Mini Moments

Life is full of celebrations, and sometimes those celebrations deserve their own mini book. You have endless possibilities in style, design, and size. We've asked four members of our design team to share ideas with you from their own lives and celebrations. The results are all unique and can be changed to suit any celebration you might have.

Quick and Easy Graduation Mini Album

Designer: Deb Perry

My Daughter just recently graduated  and I decided to give myself a challenge…actually get the photos in an album within a month of the event.  The best thing about this album is that I didn’t have to leave home to create it. With Fiskars tools and Li’l Davis ‘Castaway’ die-cut papers and embellishments…I was done with the entire album in a day, and I didn’t even have to buy the album. (it’s made of chipboard!) 

CHIPBOARD ALBUM: simply cut 2 pieces of plain chipboard to 5x7 inches each using the heavy duty Titanium Nitride Utimate Craft Scissors (these things cut like butter). Now go cut off the thin hem of an old pair of jeans* with those same scissors (you’ll need about 2-8 inch strips) Lay hem pieces in two rows across middle of both pieces. See photo. Use Easy Squeeze Glue Gun to adhere.  Give it a few minutes for the fabric to dry completely.  I love that this glue is strong, quick to dry and I don’t ever burn my hands.

*tip: can’t find any old jeans you want to cut?…simply use 1” width sturdy ribbon.

Now cut 4 – 5x7 in. pieces of patterned paper for the front and back covers. Use white glue and your fingers or a brush to lay down a thin coating of glue to adhere the papers. Press firmly around edges of fabric strips so that paper will conform. When dry, distress edges with sanding block.

EMBELLISH COVER: Paint plain Li’l Davis Chipboard ‘Stripped Chip’ numbers with Red Craft Paint. Allow to Dry and sand edges. Adhere numbers, metal stars and circle photo to front cover. The stars have a see-thru acetate middle, so use a think sharpie marker to write in a sub-title or message.

CREATING BASE PAGES: Cut strips of white legal paper to 4x14 in. (as many pages as you need for the album) Fold stack in half and staple. Sandwhich first and last three pages of booklet together using tape runner…this gives more support. Now glue first and last page to inner front and inner back covers.

EMBELLISHING PAGES: Take several sheets of the Li’l Davis Castaway die cut papers and cut off a few inches of the design to adhere (using tape runner) to inside pages. Be sure to fold and cut in half before adhering to pages, which makes it turn and lay flat better.  Crop photos to 3x3 and add to pages with tape runner. Add titles, stickers and journaling.

Can you believe how simple that was? I love the contrast between  the Li’l Davis die cut papers and the dark shiny title letters. They really compliment one another without being to ‘matchy’.  Also the interesting curved shapes that spread across the double pages help move the eye along the page.

I know this is not your standard grad album…but why not have fun with it and make it colorful and exciting like they are? I think your teens will LOVE it! Mine did!

Wedding memories

Designer:  Janna Wilson
My sister’s three year anniversary is coming up and I decided to surprise her with a really special gift.  She had a beautiful wedding and I she just glows when she thinks about it, still.  I created a mini book for her to journal her favorite wedding memories in…I know she’ll just love it! I utilized Heidi Grace Midnight Kisses line, and each spread features a 4 x 6 photo and a transparency page with a white card for her journaling.  This idea would be a great gift for a bride-to-be as well, just include a gift card for printing photos, some adhesive and a journaling pen for a one of a kind gift!

instructions:
1. Cut black cardstock covers and pages to 4” x 8”  --this will be the base of your pages and you will work on both the front and the back of each page.  (If you would like a more sturdy book, you might opt to create cover chipboard with black cardstock/papers)
2. Cut black and white floral paper to 4” x 8” and cover front cover (black cardstock or chipboard).  Punch corners with Round the Corner Punch.  Add “always” alpha stickers, chipboard accent and “remember” sticker to complete cover. 
3. Punch holes in left side of cover about 1 1/2” from top and bottom and ¼” in from left edge.
4. Punch corners of 3” x 6” white cardstock piece with Something Old Something New corner punch and add to inside cover…write message on this piece.
5. All photo pages are created by adding a 4” x 6” photo to the lower portion of the black cardstock pages; adhering a 2” x 4” piece of black and white floral paper to the upper edge; punching the corners with Round the Corner punch; and adding a decorative strip above the photo (embellishments are optional).
6. Use the cover to mark and punch the holes in each page.

