Clear Envelope Albums

These little babies have taken my town by storm since I first received one from my upline Patti, and then propagated them all over the place last fall. I can't tell you how many people have made multiples of this album for everything from teacher gifts to Christmas presents, even photo-proof books for professional photographers.

It's a quick little photo brag book made from ten clear envelopes, a cardstock cover, and the only special supplies you really have to have are the jumbo eyelets and a Crop A Dile to set them with. The idea is not original to me, but I have simplfied the measurements and instructions, and I hope you will give it a try! And don't let the LONG instructions freak you out--I got a little chatty. Sorry!

Dimensions: 12x4.75 solid color strip, 4.75x6 coordinating solid color cover, 4.5x5.75 patterned paper, scraps to punch or stamp focal point.

Other Supplies: ten clear envelopes (note: these measurements only work with SU clear envelopes--but then why would you be using any other kind anyway, right?), ribbon, punches or embellishments, Hodgepodge Hardware, jumbo eyelets, Crop A Dile, stamps and ink as desired.

1. Score the long strip at 7.25 and 8.25. This one-inch area will be your hinge. Stay with me.

2. There is a long and a short side of the cover. Adhere the additional piece of cardstock to the short side to make it as long as the long side (clever, eh?). Sticky Strip is recommended.

3. Decorate with the cover with double-sided designer paper, Hodgepodge Hardware, stickers, stamps—whatever you desire. If you will be attaching things with brads, make sure you do that before you adhere the designer paper to the cover, or you will have those nasty sharp backs poked out lying in wait for someone's unsuspecting fingers! (Just note that it is not considered socially acceptable to make the recipient bleed when she opens your gift.)

4. Peel off the strips from the 10 envelopes and stack them together all facing the same direction. This is the tedious part, because they're slippery. And for all you not-so-math-geniuses out there, EVEN I KNOW that you can get five albums from one pack of envelopes, making your album "guts" cost a grand total of one dollar.

5. Stick the envelope stack to the back page of the cover, with the flaps inside the spine area. No adhesive is necessary as the jumbo eyelets are gonna hold like nobody's business.

6. Close the cover and, holding the layers tightly, use the Crop-A-Dile’s largest hole punch, to punch two holes through the spine (you can pre-measure and mark where you’d like them to be if you don’t want to eyeball it like I do, which drives OCD stampers absolutely nuts at my events).

7. Set two jumbo eyelets in the holes. If the eyelets don’t want to go in the holes, use the CAD to make the holes slightly larger. Jaron Winder showed us that at Regionals--did I mention the man's a genius? Awesome tip for when you're punching through stuff that has no "give" like a CD or a tin.

8. Tie ribbon through the holes and knot, trimming ends at an angle. You'd think that would be routine, but you wouldn't believe how many people I've met who have gotten all the way through their lives up to this point who don't know that if you trim the ends of a ribbon off at an angle, it doesn't unravel. So just do it, and you'll thank me later.

9. You can either just put photos into the book, or scrapbook little blank pages and insert those for your recipient to finish themselves, if you're feeling lazy. Or if you're finishing up this album on the morning of the day you need it, during the carpool ride to school, with curlers still in your hair and you just spilled coffee on yourself and the kids are screaming "mommmy, mommy, you just ran a red light" and NO that is not an incident taken from real life. I always take my curlers out before I get in the car.

Comments

[Brandi Wiggins]

See, and i always find it a nive touch to make my gift recipients bleed. But that's just me...LOL! I've made so many of these books that I think I could now do it in my sleep! Even with curlers in my hair!!

[Carmen]

Great idea!! Thanks for sharing the instructions!

[Traci Gentry]

This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing the instructions.

[Carrie]

LOVE this idea! Think I will make a few of these. They would be fun for little events the kids have for them to help work on-no expensive scrapbooks to buy for the kids! Awesome-thanks for sharing it with us-

[Lisa (crazycatstamper)]

I love these! I got one in a 3D swap at Convention in 2007. Aren't they FUN to do???!!!!