It is often said that good things come in small packages. We happen to think there is some truth to this well-known statement considering how precious this mini album is! Other examples of pintsized cuteness? A downsized card or a small tag adorned with tiny embellishments. There is definitely so much that can still be accomplished when working on a smaller scale. Our lovely CP Gal, Stephanie Bryan, is sharing a petite mini album in a customized box—it's perfect for our first installment of Crate Petite.
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I've always been a fan of anything 'mini'. I love mini journals and especially, mini layouts! It's fun to change things up every once in a while and work with a smaller palette. It gives you a new perspective of your supplies and keeps things fun and interesting.
My daughter recently turned five and in honor of her birthday, I wanted to put together several mini layouts using some recent photos of her. Working on a smaller scale is great and the mini layouts can be used in so many different ways. You could add several to one layout; you could add a few to your Project Life album or you could assemble them into a mini book. I decided to create a sweet little box to hold my mini layouts. We'll get to that soon, but first let me show you how easy it is to create a mini layout.
I always start by determining the size of my mini layouts. Since I'm a traditional 12" x 12" scrapbooker, I usually like to stick with a square size. Today, I'm using 4" x 4". Once that's decided, I trim several pieces of white cardstock to 4" x 4". These will be the base for all of my mini layouts. I also hand select and print my images. Since I'm going with a square canvas, I decided to print my images 'square', but I varied the size to add more dimension and interest to my mini pages.
Next, is the fun part! I grab my favorite Crate papers and supplies and start assembling layers on my white cardstock. There are no rules here - play around and see what looks best. I typically like to alternate my layers between bold and neutral patterns for a clean, balanced look.
I also like to add embellishments and move them around before adhering them down. Here's where I try to keep my pops of color similar throughout each of the layouts. On the card above, you can see that I added a pinkish-red button to my canvas. This color is also on a few of the other layouts giving way to a more cohesive appearance.
Here's a look at my mini layouts all together! You'll probably notice that a few of them have only embellishments. I find that this allows the photos to 'pop' and keeps the mini pages from being too busy and overwhelming. The larger 4" x 4" photos are adorned with frames or overlays for a fun, playful look!
It's important to have fun in developing your pages and to add bold pops of color. The bolder the color, the more eye-catching your pages will be. With mine, the pop of pinkish-red is the perfect contrast to the subtle greens and pinks.
After finishing my layouts, I went back and forth about how to display them. I wanted to keep them in something that could be left out and looked at during her birthday party, but I preferred something other than a traditional mini album. I found an unfinished wooden box in my craft room and thought it suitable for holding the pages.
Because the box was unfinished, I applied a quick coat of white acrylic paint. To jazz up the outside, I pulled my Styleboard gold rub-ons and applied one directly to the box.
These rub-ons are oh so pretty and adhered magically to the painted box just like they would paper. The gold is shiny and almost looks embossed!
The only thing left to do was to add my mini layouts to the box. Super fun and totally easy - the little pages are perfect for my sweet girl's birthday party!
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If you didn't win this round, don't despair – we'll have another grab bag opportunity with more great CP Prizes in the near future. Have a crafty weekend!