2012 Wish List Mini TP Album Tutorial

Ok, I know it's early, but I have been wanting to do some Christmas crafting and at the rate I work, it's good to start early. I have found a fun, new album to create as well. I have heard of TP mini albums and have even seen a few on YouTube, but never made one. I even saved TP rolls for a while and then threw them all away thinking I would never use them, but I was inspired again by Clare Charvill. She has a You Tube Channel, charliejones2686, and she is incredibly talented. She was just recently selected for the Graphic 45 design team. If you haven't seen her work, you really should. Anyway, I have had some of the cutest Christmas paper just waiting to be used. I had used it in an earlier project and have been itching to use it again. It is the Very Merry collection from October Afternoon. I love October Afternoon papers. They are so cute and have just the right amount of vintage. I also had some dimensional chipboard stickers from K and Company that I had bought to coordinate with the collection as well as a sheet of the Imaginisce Gingerbread Village cardstock I found at Michael's and a 12 x 12 die cut sheet from My Mind's Eye 12 days of Christmas line. All of these lines had greens, turquoise, red, brown and pink. My favorite Christmas color combination! The only other thing I used was some ribbon and Maya Road mini chipboard snowflakes that I inked white and then used my glossy accents to adhere some snow white glitter. I had so much fun making it and I think it turned out so cute!

Front cover  2012 Wish List

 If you're considering making a TP album, FIRST save as many rolls as you want pages. I suggest doing this first, because I started with only 2 in hand and then had to painstakingly wait until my family and I had finally gone through another roll of toilet paper before finishing another page. : ) Not only was it hard to wait, but it messed with my creative process. I had some great ideas and then when I went back to execute them, I would forget what I had planned. Not horribly, but enough that I had to make things work. For example, the snowflake on page 6. I cut the paper and had all my embellishments waiting for my TP roll and then when I finally went to execute it, I placed my die cut ribbon too high and had to turn my snowflake so that it didn't cover up the text. It's really not a big deal, but it was at the time because it's not how I wanted it. But, alas, it works and if I hadn't told you, you would be none the wiser. NEXT, take your rolls and squash them flat. Using a bone folder or the edge of a ruler, really flatten the edges flat. THEN, using an iron, I really flattened them out using the high, dry heat setting on my iron. I got this idea to iron them from Clare. Brilliant! Once you've done this, your pages are ready for decorating. NEXT, I cut my paper. My rolls measured approximately 2.5" x 4.5". So, I trimmed my paper to fit, glued it down using tacky glue and then sanded my edges for a nice, clean edge. I always ink my edges, so I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door. Once my paper was adhered, I then embellished as desired.

1 of 3 tags for the kids' Christmas list

Back side of tag

My plan is to use this album to document what the kids want for Christmas this year and to save it as a memento. So, I stamped 3 of the 4 tags made to fit inside each page (roll) and put each kiddos name on it. On the back, we'll write their list. There are 4 tags total. The 4th does not have a stamp. I put Dec. 25 on it and on the back we'll put a picture of the kids on Christmas day with their haul.

Pg 1

Pg 2

I wanted to keep this fairly simple and so I added only 1 photo mat for each kiddo. I made it a book style mat measuring 2.25"x 2.25" square that can accommodate up to 3, 2"x2" square photos. There are  8 pages total including the front and back covers, but only 3 photo mats, total, with 4 tags. 1 for each TP roll pocket. You could do whatever you want. That's where the fun and individuality comes in.

Pg 3

Pg 4

Pg 5

                                   

Pg 6

FINALLY, I used my bind it all to bind it, but you could bind it with ribbon or binding rings. Clare shows another way to bind with cardstock on her channel if you're curious. There are so many ways. YouTube is a great place for many tutorials. I finished it off by tying ribbons to my binding wire and voila! Done. I can't wait to fill it up!

Back Cover

P.S. Happy Mother's Day!!!!