The Benefits of Mini-Album Making

One thing that people share who start scrapbooking can be a sense of panic. There is so much! So many papers, so many colors, so many themes, so many layouts. I struggled for a couple of years to get to know my scrapbooking style. What I found is that, for me, the smaller, the better. I have also found that starting out smaller also helps newbies get a sense of what can work on a larger scale - give them a boot up, so to speak.

The mini-album is a wonderful way to dip your big toe in the pool of scrapbooking. The scale is definitely smaller. The time it takes to put one together is shorter, especially if you have a project sheet. Below is an example of an accordion album I made for Christmas a couple of years ago:



The measurements of the cover were 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. The inside accordion pages were 3x3 inches. Notice the cover of the album is fairly simple. A stamped snowflake image that has been matted by a piece of red cardstock. The paperboard that comprised the front and back covers were covered by matching green polkadot paper. Then two pieces of grosgrain ribbon were attached to each side so that the book could be closed with bows. It took me a total of 15 minutes to put together the outside covers.



The inside of this book has six different page layouts. I like a little variety. However, I have seen just as cute or cuter books done with the same layout for every page. Its personal choice and depends a great deal on time and resources. Notice, again, that the layouts on the pages are not elaborate. They include simple embellishments like stamped paper, brads, and stamped images that are cut out and attached to the corner of the picture mats. The accordion album is so versatile. They can be made in any size as long as you have the paper for it, and can have as many pages as you want.




The above example is another one of my favorites for gifts. The paperbag album is simply what it says - made from brown or white lunch paperbags. They are folded in half, decorated with paper and then bound by ribbon or metal rings.




I usually use three paperbags which yields a five layout book plus three surprise pull outs. As you can see, the principles are the same - smaller scales and simple embellishment. The benefit of the paperbag album over the accordion album is, because the paper you are decorating is a little more sturdy and doesn't require you to fold it together, you can decorate or embellish it a bit more heavily.



The surprise pull outs are a favorite part of mine for the paperbag album. It it not necessary to use the open ends of the paperbags to put in an insert. They can be closed and ribbons and other things can be used to decorate the edge of the book. But its so much fun for someone to pull on the ribbons and get a bonus picture or three. All you had to do was cut out a few extra pieces of cardstock and attach some ribbons on the ends.

There are a few more types that I know of, such as the star book and tag book. I don't have pictures of ones I did but if you click on the links, you'll see examples others have done. In short, mini-albums are perfect for busy moms who'd like to get a project done in one night or a quick gift for faraway family and friends when they can't be there for things like birthdays, weddings, baptisms, or graduations.