My First Envelope Mini

Hello dear visitors and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are having a lovely day.

I have to warn you, this is a huge post as I am sharing a Mini Album I made just recently.
I watched a video by Dawn Meadows where she created this little album.  (You can find her on  the BookVandal Shop You Tube Channel).  I loved her album so  much, I had to make one for myself .  This mini uses 3 large envelopes + 1 small envelope.
This is my very first envelope mini.  Have seen plenty on the net that I loved but never had the right size envelope to make them and so never really bothered.  When I saw this one though, I got the bug and as, again, I didn't have the right type of envelopes, I actually had to make them as well.  I won't actually show you how to make this album as I think Dawn's video does that better than I ever could.

The finished album measures 7.75" x 5.5" and the papers I've used to decorate this Album is from a 12 x 12 pad called Memory Lane by Kaisercraft.

There's not a lot of embellishment on the front.   Just a piece of lace and a small collage.  I think the papers are pretty enough that they don't need covering up.

This album actually opens two ways.  The first opening is from left to right and reveals a pocket (on the left) and a notebook (on the right).  I will show the second opening later in the post.

There is a large tag inside the pocket.  

I attached a small piece of lace at the side and added some washi tape, book paper, a digital image by Ephemera's Vintage Garden and a gorgeous handmade seal made by Lizzy Hill. 

Lizzy is one of the crafty friends I exchange Christmas cards with and we usually include a small crafty gift as well.  I sent her a set of wildflower diecuts and she sent me a set of lovely little seals she had made.  I absolutely adore them and was so pleased I could incorporate one into this little album.

A small collage and a piece of lace decorate the front of the note book.

Used my fave stencils and added some stamping on the inside, but I've left the pages relatively bare as they are, mainly, to be used for journaling ..

.. although I have also added a few bits of lace and strips of washi tape.

The booklet is sewn into the main journal using pamphlet stitch.

A little stamping on the back of the note book as well as a small butterfly plate.

 Behind the notebook is another page with a flip out pocket (made with the smaller envelope) attached to the side.

Inside the pocket is a small tag.  The back of the tag is left blank for more journaling or you could add a photo.

That completes the left side opening of the album.
The second way to open the album is from right to left and this reveals a large pocket on the left and a simply decorated page on the right.

This flower is attached to an altered paper clip which can be moved to any other part of the book.

Inside the pocket is a simple, folded card ..

.. which could be used for photos, ephemera or journaling.

And, finally, the back of the album which also has a pocket ..

.. and a tag ..

.. with a little tuck spot on the back.

A final look at the front ..

Yayy!!  You managed to stick it out to the end.   Doing a little happy dance here!! LOL!!

I had such fun creating this album.  I do hope you will pop over to You Tube and take a look at Dawn's videos.  She has so many interesting albums, etc., and her tutorials are excellent!

I did say at the beginning of this post that I made this album for myself but, I ended up gifting it to a friend.  So now, of course, I am making another one.  The album I just shared was made pretty much as Dawn showed it but the new one will have some innovations of my own.  Hope you will come back to take a look at that one when it's finished.

I am entering this album into the Mini Album Makers Challenge for February

Thank you so much for stopping by and for the lovely comments you leave me.  I appreciate it very much.

Have a wonderful day!
Take care and God Bless.

Mini Album Makers Guest Design Spot

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are having a fabulous day!

I am so excited!!  Back in August, I entered a Junk Journal I had created into the Mini Album Makers Challenge and my little book was chosen as the favourite for that month.  Consequently, I was asked to create an album and tutorial to share on their blog as a Guest Designer and the post has gone live today!!

Here is a little peek at the album cover.

I do hope you will join me on the Mini Album Makers Challenge blog today where I am sharing a few of the pages and also how I constructed this little album!  Huge thanks to Autumn and all the ladies on the Team for giving me this opportunity!

Have a fabulous day everyone!
Take care and God Bless.
oxox  Marg

My Junk Journal Part #3 - Completed!!

Hello dear visitors and welcome to my blog.   Hope you are having a lovely day!!  

 I have finally completed my first Junk Journal.  Gosh, it has taken me such a long time to get this done but I have thoroughly enjoyed creating it.
In a previous post (HERE) I shared the first signature of this journal but I had to change it .. again!!  The cover I made for the original journal was a wrap around and, when I finished the second signature, the two together were way too thick for the cover I made.  I had to make the decision whether to cut off the wrap around section (which I didn't want to do) or, to create a whole new cover (which I definitely didn't want to do) or, the last option was to take some pages out of both signatures so they would fit.  This last option is what I finally decided to do.  So now my book looks different again!!!  Not a lot different, but different just the same!!  LOL!!  Have to say though, I am quite happy with it!!

