Showcase Those Photos

Have you ever wanted to create a mini album or brag book to showcase those special sentimental photos without the traditional photo albums and without spending the time it takes to create a mini album?  Well that was me this weekend...I wanted to create something to give as a gift but I needed it to be quick.  After creating those larger mini albums I was definitely tired of mini albums and wanted something easy, and I found it after a few hours of surfing YouTube.

Actually I found two really cute, super easy mini wallet and brag book size mini albums.  The one I am going to share will hold up to 12 photos.  I've added photos to show you how you can create this little brag book to showcase your special moments.  I used the standard 4 x 6 photo but you could cut that down and use a smaller size.  Additionally, you could add a pocket on one of the pages (which I may do later) to add a gift card or a tag to hold the photo.

This is the front of the book.  The designer paper is My Minds Eye Lost and Found Christmas collection.  I had some Stampin Up Bashful Blue card-stock and that was perfect because this particular brand of paper has a heavier weight than most which means it will hold its shape better and longer.

I had to fussy cut the word Merry from the paper because once I cut it to size it wouldn't fit on the front.  The edges were inked using Walnut Stain.

When you open the book to the first page you have two separate sides of the book (a bit like a gatefold) page.

As you can see each page holds a standard 4 x 6 photo that I have inserted in the photo slots I punched in the mat.

The photo corner punch is by Marvy Uchida and I absolutely love it!

Next we fold back both photos to reveal four new photos.  Just think of how you could create these pages into pockets for tags, inserts and other interesting folds.

And yep, there is yet one more fold back to reveal two additional spaces for photos.

This gives you a total of ten photos that you can display all in one easy and compact brag book.  I could see this on a table where everyone could see it and of course start a conversation about its existence.

And lastly, we come to the back of the book where I have simply added my signature block.

Here you can see how big the spine is which adds to the possibility of doing more with this small but very versatile brag book.

I am going to switch out a few photo mats with a couple of pockets with tags where I can add my greeting and maybe a smaller pocket that can hold a gift card to Red Lobster or Olive Garden.

It is my plan to make at least one more of these and maybe another one that is more of a wallet style.  I'll share that style with you as well.

I hope to enter this brag book in the following challenges:

Anything But A Card - Challenge #30 (12/21)
Challenges 4 Everybody - Challenge #35 Anything Goes (12/20)
The Corrosive Challenge - Challenge #189 Anything Goes (12/21)
Penny Black and More - Traditional Christmas Colors (12/30)
One Stitch At A Time - Challenge #194 Anything Goes (01/12)
Dream Valley Challenges - Challenge #72 Christmas (01/10)

Well there you have my showcase for tonight.  If anyone would like to know where to find this tutorial for this brag book just let me know.

Be safe, stay warm and enjoy the blessing of creativity

Hugs ~ Lesia