Mini Books

Hi everyone. 

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting much just lately.  I've kind of spent a lot less time crafting, and more time blogging, then with full time working and family time thrown in there too there's not much time to spare. 

However, whilst I have been visiting all your lovely blogs, I've become very inspired by those of you who have been making mini books.  When I first started in papercrafts, it was with scrapbooking, which then evolved into cardmaking.  I now have a love of both.  With this in mind I thought what a good idea to combine both by making mini books.  I get to use all those lovely papers, photo's of my lovely family, my favourite rubber stamps, and lots of embellishments.  

I am in awe of the very talented Laura from Following The Paper Trail   and so inspired by her mini books that I thought I'd give it a go.  I've been making a mini book using one of her ideas with envelopes.  Thankfully Laura has many videos to help with design and construction, so it's not hard to follow along.

Here's a little taster of the mini album I'm working on at the moment.....

Looks like I've chucked on just about every type of embellishment going, but I love it, and that's all that matters.

The flowers are of course by Prima, and I've tried to match them to the colours of the Basic Grey papers, with the touch of fiery orange to brighten the whole thing up,  I've got buttons, brads, charms, gems and a cute wooden bunny with a fluffy white bob-tail glued on.  I've hand-stitched around the inner edge of the circle cut out, which is stamped with a beautiful delicate floral stem from Inkadinkado.  The card is from Stampin' Up!

Here's a peek at the inside, not all the pages are finished yet, but that's not a problem, I don't have to do it all at once.

I've used lots of different stamps from different manufacturers, it all adds to the interest.  I've just gone with the flow, and mixed mediums, materials, accessories and tools to provide, hopefully, an interesting book that will make you want to discover more with each turning page.

There are even hidden tabs with more secrets to discover as you go on.

I love making this book, because I can pick it up at will and carry on where I left off.  It is very much a work in progress, and when I get the urge, I just do a bit more.  This way I don't feel under pressure to complete it within a timescale like some of the challenges around.  This makes the time more enjoyable, just like it was in the beginning.  And if I come across a new technique, I can incorporate it if I want.  I've even bought a little lidded basket that I can keep multiple books in ready to show visitors if they are interested. 

I do intend to make more, I've even bought some papers ready for my next project, and may even think about putting some kits together for sale if there's enough interest.  I think these books would make perfect presents.....the only trouble is....I might have a job parting with them!!!

I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse of this project.  I'll post some more soon.  Thanks for taking the time to visit.  If you have any comments or have made mini books yourself, I'd love to hear from you.  Take care now.