... Mini-Albums. I love them! I take a ton of photos during one event, and rather than choosing one to three and create a layout, I can fit a lot into a small album. Combine hybrid scrapping + a mini-album and you get a great time-saving solution for using lots of photos.

Luke and I had our engagement photo session with our photographer at the beginning of June. We had a lot of great photos. I narrowed it down to 12 of my favorite and created this little album to display at our wedding. I also included journaling describing our different personalities and little quirks.

While it's convenient (and tempting) to go out and buy an album, I am on a tight budget these days with only 5 weeks to go until the wedding and house hunt. So I made my own album out of corrugated (cover) and thin cardboard (inside pages) that I had leftover from another project.














Here's the step by step:
1. Find a mini-album template from your favorite digital designer and download it. (I downloaded the Tutti Frutti 4x6 Quick Page Album from We Are Storytellers.) Gather some cardboard or a blank album you already have.

2. Design your album in PhotoShop, PS Elements, or any design program with the digital template you downloaded.

3. Print and trim your pages. (I printed my pages on our Epson R1900 and trimmed them with an Xacto knife).

4. Now is the time to add embellishments to your pages that you don't want sticking through the other side of your cardboard. For example I wanted stitching on my cover, but I didn't want to see the stitching on the other side of the cardboard. So I stitched the cover before I adhered it the cardboard so that it looked seamless. (This would be a good time to add any brads.)

4. Measure and cut out cardboard to match the size of your album. Adhere your designed pages to the cardboard. (My album is 4x6 and I used Tombow Mono Adhesive)

5. Use a hole punch to create holes for binding. Use ribbon, binder rings, or other binding method to finish your album.

6. Add any stamps, embellishments or handwritten journaling to finish the album.

This hybrid album took about half the time it would have taken me if I didn't start with a digital template. Do you have any time-saving tips to share for making mini-albums or multi-photo layouts?

Have a great weekend!
Christy

Following Christy's hybrid-lead, I created a hybrid graduation card for one of my friends back home. I simply used a page from Emily Merrit's, Once Upon a Dream Album collection as my base. Then I added a few digital touches like the tree, the frame around the word big, and the congrats letters. (For more information about the digital elements, see the supply list below.) I made the entire thing smaller than it's original size, since I was making a card and not a mini-album page, and then I printed it out. I cut it out and mounted it on cardstock and added the letters stickers for her name and the word big and a few flowers in the center for added dimension. It was quick and easy, and I really enjoy merging my new love for digital design, with my traditional love for dimension and texture. What will be your next hybrid creation?

July/August Recap

Hello everyone, it’s time for another issue recap. So without further ado:

Cover: This cover just feels like summer to me (my second-favorite season). Love the grass and tall pitcher of lemonade. And Master ’07 Katrina Simeck’s Summertime layout is bright and vibrant.

We’ve had a few requests for the Summertime supply list, so here it is:

summertime
by Katrina Simeck
Colchester, Vermont
 
supplies: Adhesive (SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L) • Brads (Making Memories) •
Cardstock (Bazzill, Die Cuts With A View, WorldWin) • Die-cutting system
(QuicKutz) • Flowers (American Crafts) • Patterned paper (BoBunny) • Pens
(Sharpie)

Pg. 2
Looking for a cute way to document your summer memories? Check out this issue’s Journaling Spot.

Pg. 8: WEB EXCLUSIVES (Don’t have the magazine at your fingertips? I’ve included the links below. Enjoy!)

-We’ve got another irresistible FREE digital kit from Michelle Coleman. Click here to download her Bohemian Summer kit.

-What’s your favorite journaling tool? Click here to share.
(Pg. 40 Find out how to record authentic journaling on your layouts in the Beyond the Obvious feature by Contributing Editor Courtney Walsh.)

-Learn how to combine themed embellishments with a basic collection of patterned papers to create a fun, trendy look in this Web exclusive from Hot Off The Press Designer Laura Nicholas.

-Discover easy-to-learn digital skills to create your own patterned paper. Click here. (Tip: You can use your NEW Bohemian Summer kit. See above for details on where to download the kit.)

-Click here to see inspiring summer photos from Contributing Editor Laura Oles. (Pg. 20: Give your own summer photos a boost using Laura’s tips for capturing sunsets, using white-balance basics and shooting blurred-action photos in this issue's Focus on Images column, 3 Steps to Sensation Summer Snapshots.)

(I love Vita Thai’s Mum’s Advice No. 289 layout. Currently, one of my favorite hybrid techniques is printing text on photos. It’s so easy! Want another example? Click here. (Scroll down to see the layout.) Also, please note that the giveaway mentioned in this blog entry is over.)

Pg. 22
This month’s True Colors column is dedicated to monochromatic color palettes. (Kari Hansen’s Ode to Flylady layout uses variations of one of my favorite colors: purple. Challenge: Read Kari’s tips and create a monochromatic layout of your own that showcases one of your favorite colors. Share them here.

Pg. 44
Traveling this summer? Check out the Wanderlust Revealed feature.

Sneak Peek:

Tip #9—Save maps. In whole or in part, they’ll add a unique touch to your layouts later.

(Idea: I recently incorporated a map on a collage I created (see below). To capture a textured, collage-like look on a layout, you can use the same technique I did. 


 


Here’s how: Adhere your piece of map using gel medium. Use Vaseline on the places you’d like the map to show through. Then, paint over the entire map surface with acrylic paint. When the paint dries, you will be able to wipe away the areas you covered in Vaseline, revealing sections of your map.)

Page 50 to 72
You’ve got to check out all of the incredibly inspiring reader layouts we have in this month’s galleries: It’s A Guy Thing and Reader Idea Gallery!

As always, please leave comments and let us know what you thought about this issue. We truly enjoy hearing your thoughts/suggestions/ideas.

This weekend, I’m off to my sister’s high school graduation and party. If you have suggestions for documenting graduations/parties, I’d love to hear them. Click here to share your ideas.

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week,

Katie

I wanted to create a background for my photo with a certain amount of significance. In Photoshop Elements, I typed a passage from the Bible to use as my background and then placed a digital overlay and my photo on top of the text. I also included a digital piece of paper for my journaling spot.

After I printed the 8x9 digital layout, I placed it on a 12x12 piece of patterned paper and added the title, handwritten journaling and other embellishments to complete the hybrid look. For another hybrid idea, check out Master ’08 Iris’s blog, here.

Have you ventured into the hybrid world, yet? Click, here, to take a quick poll and let us know what you think about hybrid scrapbooking.




Create something. Inspire everyone.
GinaMarie
 
Supplies:
Glitz Design: Digital frames, overlay
Cosmo Cricket: Blackboard letters, patterned paper, ribbon
EK Success: Pen
Image-editing software: Photoshop Elements, Picnik
Tombow: Adhesive
UGlu: All-purpose adhesive
Misc: Brad, buttons, clip, metal plate