As soon as I saw our assignment choices, I knew right away that I wanted to make a mini album on behalf of this month's 'Crate Petite'. I've been itching to gather pieces from here and there throughout my Crate goodies and pull them together somehow - this was finally my opportunity.
Because my pieces were from an assortment of various Crate Paper collections, I wanted to lease a small base for my album to help unify them. I used one piece of 12" x 12" cardstock cut into three strips that measure a total of 4" x 6". The six inch length was a little too big for me, so I trimmed them all down to 4" x 5". I folded each piece in half, placed them together and sewed down along the crease - it was pretty easy.
The 4" x 5" size was the perfect fit! It allowed me to use the journaling cards with varying layers. I wanted this mini album to be personal - one that to someone else might seem like pretty pictures, but really is a story from my heart. This mini is filled with little snippets of my son that could brighten up any day. I used lots of journaling cards and this particular one left the perfect space for me to add a bit of my own journaling.
On these pages, I started the mini with a favorite picture - us holding hands when he was almost six weeks old. This picture reminds me that although he's super tiny, him and his little hands are one of the biggest and best parts of my world. How could that not make me smile?! I added some patterned paper from the Love Notes collection and a doily under the picture to tie it in with the page above. I kept it simple by allowing the picture to tell the story.
When I look at this picture there is no denying who this boy's mommy is. As he has gotten older, he resembles my husband a little more, but still looks very much like me. Not only in his looks, but in the little things he does, I see myself. This can be very humbling at times, but there is no doubt that he's definitely 'my kiddo'. This journaling card from the Boys Rule collection helped me to tell my story. I used patterned paper as the base and added other elements on top. The paper tape from the Styleboard collection found it's way onto many of my pages - it, too, helps pull it all together.
I love the journaling cards and emphera pieces from each of the collections. For these pages, I started going through them and pulling out pieces that I knew I wanted to use. I worked almost exclusively with the Styleboard collection. I mixed patterned paper and journaling cards just underneath the photos. Then, I sewed here and there, and embellished the pages with stickers and a badge from Love Notes.
Although the pictures on these two pictures are a near perfect match, I still preferred to use the same papers and colors to tie it all together. I added my picture on top the papers and then the 'happy' sticker and 'boy' letter Thickers as my page title. I stapled the Thickers down to give them a more masculine feel.
I know that pink is traditionally not a boy color, but I like the softness that it lends to my photos. In this top page, my son was about one year and it was his first time using crayons. We had such a fun time and he loved it. I loved giving him a new way to express himself. Looking at these pictures 'now', the pink does look a little girly, but I'll just tell him it's because he's momma's boy.
This is a more recent picture of my little guy. At this point in his sweet life, he likes to rock in his chair with his bear, sing songs and tell me stories. It's usually how we start our day and one of my new faves! When I was picking out embellishments to use, I set aside these triangle studs - I like how they're soft, but yet, still edgy. They really help to add dimension to an otherwise flat last page of my book.
This was such a simple album to put together - so much so, that it can be created by any level of scrapbooker. Since I usually shy away from making mini books, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly this one came together. Because the pages are attached, my only struggle near the end was when I was trying to figure how to photograph them. I opted to prop them up on a white board and captured them as shown. It's a definite must-try mini album filled with lots of love!
This is beautiful!
Posted by: Laura Turcotte | April 07, 2014 at 02:57 AM
Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous! And those photos are adorable!
Posted by: Kathleen | April 07, 2014 at 03:12 AM
A totally gorgeous mini album - you must do more of these :)
Posted by: Tanya W | April 07, 2014 at 03:31 AM
Wow, love this mini album! Gorgeous pictures and I love the "girly" look with all the gold and pink! :)
Posted by: Maja | April 07, 2014 at 03:44 AM
super gorgeous...wow.
Posted by: ~amy~ | April 07, 2014 at 04:10 AM
Your work is wonderful but those pictures have to be what make the book! What a great album. I loved seeing you use the more feminine pieces for a book about your little boy. I have a boy too and never know how to adapt those styles into my work.
Posted by: Jessica Gebhardt | April 07, 2014 at 08:16 AM
Simply gorgeous , love all the details, my special friend...♥
Posted by: Sophia Allison | April 07, 2014 at 09:11 AM
Just gorgeous Steph, as always!!!! and your little one is such a cutie! <3
Posted by: Monique Liedtke | April 07, 2014 at 10:43 AM
Beautiful mini book.. Love it
Posted by: Anita B | April 07, 2014 at 02:56 PM
Stephanie this is awesome! Great job and uber cute kid:o)
Posted by: Mary-Ann Maldonado | April 09, 2014 at 12:55 PM