Graphic 45 2018 Brand Ambassador Audition

how to make a mini album bind

Graphic 45 2018 Brand Ambassador Audition

Hello Graphic 45!  I’m so happy to enter my projects in the Graphic 45 2018 Brand Ambassador Audition.  I have two projects I want to share with you today.  One is a Cafe Parisian Envelope Mini Album; and the other is a Gilded Lily Tag Mini Album.

Graphic 45 Cafe Parisian Envelope Mini Album

Graphic 45 Envelope Mini Album Tutorial

For this Envelope Mini Album I used the 4×6 Cafe Parisian journaling cards by Graphic 45.  If you didn’t know you could make a mini album entirely from journaling cards, now you know that you can! It was super fun and easy to create this envelope mini.  I tend to take my time while crafting and this mini album project took me about a day to complete.

You’ll need six black envelopes (for 4×6 cards), a pack of Graphic 45 journaling cards (4×6), your favorite paper cutting dies or paper punches, a corner punch, flat back pearls and flowers for embellishing.

You’ll also need the basic supplies like a paper trimmer (or scissors and ruler if you don’t own a paper trimmer), a score-board, some chipboard, black card stock, good quality glue or double sided tape, and if you have some fussy cutting scissors (the straight pointy ones) you’ll be able to fussy cut some pieces from the collection for embellishments.

Making the Pages

You’ll start by sealing each of the envelopes. Then you’ll hold the envelopes vertically and trim about an eight of an inch off each side.  One side will be for you to insert it into the binding and the other side will be left open as a pocket.

Graphic 45 Cafe Parisian Envelope Mini Album

Once you have done this to all of the six envelopes, you then proceed to glue your favorite Graphic 45 journaling card to the front of each envelope.

I always like to leave a black edge around my paper. If you want to obtain this effect, you may have to trim the edge, just a bit, off your journaling cards.  This all depends on the envelopes that you use.  Although I mentioned to get the standard size for 4×6 cards, keep in mind that not all envelopes are created equal. If you wind up trimming the edged off of your cards, this is where you may want to use your corner punch to round off those edges.  If you don’t have a corner punch, don’t worry about it.  Your work will look splendid nevertheless!

Because I wanted a more uniform look on the back side of the envelopes, I opted to use the same style sheet of my Graphic 45 paper pack.  The design that you see to the left is called Confectionery.

Mini Album Tutorial

As you can see, the papers in this Graphic 45 collection are very beautiful.  The vibrancy of the colors and the designs do all the work for you!  That is a major plus that you get when you design a project with Graphic 45.  As you see in these pictures, I decided to add simple corner die-cuts to each of the front of the six pages.

how to make an envelope mini album

Making the Photo Mats

To make the photo mats for the pockets is another easy process.  Basically what you do is cut 6 pieces of cardstock to about 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 (once again, because not all envelopes are created equal). You may have to fudge a bit with those measurements. When cutting your photo mats, ensure that you get an easy slide on – slide off.  ***Keep in mind that when you add the journaling cards and your photos to your photo mats, they’ll make your mats a bit thicker than when you first started.***

For my photo mats I decided to use the We R Memory Keepers Tab Punch Board. It’s not a necessary tool, as you can easily use the Sticker Tabs by Graphic 45 on black card stock, fussy-cut them, then glue them to your photo mats.

how to make a mini album tutorial

How to Bind the Pages of your Mini Album

how to make a mini album bind

If this is your first time binding the pages to a mini album, don’t be intimidated. It looks more difficult than it actually is.  To make the binding look pretty in between the pages, I like to use card stock from the same designer paper collection.  This is just personal preference. You may use plain black card stock if you wish.

Basically what you do is cut a 12 x 6 piece of cardstock (or your Graphic 45 paper) and you’re going to do the following:  Place it on your score-board and score half inch, half inch, a quarter inch, half inch, half inch, a quarter inch…. you’ll do this until you get to the end.  Now some more experienced paper-crafters may say this is a waste of paper, but there’s a reason I do this.  When it comes to making the binding, I rather have too much than too little.

