By the Sea mini album

I just received my Graphic 45  "By the Sea" collection thanks to Off the Rails!  I couldn't wait to get started on this mini album; my first ever!
This style mini book was a perfect pick for me since I have  a series of pictures  through the years at the sea side or on the  water pictures and they can all reside here together.

Allow me to take you through the steps I used to make this mini album.  Last year I won this wooden book from Genuinely Jane Studios.  I had no clue what I would do with it until now.

Step 1:  Sand along all the rough edges of the boards and wipe off the dust.
Step 2:  Paint the edges and go in about two or three inches of the boards.

Creating the life saver.  I got this idea from Maria Cole over at Graphic 45.

Step 3:  Select the papers you wish to use.  I'm going nautical!  For the life saver cut out two 4 inch circles from thin card board and again with the patterned papers.  Cut out the middle of one of the circles with a 2 1/4 circle. I use Set Sail paper on bottom circle both front and back.  For the life saver I cut out 4 pieces of Set Sail and 4 pieces of Splash and alternated them around the circle.
Step 4:  Put glue on the back in sections for the Jute.  Wrap the rope around 3 times and hold in place to set.  Repeated 4 times on the top sections only.  This will allow the cutout pieces to lie flat on the lower portion of the life saver.
Step 5: Place pop dots on the back lower edges and glue on the back of the jute and secure onto the back circle.
Step 6:  Now that the two pieces are glued together apply a generous amount of glue around the sides of the circles.  Take your jute and go around the circle twice.  Hold until it sets.
Step 7:  The fun part...cut out whatever makes you happy and glue to the life saver and put off to the side.  I put a round chipboard piece in the middle.

This is an 8x8 wooden album so the Graphic 45 By the Sea 8x8 pad is perfect for this design.

After painting all the edges you are now ready to select your papers and glue them on to the boards.  Make sure you press from the center to the outsides to avoid air pockets.  Cut two 8x8 papers in half for the doors and full sheets for the main board.

Here you can see where I added the dried star fish.

The raised life save provides dimension to this cover.

The inside door panels are made to look like windows looking outside to see children at play in the sand.  I used brown ink on the edges of the paper to give it an aged look.  You can see the back of the life saver and the envelope which contains a card for journaling.

Here is a look of the opened album.

A close up of the catch of the day net.

This panel show how you can slip your pictures in to the panels for display.

I used a lace punch to create my window valances.

A look with the front cover half shut. 

A look at the center piece without pictures.

Here is a close up of the elements used to create your picture net.
I cut out strips of edging from the papers and then cut out thin cardstock to match that size.
 Top piece is approximately 3/4" and the bottom piece is approximately 1 1/2".
Cut out a piece of netting 4" long by  8" wide.
 Now here is the tricky part at least for me.  Sew the netting onto the cardstock both top and bottom.
Glue the pattern paper on top of the netting making sure you put punch holes in the bottom papers to accommodate the rings.
Glue the bottom strip onto the board.  Put pop dots on the ends of the top strip and secure in place 4" from the top.

I think the back should be just as pretty as the front.  Especially if you place the album on a stand which I did.
I cut a runner strip from the paper then added a another strip that I that I used a punch on.
Graphic 45 have these wonderful cards that I cut out and backed with cardstock.
I created a hanger using a strip of patterned paper and the tack is a chipboard piece.

Thank you for stopping by to see what the papers are saying today.  I know they had a lot to say today right!  Thank you again for living through it!!

Papers:

Graphic 45:  By the Sea, Beachcomber, Set Sail, Splash, My Anchor, Pier 45, Gathering Seashells, Sand and Serf.

Core'dinations:  Blue cardstock

Embellishments:

Graphic 45; By the Sea chipboard and double sided cardstock

Genuinely Jane Studios; wooden album

Martha Stewart paint

The Robin's Nest; Small starfish and fish net

Stash items;  ribbons, jute, brown ink

Inkido


The Color Room House hold item; thread