Sail away with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Today I am sharing with you a mini book that I have made to remember our recent trip away.  I started with the Gyspy Soul Laser Cuts Bracket Edged Stagger album. This has a really nice collection of fancy edges.

I covered each of the pages with some nautical themed background pages. A tip for doing these easily, is to trace each page of the album onto the back of the patterned paper and cut it out first, then adhere. Another trick to get the edges nice is to gently sand them down once the glue has dried. 

I love the use of jute on nautical themed projects as it gives the impression of ropes. 

Next, I took the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Doodle Frame- rectangle and separated it into its 4 layers. I used silver gilding wax on the base layer, the outer frame was left natural and the inner frame was also dressed in silver wax. For the main upper layer, I coated it in regular fine sand, to really emphasise the ocean theme of my book. 

A word of caution though. If adding a photo to the cover, use a copy, not an original, as I can't be sure of the long term effect of the sand on the photo.

 I didn't do too much to the inside of the mini album, as I want to have space to add photos once we sort through all 1700 of them. I used the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Beach Shape Set-small as my embellishments along with some tags from the paper collection I used. I left the Beach Set pieces in their natural form as I like the effect of the raw brown chipboard as a feature. The implied texture works in really well with a beach theme.

Supplies used:

Beach set -small

Doodle frame- rectangle

Bracket Edged stagger mini album

nature's bounty keepsake album

There is nothing like the beauty that nature presents to us each and every day. 

I am always awed by the details that can be found in something as simple as a piece of tree bark or as glorious as a cloud formation. I wanted to create an album to house small bits of this natural wonder in one place to spark inspiration or simply pass time in admiration. This album needed to have spots to jot down a note or two about something seen as well as for the inclusion of a snippet, or memento, here and there. The mini album I created allows opportunities for all of these things.

 I started with a bracket edged stagger mini album from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. This album contains six pages with various edges that are staggered to allow small glimpses of the pages below. The album comes with rings to keep all of your pages together, forming the album.

Since I  have an idea for how I hope to use this album, I search through my paper stash to find some papers that will work best as a base for embellishing and note taking. I also look for patterns that coordinate to cover the "back sides" of each page, since the album is designed to open completely and lay flat if desired. Once the papers are selected, each album page is outlined on the paper and fussy cut to fit. *Tip: mark each page and its respective paper with a coordinating letter/number to make it easier to distinguish what goes where later on. I mark my papers (on the reverse sides) with 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, etc. Assembly is much simpler when you know where everything belongs.  

Once I cut everything out, I begin the process of assembling the album. Each paper is adhered to the chipboard album page with collage medium and allowed to dry. I find it easiest to do all of the "a" sides and then come back after these are dry, turn them over and adhere all the "b" sides. I make sure to place something weighted on top of the pages while the adhesive is drying to ensure that everything stays flat. 

  When the covered pieces are ready for embellishing, I consider each pair of pages that coordinates when the album is open in the flat position. I select a sub-theme that follows nature's inspiration, and then, appropriate embellishments, stencils, stamps and inks to work with. A baroque panel is cut for each upper page. I begin to lay out each spread and when I am satisfied, I create the pieces. When all of the pages are complete, I fasten an eyelet at each page hole location. This will facilitate turning the pages, since they have so many embellishments.

 Pages 1b and 2a contain some treasured feathers collected on a nature walk. I have always wanted a special way to display the "heart" feather, and love that it now has a forever home.
Pages 2b and 3a will be the perfect place to document all of the wonderful moths and butterflies that visit the gardens each year. I hand stitched a small booklet from vellum for wing pattern sketches or color and size notation. 
Pages 3b and 4a are created with beautiful leaves that I collected last fall, when the colors were at their prime. I brought them home and coated them with resin to keep the rich colors intact. I was so happy to use a few of these in the album.

Pages 4b and 5a will be perfect for storing plucked wildflowers, clovers or seeds. There are so many textures and patterns and colors to be found amongst the plants. I even created a mini envelope in coordinating paper to tuck things into.

Pages 5b and 6a are left mostly open for note taking or if there is something significant to be added. I took the opportunity to include a stem from one of my favorite signs of spring, the pussywillow. I create the sentiment "inspire hope, embrace imperfection, see possibility everywhere" which really encompasses all that I hope for this album to become a keepsake of.

