scrapbooking: Love Theme envelope album

I was so charmed by using brown envelopes to create an accordion album that I decided to do one more! This round a 6 page album! I had in mind a love-theme, vintage mini-photo album for my lady friend's birthday!

For basic steps on how to join the envelopes together, please click here:
http://spiritedly3.blogspot.com/2011/01/scrapbooking-diy-accordion-album-by.html

Also, if you are looking for ideas there is the right hand column (click! click!) of previous scrapbooking projects posts.

Color theme: Pink hues, vintage yellowed print papers, gold glitter, turquoise and green highlights.

Materials: 6 small brown envelopes (the smallest size), laces, glitter ribbon, wooden numbers, thicker alphabets, tag, diamantes, cutouts, rosettes, pearl elements, bubble sticker.

Here are the blank pages without embellishments. First 2: Vintage newsprint and floral paper; Vintage print and math-book print. Vintage is tricky, once you have the 'yellowed' paper theme you have to make sure the rest fits in.

Before embellishments are added.
The front which I decided not to cover up with paper but add cutouts to it. Pasted nice papers on it and used a gold glitter ribbon to 'hold it down, creating the effect that everything's being held together by it.
Took a really long time to decide the layout... here it is almost complete.

The turquoise card can be removed and I've added a 'pocket' of flowers (can put a small note inside) and some jewels thrifted from a past necklace. Seems to just go together so well!

How it looks like completed with embellishments.

I love the shiny gold ribbon! I only bought one yard to test, but so far looks like it will be featured in several projects.

Cut out the flowers from a theme set paper and used glossy elements which reflects in the other photos with artificial light!

Top view, spy the word 'remember'
My sister says this is her favorite page and I also like the clean and sweet feel of it. Again, used glossy elements on the flower petals and glued on diamantes and the tag.

Back view. I only covered the back page with scrap paper.

This time round, I spent a really long time working on this project due to the busyness in Jan-Feb period. You can say I took my own sweet time!

Also wanted to print out the photos, it's printed at Shalom Colorlab at the ground floor of Bras Basah Complex. They have great service and I love the quality and the colors of the printout (waiting time varies on the crowded-ness, anytime from 2 hours to next day collection), my photos were all low-res photos clipped from fb and phone cam, so I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Also happened to have some interesting caption stickers, so wittily sarcastic and hilarious!

Here are the pages with photos.
Hope you enjoyed this step by step scrapbooking an envelope-accordion mini photo album project. I am a really impatient person, so am quite surprised that I can actually sit down and enjoy doing something like this. And I have a high standard for craft too, so usually I'd not attempt it for fear of it looking too rudimentary and lacking spatial design nice-ness. But baby steps, I'm really keen on making this hobby a longer lasting one.

scrapbooking: Really Simple Birthday Cards in 5 minutes

I just wanted to make some really quick and simple (yet classy, of course) birthday cards with the scrap material I have on-hand.

So here is a really simple and in my opinion quite nice, birthday card you can make in 5 minutes.
I kid you not!

Color Theme: Black and White, Vintage, Dark Maroon, Silver

Materials: 2 types of ribbons - 1 about 1 cm thick, the other one really thin, scrap scrapbook paper, small alphabet stickers, glue

I had just these 2 pieces of beautiful vintage black-and-white paper I've been dying to use. I usually throw away scrap papers that are not of a decent size...The bigger card is postcard-sized and the other one is about two times of a regular namecard.

Here, the relative sizes.

So in really easy steps: Fold the paper, try to tie a nice ribbon with the smaller ribbon on top, paste down the super glittery ribbon below, paste the alphabet stickers and there you have a really nice birthday card. The more complicated the background is, the better!


