A few weeks ago, my stepdaughter Jaime asked what happened to the photos we took during her and her sister's visit in June. The short answer - "nothing." I took the photos, downloaded them to my computer and that was it. Since my husband was going to see his daughters this month, I thought it would be nice to make them each a mini album to commemorate his birthday and their visit. I also thought I was going to have about 10 days to get these done. Not quite. A change in scheduling (mainly to accommodate my other business so I can't complain) meant I would have only 2 days to make 2 albums! Yipes!
Here is what I learned in putting together these projects super fast:
- Use the same materials for each album. I scoured my papers until I found enough of the same paper that would match my photos and do both albums exactly the same.
- If possible, choose papers that not only compliment the photos but add a little zing all their own. You won't need to embellish very much.
- Select 2 or 3 companion papers. Keep them handy and resist the urge to keep digging through your stash for more stuff.
- You do not need to mat all photos on small albums. The photos have to be small for mini albums anyway so mats take up extra space and extra time.
- 5. Choose one or two embellishments and use throughout the album. I used the Polka Dot Punches stamp set and companion punches to create my embellishments. A few buttons and that took care of the pages.
- Print or write all journaling on one color of cardstock; use one font, one color and one size wherever possible. In my case I did white and used ink to brush the edges with a little color.
- Most importantly, do each step for each album. In other words, don't complete one album and then start on the next one. I folded all the papers for both albums, then I punched all the holes and added the grommets, then I cropped the photos for each album, etc.
It is tempting to see how one thing turns out before going to the next; that leaves two problems. One, it takes too much time. Two, are you going to change the 2nd album to 'fix' what you didn't like about the first? Then who gets the better one?
My only variations were in how I tied the ribbon (the last step) and in some off the tags I inserted which have some extra photos specific to each of the girls.
And of course a couple of hours after I tied the last ribbon, I found out he wasn't leaving for one more day!
Ingredients: Designer Paper from DWCV
Stamps: Polka Dot Punches from Stampin' Up!
Ribbon and Buttons: Unknown sources
Brad: Oriental Trading
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