Tattered Time Mini-Album Part 7–Page 1 Completed

I am hoping to get hold of some photos of my grandmother from my parents, but until then, page 1 of my album in honour of my Dad is now pretty well finished.

I have completed the wallet which contains most of the small photos of the ancestors; having followed Kathy Orta’s video, I have decided that if I make this wallet again, I am going to dispense with the multi-pocket insert because once the wallet is assembled, it is actually extremely difficult to slot the various folders and tags into it, and it also adds quite a bit of thickness to the finished wallet. All that is required is a single pouch, which would contain the tags and prevent anything falling out of the sides of the wallet. You live and learn!

The front and back of the wallet has been matted with papers from the Tattered Time and Lost and Found stacks. I made a plain belly band from black cardstock to hold the flap closed. (“Belly band” always makes me laugh – it makes me think of my less-than-slim belly these days, and what a very large belly band I would need to keep everything neat and tidy!!)

I decided not to put all the tags into it because it was already pretty bulky, so one of them is now located in the bottom flap of the main page, along with the tiny photo folder and the large journaling mat that I made at the beginning. This is what the wallet looks like open, with the pockets and tags inside.

The final part needed to complete Page 1 was a large photo mat to go in the full-sized pocket formed by the original bag. In this photo, I have pulled it out slightly so that you can see how it goes.

The front of this mat I have decided to dedicate to my grandfather’s service in World War 1.

When he died, I inherited, amongst other bits and pieces, his button box – all these buttons went into my button collection, including several First World War Royal Engineers buttons from his uniform which I have always treasured. I decided one of these must find its way into my album, so I cut the back off to make it lie flat, and glued it down with Pinflair gel glue, along with one of the poppies I made for my Remembrance page in my art journal last month.

I also managed to find an image of a Royal Engineers cap badge which I printed out, cut out and hand-embossed from behind, and stuck down onto the page, also with Pinflair glue.

The central part is a montage of two First World War images faded together in my photo editing software, Serif PhotoPlus. After printing this out, I tore around the edges, and distressed it with Tea Dye Distress Ink. I printed the two photos of Grandpa in his Royal Engineers uniform and distressed them with Tea Dye Distress Ink and stuck them down. These pictures were taken in Dover in 1914, where his first job of the war was to wire Dover Castle for electricity. When we visited Dover Castle a few years ago, I looked carefully to see if I could find any old wiring or junction boxes and point out his handiwork!

The final item on this mat is a small journaling folder made from an offcut of some gorgeous vintage script background paper from the Tattered Time stack.

Opening this up, the journaling is revealed.

One thing I forgot to mention before is that whenever I have done any journaling with my white Uni-Ball pen, after it has dried, I have applied Tea Dye Distress Ink over the top using an Inkylicious Ink Duster to tone it down a bit, as the white was very stark and bright against the vintage look of the pages.

Turning the large mat over, you can see the larger piece of vintage script paper from the Tattered Time stack, onto which I have matted the portrait photographs of my great-grandparents Henry and Eliza. I edited these in Serif PhotoPlus to give a more sepia-tint, and also distressed them with Tea Dye and a tiny amount of Vintage Photo Distress Inks.

I need to design and cut some file tabs, after which I shall put one on this large mat, so that it projects beyond the page and gives you something to pull the mat out with.

I keep thinking of other bits and pieces that I should put in! I have just remembered some of the stories Grandpa told about his work at the foundry, and the fine example of an apprentice piece of bronze casting in my possession – more tags needed! I doubt if this album will ever be fully complete…