Spring Mini Album

Hello again fellow crafters & welcome to May!  Finally here in the North East Coast I can honestly say that Spring has arrived.  On that note, I've decided to post this 'Spring' themed mini album.  For this mini I've joined two fabulous manufacturers to create one very colorful mini album.  All papers used for this mini is by Authentique & the mini acrylic & chipboard album is by Clear Scraps. 

The paper is from Authentique's Petite 'Spring' collection & the mini album is the Spring Mixables album.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with a mini that consisted of both acrylic & chipboard pages--the possibilities are so many with this combination & the clear nature of the acrylic pages adds such a wonderful visual appeal.

I've highlighted the cover of the mini by first going over the edges with a pink Sharpie Oil Based Paint marker which is a permanent marker.  Any time you want to work with acrylic, it's best to use permanent markers  and/ or permanent inks such as Staz-On.  Next with a thin paint brush I've applied a thin layer of clear dry adhesive & spread Diamond Dust onto the adhesive.  Once dry you get that 'crystal' effect all along the border and since the Diamond Dust is transparent & the adhesive dries clear, you'll see the pink Sharpie line peek through.

Here's a closer look at the cover edges.  You can also see the border of a chipboard page behind the acrylic page.  I've covered all of my chipboard pages with designer paper, sanded the edges in order to smooth them out and then inked all the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  Finally I added dots of either Stickles or acrylic paint along the edges to further dress them up.

I've decorated the acrylic pages mostly with images that were cut from the Authentique papers & with rub-ons.  In this photo you can see the different designs that are created with the acrylic & chipboard page combinations.

The doilies is what will hold my photos.  I've yet to take the photos that will go into this mini!  I just know that once I do--the mini album will be prepped & ready to hold them.  I may journal or tell the stories of my pictures on the inside of the last page of my mini or I may simply decide to add more photos here.  I haven't quite decided yet.

Isn't this umbrella & banner the perfect touch to a 'Spring' themed mini?  When I saw these images I knew I had to fussy cut them out and arrange them onto my front cover.  The mushroom bird & bird's nest are from my stash.  These are little embellies I find by sometimes taking the time to go through the .50 cents or $1.00 clearance bin at my local craft store.

Isn't the design of this album creative?  The chipboard page is actually cut in the shape of two flowers.  I've positioned my doilies on the following page so that when I adhere the photos, they'll peek through the center of the flowers that will 'frame' them when you're on this particular page.

As you can see I added dots of either Stickles or acrylic paint along just about all the borders of this mini.  I think it helps the edges stand out a bit more.

This mini can hold approximately 6-8 photos--it all depends on how you design it.  I've added tulle & ribbon to the rings holding my mini together.

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you've been inspired to create a few 'Spring' themed projects!  Enjoy the rest of the week.