Once Upon A Time Mini Album

Welcome to Part 2 of my Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Enchanted Castle and Once Upon A Time Mini Album Tutorial!

Today, I am sharing the tutorial for making the 6" x 5" mini album that matches the Castle Box that we made on March 8th. 

If you missed the Castle Box Tutorial, please click HERE.

The Castle Box opens and the mini album slides right inside for storage!

There is plenty of room inside the box! 

Let's get started making the Once Upon A Time Mini Album. Collect your supplies (see the list at the end of the post), including the chipboard mini album pieces that come with the Castle Box and Mini Album Set (coming soon from GSL).

We will be using two pieces of chipboard, set the rest aside. Cut the two pieces of chipboard down to 6" x 5". These will be the covers of our album. Cut two pieces of decorative paper (Graphic 45 Enchanted Forest) to 7" x 6" and attach to the chipboard with strong adhesive or with gel medium. Miter the corners and place 1/4" tape around the edges of the chipboard as shown.

Wrap the paper around the edges of the chipboard and secure at the back with the tape. 

Next, create the tab-hinge binding for the mini album by cutting a piece of black cardstock to 5 1/2" x 9 1/4". Score at: 2", 2 1/4", 2 3/4", 3 1/4", 3 1/2", 4, 4 1/2", 4 3/4" 5 1/4", 5 3/4", 6", 6 1/2", 7", 7 1/4". Place adhesive tape in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth 1/2" spaces as shown.

Fold on each score line and adhere each 1/2" space to the next 1/2" to form four tabs with 1/4" gutters between.

Flip the hinge over the glue a 5 1/2" x 5 1/4" piece of Tyvek to the back of the hinge. Sponge the edges with black ink and allow to dry. Trim a piece of decorative paper to 5 1/2" x 5 1/4" and glue to the top of the Tyvek. (The Tyvek will give the hinge strength and stability.)

Fold the hinge on the 2 1/4" and 7 1/4" score lines and burnish with a bone folder. Place adhesive on the back of the hinge system, to the left and right of the folded lines as shown. Trim two pieces of decorative paper to 6" x 5".

Remove the adhesive from the hinge and attach it to the front covers as shown, with the tabs facing up.

Adhere the two 6" x 5" pieces of decorative paper onto the inside of the covers.

Fold the album closed, curving the spine gently with your hands.

Cut four pieces of black cardstock to  5 1/2" x 4 1/2". These cardstock pieces are the pages of your album. Trim eight pieces of decorative paper to 5 3/8" x 4 3/8". Sponge all edges with black ink.

Place adhesive tape to the back of each tab hinge. Attach one piece of black cardstock to each hinge.

Cover each side of the black cardstock pages with the decorative paper.Your album is now ready to be embellished!

Select your GSL chipboard elements. Paint some of the elements black and ink some with metallic inks.

Chose a few elements to "age." For example, paint a frame with black acrylic paint. Once the paint dries, sponge with metallic pigment ink.

Decorate each page as shown in the following steps.

Inside front cover: Use a Graphic 45 Regular Tag (black) and decorative paper to create a pocket. Trim black cardstock with a border punch to add interest to the pocket edge. Glue a key from the Keys and Plates Shape Set to the pocket and tuck tags and journaling spots into the pocket.

Page 1: Create a pocket on the bottom of the page. Trim black cardstock with a border punch to add interest to the pocket edge. Fussy cut some images to decorate the pocket. Glue a dragon from the Dragons Shape Set to the center of the pocket.

Page 2 and 3: These pages are both pockets and fold out pages. Create a fold-out booklet for each page by cutting black cardstock to  4 3/8" x 6 3/4" and scoring at 3 3/8" on the long side. Fold on the score line to create a left fold for page 2 and a right fold for page 3. Attach paper to the front of the booklets and use small strips of paper to create a belly band for each booklet.

Use the Build a Banner Dove Tail Minis to create a decoration for page 2. Use the Build a Banner Pennant Minis and a corner from the Victorian Corners 2 Set to create a decoration for page 3. Place a mini paper clip at the top of each booklet.

Page 2 detail: Attach the left fold booklet to page 2 on three sides, creating a left-hand pocket. Create a photo mat for the pocket by cutting black cardstock to 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" and rounding the corners. Mat both sides with decorative paper cut slightly smaller. Slide the mat into the pocket. 

