28.3.16

Mixed Media Mini Book Cover Tutorial

Mini Book
         Hi friends my daughter finishes 4th grade this month and will be bidding farewell to her "junior school" teachers .She wanted to make Thank you gifts for  five of her favorite teachers and the mini book you see in this post is one of the 5 we made to gift her teachers!        
         These 3.5 x 3.5 inch mini books are very easy to make and only requires embellishing on the book cover.
I first made the mini books using Jess 's tutorial and here is the link to a tweaked Mini Book Tutorial  : Mini Book Tutorial and here is the link to making the pockets of the mini : How to make Pockets for the Mini book  
Mixed Media tutorial 
         Another mini book I shared earlier[ Mixed Media Mini Book] was extremely popular here on the blog so I thought with the current mixed media craze I will share some tips and tricks on how to make a mixed media book cover in a simple and easy way.
Book Cover
Tip 1 : Choose your adhesives wisely :If you are making your own album / mini book cover and plan to do some mixed media work on it ...adhere your pattern paper on the chipboard using a good strong adhesive such as red tacky tape
       The problem with wet adhesive is if you use more you can wrap and wrinkle your paper and if you use less your paper can lift in places later if you add heavy embellishments on it. 
More on Red Tacky Tape : 12 Uses of Red Tacky Tape
Bob n Betty Paper
Tip 2: Use good quality pattern paper. Unless you want to spend extra time decoupaging tissue paper or thin paper on your book cover the easiest option is to use good quality thick pattern paper which will take on all our texture paste, ink spraying, heavy embellishments without tearing or crumpling.
         For this project I used gorgeous papers from Bob n Betty [sold at Crafters Corner] and these "made in India" papers have such lovely designs, are nice and thick and have a smooth semi glossy finish!

Mini Book
Tip 3: Add interest to your background with inks or texture media
Whipped Spackle
Stencils are a wonderful way to quickly and easily add a subtle yet interesting background . You can use store bought Stencils  or make your own with punches, dies or by hand cutting.
Example of using Die cuts  as Stencil: Die Cutting Fun
Sponge on your stencil using ink from an inkpad or a bottle of ink, spray ink on it or smear some texture paste. 
If you are new to using stencils, here is a link to Basic Stencil Art tutorial 
In this project I used a Memory Box Stencil and my favorite Whipped Spackle
You can read more about Whipped Spackle and another texture media Glass beads Gel here : Mixed Media Box tutorial ,Texture Media Experiments , Altered Heart tutorial 
Mini Book
Tip 4 : Add different Elements
Mixed Media Mini Book Cover Tutorial
Using a mixed variety of elements is the hallmark of a mixed media project. The most popular are metallic charms , resin embellishments and chipboard
Alternative Fun choices : 
Mini Book
The beautiful butterfly you see was fussy cut and inked from a butterfly pattern paper which was sent to me as part of winnings at Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge .
Tip 5 :  Add a sprinkling of really tiny embellishments!
Nail art  rhinestones and sequins
One way to really jazz up your project is by adding some really tiny elements such as glitter balls , tiny pearls, chunky glitter or even cheap nail art decoration items. A sprinkling here and there adds so much visual appeal!
Glass Cabochon
Tip 6. Add a really cool extra something which makes you want to reach out and touch !
This can be a piece of fabric , the pearl mat in my project , an attractive large crystal or a glass cabochon as shown above! 
I made the glass cabochon in this project by sticking a circle of pattern paper from the same Ornate Annie pattern paper set on a glass dome/cabochon and here is the detailed tutorial : Glass Cabochon tutorial 
Heat embossed Flower
The 3 dimensional layered flower was made by stamping and heat embossing on parchment using Heartfelt creations Botanical Wings stamps.
 Tip 7 : Use Inks to ink and bring a cohesiveness to different parts of your project
Unless you have a really huge stash of craft supplies ,chances are you won't have matching papers, flowers and other embellishments  for a particular project. Using a single color of distress ink to ink areas of your pattern paper, flowers and other embellishments can bring on a look of uniformity.
         In this mini book I used worn lipstick Distress Ink to sponge the  pattern paper on my book cover and the parchment flowers and the  butterfly .
Mini Book
        The actual mini book  was made using a single 12 x 12 paper from another Indian brand Papericious but since I sponged both the book cover and the inner papers with the same colored distress ink ...they gel well together!
Here is the video tutorial

        All those green tags were made with my favorite Poppy Stamps die and I later on inked them to tone down the bright green[ but sorry forgot to take a picture].
Mini Book
I hope you liked my mini book and hope some of these tips will be useful in your crafty adventures!
Supplies : Papers:  6 x 6 "Ornate Annie" by Bob n Betty from Crafters Corner, Papericious The Flora Season,
Dies : Poppy Stamps Pinpoint Main Street Tags , Heartfelt creations Botanical Wings 
Stamps : Winnie and Walter In Bloom Elsa's Flora Stamp Set ,Heartfelt creations Botanical Wings
Misc Supplies : All from Crafters Corner : Whipped Spackle, Chipboard embellishments, Resin Embellishments, Glass Cabochons, Red Tacky Tape

67 comments:

  1. What a beautiful project ! The flower is sooooo very beautiful !!!
    Greatings, Odette.

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  2. Such a lovely book, Sonia! Thanks for all the tips to customize the cover. Great tips, for sure! Your embossed die cut flowers are always beautiful. This one is especially lovely with your paper selection. Hope you have a very enjoyable week! Hugs, de

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  3. Amazing album and album cover, I simply love youre rose, so elegant and beautifull!!
    ♥Hugs Valentina♥

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  4. Wow!! This is gorgeous Sonia!! Love how you've decorated the cover!! The papers you have used are gorgeous!!
    -Berina
    Moxie Craftie

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  5. What a beautiful gift idea, lovely embellishments.

