Happy Tuesday! It's Jill here, and I'm excited to share a step-by-step process for creating a pocket-page mini-album using colorful goodies from the October Afternoon Sidewalks collection!
Step 1: Assemble your supplies. You will need five 5.5" x 12" sheets of double-sided patterned paper (although you could easily use 6" x 12" sheets as well; I just happened to cut mine oddly to begin with, so I ran with it.) You will also need a scissors, and to create straight creases, you may want to use a bone folder. In addition, you will need a sewing machine (unless you want to sew the spine by hand), adhesive, as well as items to fill the pockets and decorate the cover.
Step 2: Fold the paper according to the specifications below.
Begin by folding the paper in half. This first crease will occur at the 6" mark.
Then fold the outer ends of the paper inward, using the bone folder to assist you with making creases. This crease should occur at the 2.75" mark (see diagram above). Repeat with the other side.
Step 3: Trim the corners. I started at about 1" from the outer crease, and trimmed downward at an angle.
Repeat for the other side. You don't need to grab your ruler to ensure symmetrical cuts. Just use the triangular scrap left over from the first page you trimmed, flip it over, and use it as a guide to trim the second page.
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3 with the other pages, and then determine the order of pages. Check the interplay of colors, page by page, to ensure that you like what you see. Rearrange pages if necessary until you are happy with the results. The beauty of using a coordinated line like Sidewalks is that the papers already play well together.
Step 5: Gather the pages together, aligning them at the middle crease, and sew along the spine. Don't forget to run the needle back and forth at the top and bottom of the spine, to ensure that the stitching does not unravel.
Step 6: Once you have sewed the spine, your mini-album is almost complete! If you prefer to have fold-out pages, then you can leave the pages looking just like this, or, if you would like to create pockets, then add a thin line of adhesive to the inner and bottom straight edges of each fold-out page.
Step 7: Fill the pockets with little notes and treasures. I used sweet little bits and pieces from the Sidewalks Miscellany, for starters.
Step 8: Decorate the album cover. I gathered together some of my favorite accents from the Sidewalks collection, including Chip 'n Stick Shapes and Label Stickers.
There you have it...a pocket-page mini-album!
If you plan to attempt this can-do project (and I hope you do!), I would love to see your version of it! Be sure to share your album in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery. Happy creating!