Floral Mini-Album Pt 9 Page 7

Recently I made a new mini-album, about my mum who died in December. I was unable to publish anything about this until now because it is a present for her best friend, who sometimes visits my blog, and I wanted it to be a surprise for her. I wrote a series of blog posts as I did each stage of the project, so I didn’t forget what I did, and they will be published in sequence now the project is finished and has been given to our friend.

If you want to see the finished project, please click here.

During this couple of sessions, I worked on page 7, which is predominantly turquoise and green to co-ordinate with page 6.

I had made the page with a simple, full-width pocket across the bottom. I began by matting the two sections, using paper from the stack, distressed with Forest Moss Distress Ink, and then created a flap, also matted and layered in the same way, and attached with a tab inside the cavity between pages 7 and 8. The piece of printed card I used for matting this had a touch of purple in it which I intended to bring out later on the page.

In the first photo you can see the flap closed, together with two small strips ready for making a retaining strap for the flap.

 

The flap open.

The materials for making the retaining strap, in this photo for both copies of the album. The white flower pieces and the small leaves were from my stash – these had been cut with my cutting machine, and in the case of the flowers, had not yet been coloured.

Colouring the flower pieces with Distress Stains – first of all I smeared a little of the Seedless Preserves on my craft sheet and spritzed some water beside it, and mixed it with a brush. I smooshed the flowers through this, and then dried them with my heat gun. To prevent these small pieces from blowing away, I held them down with a wooden skewer.

When they were dry, I mixed up a small quantity of Dusty Concord Distress Stain in the same way, and painted the tips of the petals with this to darken them, and again dried them with my heat gun.

When they were dry, I hand-embossed them from the back, with a round embossing tool onto a piece of fun foam.

I pierced holes through the centres of the flowers and through the strap, and lastly through the pocket and the page, and attached everything together with a small brad through the centre of each flower.

The final step was to slip a leaf under each flower and attach it with hot glue.

This is the finished result.

There will be plenty more flowers or other embellishments on the page, and if these little flowers look a bit lost, I can always add more, but for now I’m happy with the result.

Just page 8 to do now, and then I can begin the serious business of making photo and journaling mats, tags and other bits and pieces, and then the embellishing! I can’t wait to start that.

I am also planning to make a mechanical waterfall mini inside the front cover, and a holder for a CD of Mum’s favourite music inside the back cover. There’s still plenty to think about.