Spring Paper Bag Mini Album

 

 

 

Happy Spring! 

 

The last mini album I posted was a summer themed album, but with the snow just now melting and the birds finally coming back to southern Manitoba, I guess it's still a while till summer.  A lot of people are pining for warm sunny weather and a swap group I belong to is doing spring-themed paper bag albums to help cope with their spring fever. 

Here's my offering:

 

I used the Garden Tea Party paper collection from DCWV.  It has gorgeous soft images of birds, butterflies and flowers, along with a tea party theme.  The pages are very shabby chic and pretty, with everything stained with tea and dabbed here and there with glitter.  Love it!  It was the perfect choice for my mini.

 

 

 

 

The album is chunky, measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/4" and with a 3 1/2" spine.  Lots of space for pockets, tags, photo mats and embellishments.  For the cover I fussy cut the bird and teacup image from the paper and inked the edges, then layered it over a lovely coral-pink dotted paper.  The spine is covered with a coral colored graph paper which I used a Martha Stewart doily border punch on to give it a more delicate look.  The roses and leaves I created with my Cricut using the Close to My Heart Artbooking cartridge which is my latest and greatest tool. 

 

I covered the spine with a cream-colored rosette ribbon and attached a trio of charms.  The locket charm actually opens and I have put tiny pictures in there.  The feather charm is from the Base and Bling collection from Close to My Heart, and the pearl charm I recycled from some old costume jewellery.

 

 

 

Here's the detail on the front cover.  The butterfly is also cut from the Artbooking cartridge and is done in two layers to add dimension. The leaves are cut from tea stained paper then inked heavily and shaped to give them a more realistic look.

 

 

 

I used lots of ribbon for the tags, a thin chocolate-colored ribbon and a wide, sheer white ribbon with a sheen to it.  It adds texture and movement to the pages.  The book stands up well and I think it's a feast for the eyes.  Especially eyes that have been waiting so long for spring to come!

 

 

 

Inside the front cover is a pretty flip-up with a pocket beneath that conceals a message and a surprise for the recipient. I used a hook and loop closure and embellished it with a flower cut by my Cricut.  I added a pearl center to it, as I did with the other flowers in the album.  An embossed and fussy-cut butterfly rests beside it.

 

 

 

Each page is made out of a paper bag and has two pockets on one side, one vertical and one horizontal which hold a large and a medium tag.  The larger tag can mat a 3" x 5" photo.  The bag also forms a large pocket which opens on the right and has inside a large double-sided photo mat finished with a layered flower. The large mats can hold two standard 4" x 6" photos each. 

 

 

 

The opposite side of each page has another vertical pocket, and a flap which  has a horizontal pocket that holds a large tabbed photo mat.  I have placed only a single tag or mat in most of the pockets to leave plenty of room for photos and memorabilia.

 

 

 

The inside back cover has a long envelope that holds a large decorated journaling tag with a pull-out tab.  The envelope closes with a tie closure and is accented with an antique-looking dragonfly charm. 

 

And that is pretty much that.  There are still plenty of little surprises in this mini for the recipient to discover.  Can't give away all my secrets!  I'm happy with the result, and looking forward to shipping it off to its new owner.

I'm very excited to be part of this swap, and already looking forward to the next one.  If you would like to join us in our creating and swapping, check out 

Mini Album Scraps here .

 

Thanks for dropping by to share my creative meander today!  I hope you'll be back again to visit.  I already have some inspiring paper in my stash that is calling to me...