6" x 6" Accordion Album Tutorial

Hi! I'm home from work today with a little stomach bug, (YUCK!), so thought I'd take a minute to post a tutorial on a 6" x 6" accordion album that I created shortly after I became a CTMH consultant a couple of years ago. (The cover of the album is based on a card that I saw in the Spring 2008 Idea Book, which was my "spring board" idea for whole the album). I used paper from the Silhouette pack and the "Joy Forever" stamp set from CTMH, but you could adapt the design to your pictures using any of CTMH's paper or stamps. (I intend to use this one for old black and white photos of my grandparents from the 1940's).

Here's a supply list of what I used:

CTMH Products:

• 6"x6" accordion album
• Joy Forever stamp set
• Silhouette Level I paper pack
• Colonial White grosgrain ribbon
• Black and white gingham ribbon
• Hemp
• Gold brads
• Black and Chocolate ink
• Black and Chocolate distressing inks
• Paper distressor
• 3-D dimensional dots

Non-CTMH Products:

• Jute
• Button
• 1 1/8" wide brown grosgrain ribbon
• 1/2" circle punch
• 1/4" circle punch

Photo and instructions for cover:

Distress edges of the front and back of the album with chocolate ink. Random stamp small flower pattern on the front and back with black ink. Cut a piece of striped paper 4" x 4" and a piece of Bamboo cardstock 3 3/4" x 3 3/4". Adhere bamboo cardstock to center of striped paper. Cut a piece of Colonial White cardstock 3" x 1 1/4", stamp sentiment in the center, distress edges with Chocolate ink, and adhere to the lower left hand corner of the Bamboo cardstock. Stamp 3 flowers onto Daisy White cardstock using black ink and cut out. Using the Chocolate distressing ink, lightly sweep the ink pad across the tops of the flowers to give them a "brush-stroked" appearance. Using a 1/2" circle punch, punch out 3 circles from the polka-dot paper and adhere to centers of flowers. Cut a 4 1/2" piece of Colonial White grosgrain ribbon and a 2 " piece of natural colored hemp. Tie the hemp about an inch from the left side of the Colonial White grosgrain ribbon, and adhere the ribbon approximately 1" from the top of the striped paper that has been layered with the Bamboo cardstock. Adhere striped/Bamboo block to center of album. Using 3-D dimensional dots, adhere flowers as shown in photo above. Stamp 2 leaves on the backside of the polka-dot paper, cut out, and adhere as shown.
Photo and instructions for pages 1 and 2:

For page 1 cut a piece of the bamboo/black floral paper 4" x 6" and adhere to the top of page. Cut a piece of striped paper 3" x 6", place adhesive on the bottom and two sides only, and adhere under the bamboo/black floral paper to form a pocket. (Striped paper will slightly overlap floral paper). To create the pocket trim strip, random stamp brown flowers on 1/2" x 6" piece of Daisy White cardstock, distress the edges with black ink, and adhere to upper edge of black striped paper.  To create tags, cut two pieces of Colonial White cardstock 3" x 4 1/2", angle or round edges if desired, and distress edges with brown ink. Punch two 1/2" circles from the polka-dot paper, and adhere to the center of the top edge, leaving approximately 1/2" head space at the top, to create decorative hole re-inforcers. Punch a 1/4" hole in the center of each of the 1/2" circles, and tie a piece of Colonial White grosgrain ribbon through the holes as shown in the picture. Slide tags into pocket. Tags can be used for journaling or for additional photos.

For page 2 cut a piece of polka-dot paper 6" x 6" and adhere to second page of album. Cut a piece of Daisy White cardstock 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" and distress edges with brown ink. Cut black and white gingham ribbon into two 2 1/2" pieces. Wrap around corners of Daisy White cardstock, adhering only on the back so that a photo can be slid under the ribbon corners. Adhere ribbon-trimmed cardstock to center of polka-dot paper.

Photo and instructions for pages 3 and 4:

For page 3 cut bamboo/ivory floral paper 6" x 6" and adhere to album page. Cut to pieces of black floral paper 3" x 3" and adhere to center of bamboo/ivory floral paper, angling and overlapping corners as needed to fit onto page. Stamp large flower onto Daisy White cardstock using Chocolate ink. Using black ink, stamp floral outline onto Chocolate brown flower and cut out. Attach button to center of flower. Using glue dot, attach a piece of knotted jute to center of flower and then attach flower with a 3-D dot to upper right corner of page. Cut two 3" pieces of Colonial White grosgrain ribbon. Fold one piece in half and attach under flower petal as shown in photo. Tie the other piece of ribbon into a knot and attach to the lower left hand corner of page as shown in photo.

For page 4 cut a piece of striped paper 6" x 6", distress edges with black ink, and adhere to album page. Cut a piece of Bamboo cardstock 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" and adhere to center of a piece of 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" black cardstock. Adhere at an angle to striped paper as shown in photo. Tie a piece of 3/4" wide brown grosgrain ribbon, cut to 3 1/2" in length, into a knot. Trim ends and adhere to lower right corner of page.

Photo and instructions for pages 5 and 6:

For page 5 cut a piece of black floral paper 6" x 6" and adhere to album page. Cut a piece of Daisy White cardstock 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" and random stamp with brown and black flowers. Cut a piece of Bamboo cardstock to 3" x 3" and adhere to center of random stamped White Daisy cardstock. Cut two pieces of 3/4" brown grosgrain ribbon to 3" in length. Attach to two corners of the White Daisy random stamped cardstock. Using a paper piercing tool, punch "starter holes" into the ribbon and attach gold brads as shown in photo. Adhere diagonally to page as shown in photo.

For page 6 cut a piece of Bamboo floral paper 6" x 6" and adhere to album page. Cut a piece of black cardstock 6" x 4". Tear the bottom of the cardstock so that length will end up being approximately 5 1/4" to 5 1/2". Distress edges of black cardstock with paper distressor or edge scissors. Cut a piece of Colonial White cardstock to 3 1/4" x 4", distress edges with paper distressor and then ink edges with Chocolate brown ink. Cut a piece of Colonial White grosgrain ribbon approximately 12" long. Wrap ribbon around lower half of black cardstock, securing in the back with a glue dot, and tie in a knot on the front as shown in the photo. Trim edges of ribbon. Adhere to center of page as shown in photo.

Add pictures and you've got a great little memory book for yourself or to give as a gift! I'd love to see your versions of this little book, so feel free to email photos of your projects to me!

Well, my tummy is rumbling, so I think I'll eat a piece of toast! Take care and have a blessed day!


P.S. What do you think about my new blog signature??