These are some-close up  pictures of the inside spreads, showing some of the smaller details like textures, stenciling, stamping, and ink colors. 

I hope that you have enjoyed my nature's bounty keepsake album. Whether it inspires you to take an extra moment to admire your surroundings or create something of your own, I believe we can all benefit from taking a moment to pause and reflect on the beauty in nature's details. 

Enjoy each day to its fullest. 

I sincerely appreciate you stopping by today.

~Ann

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:

Bracket Edge Stagger Mini Album

Travel Book with Susan

Hi folks!  It's Susan, here to share the beginning of an ongoing project.  I used to make albums often, but got away from it for a while.  At some point I decided to use mini albums blanks as board books that tell a story - like the kid's books from years gone by.  (I have a very detailed Halloween one in the works!)

Today I want to share the beginnings of a travel mini album / board book, using the GSL Cuts staggered bracket edge mini album and elements from a couple different sets.

Here's the album.  See how pages 4 and 5 are set with brackets on top and bottom?  I accidentally put bot bracelets on the bottom (see above).  No worries, though - it still works!

The first thing I did was to choose the paper for each page.  I used IOD "Gallivant" since it has a vintage travel theme.  Number the pages 1, 2, 3, etc and note which side is the front to make sure you don't accidentally flip a page while gluing the paper (like me).

I outlined the album pages onto the paper design and cut by hand.

The papers were attached using Mod Podge, and I set a heavy object on them the keep them flat while drying.

Fine and extra-fine sandpaper cleaned up the edges.

Ink and a brown pen gave the edges a vintage look.

I was recently talking with another education team member about embossing powders.  I figured this would be a good project to use them again.  First I prepped the laser cuts I wanted to use.  This travel word is from the small Chevron Words travel set. Other words in the set are journey, adventure, and destination.  I'll end up using all of them in this book.

Since I only wanted the word, I snipped off the chevron parts.  Travel was eventually embossed with browns and landed on the album front.

Next I wanted to add a little color without painting.  I used blue Prismacolor pencil and layered a little brown on top.  This was a total experiment!

Embossing ink and clear powder added, and voilà, it worked!  I added more ink and powder to the cut-out Steampunk Frame balloon basket to fill in.

This banner strip got the same blue pencil/embossing powder treatment as the balloon.  Here I'm gluing it to the front page.  From here I continued embellishing the front and first two pages.  I'll continue the project in the next few weeks!

Here is a view of the embossed balloon, compass rose, and medium size tudor rose.

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

GSL Cuts Used
Bracket Edge Mini Album #D100BE
Banner Border Strips D34D
Chevron Words Travel Small C71
Steampunk Frame D20C
Compass Rose D61B
Tudor Rose Singles D6Q

Other Supplies Used
Iron Orchid Designs "Galivant"
Brown ink
Brown marker
Embossing ink
Embossing powder  - clear, fine clear, brown blend
Prismacolor pencils - Copenhagen Blue, Sepia
Mod Podge
Vintage tatting
Cheese cloth

Small but Mighty Holiday Album by Betsy Skagen

It's true what they say, good things do come in small packages. At only 6 x 6 inches, this holiday album might be small, but it is packed full of goodness.

I won't kid you, while they are not difficult, making these kinds of books are time intensive and require a lot of planning.

Since describing how to make a book like gets quite lengthy, I am highlighting just a few of the steps. To see detailed step-by-step directions for a similar book check out my Book that Never Ends Tutorial.

To make this book begin by using the Bracket Edged Staggered Mini Album as the foundation.

Then use the edge of largest page as a template to cut a cover from a vintage Bingo card.

Begin planning the pages where you want to add pockets or foldouts. You will want to make all these first because you will be adding magnets and flaps that lie beneath the background paper.

Pages 1 & 2

Page 1 and 2 includes a card that inserts into Snowflakes painted and glittered and an extra flap that snaps to a close thanks to magnets hidden below the surface.

Pages 3 & 4

Page 4 features a trifold flap that also has a magnet hidden below the Bingo marker so it easily snaps back to a closed position. 

Pages 5 & 6

Page 5 features a star trio magnetic clasp that holds three insert cards in place. Another insert on page 6 is held in place by a vintage bulldog clip. 