It’s About Peaks and Valleys

So I score away, till the very end, following the measurement pattern mentioned above.  I do my folds following the score marks. You will do this in peaks and valleys. The peaks are where you attach your pages to, and the valleys are the spaces in between your pages.

When you have your 6 peaks and valleys, you then trim off the excess card stock.   So now that you have your peaks and valleys, this is where your good-quality double sided tape comes in to play.

Your next step is to stick the peaks together using your Good-quality double sided tape.  Once this part is done, you then proceed to add good quality double sided tape all over the back of the binding.  Don’t let a spot go without tape. This is crucial to your mini album not falling apart on you.

You then add glue to the sides of the peaks and slide your pages in.  Tip: Leave about an eighth of an inch of space where the page meets the binding. This will do for easier page turning.

How to Make a Mini Album Cover

Graphic 45 Envelope Mini Album Tutorial

There a several methods one can use to make a mini album cover.  Everyone has their own preference; and it’s good to experiment every now and then to see what method works best for you.  What I’m about to share with you is my method of building a mini album cover.  This is what works for me, and I find it rather easy.

Because I didn’t want the tabs to my photo mats sticking out of the mini album cover, I decided to cut the two chipboard pieces at 5 5/8 x 6 5/8; and for the spine I cut one piece at 2 by 6 5/8.  Next I take each of the three pieces and I cover them individually with black card stock.

Once I’ve covered up my pieces of chipboard, I proceed to bind all three pieces together.  I use black card stock on both the inside and the outside of the mini album.  You have to ensure that you leave about an eight of an inch of space between each chipboard piece.  You do this so that your mini album will open and close.  Click here to get a better idea of what I mean.

Last but not Least

You’re now ready to peel off the paper from the double sided tape of your page binding and add it to your mini album!

All you’re left with is to add your Graphic 45 papers to the front and back covers and the inside cover pages, embellish the front cover and that’s it! You’ve created your very own beautiful work of paper art!

How to Make an Envelope Mini Album Tutorial for Beginners

I’ve taken the liberty of recording a three-part video tutorial of my Graphic 45 Cafe Parisian Envelope Mini Album.  Following are the links to my video series:

Mini Album Tutorial for Beginners – Part 1

Envelope Mini Album Tutorial for Beginners – Part 2

Envelope Mini Album Tutorial for Beginners – Part 3

Gilded Lily Tag Mini Album

My second project for the Graphic 45 2018 Brand Ambassador Audition is this beautiful Gilded Lily Tag Mini Album.

shabby chic tag mini album

For this Shabby Chic Tag Mini Album I used the Gilded Lily collection by Graphic 45, and the ivory Staples Square Party Tags also by Graphic 45.

graphic 45 tag mini album

The Gilded Lily collection is such a beautiful paper collection that lends itself very well to the Shabby Chic genre.  And who doesn’t love shabby chic?

shabby chic tag mini album

This Shabby Chic Tag Mini Album is extremely easy to create when you use the Staples Square tags by Graphic 45.

All you do is measure cut and glue your favorite Graphic 45 papers on the tags, embellish, and you’re done!

Shabby Chic Pocket Tag

I decided to add a pocket to my back cover using trims from my stash.  Then I made that cute 3×3 note card to go right inside the pocket.

Graphic 45 Tag Mini Album
how to make a tag mini album
how to make a shabby chic lace mini album
graphic 45 tag mini album
how to make a shabby chic mini album

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my projects for the Graphic 45 2018 Ambassador Audition.  It was a lot of fun creating with such beautiful collections.  Wish me luck!

In case you’re interested in recreating these projects, I’ve created a small Amazon grid with products from Graphic 45.

***Disclosure –  these Amazon links are affiliate links where I make a small commission if you click on them and make a purchase.  The price of the following products are the same regardless whether you use my links or not.  It is my hope that you use my product links, as they help pay for the upkeep of this blog. Thank you. ***

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