Manila Envelope Mini Part 3.....

Hi and welcome back. Here is Part 3 and the final chapter so to speak of the making of the manila envelope mini. My pictures are a bit out of order and I can't change them so bare with me on this. I'll show you the finished album then explain how I made the album cover if that's alright, again I apologize.

this is the first page all decorated up with tags tucked into place. You could journal on the tags, put small pictures on the tags, add stickers...just let your imagination run wild.

Here you can see that I have this page all opened up. You can see the coin envelope flipped back and can see where I used the 1" round punch to make me a tab for the coin envelope so it will be easier to grab the tag out of there. Also in this picture you can see where on this particular envelope I opted not to let the inside flap open but rather I used the little double top pocket. Remember I showed you how to make that pocket in the previous post about making a legal sized envelope mini? That's one option that you could do as well. Like I said before you can decorate it to your own taste and get as fancy with it as you would like.

Ok so here's where I have to backtrack just a bit. This is how I made the front and back covers. Shoot even these pictures are out of order so I'm just going to ask you to look at both the above and below pictures as you are reading the instructions. I'm so sorry again..... Now since my envelopes are 6"x6" I used some recycled thick cardboard that was in some packaging I had, but you can use chipboard if you would like. It will work in the same manner just be sure that it's kind of stiff and sturdy. I cut a square that was 7"x7" so it would be just a little larger than the envelopes. and I cut a piece of decorative paper about 1/2" larger than that all the way around to cover the front side. Then I flipped it over and using a different decorative paper I measured the inside and left a little bit of a gap all the way around so that my pretty front paper that was glued around the back edges would show a bit. I'm not sure what those measurements were and I do apologize. Just leave about 1/4" inch all the way around. Next I picked up my ruler and the envelopes and measured where my center was on the binding and punched a hole then from the hole I measured up an inch and down an inch to mark for 2 more holes. I then used my crop-a-dile and set 3/16" eyelets they are the larger ones by the way. Then after getting the first envelope done it was just a matter of taking the next envelope and the next one and so on and lining up the holes, marking them and setting the eyelets. Now for the cover. I took the cover and found the center then lined one of the envelopes up with that center to make sure that the placement was right and that there was equal distance on all three sides of the cover. If there is, and there should be, then go ahead and punch your holes and set your eyelets in the cover using your envelope holes as a guide for you. Then for the back it's just a matter of taking the front cover and using the holes on it, marking them on the back cover, punch, set eyelets and your done with that. Then I purchased Tim Holtz D rings. I had to get these online through Ben Franklin cause Michaels didn't carry them and to be honest I didn't check Hobby Lobby so they may carry them, but I know that Ben Franklin has them. If not then you can go on ebay as well and get them but I found that ordering through Ben Franklin was cheaper. So anyway, you just simply thread your covers and envelopes in order through the D ring and snap it together and you have yourself a fine little mini album that you can decorate the front in any way that you like. Waaaa Laaaa your done! Congrats! You did it! Hope that you enjoyed the project. I actually saw this done on youtube through Follow A Paper Trail so if you would like to see it on video to get more pointers then please do so. I tried my best to be as descriptive as I possibly could but the video is there if you need it as well.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by. I'll be back with something new hopefully. I'm leaving to go to a scrapbooking retreat later on this week and I'm hoping that I come back with a ton of new ideas for you all. So come on back now.......you hear?

Manila Envelope Mini Part 2

Ok here we go with Part 2 of making the above mini album........

After attaching the coin envelope to your manila envelope you should be able to stand it up and it will make a Z shape.

The fun begins.....now lets pull out some distressing ink and ink all those edges to give it a worn/aged look. I used Tim Holtz distressing ink in the walnut. Be sure to do this on both side and on your folds as well just as shown in the above picture.

Lets start preparing our binding. Since I made 4 envelopes, I cut 4 strips of cardstock in whatever color you want just make sure that it's the heavy cardstock and I cut them 2"x6". Next I measured the center and scored right down the middle of each strip. Then I took one of my line punches and made a decorative edge. Now I used the EK Success punch but you would easily use any pretty line punch or a pair of decorative scissors just be sure to keep your lines straight. After I did that I used the Terrifically Tacky tape that you can get in any craft store or Walmart. It's comes in a roll and is red and runs a couple dollars is all. I suggest this tape because it has such a good bond to it. Run a line of the tape right along the inside edge of the where you punched or cut without letting it get over into where you've punched. Use your punch line as a guide. Then lay your envelope edge right on the edge of the tape. Do not and I repeat DO NOT tuck the envelope all the way to the scored line because we are going to need that extra area to punch and place our eyelets in later. Then fold at the seam and let it glue itself to the top side of the envelope.

This is what it should look like. Then what I did was for the first little pocket that we made I used a 1/8" eyelet and marked the center of the pocket and punched and placed the eyelet right in the center of the flap. That way I have 2 pockets now. I also used my 1" round punch and only going half way I make a little tab for the large pocket as shown in the picture. Then it's just a matter of measuring each flap and placing pretty decorative papers on them and making your tags to go in the pockets. You can use office supply tags and distress them with distressing ink or you can coffee stain them if you don't have any distressing ink or you can make your own tags. The possibilities are endless....just get creative with it. I even made a top pocket that holds 2 tags like I showed you in my previous blog about the other little mini album made out of legal sized envelopes. Ok so in Part 3 I'll show you how I made my cover and give you a sneak peak at what the inside of my finished album looked like. So come on back so we can finish this project up.

Manilla folder mini album Part 1

Hi and welcome back! I thought that I'd give you a tutorial of how I made this mini album out of Manila envelopes. This will be a 3 part post so bare with me on this one.

First off you can buy these envelopes at any office supply store. But I found these at Target, I've seen them at Walmart as well so just look in the office supply section of any store and I bet they will have them. They are the 9x6 envelopes. First off take and cut about 1/4 of an inch off the bottom of the envelope and that's going to later on make a pocket. Then just under where the glue stops cut that part off...in other words just cut enough off to get rid of all the glue and it should leave you with a little flap. Next from the bottom measure up 3" and score. You can see that I marked in black ink the score line in the picture. Then go ahead and use your bone folder or whatever you have handy to make the crease nice and neat. Then set that aside for a minute.

Ok here's where you have a couple options. You can go to the office supply store and buy the coin envelopes that measure something like 6"x3" and they have a little lip flap thing at the top or if you have an envelope maker like I do then you can make your own. I apologize that I don't have a coin envelope to show you what one looks like. Anyway, the envelope maker that I'm using you can find at www.greensneakers.com I actually bought mine from QVC several years ago and they are so handy. So my next step on this project was to make the envelope. In the above picture you can see where I've traced my pattern.

And here is what it looks like afterward...of course I've cut the top flap off so that it measures 6" tall

I now take that envelope and attach it to the Manila envelope just as you see in the picture above. Oh let me back up just one second. Do you see where I cut out the little metal clasp? Well do that as your clipping the bottom of your Manila envelope and cutting the glue strip off the top. I used a exacto knife and really carefully cut right around the clasp as it was folded with the prongs facing up.

Now once you have your envelope all attached to one another you should be able to stand it up and it will make a Z shape. I'll show you in my next post what it should look like so just hold on and I'll be right back with more instructions.