Hello Beauty: A Shabby Mini Album

by Peggy Giovanetti August 17, 2021

Not only does Tres Jolie’s Scrapbook Kit for August come with a gorgeous paper collection from Craft O’Clock; there’s also a package of six coordinating sheets labeled “Junk Journal Extras Set”, full of images to fussy cut. Somehow, the image of a junk journal I made a year ago using a Tim Holtz fabric journal popped into my head. I dusted off my sewing machine and dug out some muslin fabric that I bought a while back and got to work.

Here’s how I put the base album together. ***No sewing machine? No problem. I’ve added a few tips below.

Cut 1 piece of fabric approximately 12-3/4” x 7-7/8”. Cut 2 pieces approximately 12-1/8” x 7-1/2” and 2 more 11-1/8” x 6-7/8”. This doesn’t need to be exact; we’re going for something shabby here. Stitch around the borders about 3/8” from the edges.

Trim the edges close to the stitching. This will keep the unraveling to a minimum.

Fold the single large piece in half to find the center. Using glue dots, attach a skewer down the middle. (Don’t use a permanent adhesive for this step; you’ll be removing the skewer in a moment.)

Fold one of the smaller pieces in half; overlay a larger piece so they meet in the center. (I added one of the doilies from the kit to one of these signatures for fun.) Hold this together with a straight pin. Repeat with the second set of fabric. Pin your folded signatures on each side of the skewer.

Once the signatures are in place, remove the skewer. Unfold the fabric and stitch it to the cover down the middle. Repeat with the second piece. And there you have it: a base for a shabby mini album!

***You can create this without a sewing machine. Cut your pieces as follows:

1 piece @ 12” x 7-1/8”; 2 pieces @ 11-3/8” x 6-3/4” and 2 pieces @ 10-1/2” x 6-1/8” and hand stitch the signatures to the cover as above. Try to keep handling to a minimum until you glue on the pages; if your adhesive covers the papers to the edges, you shouldn’t have a problem.

I recommend a clear, thick glue like Fabri-Tac. It’s a strong adhesive and it dries quickly. I used Art Institute glue with a fine tip applicator to attach the edges of pockets and all the lace, etc.

Here’s a page by page of my mini. (I’ve left some pages “as is”; the patterns were just too pretty to cover.)