Glimpses of Springtime

Hello all!  How did it get to be February already?!  I'm about to set off for another work stint in New York shortly, and it's been all go through January, so apologies for my absence in Craftyblogland.  As you now know, if you saw my latest stamp launch just a couple of days ago (catch up with the new word stamps here at PaperArtsy), I've been a bit busy.  I'm so delighted you like the look of the new words, and you've got another chance to see some of them in action right now.

We are starting a new month, so it's time for a new challenge at Mini Album Makers.  I've created a tiny album using the paper envelopes you sometimes get with herbal teabags.  (It's a photo-heavy post, so grab some tea or coffee, or something stronger, and enjoy the ride.)

I found myself in the blue-green zone, as often happens to me in January/February... seeking some brighter colours amidst the winter gloom.






This mini album is intended to give us all a tiny taste of the spring which will be along soon, we hope.  


I put the envelopes together using the same method as for my Wood Look Yule Book.












It's all to do with how you fold the flap back on itself to create your pages, but do check out that post for more details.












Originally, I'd planned this tiny album as my Mini Marvel for the Vintage Journey challenge last November, but I ended up going a different way with my Mini Marvels.

That's why there's a photo proving how small these teabag papers are though!











I lightly gesso'd all the inner pages, but left some of the printed text showing through in places, before spritzing with Distress Spray.














It's all entirely random, but just look at that accidental flower cluster on the left hand side of this page spread!















I added a piece of embossed card as my cover, gluing it to the outermost envelope pages, and gave that a spritz of the same Broken China spray.













Next step was some stamping on those internal pages.  I gathered various grasses and leafy stems and stamped in Olive and Leaf Green Archival inks.













I knew I wanted to use my new Spring Edition word stamps but couldn't decide what colour they should be stamped in.

I tried out a couple of stampings, and my favourite was stamping in Leaf Green and adding some light turquoise embossing powder over the top.












I didn't get complete coverage with the powder the first time because I was slow getting it onto the ink.  But I loved the effect, so I deliberately dabbed away some powder before heating the next quotes.













Some butterfly tissue tape wraps its way around the covers to give a little more springtime detail, and then the album sat there for a while as I decided what else might go on the pages.







In the end I kept it pretty simple with some Paper Dolls (all in the smallest sizes), some Design Tape and the quotes.  Just to vary it a little, a couple of the pages have Clippings stickers rather than EAB words.  Why don't we just turn the pages so you can take a look?  (Remember you can click on the little photos for a larger view.)

On the first page, the two little girls join a haiku by Matsuo Basho, a seventeenth century Japanese poet.  It seemed like a pretty good match... I mean, she's practically got a butterfly going on with that huge hair ribbon, right?

Page two finds a slightly grumpy trio, clearly still suffering from the gloom of winter.  I hope the promise of springtime will cheer them up soon... though perhaps they've just got a bit too much schoolwork on to enjoy it.  The Design Tape is a bit of a giveaway!

This wonderful girl in national costume arrives on page three, complete with her strange butterfly dreams. I love how the design tape gives you wonderful vintage detailing so easily, and the Clippings stickers are so full of delightfully off-beat phrases.

On page four we have some of my all-time favourite Paper Dolls - so they get the spritzed flower background, as well as this wonderful Harriet Ann Jacobs quote full of optimism.

Turning the page again, we come to another of my favourite Paper Dolls, so he gets to go with one of my favourite poets.

Almost there now, and time for some more Clippings stickers... (I sometimes wonder if I should brave the world of video for these handmade books, but then I think that I like the photography, so I'm sticking with it for now!)  The little dancer is full of shine and sparkle.

This chap appeared in his very largest form on my jumbo Believe in Adventure tags recently, and now here he is in his tiniest version... still propping himself up on whatever happens to be handy.

And on the final page spread, another little dancer brings a touch of springtime joy along with this Byron Caldwell Smith quote.

I love how the words capture that sense of excitement of the spring light after the wintry grey gloom which is pretty much all we have at the moment.

For the finishing touches on the cover, I used a bookplate made by Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, one of our MAM sponsors, painted white and stamped with some subtle texture.

The lilies of the valley are cut from some dried flower stems which were being thrown out by a friend.















I tucked them in behind the label stamped with my little Hero Arts alphabet stamps and glued them down.















Some fine twine provides the fastening...
















... and a bit of Leaf Green ink around the edges finishes it all off.














All that meant the butterflies disappeared somewhat, but I like that they're still nicely visible around the back!

If that's not enough inspiration, you'll find lots more beautiful books, journals and albums over at Mini Album Makers, created by my fabulous team-mates.










This month's sponsor is Lindy's Stamp Gang and they're generously offering a $25 gift certificate to our lucky winner, so do come and play along.  As always, any handmade book is welcome.  Hope to see you there soon.





“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"...
"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...”
From The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

If you're around on social media, there's a Giveaway to celebrate Mini Album Makers new presence on Facebook and Instagram.  Check out all the details here at Mini Album Makers, and join in to win a fabulous giveaway prize.

And I'll be seeing you here again before you know it with some more challenge inspiration - it's all go right now!