Teeny Tiny Mini Albums

With Mother’s Day coming up in a few weeks (and Father’s Day close on it’s heels) it seems like the perfect time to think about mini-albums. After all, they make fabulous gifts for parents and grandparents alike. They are also a quick and rewarding scrapbooking project that can often be completed in a short amount of time, so they really are fun to do anytime of year! I (Katie) mostly work on my larger 8×8 scrapbook albums, but over the past year I have developed a newfound appreciation for these sweet little creations! For me, the smaller the better. I adore mint tin albums, badge albums, and itty-bitty books of all types.

There are many reasons to create a mini-album. Here are a few of my favorites:

• A meaningful and personal gift to give
• Something special for a child that they can carry around with them or keep in their room
• A pocket-sized creation to carry with you (brag book) and share with others
• They are fun to display as decor or an accent in your home (or office)
• Gives you a great excuse to reuse some of your favorite photos and memories
• Just for some creative fun! Nothing wrong with that!

I asked our some of our fabulous creative team members to share their favorite mini-album projects with us. I just LOVE all of these little masterpieces!

Mini Album by Sunhee created with Joyce Pauls’ contribution to this month’s Digi Files. Mini album (2.5 x 2.5). Inside pages were created with the the frame from the kit. Instructions on Sunghee’s blog.

Mini Album by Sunhee created with Fresh Garden Kit by Boutique Cute Dolls. Again, the pages were laid out using the frames from the kit.(2.75 x 4.25). Instructions on Sunghee’s blog.

Mini Album by Sunhee created with Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs Sassy Purse #1. Instructions on Sunghee’s blog.

Mini Album by Sunhee created with “Sundri” kit by MK-Designs. The castle is about 3.25 x 3 inches in size. Instructions on Sunghee’s blog.

Mini Album by Leigh created with Own It by Shawna Clingerman and La Grier.
and DJB Gimme Space by Darcy Baldwin.

She says  “I made a take along phonebook for my son. He struggles with anxiety issues and frequently worries that he won’t remember our numbers if he needs them. So, I made this little badge album for his backpack. I guess this shows it doesn’t always have to be about photos!”

Mini Album by Leigh created with 4 My Boys Tin Album by Shawna Clingerman.
Other supplies: Cardstock from Papertrey Ink, distressing ink from Tim Holtz, black ribbon from Michael’s.

A note from Leigh “ A teeny tiny accordion album that fits inside an Altoids tin; all my son’s favorite people, places and things at 6 years old.”

Mini album by Katie created with Shabby Princess Wild Love Badge Album and vinyl id badge holders (business card size). Ribbon from Making Memories. Full album can be viewed on Katie’s blog.

I (Steph) have created many, many mini-albums (haha) over my years of doing digital (never did them as a paper scrapper).  You can see some of them in Flickr, but I wanted to share with you a couple of my favorites.  I used Janet’s bracket album template and it was, the fastest mini-album I have ever worked up.  I just used my favorite photos from our trip and I love how it turned out!  You can see more instructions for creating this in my Flickr set for this album.

This album is the one that I mentioned in Paperclipping Roundtable episode #12.  I made an 8×8 ABC album for my daughter and then printed a copy in 8×8 and 6×6 that I put in albums and this is the 4×4 copy that I laminated and put on a key ring.  She loves this version the most and can often be found looking at it or packing it with her while she is playing.

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Here are some great links to inspire you to create your very own teeny tiny mini albums:

• Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast #15 The minibook show
• Travel badge album by Katie Pertiet on Ali Edwards’ blog
• Accordion Tin Album tutorial by Michelle Filo
• Band-Aid tin mini album tutorial from Scrap Girls
• Mini album tutorial from Liz Tamanaha on Ella Publishing’s blog
• Creating a mini album from scratch on the Scrap Matters blog
• A Free Mini-Album on-demand class at Big Picture Scrapbooking
• A blog all about mini-albums
• Moment album by Steph on Ali’s blog

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How about some enabling? Here are some fabulous digi finds to help you create miniature masterpieces in no time at all! (Images are linked)

I think it’s time for some teeny tiny scrapbooking fun! We’d love to see your favorite mini-album projects so feel free to leave us a link in the comments or add them to our flickr group with the tag MiniAlbum so we are sure to see them!