Love For Layout Blog Train a Mini Scrapbook Extravaganza and a Free Junk Journal Tags Printable

Welcome blog hoppers!

The Cherry On Top has been doing this hop for several years now and I've kept the links live for the past few years.  So scroll back or use the search and find more hops for more free templates.  This blog is full, full, full of fabulous free digital designs and printables.  Peruse the AD FREE, POPUP FREE blog (Shoo!  How refreshing!) and grab the goodies while you can.  We're reaching nearly a decade of good old fashioned blogging.  I don't make a darn penny doing it!  I just want to share with you, my digital designs and craft savvy to inspire and hopefully, get you doing what you love to do or what you'd like to start doing.

Click here for the link.

Join our template group and share your pages, here. You'll also find all of the stops there.

Kim's Creative World was the stop before mine and I'm the last stop.

So, there's our free template.  If you follow our every move, then this template may look vaguely familiar.  I swiped my preview idea for our Country Collection's mini keychain album and turned it into a template.  I also designed some FREE Junk Journal tags so you can print them out, with your favorite photos on the back and craft your very own vintage, mini tag album.  Keep scrolling through the blog to find it.  You'll love all of the mini albums along the way.

I'm still designing digital scrapbooking templates.  I design or revamp at least 3-5 templates a week and get them in Plus.  Here are two previews of my latest sets.  Above are recycled templates.  If you've been following us from the beginning, you may already have them, though I do often make improvements to old templates.  Below, are totally new templates.  Year In Review templates are always popular in Plus.

As promised, I'm featuring a whole bunch of mini albums that I recently designed.  I just love mini albums and short and easy scrapbook projects.  That's mostly what I've been designing for Design Bundles.  So, if you're short on time and or scrapbook savvy, you're going to love what I've been adding to the shop.

I thought I'd leave you with this preview for all kinds of tips on how you can use this mini printable album.  The image is linked up to the product in Plus where you'll find more images.

I've been wanting to make this mini album for years and I finally got down to it.  It was so darn easy and I just love the way it turned out.  Again, you can bind and print this out in so many different ways.  Our Summer Collection in Plus is colossal.  If you're on the market for a huge summer scrapbooking collection, look no further.

Our exploding box card minis are all the rage!  It is no wonder.  They are an absolute blast to give as a gift and ya won't believe how simple they are to print and put together.  You can just make a card out of the project or you can add photos.  You can make more inserts, too.  Just shrink up the template for each new layer.  Put an actually small gift or gift card or money in the box if you like.

Again, I've recycled and improved a very old project right from this blog.  Our apron template has been revamped with a manly touch.  This would be great for Father's Day or Dad's birthday.  It's really simple to print and put together.  You can turn it into a card or reprint the pages with photos and make it a mini album.  See how we did it on this blog and this one. 

This one was a favorite of mine.  An oldie, but a goodie!

OK, back to the present.  Here's some very simple to scrap and assemble mini albums for your pets.

I've got step by step instructions in our shop's little gallery that'll help you through the process.

This format might also look familiar.  Get more steps on how to scrap a really book like this at Plus or on the blog, right here.

You'll love how easy these albums are to make.

I'm starting Halloween designs for Plus!  Check out my Sophistiscary papers with a gothic touch.

I've made another really easy paper project for you with them.  This is a folding album with pockets.

Here's another easy mini album to put on your To Do List.

I'm so super pleased I was asked to inject Plus with Junk Journal designs.  I've been going to town and back! Here are some of the latest, hands on, printable mini albums using the Vintage Collection.

Just look how nice it comes out!

Here are just a few pages I designed in mere minutes with all of the fabulousness from the Vintage and Junk Journal Collections in Plus.

Here's your next nifty gifty I have for you.  Some junk journal tags that you can use as is or you can scrap photos on the back side and make your own key chain mini album.  Using laminate will make your mini more rigid.  I also find that the colors come out bolder and better, too.

Click here for the download.

If you enjoy ad free, no nonsense blogging with freebies, then show your appreciation by leaving us some love in the comments or sharing our links with your scrap-a-licious friends.  I'd love to see ya over in our group on FB or on the incredibly active forum at Design Bundles.

Thanks so much for making a stop at The Cherry!

A Super Cool Jumbo Match Box Mini Scrapbook Album with Step by Step Tutorial

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

Are you dragging your butt a bit after the weekend? Did you get your scrap on? I started this mini on Friday and finished it up on Saturday. It took under 4 hours from start to finish. It requires hardly ANY products. Pictures will take up most of your space. So the budget is miniscule. I didn't buy anything for it. I just used what was laying around. If that isn't motivation to make one for yourself, than I don't know what is?! When I can knock out a project, it makes me very pleased. I have so many unfinished projects laying around, that I need to throw in a few quickies here and there to help keep me motivated.

