Authentique - Beginnings Baby Album

Hello, Readers! The New Year is just a few days away! We all like to have new beginnings at the start of each new year - resolutions, diets, exercise plans, cleaning schedules, and so forth. However, the BEST beginning is the birth of a baby! My oldest brother was born on January 1st, which means my parents had a spectacular "new beginning" to start 1949! (Yes, I just outed my brother as turning 69 on Monday!)

I am up on the Authentique Blog today, and I wanted to celebrate all the new babies born over the holiday season, so I have created a sweet baby-themed mini album to share with you. I tried to keep the color scheme suitable for a boy or a girl. The Authentique Beginnings Collection has lovely colors of green, yellow, pink, and blue.

The album is a landscape format and is five inches tall and nine inches long, with a one-inch spine.

I added a resin frame and a few flowers to the front of the album. The image inside the frame is from the paper collection.

I used a ribbon tie closure, which is easy to create and easy to use.

The inside of the mini has space at the top for one photo. The bottom is a waterfall style set of pages.

A photo can be added to the top inside cover, which is decorated from an element from the Authentique Beginnings Collection Bundle 6x6 Paper Pad. I added some flowers and stars for decoration.

I made the spine wide enough to accommodate the lumpy embellishments.

The waterfall pages are held in place by another ribbon closure. The ribbon is secured under some decorative paper on each end.

Once you untie the ribbon, the accordion fold hinges allow you to turn the pages. There are 12 pages, which include three pockets and one accordion fold page.

The pages and pockets are all 4" x 4", making this mini perfect for square photos, such as those from Instagram.

The three pockets each have a pull out tag with space for more photos or journaling.

Throughout the book, the sweet papers are all coordinated.

I used a few papers from the Imagine Collection Bundle 6x6 Paper Pad. The colors coordinated very well with the Beginnings Collection. 

Once you flip the last page of the mini, there is space for another photo.

To see every page of the mini, view the video below:

If you wish to make your own mini, here are some basic directions.

Cut two covers from chipboard at 5" x 9". Cut the spine from chipboard at 1" x 9".

Use a piece of Beginnings Two 12" x 12" paper, however DO NOT remove the tear strip from the top edge of the paper. You need this extra bit of paper to cover the mini.

Place the chipboard onto the paper with the teddy bear print facing the table. Make sure to leave 1/8" between the cover pieces and the spine. Angle the corners. Add double-sided adhesive to all the edges.

Wrap the chipboard as shown. Gently score and bend the covers to close the mini album.

I always like to reinforce my spine, especially if the mini will be handled a lot. For this mini, trim a piece of self-adhesive canvas to 3" x 9" and attach to the outside surface of the spine.

Close the album and place a strip of greed polka dot cloth washi tape over the edges of the canvas.

Create accordion fold hinges from Micro Basics Sunflower Yellow Check paper. Each separate  hinge is 1/2" tall with 1/4" gutters.

Cut paper to 3 7/8" x  8 3/4". Score at 1", 1 1/2", 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", 7 3/4", and 8 1/4". I created two sets, for a total of 12 hinges.

Trim Spectrum Series heavy weight textured cardstock Robin's Egg One to 3" x 8 7/8" and attach to the spine area. Trim two pieces of decorative paper to 4 3/4" x 8 7/8" and attach to the inside covers.

Place the hinges on the bottom inside cover, approximately 1/4" from the left edge. I overlapped the second set of hinges so that the gutter between hinge 6 and hinge 7 is 1/2". I will attach an accordion fold page to hinge 7.

Cut a piece of white cardstock to 4 1/2" x 4" and attach to the right side of the mini as shown. (I forgot to add the green striped ribbon, which should be tucked UNDER the right center edge of this white panel. I had to go back and add it later, which was a pain!)

Cut white cardstock to 4" x 11" and score at 4" and 8" creating three panels. Two panels will be 4" x 4" and one panel will be 4" x 3".

