Mini Card Album

What do you do with all those cards that people send you on random holidays? Do you keep them? Do you throw them away? If you do trash them, don't you sometimes feel guilty about it? I have to admit, until I started making cards myself, I really didn't see any reason to hang on to them.

That being said, I do like to keep the ones I get from my husband. You know, the ones telling me how special I am, how he couldn't live without me, he's so lucky to have me... okay okay you get the idea :) I also keep the special ones from Kalyn. (The boys aren't old enough for doing stuff like that yet.) She is always taking the time to make other people little gifts and I think it's so sweet. Just last month, when my computer crashed and I was panicking about losing ALL of my 2008 photos and videos, she made me a card and filled up a votive candle holder with hershey kisses. She told me, "I wanted to make you something special since I could tell how stressed out you are, Mommy." How precious is that! And what good mom could throw that away, right?

Wow! I got really off track. All that is so not what my post was going to be about, but I guess it laid ground work for what I am trying to show you! Wouldn't it be great if all the cards that you received were ones that were that special and something that you liked so much you wanted to leave it up all year? Well that's what a mini card album is! When I first got into altering items, mini card albums were one of the first projects that I tried to master. It's a pretty simple idea really. I made the one in the photos today for a client. This particular one is 6x6, and opens like a regular card. There is a sentiment on the front, and the inside has a pocket to hold a gift certificate. Once the gift certificate has been removed, they can just add photos right over the top of the sentiment and on the mattes inside and on the back. It's made out of several layers of patterned paper and cardstock and is sturdy enough to stand up on its own so that both sides can be viewed. I thought it would be great to display on a shelf, the mantle, the corner of your desk, etc. By simply changing out the colors and embellishments, this can be custom designed for anyone!

As I was making it, I was thinking to myself I should go ahead and make 2 of them so I don't regret it afterwards! And while I was waiting for my client to pick it up, I was thinking it needed an envelope. Yeah, well, that didn't turn out quite like I had hoped :( I stink at making envelopes!!! So I made a bag instead! I love making bags to match my stuff! I HAVE to have everything coordinating or it makes me crazy! Anyway, hope you like everything! Sorry I was so long winded today :) Post your questions in the comment section and I will get back with you!