Back to Basics with Rachel Walsh

Hi There Twiddley Fans,

Rachel Walsh shares her technique for covering a mini album page with paper.  This is a fantastic introduction if you are just starting to go beyond the page.  Rachel covers how to cover one of Twiddleybitz tabbed album pages but this technique can also be implemented for covering other types of off the page projects .

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BACK TO BASICS – COVERING A MINI ALBUM WITH PAPER

By Rachel Walsh

There are a number of ways of adhering paper to a mini album – the most popular being with mod podge - using it as both glue & sealer; with double sided tape; or my favourite method which I’ll show you here – the good old glue stick!

I normally use a Pritt glue stick, but I ran out, so made do with a Bostik BluStik this time – it seemed to do a pretty good job.

Gather your supplies:

Mini Album – I’ve used a Twiddleybitz Round Tab Book BKRT01 and inserts BKIN01

Glue stick

Sharp knife

Sandpaper

Ink – I’ve used Black Soot distress ink & a small sponge (I use a makeup sponge)

Rubber roller (optional)

Patterned paper of your choice – I’ve used Kaisercraft  Tropicana Collection

Step 1:

Choose the section of paper that you want to use to cover the chipboard page.  Turn the paper over, remembering that if you wanted to use a particular image that was, for example, on the right hand side of the page, it will now be on the left hand side.  Generously  apply glue to the chipboard piece, turn it over, and adhere it in position on the paper.

Step 2:

Use your roller (if you have one) to press the paper firmly into place.  If you don’t have a roller, just use your hands to ensure that the paper is stuck firmly.

Step 3:

Carefully trim around the edges of the page with your knife.  Make holes for the binding – I do this by cutting a cross in the hole on the wrong side, then flipping the page over and using my knife to carefully cut around the hole, tidying up with sandpaper after. 

Step 4:

Gently sand the edges with sandpaper, and ink if desired.

Step 5:

Continue until both sides of all pages are done, then decorate your album as desired.

I’ve turned my mini album into a travel journal, all ready for our trip to Bangkok in January – I’ve added some small envelopes in between the pages to hold memorabilia, and will add photos & journaling as I go along – I’ll also add proof sheets of all the photos that I take when I return, which will make it easy to find the photos I want to scrap, and the stories will be there waiting to refresh my memory, even if it takes me a few years to get around to scrapping the trip!  I’ll share a few more pages of the album when we’ve returned & I’ve completed it – it’s currently a work in progress as I add bits & pieces to it. J