DIY FOLDING ENVELOPE MINI ALBUM.

Ever since I made this Diy Instagram Mini Album I've been thinking about more ways of using and storing my printed photos. I thought about making another pocket notebook like this one but I wasn't quite sure and after a quick google for 'envelope albums' I found a couple of great tutorials for making accordion folding albums using envelopes. You can find them here and here.

The thing I love about this accordion mini album is that no matter how much you fill/stuff your envelopes with photos this album will keep expanding. No more overstuffed albums.

So, let's get started.

Supplies:

• Envelopes

• Scrapbook Paper - I used the Close Knit range from Crate Paper

• Card stock or chipboard

• Double-sided sticky tape

• Ribbon

• Glue

• Scissors.

1. Decide on how many envelopes/pages you want.

2. Open up your envelopes and lay them flat. Using either glue or double sided sticky tape you're going to stick the inside of the envelope flap to the back of the next envelope.

3. Keep going until you've stuck down all your envelopes. Fold like an accordion and put to the side for later.

4. To make the hardcover for your mini album you need to cut a piece of card stock or chipboard slightly larger than your envelope. I made mine a couple of millimetres bigger on each side. You need to make your cover slightly larger so it can protect your pages/envelopes from being damaged.

5. Stick your hardcover pieces down onto your chosen scrapbook paper leaving a 1cm border. Cut triangles into the corners. Leave a small gap at the corner tips (about 1 mm). This gap will fold around the depth of the chipboard.

6. Fold and glue down each flap and leave to dry. Depending on what type of glue you've used you may need to press your cover pieces as they dry as pva and mod podge can warp the card.

7. To make the closure cut and glue down a piece of ribbon to the back of each of your cover pieces.

8. To finish the back cover, glue down the final envelope flap along with your piece of ribbon. Cover them both with another piece of scrapbook paper.

9. Repeat for the front cover except this time you'll need to glue the whole envelope down.

10. Once dry decorate and fill with your photos.

P.S. You can find more things to make and do on my diy/crafts page.

DIY INSTAGRAM MINI ALBUM.

Let's talk photos. Or more importantly, Instagram photos.

I think like a lot of people I've fallen into the trap of snapping a bunch of photos, running them through a filter, sharing them on Facebook or Instagram, sometimes this blog and then forgetting all about them. Well, today I've decided to change my photo forgetting ways. I got some photos printed from my summer trip to Cornwall and used them to make this Diy Instagram Mini Album.

Let's get started.

SUPPLIES:

• Printed Instagram Photos

• Card stock or chipboard, Scrapbook paper, I used the leftover pieces from making my Diy Quote Banner

• Cutting mat

• Craft knife

• Ruler

• Scissors

• Glue

• Double-sided tape

• Washi tape and other craft supplies to decorate your album.

1. Print out your photos.

If you don't have a printer and you're based in the UK I can recommend the Free Prints App. You get up to 45 free prints a month and all you have to pay for is the postage. When you sign up your get an additional £1.49 off your first order so I ended up getting 40 prints for £2. Bargain. You can also pick between a gloss or matte finish at no extra cost.

2. Glue your photos down onto your card stock. Leave to dry and then cut to size.

3. To back your photos glue them down onto some scrapbook paper and trim away any excess paper. If you want you could skip this step and leave the back of your pages blank to journal on or even glue your photos back to back.

4. Lay out your photos in the order you want them. Think about what you'll see on the back of each page. Do you want to alternate between a photo and journalling page? Back to back photos? Or a double journalling page?

5. When you're happy with your arrangement start joining your pages together with washi tape.

Remember: Make sure to leave a small gap in between each of your photo pages as you stick them together. This will mean your pages can open and close easily.

6. Carry on attaching your pages one at a time. As your stack of pages starts to grow you might find it easier to stick your washi tape down to one page only, fold it over to form a hinge and them carefully press the next page down on top. The great thing about washi tape is you can peel it off and start again as many times as you like so don't worry about making mistakes.

7. You should now have a neat stack of photo pages secured together with a washi tape spine.

8. To make the cover cut some card stock or chipboard to size and cover in some more scrapbook paper. I really love this camera design scrapbook paper from the Maggie Holmes range. Attach the cover with washi tape in the same way as you did the rest of the pages.

To finish off your cover, cut some scrapbook paper to size and fold it around your spine. Stick it down using a couple of strips of double sided tape to the front and back cover.

Remember: Your spine needs to be flexible so make sure you don't glue or stick your paper to the spine of your book. Only where it touches your cover.

Another great option is to use washi tape instead of scrapbook paper to cover your spine. The flexible tape will move with the pages.

9. Decorate your cover and pages. I used more of the Maggie Holmes scrapbook paper, some stickers from Cath Kidston and the Dear Lizzy roller date stamp.

DIY QUOTE BANNER.

Today I wanted to show you this really easy tutorial for making your own Diy Quote Banner.