Check out this match box make-over! As you may remember, I'm not a math person. Looking at a numerical equation is like trying to decipher Chinese. I'm definitely an eye baller, but as you can see, I did break out the ruler. I got a rough estimation for the inside of the box to make the insert. This insert was 4 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide, under estimated for mistakes, imperfections and potential girth. Hehehe....

I cut three strips of plain card stock. Then measured in 4 inches to indicate where the fold would be, but you could also measure 8 inches and just fold the darn thing in half. Hehehe...

As you can see, you may also do a book insert rather than the accordion that I did. I figured an accordion would allow for more embellishing. I love my goodies and do not like when I can't get dimensional.

For the first time, I used book binding tape.  

It's been sitting around here for so long and it 

worked absolutely fantastic for this project.  

You can see that I put the binding tape just over where the two pieces come together. This kind of tape allows for excellent flexibility.

 <-  There it is. My mini accordion. All ready for pictures and goodies. I'm using mostly Graphic 45 products, which are typically vintage in character and why I chose this antique white for my background. Keep in mind, that your accordion or book insert is not too, wide. Otherwise, it might make sliding in and out difficult.

The outside of the box insert was roughly measured then wrapped up like a present. I unfortunately, mis-measured, as usual and came up too short. Hence, the paper tape, measured trim.  Hehehe...I actually, like the detail. It adds a bit more interest and covers up a boo boo. Hehehe...

Wrapping the outer box is very simple.Also like a present, lay the outter box on a piece of paper and simply measure for all around coverage.You don't need to measure any sides, which is where I goofed for the insert box. Below, I demonstrated where I put my double sided tape. I put a large piece down the middle of the box and two more on each ends of the paper.

I used decorative paper tape for the insert as well. It went very quickly and easily. I can't tell you from what manufacturer it is because it was only marked on the packaging, which is kind of a bummer because it's really good stuff.  I'll be sure to keep it in supply if I can even find it again. Both of these tapes worked great with G45. Adding to the antique look and covering the inside of the box in a snap.

Keep in mind, not to use too heavy of paper for your insert box. Otherwise, movement in and out is difficult. This typical weighted paper just barely works. It is a little tricksy. If you hold it firm, then push it, rather than grab and pull, it works best.

Above you will see some supplies that were used as well as the finished box insert and outer covering. The stamp pad was used to dull down the word art chipboard, from K&Co. The yellow was a bit too, bold for the rest of the look and I wanted to age it a bit.

These K&Company chipboard pieces were absolutely fantastic for this project. I thought it went perfect with G45's "Play Time" collection.
They were super rigid, which I cannot say about G45's tags. They were so thin, that I had to use extreme caution when taking them off the sheet.

It's always convenient and faster when you can use only one collection for an entire project, but that rarely happens here. I don't have that kind of budget for most endeavours and I do really enjoy mixing and matching. It brings another element of perfect imperfection which is a leading characteristic in handmade crafts.

Here are some close ups of the inserts. I was pleasantly surprised at how much flexibility I actually had. I was thinking it would be more challenging to come up with pictures that would fit in what seemed to be such a small insert, but that was not the case.  Nearly every picture I put aside, I was able to crop up to fit.

Bellies were also not a problem because there are so many pictures, there really wasn't that much room for a lot of embellishments. I even had to ditch a few pics so that I could get a few on there. That paper tape was perfect to continue the look as well as give interest to the insert.

You may choose to adhere your accordion to the bottom of the insert box.  Then you don't have to worry about covering the inside bottom and you won't lose the book. I left quite a bit of room in the box insert by making my insert book a bit smaller both in length and girth.

The cover was even more fun to decorate than the insert! I used more G45 bellies, an antique button from the thrift store and added some more metal with the brassy brads. These embellishments add warmth, texture and dimension. (Man! I love that button. It was actually made of metal.)

So, there you have it! A gorgeous, mini match box album that you can make yourself in an afternoon. Think about this box outside of the box. A child's project would be fun and easy. They could decorate their box and it could be a secret place for there small trinkets. You could also store just about anything small to keep in or on top of furniture for yourself or to give. The ideas are endless and what better way to recycle?! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you share your pictures of this project done up YOUR way.

My next blog will cover my party I'm having here on Wednesday. A Lego Party for my son and a few of his buddies from class. There will be ideas, pictures and a lot printable ideas for you to snag and use either for a party or just individually for your family.

Take care and happy scrapping!