To make the clasp, first paint your stars with red acrylic paint. When dry, stipple brush ivory paint onto the stars. After the paint has dried cover the stars with gloss gel medium. Then attach a micro magnet to the back side.

Cut two strips of black cardstock and a small strip of black Tyvek of the same width. Attach the two strips together with the Tyvek. This will be your hinge.

Fold at the hinge and add another micro magnet to the back side.

Place the stars on the front side, aligning the magnets. Then glue the assemblage to your page.

Pages 7 & 8

Page 7 has a magnetic mitten clasp that can hold your mementos in place. To make it, begin by painting the mitten from the Winter Shape Set red. When dry, add ivory paint to a star stamp and stamp onto the mitten. After it has dried, cover the entire mitten with gloss medium gel.

Adhere a micro magnet to the back side of the mitten. Trace the mitten onto black Tyvek and cut out, leaving extra Tyvek at the wrist. Glue the Tyvek over the back of the mitten.

Place the mitten at the top of the paper that will cover Page 7 and fold the excess Tyvek behind it. Let a second magnet attach itself through the paper to the one on the mitten and adhere the second magnet in this location.

Glue the background paper to the chipboard.

To make the foldout on Page 8, first adhere the background paper to the chipboard. Then cut three 4" squares. Score each square along one side at the 3.5" mark.

Add patterned cardstock to both sides of all the squares and add a magnet below the patterned paper on one of the squares.

Glue the flaps to the base page so that each square folds inward atop each other. Make the square with the magnet be the top of the folded squares.

 Attach another magnet to the base sheet so that the top magnet will attach to it. Add a final square of patterned paper over the magnet and three flaps. Add vintage packaging to the top square.

Pages 9 & 10

After adding your backaground paper, add vintage packaging to Page 9 and leave the remainder of the page open for photos or mementos. 

 Page 10 has three cascading vertical pockets and insert cards.

After adhering your background paper, cut a 5" x 3.75" rectangle, 5" x 2.75" rectangle and 5" x 1.5" rectangle from a black cardstock. On each of these pieces, score three of the sides .25" in from the edge and fold in. Add decorative paper to the outside of each rectangle. 

Place scoretape along these flaps.  

Remove the liner from the smallest piece and place it atop the next biggest rectangle. Repeat with the next pocket. Make sure the open edges all face the same direction. 

Place the entire assemblage onto Page 10, making sure the open pockets face the outside of the page. Make insert cards that fit each pocket and slide into place.

Pages 11 & 12

Page 11 features three corner pockets which descend in size. Make these by first cutting a 2.5", 3" and 3.5" square from black cardstock. Cut the squares in half diagonally. Then score each non-diagonal side 1/4" in from the edge.

Cut patterned cardstock to fit each triangle and adhere to the black triangles. Place scoretape along the scored flaps. 

Adhere patterened scrapbook paper to one of your chipboard pages. Fold the flaps on the largest triangle in and remove the scoretape liner. Place in the bottom corner of the page. Repeat with the second largest triangle, placing it over the first triangle as you align the bottom and side edges. Repeat with the smallest triangle. 

To make inserts for these three pockets, cut black cardstock rectangles to fit each pocket and add patterned paper to each side of the cardstock. 

The grand finale is on Page 12. It begins when you open a simple card. 

However, that card also lifts up to reveal two more pages with sweet images of vintage packaging.

 Those pages also  offer three insert cards. Just imagine all the great memories you can stuff in here!

 But wait! There's more!

Fold down yet another flap to discover even more places to put goodies. My Book that Never Ends Tutorial provides detailed instructions on how to make a complicated layout like this. 

Finish your album with binder rings and decorative ribbon. That's it for today's project. I hope you consider making one of these books as they make truly heartfelt gifts. -Betsy

Great Stuff

Bracket Edged Staggered Mini Album
Winter Shape Set
Banner Border Strips
Vintage Packaging Images by Paper Calliope (coming soon!)
Tim Holtz 12 x 12 Merriment Paper Stash
Vintage Bingo Card
Black cardstock
Large black Tyvek envelope
Red and ivory acrylic paint
Gloss gel medium
Micro magnets
Beacon Fabri-Tac
Hot glue gun
Tape runner