I love quotes. I have a whole board of them over on pinterest. I have this one from Albert Einstein in a frame on my desk and this fantastic copper foil one from Elise and Make29 on the picture shelf above the sofa. I was scrolling through my pinterest boards the other day when I realised I'd pinned the same Emerson quote over and over again.

'Be silly.

Be honest.

Be kind.'

I don't know about you but I think they're pretty great words to live by. I was trying to decide whether or not I really needed another framed quote in my life or if I should have another go at some hand painted watercolour typography and make my own when I remembered that fall leaf paper garland I'd shared with you and the idea for this diy quote banner was formed.

If you don't fancy making one yourself but love the quote as much as I do, please feel free to pin the image below.

SUPPLIES: Scrapbook paper or other decorative paper, A printed quote or saying. I used the Blackout font, you can download it for free here. Pva glue or mod podge, Scissors, Wool or string. An eraser, A pencil, And some washi tape.

1. Print out your letters.

I printed out two different sizes, one with four letters to a page and another with eight. If you want to make more than one of these banners you may need to make a stronger template by tracing around your letters onto a thicker card or printing them onto a lightweight card stock instead of paper. This way they'll be easier to trace around and will last you much longer.

2. Cut out your letters.

3. Trace around your letters onto some scrapbook paper.

My current favourite is still the Maggie Holmes range for American Crafts. I love the watercolour circles and tiny birds. So far I've used it to make these origami boxes, paper bows, shipping tag notebooks and these origami envelopes.

If you're worried about pencil marks showing you can always trace around them onto the back of your paper, just make sure you put them face down so you don't end up with any backwards letters.

4. Cut out your pretty scrapbook paper letters and if needed rub out any pencil marks.

5. Lay out your quote and double check you've got the right amount of each letter. If you're even a little bit like me you'll probably want to arrange your letters so the same pattern doesn't touch. I also tried not to have the same letter in the same pattern but I did end up with a couple of yellow E's. Oops.

6. Lay down some wool or string. Add a thin strip of glue to the back of each letter, press down and leave to dry.

7. When your glue has dried, flip your banner over and apply another layer of glue on top of the wool. You want to make sure your letters are glued down well, you don't want them to drop off a few days later. Leave to dry overnight.

8. Hang with washi tape and you're all done.

I ended up making two, I hung the larger one in the living room and the smaller one across the fireplace although it only lasted a few days there before I moved it and hung it above my desk.

How about you? Any favourite quotes or phrases you'd hang from the wall?

DIY Mini Notebooks Using Shipping Tags

Get ready to transform plain paper shipping tags into pocket-sized wonders - your very own DIY Mini Notebooks. Perfect for jotting down notes or gifting to fellow crafters!

DIY Shipping Tag Notebooks.

These mini notebooks are made using shipping tags, pretty clever, right? They’re perfect for jotting down notes on the go, sketching ideas, to-do lists, or gifting to friends and family.

Not only are they really quick and easy to make but they’re also a fun and budget-friendly craft project.

Have a go and let me know in the comments below how you get on.

Supplies:

• Paper Shipping/Luggage Tags

• Scrapbook paper

• Lined paper

• String

• A pencil

• Hole punch

• Stapler

• Embossing Tool

• Ruler

• Cutting mat

• And a pair of scissors.

How To Make Mini Notebooks Using Shipping Tags.

1. First you're going to want to take your shipping or luggage tag and trace around them onto your chosen scrapbook paper.

Make sure to mark where the hole is as well.

2. Cut out your tag.

3. Line up your hole punch with the mark you made earlier and punch through the paper.

4. Use an embossing tool to score a line below where the tag starts to narrow and fold.

Measure halfway down your tag and score another line.

5. Fold your tag, make sure the flaps all fit neatly inside each other. Trim if necessary.

6. Cut and trim some lined paper to fit inside your mini notebook.

7. Line up your pages and notebook cover and staple together.

8. Fold your notebook. If your pages don't quite fit you can always trim away any excess.

9. Loop some string through the hole and wrap it around to keep your notebooks closed.

Your DIY mini notebook is now ready to be filled with notes, sketches, lists, or anything your creative heart desires. The compact size makes it perfect for on-the-go use, and you can easily slip it into your pocket or bag.

Don't forget you don't have to leave your notebooks plain, you can decorate them with stamps, stickers or other embellishments.

Large Shipping Tag Notebook.

As well as the mini notebooks I also made a larger one. If you want to do the same here are the measurements I used.

To make a notebook measuring 5 3/4 by 4 1/2 inches you will need to make a tag 10 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches.

To make the slanted sides measure and mark 2 inches from the top and 1 inch in. Join up with a ruler.

Want more DIY Notebooks? You can find some of my favourites below:

• How To Make A Quick Notebook

• DIY Paperclip Binding Notebook

• DIY Mini Notebook With Pockets