ACOT Creative Team since August 2007. She is currently a SAHM and lives with her dh, 6 year old dd, and 3 cats in Florida. She started scrapbooking over 3 1/2 years ago and has become completely obsessed with the hobby and loves the creative outlet it provides. She was a finalist in the KI Memories Celebrate Life with Color Contest and has been published in Memory Makers, the KI Memories Idea Planner, and Creating Keepsakes. In addition to being an avid scrapbooker, she loves reading, photography and baking.

Published on 11/17/2008. Submitted by Beth-W