Graphic 45 Ephemera Albums Tutorial

This is a tutorial I made for an album to use the Graphic 45 Ephemera Packs. This one uses the smaller images from the pack. I haven't decorated it yet, because I have the two newest releases on the way, and they should be here on Tuesday. I'll update this post when I get the album decorated. Update: I posted some photos of some of the finished albums above.

I am adding the measurements for the larger albums that take the bigger ephemera cards. If you want to make the larger albums, use the sizes typed in (bold)

While I'm waiting for them to get here, I'm making two small albums and two larger albums, so they will be already for the fun part!

To make the albums for the larger cards in the ephemera collections, I make the pages 5x7 rather than 4x5, and the album covers 5 1/4 x 7 1/4, and adjust all the measurements below for that size.

Cut four pieces of plain card stock to 4x5 (5x7). (I only show the first two in this photo).

Next, cut 2 pieces to 4x6 (5x8), and score on the short sides at 1/2" and 5 1/2" (1/2" and 7 1/2").

Fold on the score line, and apply adhesive to the outsides of the folds.

Mount these to both sides of two of the 4x5 (5x7) pieces to make tunnels.

This photo shows the tunnels.

Cut 12 pieces of card stock to 5" x 4 1/2" (7" x 5 1/2"), and score and fold them all at the 4" (5") mark on the long side.

Mitre the folds so that they will slide into the tunnels more easily, and apply adhesive to the insides of the folds.

Take the two pieces of 4x5 (5 x 7) that you did not make into tunnels, and adhere the two pieces of 4 1/2 x 5 (5 1/2" x 7"), one to each side of to make them look like this. These will be on the insides of the album covers.

For the pages, take the tunnels, and slide the folded parts inside the tunnels, so there is one on each side.

Turn them over, and do the same things inside the backs of each tunnel. You should end up with two pieces that look like this.

To make the spine, cut a piece of card stock to 5 x 5 1/2 (7 x 5 1/2). With the 5" (7") side facing the top, score at 1", 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2", 3", 3 1/2", 4" and 4 1/2".

Valley fold at 1" and 1 1/2", Mountain fold at 2", Valley fold at 2 1/2" and 3", Mountain fold at 3 1/2", and Valley fold at 4" and 4 1/2".

Apply adhesive to the back sides of both of the mountain folds and stick them together so your spine looks like this.

To make your covers, cut two pieces of chipboard to 5 1/4 x 4/14 (7 1/4" x 5 1/4"), and one piece to 5 1/4" x 1 1/2" (7 1/4" x 1 1/2").

This is how I covered mine.

Another shot with the edges folded and glued.

Glue your spine into your cover, making sure that it is straight, and centering it so there is a 1/8" margin at the top and bottom.

Glue two more 4 x 5 (5x7) pieces inside the covers to hide the chipboard.

Mitre the corners of the two spines.

Mount the two sections that are not tunnels to the front and back covers. You will want the flaps facing in the same direction as in the photo, so they will stay closed when the album is opened.

Apply adhesive to both sides of one hinge, and slide the hinge into one of the tunnels. Make sure that the hinge is inside the tunnel, and both outside flaps face downward.

Now do the same thing with the other hinge and tunnel.

You will still have a spot in both tunnels, toward the outside of the album, to insert more photo mats. When I made the Garden Goddess album I showed on the Graphic 45 facebook page, I had forgotten that I had started putting a folder into the tunnel, rather than just a photo mat. To make this, I cut two pieces of card stock to 4 3/4 x 7 1/2 (6 3/4" x 9 1/2"), and scored and folded them at 3" 3/4" (4 3/4"). This makes them just the right size to insert them into the tunnels and gives you space for four more photo mats on each one.

I hope you will try these albums, they are really easy, and very sturdy. The sizes can easily be adjusted to make larger albums, and albums with more pages. They are just right for showing off your collections of G45 ephemera!

Red Altered Cigar Box and Mini Album

I've had a really pretty little piece of hand marbled paper for years, and hoarded it because I didn't want to use it. Finally I decided to use it on this very nice cigar box. The box had black enamel on the latches and a black, gold and red label. I cut the marbled paper and some metallic gold paper for a mat, and left a bit of the original black label showing under them, then used deep red pearls, gold mirror card and leftover pieces of the marbled paper cut with some Spellbinders to decorate the front.

There wasn't enough of the marble paper to decorate the sides with, and I haven't been able to find a red paper I have liked the shade of for years. Most of what I can find now is either orangey, faded looking or purpley. Years ago, an art supply place near us had red paper in a very deep rich shade, but unfortunately, I don't know what company made it, and I've never been able to find it again. I wish I could have gotten the red to look the right color in this photograph, because I managed to make a sheet of my faded looking red look almost that same color by using Distress Barn Door all over the sheet. I applied it with one of those Tim Holtz foam square things, and kept applying layers of the ink all over it. It looks orangey in the photos, but in real life, it's pretty. The red was matted with black, and I used Dresden trim on each piece.

