Graduation Mini Album with Authentique Accolade

Good morning, Crafters! I am posting for Authentique Paper again. Today I have a mini album project to share. My daughter's college gradation is the end of this month, so I used the NEW Accolade Collection to create a fun 4x6 photo mini album for her to scrap all her graduation event photos. 

The Accolade Collection has a neutral color palette of cream, white, black, gray, and sepia, which means you can add any colors you wish. Since my daughter's school colors are gold and blue, I picked through my other Authentique collections looking for those colors. (See the supply list as the end of the post.)

The mini album is 6 1/4" x 4 1/4" x 1". This book is a "remake" of a mini I made in March using the Shamrock Collection (see that tutorial HERE.) Sometimes, I like to make a mini over again with new papers. Every now and again I make something that is just too good to make only once! 

This book has nine pages, suitable for 6" x 4" photos.

As you can see, the cover is really plain. (I may have stated a few times before that my daughter does not like covers with too much stuff glued to them. I am not at all sure she really IS my daughter with talk like that!) 

I used some very old Sizzix alpha dies to cut out the letters of her school, San Jose State University. The die set has the shadow dies also, so I used the Spectrum cardstock to cut out the letters in her school colors. The colors that matched the best were Old Glory and Mustard Seed. (I do confess that the color of blue her school uses is more a royal blue, but I had nothing, nada, zip, zilch in that exact color. I matched the blue the best I could!) 

The book closure is just a piece of elastic cord, which reminds me of the bands my daughter uses for her long hair. It's a perfect closure for her book! I added a few charms to dangle off the spine. 

I think my favorite paper in the Accolade Collection is the sheet of globes and pocket watches! I used it to cover the spine and back of the mini. 

I added a pocket to the inside front cover. Using the letter stickers from the Details Sticker sheet, I spelled out the name of the university on the bottom edge of the pocket. To further customize the mini, I used some markers to color the graduate's bouquet on page one.

I added some tags to the pocket. For most of the inside of the mini, including the tags, I used all 6x6 paper pads. I love the smaller prints for project measuring six inches or smaller. 

I used blue and gold papers from other collections for the back of the tags, but decorated with the Accolade stickers. 

The cut-aparts from the collection are perfect for decorating the pages. I only attached the ephemera cards at the top edge so my daughter can slip photos or memorabilia under the cards.

I added a pocket to page three to hold some tags and another of the cut-apart ephemera cards. 

Funny story about those little tags...they are Graphic 45 ATC size tags. 

When I was working on kits for the class I taught last Saturday, I was pulling some tags and these two were stuck together. Like, really stuck...two tags are using the same grommet! I tossed them onto the desk thinking I'd try to pry them apart later.

Well, I decided to just use them as is! I covered the fronts with paper and... 

also covered the backs! The tags swivel around the grommet, so they are a fun addition to my mini!

You can see that adding the pops of blue and gold work perfectly with the muted colors of Accolade! There are so many great images to choose from in this collection. (I also think this image looks a lot like my daughter!)

Pages 6 and 7.

The vintage feel of this mini is just adorable. I used markers to add some color to some of the images, making them really stand out! 

Here is a peek at the rest of the pages. This is pages 10 and 11.

Pages 12 and 13.

Pages 14 and 15. 

Pages 16 and 17. 

Pages 18 and the inside back cover. There are 20 sides ready for photos and memorabilia! 

Thanks for joining me today! I hope you are inspired to make a similar project for your favorite graduate!

Authentique Supplies Used:
Accolade 12x12 Paper
Accolade Details Cardstock Stickers
Accolade Bundle 6x6 Paper Pad
Spectrum Series Cardstock: Old Glory, Mustard Seed
Other 6x6 Paper Pads: Dame, Saucy, Dapper, Beginnings, Heroic, Homestead, Original

Additional Supplies: 

Cardstock: WorldWin Midnight

Black ATC tags: Graphic 45

Black elastic cord: Amazon

Charms: various

Ink: Ranger Distress Black Soot

Markers: Bix Mark It Deep Blue Sea, Moonstone Yellow

Dies: Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplate, Sizzix Upper Case Shadowbox

Jewelry findings: Tim Holtz

Number stickers: unknown

Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares, Blick Essentials glue, Scor-tape, ATG tape