Trim decorative paper to fit each of the three panels (add paper to one side only). Then attach one of the 4" x 4" sections to hinge 7. Flip the page and then add paper to the back of each panel, making sure to cover the hinge mechanism with the decorative paper.

Fold the page and burnish all score lines.

To create the pocket pages, I used some pre-made pockets (Pine Cone Press) that I found in my stash. Each pocket is 4" x 4" when folded and holds a 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" tag.

I cut decorative paper to 3 7/8" x 3 7/8" and then used a circle die cut template to trim the top of each panel to match the pocket.

Attach the paper to the pocket and then fold and burnish the score lines. Place double-sided adhesive onto the two tabs on the pocket. DO NOT secure the tabs to create the pocket yet.

Place adhesive onto the back of hinge 1. Attach the inside of the pocket to the hinge as shown.

Now, remove the adhesive liner and fold the pocket together, sandwiching the hinge inside the pocket. Repeat the process for hinges 4 and 10.

For the tags, cut paper at approximately 4 5/8" x 3 5/8". (I had to cut 1/4" off the bottom of tag 3 because it was sticking out of the side of the mini!) Trim paper and cover both sides of each tag, allowing the top section of white tag to show. Tie a bit of ribbon to each tag.

For the remaining eight hinges, cut 16 pieces of white cardstock to 4" x 4" and sandwich a hinge between two pieces of cardstock to create 8 pages. You will have a 4" x 4" page "sandwich" attached to hinges 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12.

Trim 16 pieces of decorative paper to 3 7/8" x 3 7/8" and attach them to the pages. (To see all of my pages, view the video above.)

Attach the end of a 12" piece of green striped ribbon to the right edge of cover (place it under the white panel you attached previously). Cut Spectrum Series heavy weight textured cardstock Robin's Egg One to 4 3/8" x 4 7/8" and attach to the white mat on the right side of the cover, covering the end of the ribbon.

Add a die cut frame to the center of the panel. Use foam adhesive to attach a decorative element from the Beginnings Details cardstock sticker sheet.

Attach another 12" piece of green and white striped ribbon to the left side of the hinge mechanism. Trim a piece of decorative paper to 3 7/8" x 1" and cover the ribbon (the paper is the yellow plaid shown here). Tie the ribbon together to keep the album pages from flipping around.

Decorate the top, inside cover. Cut white cardstock to 4 1/2" x 6". Cut Spectrum Series heavy weight textured cardstock Robin's Egg One to 4 3/8" x 5 7/8" and attach to the white panel. Add a die cut frame.

Trim the displayed image from Beginnings Collection Bundle 6x6 Paper Pad and mat with yellow and white cardstock. Attach the image to the left of the frame. Decorate with flowers and stars, as shown.

Close the album. Attach a 30" length of white ribbon o the outside of the album. Tie a bow closure. Decorate the cover with a resin frame, flowers, stars, and enamel dots.

Thank  you so much for looking!

Authentique Supplies:
Beginnings Collection 12x12 Paper Pad
Beginnings Collection Bundle 6x6 Paper Pad
Beginnings Collection Details Cardstock Stickers
Imagine Collection Bundle 6x6 Paper Pad
Micro Basics Sunflower Yellow Check
Spectrum Series Robin's Egg One

Additional Supplies: 
Cardstock: white
Flowers: Petaloo, Wild Orchid Crafts
Star embellishments: large clear plastic (unknown), Really Reasonable Ribbon White Flatback Pearl Stars 
Resin frame: Prima
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon White Satin with Stitched Center; green and white stripe (unknown) 
Enamel dots: American Crafts Shimelle, Doodlebug Design Blue Jean, C. C. Designs Snowy Day
Dies: My Favorite Things Stitch Rectangle Scallop Frame, Spellbinders Standard Circles Small
Pockets: Pine Cone Press
Adhesive: hot glue, ATG tape, Ranger multi medium, Scor-tape