Layout of the Week - Envelope Mini Album

My mom's 60th birthday was last weekend. For the lady who has everything, I like to create small personal gifts. She has something fun to enjoy and it fits into my budget too, which makes us both happy! For Mom's birthday, I took the kids camping with her & my Dad. So I didn't have much time to work on a project this week. Thankfully, I thought ahead, knowing I wouldn't have a lot of time. I am kind of a control freak...OK, no one I know would say "kind of" about it. So I do TRY to plan ahead, it's just that lately my plans have taken so much longer than I anticipate. I blame it on the kids...but I digress.In my planning, I remembered a cute envelope mini album I made in a class at the store a couple years ago. I had saved it to use as a gift and boy did it come in handy. The album is made of 7 envelopes. Two for the front & back covers and 5 for the middle pages.On the front & back covers, the flaps are turned toward the inside of the album. Small blocks of paper are adhered so that only one side is attached, while the other holds down the flap, this way you can put fun things inside the envelopes. I used them to hold notes from Delaney & me to Mom. I also let Jake draw on a small piece of paper & stuck it inside too.The front cover of this album is embellished with papers, an embossed stamp, silk flowers and a dragonfly charm. Any fun group of embellishments could be used to create the look you want.The flaps are cut off each of the inside envelopes. A slip of printed paper is trimmed to fit inside each envelope. For this project, little metal tabs are added to the slips of paper. Ribbons or small paper tags would also be nice additions.To hold the album together, use a small circular hole punch to punch 3 holes down the left side of each envelope. (I punched one set of holes and used it as a template to punch the rest.) Place a hinged ring in each hole to hold the book together. Embellish the rings with ribbons or attach small pieces of painted chipboard with twine for a fresh look.This album is a great gift to give to someone who will fill it up herself. Or do like I did and fill it with all sorts of fun photos & memories. To coordinate with my album colors, I printed my photos in sepia tone. (This is one of my favorite tips when the photos you love don't coordinate with the papers you love!) I printed a few 4 x 6 size prints and cropped them to fit. But most of my photos were printed wallet size on Costco's Photo Website.

Give this envelope mini album a try the next time you're in need of a personal gift that fits into both your budget and your busy schedule!