I was only going to show you the completed second signature in this post but, as the first one has now changed, I am actually showing the completed journal.   Must warn you, there are a lot of photos, so you may want to grab yourself a cuppa!!

A reminder of the cover.

I had some trouble deciding what kind of closure to use and in the end went with a bulldog clip attached to a little bit of chain.  As you can see, I also attached a few charms as well.

I used the pamphlet stitch to sew both signatures into the book.

The inside front cover and the cover of the first signature.  The flower is attached to an altered paper clip which holds a couple of journaling tags.

Below, the page on the left is the same as shown before but, on the right I've added some stenciling, stamping and strips of washi tape.  The tape idea came from Astrid Maclean.  She uses it a lot in her journals and I loved the look so much I decided to use some in mine.  If you don't know Astrid and would like to see her works HERE is the link.  Believe me, you won't be sorry .. her creations are amazing!!
Not 100% happy with the way I added the washi, but I'm hoping that, with some practice, it will get better!  LOL!!

Added stenciling and stamping to the page on the left  but the right side is the same as shown in Part #1 with that ingenious lift up tab idea I pinched .. errr .. borrowed .. from Jenny Marples at Pushing the Right Buttons!  LOL!!

Again, I just added a touch of stenciling and stamping to the page on the right.

Just the cute flower stencil with a little added stamping on the left and the page folds out.

This is where I removed some of the pages ..

 .. and here is the centre of the signature.

 I attached a couple of charms to the ends of the thread I used to sew the signature to the cover.

The stained tracing paper on the right folds out.

Love, love, love those stains!

Added stenciling and stamping on the right side.

Here I've added stenciling and strips of washi to the left side and added an altered paper clip as well.  They are so handy for tuck spots.

A tiny little clip on the left and stencil and stamp on the right.  The right side page folds out as well.  Means there's plenty of room for journaling or adding photos and ephemera.

Here I just added the stencil and washi on the left side ..

 .. and here is the back cover of the first signature and the front cover of the second.  I do hope you are still with me!!!

So, here we are inside the second signature.  As you can see, there is a pocket on the left with a couple of tags and on the right I've left the page clean and just added strips of washi tape.

 This flower is another altered paper clip.

Just a little stamping on the left and more of the tea stained tracing paper on the right.

 Folded a doily over the edge of this page and added a little washi for some interest.

 Another pocket on the left with some tags, one of which is a booklet.  The little banner on the right can be moved or taken out completely as it is simply attached to the page with a small clip.

 A couple of different sized pages here with the usual stenciling and also a touch of lace.

Page on the left folds out.

The middle of the second signature.

 Again, I have attached a couple of charms to the ends of the thread used to sew the signature to the cover.

Page on the right folds out.

Page on the right .. you guessed it!! .. folds out!!  LOL!!

A triangular pocket this time to hold some tags.  I really like this shape of pocket and will certainly use it in other books.

Another altered paper clip (you can see how I make these HERE) and more of the tea stained tracing paper.

On the last page is a small envelope which doubles duty as a tuck spot ..

The back cover of the second signature and the inside back cover of the journal.

And there it is!!  My first Junk Journal done and dusted!!  I hope you managed to stick it out till the end and I really hope you like it!!

As stated at the beginning of this post, this book took a really long time to complete mainly because I didn't work on it all the time.  I only dragged it out every once in a while when I wasn't busy with other things and I also changed it around a few times!  I had a lot of fun with it though because I wasn't in a rush to finish and I could take my time to decide what I wanted to do and how I wanted it to look.  I do love how it turned out and am definitely making more of these.

I am sharing this in the August Mini Album Makers Challenge

Update:  I am totally thrilled and delighted (and, let me say, stunned) to tell you that my little book was chosen as the Design Team Favourite for August.  I would like to thank all the members of the Mini Album Makers Challenge Team for giving me this honour!  You made my day!! 

Thank you so much for your visit and for the lovely comments left on my last post.  I really do appreciate it and I must apologise for falling behind again with my blog visits.  This post was scheduled because I haven't been very well just lately and have not been able to get on my computer.  Thankfully I am starting to come good now and, hopefully, I can catch up with all of you soon.

Whatever you like doing, do it lots, and have fun with it!!
Have a great day!!
Take care and God Bless.