Accordian Tin Album

ETA:  The original post was missing the P.S. note which includes the winners of the CLICKINMOM codes.  Please scroll down to see them.

Yesterday we had the fun of looking through Michelle Filo’s store and some of her great scrapping-help products!  Michelle is so very talented, both in her scrapping and her designing.  Her heart is really to HELP others scrap and to dip their toes in some hybrid work.  So, in order to help you get started, she has written a fabulous tutorial for us using the accordion tin album template set that is part of THE DIGI FILES 2.

Use the template to create your little album digitally. You can do it all in one side or you can mix and match the pages to have both back and front decorated like I did in the example.

Print it off and cut the back and front with scissors or a guillotine/trimmer.

Trim the back pages only, leave the front intact so you can use it as a base

Using a ruler and scoring tool (or knife), score the pages of the front of the keepsake. Then fold it as in the image.

Adhere your back pages to the back of your front base using double sided tape.

OPTIONAL STEP: Use a corner rounder to smooth the corners of your keepsake, you can fold the inside pages to round their corners too.

Now you can add stitching ribbons, buttons and any other embellishments (don’t overdo it or you won’t be able to fold your album. I have also inked the edges of the album.

And here is the finished album!

At this point you can be done..tie up with a ribbon or leave as is.  Or, if you would rather, you can decorate a tin to keep the little album in. I think this little project is perfect to keep in the wallet as opposed to simple photos of your family, and also a nice little variation of a birthday card. This on specifically I created for my newborn niece. So it was nice to have somewhere to keep it safe. I decided to decorate a mint tin.These should be easy to find. I actually bought the tin with mints inside, but you can find empty ones in your local scrapbook/craft shop.

First step to decorate a tin is to sand and paint it. I usually paint the whole tin but have found from past experience that it might make it harder to open so this time I have painted only the top and bottom bits, not the sides.

I have the printed a cover design I created digitally and added to the top of the tin with mod podge. I embellished with buttons adhered with glue dots, here is the finished result:

Thanks so much, Michelle, for sharing this great tutorial with us!  The project looks so easy and fun.  I want to try it!  Thanks so much for sharing your love of scrapping, both digitally and hybrid, and showing us how easy it can be!

P.S. I want to wish a HUGE congrats to the two random winners of the CLICKINMOMS memberships!

Here is what our two winners had to say about what inspires them:

#108 — My kids are my inspiration and the beautiful scenery here in Alaska! I love to learn more about photography and I love to practice to improve my skills! (Sara Wise)

#110 — The joy others feel when they see that perfect shot is what inspires me. I want to bring that joy to others. I want everyone to have their memories captured so that little moment in time is never forgotten (GINGER)

If you two ladies can email me at janet AT thedailydigi DOT com I will get you you coupon codes rights away!