NOTE: I like printing my photos with a white mat; it saves me the step of matting and for this project I think it looks elegant.

7. Journaling (transparency) pages are created by punching corners of two- 3” x 6” white cardstock pieces with Something Old Something New corner punch; adhere these pieces to each side of a 4” x 8” piece of transparency.  Punch the four corners of the page with Round the Corner punch. 
8. Use the cover to mark and punch the holes in each page.

Add a transparency page between each photo page.

High 5 (birthday) book

Designer: Lisa Truesdell

My son Ben turned five in May – and hasn’t stopped talking about his birthday.  This minibook lets him relive all of the fun events of the day.  I used Heidi Grace we are family products, and a 6x6 album with a single 4x6 for each spread – each photo captures one of the highlights of the celebration.  I kept it simple and used lots of stitching and strong adhesive to make sure this book can withstand little hands flipping through it again and again!

Cover:
1. Trim orange patterned paper to 6in x 6in.  Use the fingertip craft knife to round the corners to fit the album.
2. Trim striped patterned paper to 6in x 5in. Tear the left side.
3. Attach photo over the striped patterned paper.  Zigzag stitch it in place.
4. Spell out “high” using letter stickers at the bottom of the photo.  Stitch in place.
5. Punch a circle from yellow patterned paper.  Add bookplate, heart and 5 over the circle, and add to the cover.
6. Add sticker with date to the top right corner of the photo.  Add circle rubons above and below it.

Journaling pages:
1. Handwrite journaling on journaling stickers.
2. Attach sticker to tone on tone patterned paper.
3. Layer tone on tone patterned paper to striped patterned paper.  Stitch in place and attach to the center of the left page of the spread.

Photo pages:

1. Trim tone on tone patterned paper to 6in x 6in.  Use the fingertip craft knife to round the corners to fit the album.
2. Trim striped patterned paper to 6in x 5in. Tear the right side
3. Attach photo over the striped patterned paper.  Zigzag stitch it in place.
Punch a tag from tone on tone patterned paper.  Spell out a word using glitter letter stickers.  Attach to the photos as shown.

Our Baby Fiesta for Evan

Designer: Susan Weinroth

When asked to create a “mini-moment” minibook, I knew that the fabulous Mexican-themed baby “fiesta” shower that our friends in Minnesota threw us last summer would be the perfect subject and starting point.  Thinking along the lines of “mini-moment” I went with a super-small book – at just 4x4.  I absolutely love the versatility of this size.  It can easily be bound by just a single book ring (as I used here) and the pages can also easily be interchanged and switched around.  And, adding half punch circle “tabs” to some of the minibook’s pages added an extra element of detail to the story that is being told by my mini-moment minibook!

Instructions:

1. Start by trimming as many sheets of 4x4 kraft cardstock as you’d like pages in your book.
2. Next trim photos to 4x4 or smaller.
3. Adhere photos onto kraft page bases and add coordinating patterned paper to empty space on page – if any.
4. Cover front and back cover with patterned paper.
5. Add title to front with rubons, on cardstock or subtle patterned paper.
6. Add punchboard and sticker and rubon accents to cover.
7. Use Flower Hand Punch to punch flower into top left corner of each page.  Attach book ring through punches to “bind” book.
8. Use Large Round N Round squeeze punch to punch ½ circles from kraft cardstock.
9. Add details about your book to ½ circle “tabs” and adhere tabs to pages that they pertain to – tuck under patterned paper if desired.
Embellish book pages with journaling and accents like stickers and rubons.

By Fiskars Design Team