Open the booklet and attach small magnets to the inside. The magnets will keep the booklet closed. Cover the inside with decorative paper, covering the magnets. Attach a postage stamp image to the paper clip at the top of the left page. Place a photo mat under the clip. Create a pocket from an image for the right page.

Page 3 detail: Attach the right fold booklet to page 3 on three sides, creating a right-hand pocket. Create a photo mat for the pocket by cutting black cardstock to 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" and rounding the corners. Mat both sides with decorative paper cut slightly smaller. Slide the mat into the pocket. (If you have difficulty getting the photo mats to fit into the pockets, make them a bit smaller.)

Open the booklet and attach small magnets to the inside. The magnets will keep the booklet closed. Cover the inside with decorative paper, covering the magnets. Attach a small image to the paper clip at the top of the right page. Place a journaling spot under the clip. Create a pocket from an image for the left page.

Page 4: Create a large pocket from decorative paper. Decorate the pocket with a plate from the Keys and Plates Shape Set.

Page 5: Create a large pocket from decorative paper. Decorate the pocket with a dragon from the Dragons Shape Set.

Page 6: Glue a frame from the Flourished Frames Evie Set to the center of the page. Make sure to only glue three edges to allow a photo to slide into the frame. Place a postage stamp image under the top left corner of the frame. Decorate the frame with a small crown from the Steampunk Shape Set. 

Page 7: Create a pocket on the bottom of the page. Trim black cardstock with a border punch to add interest to the pocket edge. Decorate the pocket with printed chipboard and a large crown from the Steampunk Shape Set. 

Page 8: Glue one of the vines from the Grape Vines Set to the left corner of the page, Only glue down the edges to allow journaling spots or photos to slip under the chipboard. Attach a postage stamp image to the vine as shown.

Inside back cover: Use a Graphic 45 Regular Tag (black) and decorative paper to create a pocket. Trim black cardstock with a border punch to add interest to the pocket edge. Decorate the pocket and tuck tags and journaling spots into the pocket.

Now you are ready to decorate the cover! I always save the covers for last so that I don't mess them up while decorating the rest of the mini.

We will be using another of the chipboard sheets from the Castle Box and Mini set. Cut the chipboard to 5 1/4" x 4 1/4". Cut a piece of decorative paper to 6 1/4" x 5 1/4" and attach to the chipboard with strong adhesive or with gel medium. Miter the corners and place 1/4" tape around the edges of the chipboard, as you did for the covers. 

Wrap the paper around the edges of the chipboard and secure at the back with the tape. Cut black cardstock to 5 3/8" x 4 3/8" and attach to the back of the covered chipboard panel. Trim decorative borders from the paper and wrap around the top and the bottom of the panel. Attach the panel to the center of the mini album cover with strong adhesive.

Glue the Once Upon A Time phrase from the Words and Phrases 2 Set to the top of the panel. Glue printed chipboard embellishments and paper flowers to the album cover as shown.

Enjoy!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Products:
Castle Box with Mini Album (coming soon)
Dragons Shape Set
Keys and Plates Shape Set
Build a Banner Dove Tail Minis 
Build a Banner Pennant Minis 
Victorian Corners 2 Set
Flourished Frames Evie Set 
Steampunk Shape Set.
Grape Vines Set
Words and Phrases 2 Set

Other Products:
Decorative paper: Graphic 45 Enchanted Forest (12x12, 8x8, 6x6), Renaissance Faire Tags, Gilded Lily Tres Chic
Other Graphic 45: Enchanted Forest Chipboard, Ephemera Cards, Tags and Pockets; Regular Tags - Black
Ink: Colorbox Pigment (Burnt Copper, Gold Brocade, Copper, Bronze, Gold, Verdigris, Celadon, Cranberry, Sweet Melon); Delicata Golden Glitz; Memento Tuxedo Black
Paint: Martha Stewart Sating Acrylic Beetle Black
Punches: Creative Memories corner rounder, Stampin' Up 1" circle, Fiskars border
Ribbon and string: May Arts black silk ribbon; Really Reasonable Ribbon black burlap string
Brads: Creative Impressions
Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Tyvek: recycled envelopes
Magnets: Basic Grey magnetic discs
Cardstock: black
Adhesive: Ranger Glossy Accents, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares, Score-tape, Scotch 3M ATG tape, hot glue, white glue