Here's another version. The paper doesn't really pop, too bland! And I was trying to use up the pesky alphabets 'x,v,w,y,q'! I did another version at the back with the gingham ribbon and other ribbons but I think the first two I did were so much nicer due to the choice of papers.
For other scrapbook projects, please click on the links at the right column. Coming up next, I've finished another scrapbook envelope accordion album! I'm just waiting for the photos to be ready!

scrapbooking: DIY accordion album by envelopes

This is a little photo-album made from brown paper envelopes. It's my original creation though I'm sure there will be others out there!

I've always loved accordion folded albums and I decided to make this mini-one for a friend's birthday. Was quite hesitant to make things for guys as it's so limited to the stuff and color range you can use, but I must say I'm pretty, pleased with the outcome. Overall a simple project which took me 3 hours only, to make from scratch!

Color theme: Eggshell blue, newsprint, cream and highlights of yellow, copper. Quite into yellow these days!!!

Materials: 4 and a half small brown envelopes (the smallest size), lace, bobbles, wooden numbers, thicker alphabets, tags, blue diamantes.

Firstly stick two envelopes together by making a binding for the outside fold first then the inside.
I used about an inch thick of scrapbook paper folded into half. The same for next two envelopes. Then join both together.

I cut a half envelope to make a front opening so the front would look more interesting and also hide one of the tags that could only be seen when opened. Not all envelopes need to be covered, just the inside ones and the one on the back. I just chose scrap paper from previous projects which fit nicely as a theme of sorts. It's really off if I include a paper that just didn't fit in, so spent some time on that one.
First two pages. The space on top is designed to fit in a wallet size or card size photo. I really really like the polka dot paper with glitter! The color matches perfectly. Bought from The Art Republic at Velocity. In fact all the papers are bought there.
Last 2 pages. The long lace is to tie the front pages together.Total length of lace is about 1 yard.
The accordion pages come together nicely! I wanted to use all the same words but ran out of 'o's, anyways it looks better in different font style!
From the top view. I was quite glad that the binding paper I used did not seem too maidenly...despite the florals.
Using buttons for the last page. I used random neutral buttons with yellow and blue... started off with a cluster of yellow, blue, beige, at this top end, and then repeated the cluster.
Back view that matches the front exactly. A little lace element to hide the joining line.
I really enjoyed this project, spending a few hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Best of all, it uses up many of my scrap papers and envelopes from my last christmas project. I hope it will be loved and used!

scrapbooking: the red envelope holder

I'm just back from lovely holidays in Malaysia and having the 20th stamp on my passport makes me... more Malaysian than other Singaporeans? I can't even remember how many times I'd been to Melaka this year (I think 4?) and well... let me save my thoughts on that for the next post.

Well, I did this semi-scrapbooking project quite a while back in mid-Dec. So here it is, two red envelope-holders, project. I think the red color was perfect, it was well-made, solid... and found at under $10! I must say that I do find most scrapbook materials rather pricey here, so anything below $10 is like... incredible!

Back view... Stuck on the gingham ribbon and then the bobbles below it. Just a simple design.
Originally...

Closeup of the foam words. I really like the font and color of these words, most materials are found at 'Made with Love'.
I used a prima flower, a floral pebble sticker, and a chipboard heart. The heart was originally white, used ink stamp to stamp on the color and the diamantes from those handphone shop diamantes. I did the same for the lock chipboard, just that the paint was using tattered angels glimmer glam.
Arranging 3 items looks just about right!


So here it is, both envelope-holders. A simple project anyone can do! The most time consuming part for me was measuring the straightness of the gingham ribbon, I can't do anything straight!

I wanted to put a random word which also fits in the space, so I named it after my rabbit. And the other one, 'mine' will be a gift for my bestie who is coming down to spend the next two weeks or so in sg.
I know christmas is over but just wanted to show the simple card I did using all recycled pdts. Black a4 paper, transparency (the days of using OHP in school!) and gold glitter inside. I used sis' script stamp pad for the words background, and a uniball white pen to draw dotted lines and the words, snowman, holly. Quite pleased that I used recycled materials cuz that's what handmade stuff and scrapping is all about!