Mini Album Construction Part 1: Lynda’s Workshop

MINI ALBUM USING THE MUSICAL NOSTALGIA PAPERS

Hi and welcome to this blog post! I will be re-creating the mini album that was shown briefly on HobbyMaker. This project features the new range of Musical Nostalgia papers by Natalie. It will run over a period of 6 weeks. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me via the Plannercraft Facebook page. I will be very happy to help you.

Transparency Statement

The papers I’ve used here have been kindly given to me from PlannerCraft as part of my Design Team position. Natalie has kindly invited me to teach this workshop, I have been given free rein on the content and approach. There are also affiliate links added throughout the project. These help to keep the blog going.

WEEK 1: Creating the Cover

We will start by creating the outside cover for the album. For this, you will need:

• greyboard,
• black card,
• Tyvek^®
• decorative paper for the back and front of the album cover

The final decoration on the cover will come towards the end of the tutorial when we place the paper on the inside covers.

Method of mini album cover construction

Cut 2 x pieces of greyboard 8″ x 6″ and 1 x 8″ x 21/2″ for the spine. Cut 2 x stripes of Tyvek approximately ½” shorter than your spine and measuring 1″ wide, score and fold. Alternatively, you can use insulation tape, or wider widths of construction tape. Stick one side to the right long edge of the front cover. Next, leaving a gap of about 1mm, stick the Tyvek^® to the spine. Repeat this process for the back cover. If you have used tape, you can repeat this process inside your cover construction.

Covering the construction

Using the black card, stick 3 x A4 sheets together, or use 2 x 12″x12″.

Make sure that your join is on the back piece of greyboard and not too close to the spine. Turn your greyboard over and glue in place on the black card leaving about 1″ all around. Next, cut the corners off at an angle, this gives it a nice finished edge when you fold it inwards.

Gently run your scoring tool around all 4 edges and fold the card inwards. I find it easier to start with the long edges first. Then, attach to the greyboard with strong tape and glue. To get a neat corner, when you fold in the short edges, gentle use your thumb nail or bone folder to push in the corner pieces.

If you want to cover the outside of your spine with papers or material, it is best to do it now, before your place the spine inside, as it is a lot easier. I covered mine in velvet and placed a small decoration held on by a brad. Make sure that any brads or other hardware are very secure on the inside. Make sure they are as flat as it can go, so they do not damage the spine later.

Hinge Construction

Take a piece of black card and cut it to 7¾” x 9½”. Next, score at 1½” then every half an inch, your last score will be at 8″. Fold all your score lines so that your end up with 4 hinges.

Turn the hinge over so the outside of the album is now facing up. Then, place strong tape and glue on the inside of the hinges. Once, applied, peel away tape backings and press them securely together and allow to set.

Time to add the hinge to your cover. Cover the remaining outside of the hinge in stong tape and glue. Before adhering in, mitre the top and bottom of each hinge. Use extra tape and glue over any added hardware to ensure that the spine sticks well. Now, place the hinge inside the album spine as below. Make sure you burnish it down well and leave to dry.

Decorating the Cover

Take your chosen papers and cut to size to fit the outside front and back of the album. I always ink the edges of my papers with Antique Linen distress ink to take the off the white edge. Match the ink to your chosen paper colour if possible. Your album base is now ready for the pages.

Next week we will start making the pages to go inside the album.

Take care xx

Lynda