life is good | my mind's eye

I'm happy to be here to share February's mini album that I feature each month over on the My Mind's Eye blog. This month, I thought I would show a few detail photos to show you how to take a handful of ephemera, scraps of paper, patterned cardstock and less than perfect photos and make them into a fun, interactive documentation of a moment in time. 

When Gordon asked me to join him for a long weekend in Nashville, he was already there on business, I said "Yes!" Then we quickly went to work coordinating school pick-ups and overnights with Nana and Papa. But, it was all worth it. Totally worth it. Totally.
When making a junk journal like this, as they are often called, I begin by choosing a handful of coordinating patterned papers that share common colors. Next, I choose a variety of patterns that include florals, stripes, bold patterns, subtle patterns that might also include contrasting colors.
Don't let anything go to waste...use your scraps to punch shapes. I just love using journaling cards as pages in my mini albums, like you see on the above left, and almost always use the back sides to journal. As you can see, I left the front of the card as is and attached a mini shipping tag to the back with a cardstock sticker from MME's new Collectable collection.
This mini book is full of imperfect photos and I just decided to go with it. Even though I had my big camera with me, I found that my iPhone was always with me and much easier to haul around.  On the left page, I used my "a good day"stamped sentiment to cover the spot where the hotel lamp light was just a big white blob...now it's barely noticeable!

I love to add interactive elements to my mini albums. I hole punched a banner shape, added some twine and popped it onto my binder ring.


I had to snag this Do Not Disturb sign, too cute not to, and then journaled on my tag.


And a mix of pages with just words or just photos helps to move the eye along from page to page.
It's okay to leave some pages sparsely embellished or with little to no journaling.

Again, more imperfect photos, but Gordon finally agreed to let me ask another couple to take our photo {below} because I couldn't find a good spot to prop my camera to do it ourselves. And one word says it all. HAPPY.


I love this page. Love the peekaboo element. Love the shape of the heart. Love the striped paper and the way the arrow points down to the wood cutouts. Crush! When you lift the striped paper, the cloud paper with the wood cutouts peek out.

And don't be afraid to make your own embellishments, just like I did here on the right. Do you see how I used a decorative pin to attach receipts?


more TIPS
+  Use chipboard sandwiched between your two pieces of patterned paper for stability, paying special attention to the direction of your patterns when preparing to die cut your shapes.
+  Utilize the negative shapes from the chipboard pieces as page elements. I happen to love a chunky, layered mini album with a variety of shapes and sizes to the pages. Somehow, it makes it all the more interesting for me.
+  Decorative tape, mini staples, twine and pins are all fantastic alternatives to traditional adhesives when attaching ephemera to your pages.
+  Make your journaling cards, word stickers and layered stickers work for you in creating pages that are uniquely yours. Not every page has to include journaling or a photo, a mix of techniques and a little white space are good design elements.
+  It's okay to include everyday items like receipts, tickets, menu's, coffee cup sleeves and room keys in your mini album. That's what makes them so fun and interactive!


You can find the original post for MME here.

13 comments

  1. I love the bulkiness of the album and how it includes ephemera and all the different sizes of things. Awesome!

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    1. Thanks, Christine, these bulky, chunky albums are so fun to make!

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  2. You totally rocked this album, Monika!! So cute, and I love the photo of you and Gordon. Mike and I are going away for a weekend in June -- will have to try something like this! :)

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    1. YES, YES, YES, you definitely NEED to do this. And you better share it with me, I can't wait to see what you create!

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  3. Even though I already saw it on the MME blog, I get the itch to make a mini just by looking at your photos! It looks just so fun to make!

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    1. Oh, Nathalie, I just know that your mini book would be so lovely and inspiring...you must make one!

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  4. Your minis are always so fabulous Monika. I need a class...sigh...LOL I am working on a new mini for my sister. I will use these tips for sure!!!

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  5. Glad you enjoyed a fun weekend in Nashville and loved seeing this album. Nashville is the best (of course I live here so I am biased loL!

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  6. Please ı want to see this mini album on your flickr account :)

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  7. So one day before my vacation I am getting inspiration from your blog for the yummy journals I bought. This mish mash album right here is AWESOME!! Will be embellishing on the plane I think... :)

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  8. The stacking limit contrasts according to the make of the lift be that as it may, and they can go from 500 kg to 5 tons. https://shuttlesky.in/

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