loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp mixed media

Compose Your Life – Loose Spine Mini Album

Hello my crafty friends, it’s CREW member Patti Senter with you today sharing a very special mini album.
Every once in a while a collection comes along that just sings to your soul. That’s how I felt when fellow CREW member Aga Baraniak designed the newest Canvas Corp collection called Compose Your Life. I love the versatility of having pages colored and pages ready for me to put my personal touches on. The 12×12″ papers are printed on textured watercolor paper, a nice heavy weight that will lend itself to a multitude of projects.
And, let me tell you… it worked especially well for my loose spine mini album.

loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

I’ve used a new type of construction with this mini, I’m calling it a loose spine. The hinges swing freely, not connected to the spine and there are no gussets between the pages. A different concept but one I’m really enjoying experimenting with. I’ll be doing a complete tutorial series showing how to construct a mini like this be sure and subscribe to my YouTube channel nwlady1949 so you’ll know when the series begins. And yes, trust me, it will be easy enough for any of you to make one similar to this.  loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

I used not only the 12×12″ papers which were the ones printed on the heavy watercolor paper, but also the 8×8″ collection which includes 8 each heavy cardstock and a lighter weight paper along with 8 mixed media sheets of different textures. I used some pieces from the Mixed Media package which is a fabulous 1/2 pound assortment of  all sizes and types of papers even including some lace snippets that will work for many many projects. I also used a lot of the 4″x6″ journaling cards.  You’ll find that this collection has something for all of you.

loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

The base of the mini is a 5 1/2″ x 12″ strip which was scored at 3/4″ intervals to create my page hinges. I left  1 1/2″ to attach to both the front and back of my album base covers. There is a 12×12″ page called Red Flower Pieces, I used my Scan and Cut (but you easily could fussy cut them as well) to cut all the flowers and leaves out. They were tucked throughout the book here and there.  The base (hinges and front and back wraps) of my book were done using Artisan cardstock in white. When you create a mini like this, it’s very important to have a very superior type of cardstock for these aspects since they will get a strong work out from scoring, folding and opening and closing the book and pages. Make sure whatever base cardstock you use is suitable for this task.

loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

I cut 12 pieces from the 12×12″ papers each measuring 5 1/2″ square. These created the fronts and backs of my six pages. Usually I use whatever base paper I’ve used for the pages but since this is such a heavy duty watercolor paper it was the perfect choice in texture, weight and design to use directly as my page bases. My book covers front and back measure 6″ square this allows a nice top edge if I decide to add top tags. I forgot to mention on the video that each page has a top opening to allow for top tags if wanted. When I make a mini, I pull out punches and dies and lots of things from my stash. It’s always fun to see what treasures have been hiding in my crafty drawers forever and finally have found the perfect home. This time a couple of really old brads ended up being just the perfect enhancement to my pages.

loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

Another of my top favorite 12×12″ pages was called Amazing, Aga named all her pages, which is so great, I cut out and used many of the title names in my mini as well. The ‘Amazing’ paper has lots of words and quotes which can be used in many many ways. Here you see one that I used for a flap to tuck my mat under. I also used magnets on several of the pages (like the framed acetate pocket shown above) to help keep everything tucked securely in place.

loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

When creating a mini it’s so fun to have interactive pages and elements. On the left above, I used my craft knife to create a pocket into the decorative paper slipping a nice tri-folded photo book inside. Again, I used the Be Strong words from the Amazing paper to create my flag. On the opposite page, I used an older die I had from Creative Expressions called Dorado to cut the decorative edge along the bottom. This flips up to allow for a large size photo on the back and direct to the page underneath.

loose spine mini album compose your life canvas corp tattered angels 7gypsies mixed media

There are so many different aspects and textures to this six page mini. I incorporated some burlap and canvas for my belly band along with the brads that I’d had in my stash for eons. So much fun and love went into each of these pages. I hope you’ll join me on the video for a complete walk through. As always enjoy your crafty space, try something new and above all just have fun!

Supplies from the Canvas Corp Store

Aga Baraniak Collection – 12 x 12″ Paper Assortment8×8″ Paper PackMixed Media PackJournal Cards 4″x6″,

Tattered Angels – Gimmer Mist – Iridescent Gold

Canvas Corp – Tissuestock 12×12″ French Script on IvoryCord – Natural Jute Ball

Supplies from my Stash:
Country Craft Creations Artisan Cardstock in White and Red; Core’dinations cardstock in green;  Art Glitter liquid glue; Magnets; brads; Dies – Spellbinders Arched Elegance Pocket, Creative Expressions by Sue Wilson Dorado, Spellbinders Divine Eloquence, Spellbinders Superellipse, Sizzix Framelits Tags, Marianne Designs Envelope,  Spellbinders Pierced Rectangles; Tim Holtz Distress inks in Worn Lipstick and Vintage Photo
Tools: Big Shot, Scan -n- Cut, Martha Stewart Score board, bone folder, scissors, kraft knife, corner punches,

Thanks for joining me today!!!

Patti
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About

Canvas Corp Brands is the home of Tattered Angels, 7Gypsies and Canvas Corp (Canvas Home Basics). We are a manufacturer of surfaces, paint and vintage reproductions coming to you from Springdale, Arkansas.


'Compose Your Life – Loose Spine Mini Album' have 4 comments

  1. April 12, 2018 @ 5:26 pm KIMBERLY

    I LOVE LOVE THIS PAPER …. your book is AMAZING ….Beautiful… full of inspiration’s… thank you

    Reply

  2. April 12, 2018 @ 5:30 pm Jean Marmo

    I want this album!!!! Love this collection!

    Reply

  3. April 13, 2018 @ 9:06 am Julia Cotrim

    Awesome! Love your book!

    Reply

  4. April 14, 2018 @ 11:20 pm Kevil

    Lovely car and conditions! A jewel to keep and enjoy. If i could It has three hinges for every door. When I was a little boy my grandfather”s brother had a very similar car, a 1938 Plymouth coupe. The car was more than 30 years old and as a gearhead boy I was intrigued why the door had three hinges. Besides that those hinges could be seen outside of the car body. I asked the reason to my grandpa, who was the person I adored over every other person in the world, and he answered that it was so because the door was very long and heavy, needing three hinges to support its weight. I began to spot other cars of the period on the street but I couldn”t see another car with three exposed hinges. One Saturday afternoon I was with my grandpa watching an old movie on tv and the main character drove a three hinged Plymouth coupe to get away from the police. The movie was “High Sierra with Humphrey Bogart and every time I watched the movie (they used to repeat movies on tv those days) I was looking for the three hinges. Some years later my grandpa”s brother died and his son (my second degree uncle) decided to restore his father”s coupe. It was a big job and he had the car in a body shop for some time, he wanted a high end restoration and the car was almost dismantled. The doors were out of the body and I tried to lift one of them: it was incredibly heavy ! My nonno was always right. Memories.

    Reply


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This blog is a compilation of inspiration from the Canvas Corp Brands family including Canvas Corp, Tattered Angels and 7Gypsies.