After decorating the inside of the lid, I made an album using CS, origami paper, and various other handmade papers inside. I also made a bunch of tages with origami paper on the fronts and plain handmade paper on the backs. You can see the tags on top of the album in this photo.

This is the back side of one of the tags with the hand made paper.

This is the front of the album inside the box.

Underneath the album, I made dividers with a place for a pen and other items.

Finished Mini Album to go with Cigar Box

I finished the mini album which goes with the cigar box I posted a few days ago. The cigar box will have to wait though, I had to start the other two jewelry boxes because they were commissioned.

The front of the album is done with a copper colored pearlized CS from Core'dinations. The lighthouse is from JustRite, and is stamped using VersaMark onto a pale gold Core'dinations Pearl CS, and embossed in gold. All die cuts were done with Spellbinders. The tags at the top and bottom are for labeling with whatever the recipient wants.

I only photographed a few of the pages, but they are alternating pages made with DP from K&Co, white CS, which I distressed with Antique Linen and Tea Dye, and made journaling lines with a gold Gellyroll pen, and white CS distressed with Antique Linen and lightly stamped with gold ink. There are four different stamps used for the various pages, Portland Head Light from PSX, a fish shack and boat from PSX, a clipper ship from Stampendous, and Bass Harbor Head from an unknown company.

The stamped pages can be used either for journaling, photos, or memorabilia, and the DP pages can either be left as is, or photos or memorabilia added.

This album is quite small, 4x7, to fit into the cigar box, so the recipient may want to use it more for a journal than an album.

Altered Cigar Box and Mini Album

For a few days I have been working on this altered cigar box and mini album. The top photos show the outside of the box. The stamps are from JustRite and Our Daily Bread Designs, and were done on a pale gold Core'dinations Pearls CS. They were stamped with VersaMark, and embossed with gold EP.

The stamps, which were cut with Spellbinders Labels Eight, were all framed with gold mirror card cut and embossed with Decorative Labels Eight, and shaded with Distress Tea Dye. Anchors were punched with a MS Punch.

I haven't done the inside yet, but it will have a compartments for a pen and other memorabilia. On top of the lower compartments will be a tray, which will hold the album.



This photo shows the front of the album. It was done using a copper metallic CS from Coredinations, which was the closest matching paper color I had. The cover isn't finished yet, but it was done using the same technique as the box, and uses a JustRite stamp.

I'll post more pictures when I have more done on it.

Nautical Album

Sorry these photos are so blurry, but I ran out of time. My mother has always gone back to her home in Massachusetts for the winter months, but now she is moving up here permanently. She wants us to move her in a U-Haul rather than hiring a moving Company, even though it's an 8 hour drive, and we might have to make it more than once. Anyway, we're leaving tomorrow morning, and I'm not sure when we will get back, so if you don't hear from me for a few days, that's why.

Anyway, I had to take these photos really quickly, and didn't do a very good job. I think I will put this into a cigar box decorated with nautical papers and things. I will probably decorate a pen too, and include it.

I thought it would make a nice vacation album. In the cigar box, I'll probably make a pen holder for the pen, and a large compartment for small keepsakes as well as the album.

The covers are made from Mat Board cutouts from picture frames. I have a ton of them, and never wanted to throw them away. They were too nice.

All the DP is from K&Co. The lined pages are white CS which I colored with Antique Linen Distress Stain. I just daubed it on, straight from the bottle using a circular motion. Since I don't have a journaling stamp, I drew the lines with a gold GellyRoll pen, then I lightly stamped a bunch of little nautical stamps into the corners using gold ink. The plain pages were done the same way, only I didn't draw lines on them. I stamped two different Maine lighthouses lightly in the centers of one side, and other nautical stamps in an all over pattern on the opposite sides from the lighthouses. I figured they could either write, or add photos to those pages.

There are some pocket pages and two flip out pages as well. I used my Cinch to bind it.



This is the cover. I used a JustRite stamp and cut it with the matching die. A title could be written in the center.



I may use the other large stamp from the same set for the page on the right. It also would have a large space in the center for writing in.



A flip out page, and a journaling page.



A journaling page and one for photographs.



A pocket page and a page for either journaling or writing.



A page for journaling or writing, and one for photographs. Sorry it's so terribly blurry.



A journaling page and one for photographs.



A journaling page and one for photographs.



A pocket page and a page for either journaling or writing.



A page for journaling or writing, and one for photographs.



A journaling page and one for photographs.



A journaling page and one for photographs.



A pocket page and a page for either journaling or writing.



A page for journaling or writing, and one for photographs.



A page for journaling or writing, and one for photographs.



A flip out page, and a journaling page.



A page for journaling or writing, and one for photographs.



A page for journaling or writing, and one for photographs.



The back cover.

I can't wait to decorate the box for it! See you all when I get back!