Layout of the Week - Easter 10 Minute Mini Album

Wow, I can't believe I'm actually writing a post for a Layout of the Week! :)  I know it's been a while!  During the time I've been away, I've been very busy...working a few part time jobs, organizing & rearranging things around my house, being a mom & wife and also getting in a little creative time.

I thought you might enjoy a quick idea using some of those photos you took this weekend of your Easter festivities.  You can make this album as simple or fancy as you like!  Use just the 10 minutes I allotted for my first album like this or go crazy with tons of photos & embellishments and spend an evening creating a masterpiece to share with your friends.

I created this fun mini album a month or so ago, and thought I'd better get on the stick and share it with you!  To create this quick album, I used a template I designed a while back as a quick gift for my mom.  For that album, I chose to use some scraps from a fall layout and the extra wallet photos that come with the Costco wallet sheet (they print 4 for 39 cents). Check it out on the blog I write for the store HERE.

This time, the paper was my inspiration! I chose two papers from WeR's Peep Collection, the Easter Tags & the Easter Eggs.  All you need to create one of these small albums is a few wallet or trimmed down photos (all the same size), a piece of paper just a bit larger than each photo (I used a 1/4" border around all the edges) - plus one for the cover, a hinged ring and a few embellishments.  Mount each photo on paper and punch a hole in the corner with a regular round hole punch.  If you have some fun small coordinating embellishments, use them to add a little flair to a page or two of your album.  Stack all your pages with the cover on top and place them on the ring and close it.  Embellish your ring with a few small pieces of ribbon, if you like.

As always, I'm linking my creative post to the Get Your Craft On Tuesday post over at Today's Creative!  DON'T miss all the great links over there!  And remember to add yours!

Layout of the Week - Spring Mini Album Project & a Punky Sprouts Sneak Peek

I've been a little busy lately to finish any actual layouts to feature as my "Layout of the Week," so I'm sharing what I have been working on.  This Saturday I'm teaching a class at the scrapbook store where I work, Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio in Beaverton, Oregon....in case you're in the area & want to sign up!  I taught this class at Christmas and a few people asked me to do it again.  I thought a Spring theme would be fun for the little mini album.  You could use it for a great Mother's Day gift or maybe for a special friend's birthday.

This project takes 3 pieces of cardstock, up to 14 different patterned papers, a couple feet of ribbon, lot's of adhesive and TONS of patience.  In just a couple hours you too can have a fun little album with lot's of little doors to hide all your photos & journaling.

I hope you're in the area so you can sign up for my class!  It really is much easier to make the album with a little help from someone who's done it before.  The instructions are kind of confusing, but if you're handy, you can probably make one up from my photos.  Give it a try when you have a couple hours & want to try something new.

I've got to get back to my projects for this week, two Punky Sprouts albums.  I've been very excited about Punky Sprouts for a few weeks now.  I had the chance to crop with one of the owners, Doralisa, and we had so much fun that I left pumped to give one of her albums a try.  It's so fun to be able to share a local Portland area scrapbook manufacturer with all of you.  Keep reading for links to the Punky Sprouts site & Facebook page, so you can ask your local scrapbook store to carry these awesome albums!

Here are a couple sneak peeks at my first project, using Chatterbox papers & embellishments, along with some great Kaisercraft paint colors!

Here's a quick look at the pages included in the Punky Posh album....

I'll share my take on this great album concept next week!

Head on over to the Punky Sprouts site to check out all their great albums!  I'm working on Punky Posh and Prim & Punky right now.  Punky Sprouts is on Facebook too & looking for a few more fans, tell them Julie sent you!

Just a little reminder to join me over at my fellow Portlander, Ann's, Virtual Girls' Night Out.  Join the party, every Friday night!  Ann's got a great music video, a yummy drink recipe and lot's of fun bloggers to hang with!  Get & Give tons of comments and find more followers for your blog!  Of course, you can visit Ann anytime...it doesn't have to be a Friday for you to get a laugh out of her adventures!

I also hang out every Tuesday at Today's Creative's Get Your Craft On party.  Head on over to another of my Pacific Northwest peeps' blog to find a huge list of links to other creative blogs.  Kim features a new creative blogger almost everyday and the huge Get Your Craft On blog hopping party every Tuesday.



Hey all you Mom Bloggers!!!!  Don't forget to head on over & check out all the fun, prizes & friends at 5 Minutes for Mom's Ultimate Blog Party 2010!



Join me & enter to win! I'm hoping to win #6 The Double Stacked a lot of Love Necklace, #11 $100 Gift Certificate to Restaurant.com and #17 The Books Found Art and Real Women Scrap!!!! Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!