Craft Consortium The Gift of Giving Mini-Album

   My great-niece has a birthday coming up and she wants everyone to pitch in money to get her a lap top.  She will be 10 years old.  I was given strict instructions from her grandmother -- no other gifts.  So, I thought I would make her a little mini-album to put her birthday pictures in and I also made a couple booklets for her to write and/or draw in (she loves to draw).  And because it is a crafty thing that I am making, it doesn't really count as a gift, but I hope she will like playing with it.  

   I used Craft Consortium's The Gift of Giving 6 x 6 paper pack and some of the decoupage sheets from the same collection.   

   The cover chip board is 7 1/8 inches long and 6 5/8 inches tall.  The spine is 1 3/4ths inches wide, but I wish I would have made it an even 2 inches wide, because I had to modify some of the decorations and such to keep the covers from gapping open.  There are 3 base pages, but I glued the pockets of them shut to help with the gapping problem with the covers.  There are only 3 pages.  I used the Country Craft Creations basic build to the book, but I modified the hinge to be similar to Kathy Ortega King's hidden hinge plus system.

The front of the album has a page of the Craft Consortium paper on top of a piece of cardstock.  The background piece of one of the decoupage papers was placed on top of a piece of glitter paper and that was backed with chipboard and glued on top.  

The spine is matted with some designer paper from my stash (I think it is ancient Debbie Munn) and some of the fussy cut pieces from the inside covers of the paper pack.

The back cover has the same papers from my stash and my Paper Sushi stamp.

When you open the front cover you see this:

The inside of the front cover has an accordion pocket with a little booklet in it (it is only white paper stapled inside for her to write of draw in) decorated with one of the cut a-parts from the collection.  And it has a tiny folder decorated with another of the cut a-parts.

The 3 pages are 6 1/8 x 6 1/8 inches.  

Page one has a pocket decorated with part of the decoupage images and Allie's name.  The pocket has two tags in it with the main images from the decoupage sheets and the backs blank, so Allie can add pictures or draw on them.  This pocket page unfolds to the right, leaving room for pictures and it has one of the cut a-parts that will fold up.

The next pages:

The left page has a vertical pocket decorated with some of the decoupage pieces containing a folder (again decorated with the decoupage pieces).

The right page is the pockets that open to the right with plain white tags inside.  The bottom pocket (decorated with a fussy cut piece from the inside covers of the paper pack) opens down and the top pocket opens up.  These are real tight, so I am suspecting that because the page is so little (and then obviously the pockets themselves are even littler) it makes it too tight to work well.  So, I learned not to use this type of pocket on the smaller albums.

And the next pages:

The left hand page has a tuck spot decorated with one of the cut a-parts from the collection.  I tucked a tag into the spot with room for a picture.  The right side has a waterfall held close with a magnet on the strap.  I had a cute plastic balloon on the strap, but I had to remove it to make the pages close better.  I replaced the balloon with a circle punched from the paper.  

And turn the page:

The left page is plain except for part of the decoupage piece.

The inside of the back cover is another pocket page.  Originally, it was suppose to be a gusseted pocket, but I had to cut the gusset part off to get the covers to close properly.  It has another booklet in it, again just made with stapling pages.  It is decorated with the base sheet of one of the decoupage pieces.

I think I have found the way that I like the hinges and spine!  I just have to be more careful watching that I have enough room to keep the covers from gapping.  I hope Allie likes it.