Stacked Mini Album
Schematic of mini album pages seen from above. Note that all pages are the same width - 4.25”. The spine, on the other hand, starts at 1.25” at the cover and gets smaller until it reaches 0.25” for the center fold.
This mini album is very easy to make and has room for lots of embellishments. My tutorial is based on a video tutorial by Lyric Lover Crafts. Amber has the best tutorials for items to sell at craft fairs IMHO. Here’s her Instagram.
This mini album will available for purchase at my booth at the De Anza Flea Market on Saturday, July 1st, 2023. If it doesn’t sell there, I’ll list it in my Etsy shop.
Paper selection
The largest pattern paper pieces are 6” by 4”, so this is a great use for 6” by 6” scrapbook paper pads. If you’re anything like me, you have lots of those. I recommend choosing a pad with a strong color story for a cohesive album. You’ll need 20 pages and they can be single-sided.
It’s great to have a mix between full-page patterns and pages with strong focal points. Some cut-aparts are also nice for embellishments. The paper I used is a pad I picked up years ago at Tuesday Morning, so it’s no longer available. Here are some suggestions for 6 by 6 paper pads that won’t break the bank:
You will also need 5 sheets of letter-sized, solid-color cardstock. This can be white, a neutral color or a color that contrasts with the pattern paper. It has to be double-sided and I recommend that all cardstock pieces are the same color. I used a cream cardstock from Recollections.
Cut list
Five solid-color cardstock pieces at 6.25” height.
Width starts at 9.75” and decreases by 0.25” for each piece down to 8.75”
Optionally round all corners
For a vintage look, ink all edges with brown ink and an ink blending tool
Twenty pieces of 6” by 4” pattern paper
Select two pieces with a relatively calm patterns for the front and back cover
Then pick one of the 6” by 2” off cuts for the spine and cut it down to 6” by 1”
Set these pieces aside until later in the process
Four pieces of 6” by 2” pattern paper for vertical pockets
Four pieces of 4” by 2” pattern paper for horizontal pockets
Album base
Put a cardstock piece in landscape format in your scoreboard and score at 4.25”. Turn the piece 180 degrees and score at 4.25” again. Repeat for all cardstock pieces.
Bend the cardstock in both directions at the score lines and crease down with your bone folder. The part between the score lines will form the spine of your album.
Lay the largest cardstock piece flat on your crafting surface with the inside facing you. Take the second largest and apply glue to the outside part between the score lines. Center this part between the score lines on the largest piece and hold in place until the glue grabs. Do the same with the third largest and work your way through to the smallest piece.
Matting the inside
Schematic of left and right album pages with correct placement of rounded corners and pockets with finger notches
Take the 18 pieces of 6” by 4” pattern paper and decide how you want to distribute them over the insides of the album base.
If you’ve rounded the corners on the album base, round the corresponding corners on your pattern paper to match. If you’re going for a vintage look, ink the edges. Glue the scrapbook paper onto the album pages, taking care to leave the center it.
Album outside
Cut ribbon or seam binding to 4-5 times the width of the album. I used a double layer of recycled silk sari yarn. Glue it as flat as possible to the outside of the album base at the mid point. Glue the spine mat onto the spine, covering the fabric closure. If you’ve rounded the album corners, round the corresponding corners on the cover mats, before gluing them in place on the front and back covers. Don’t forget to ink the edges if you want your album to be vintage style.
Inside pockets
Decide how you want your pockets distributed. Leave the center fold without pockets, so the customer can add two big photos to it. The 6” by 2” pieces will be vertical pockets and the 4” by 2” pieces will be horizontal.
Optionally cut a finger notch at the mid point of your pockets. You can use a hole punch or circle die between 0.5” and 2” size.
If you’ve rounded the corners of the album, round the corresponding corners on the pockets. Ink the edges for a vintage style. Then apply glue to three sides of the pockets and adhere them.
Decorate inside and out
This is the fun part! Use the remaining pattern paper and any matching embellishments you have or can make, to decorate the cover and the inside pages. Also cut tags and journaling cards from the remaining scrapbook paper to fill the pockets. I like to glue lined paper onto the backs of journaling cards and tags to make it easier to write on them.
Spellbinders are having a flash sale on past club kits right now. Here are a couple that you could use to decorate your album:
Paisley Dreams Large Die of the Month June 2022 (shown in image below)
Stylized Border Trio Small Die of the Month June 2022
Strawberry Patch Large Die of the Month August 2022