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  6. This is absolutely stunning, Sonia!! I love the beautiful papers!! The flowers look amazing!! As always, you added the perfect details!! What a gorgeous mini!! Her teachers will adore these!! Have a great day!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  7. Wow, what a beautiful mini book with such fabulous details! Love your tips and tricks, Thanks for sharing Sonia!

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  8. You do such a wonderful detailed post Sonia and your mini book is just gorgeous..for me, anything smaller than a 6x6 my clumsy fingers don't manage to well..but will certainly give this a go..only a bit bigger..lol..

    Luv CHRISSYxx

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  9. How GORGEOUS! I just love all the elements you have used. Thanks for the tutorial...I love working with mixed media but I'm not that experienced in it yet. Thanks for following me too. Hugs, Robin

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  10. This is marvelous. I didn't think you'd top that last project of this kind, but perhaps you have! I love the wonderful flower & cabochon, but the papers and decorations are also working so well together with the techniques you used. The papers are especially beautiful too. Enjoyed reading the tutorial and thanks for all the links to the products...some of which are unfamiliar to me. Your daughter is so blessed to have you to guide her in the crafting love, and her teachers are going to be so pleased to receive such a lovely, thoughtful and especially a handmade thank you gift of appreciation. You are blessed to have a daughter who knows how to show appreciation, and the skills to do this kind of gift! TFS & Hugs

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  11. Wow Sonia Dii..
    Its awesome
    Thank u fr tutorial...😘😘

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  12. Looks gorgeous and beautifully embellished, xxx

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  13. Wow!!! What a fantastic book! The details are just amazing! The Teachers are going to just adore this and it will for sure be treasured! So beautiful!
    Sherrie K

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  14. Wow!! Love how you've decorated the cover!! The papers you have used are gorgeous :)

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  15. Beautifully decorated Album cover :)

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  16. SO beautiful mini book and you wonderfully embellished it...All elements were in perfect sync with each other :)

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  17. This is fabulous.thanks for explanation about adhesives and the product details links.it was very helpful.

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  18. Beautiful project.

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  19. Wonderful gifting idea..
    Lovely book it is... Embellished so nicely n adorable detailing inside.

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  20. Wow..mini book looks so beautiful...I love all the embellishments...waiting for the Tut...

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  21. Wow! Doc this is Awesome....amazing album and it's cover,
    I love all the nitty-gritty details, so elegant and beautiful!!
    Thank you so much for the tutorial ...
    Regards
    Shilpi

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  22. Such a beautiful feminine creation. Love the colors and all the elements you have used. This will be treasured for sure.
    Myrna

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  23. Its beautiful mini book..

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  24. Beautiful mini book

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  25. Such a pretty book doc!Would definately try it!

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  26. Gorgeous mini album! Fab tutorial and links, really helpful. Beautiful embellishments which go together wonderfully. Debra x

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  27. this is absolutely wonderful

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  28. Such a pretty mini book album - must have required a lot of patience! Love it! :)
    Suchi xx

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  29. The flowers look so delicate stamped and embossed onto vellum Sonia, those teachers are going to love these very special creations.

    Many thanks for sharing with us at Allsorts and Penny Black and More challenges.

    B x

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  30. Wow!! Such a wonderful album! And thanks a lot for taking time to pen down the details, along with all the links to your tutorials! Really helpful!

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  31. A beautiful project with lts of pretty detail!
    Hugs
    Dawn xx

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  32. I can only say a wow

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  33. What a beautiful make Sonia, and all the elements are gorgeous, a lovely idea for a gift, Kate x

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  34. So very pretty. Your daughter's teachers are going to love these

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  35. very pretty!
    love how you made it!
    hugs
    Bad Kitty's Craftroom

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  36. Gorgeous Sonia!! I love the paper you chose and those sheer flowers are so beautiful!! Stunning inside and out! hugs :)

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  37. Sonja a lovely tutorial and beautiful keepsake. Loving all the layering and textures.

    Hugs Erika. x

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  38. What a gorgeous work dear. very impressive. thanks for the tute

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  39. Gorgeous!! A wonderful keepsake!!

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  40. Gorgeous album, just love all the different techniques you've used to make this extra special. Hugs, Lori m

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  41. a beautiful idea brilliantly executed by our young artist !!!hugs to P:)

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  42. Oh, wow!! I really would be one of the five superlucky teachers of your doughter! :D
    Just fabulous and thank you so much for all the tips! Loooove the cabochon and the tiny nail sequins! The paper is amazing and with all your dimensions looks wonderful! And love, love, love your flowers, leaves and butterfly.... and the web of pearls!
    Supertalented as always :)

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  43. Wowwwwwwwwwww! This is gorgeous! LOVING the colors and the big flower on the front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  44. DELICATE..is the first word I thought of ,The vellum flower ,pretty papers ,subtle texture WOW !!

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  45. That's not a mini book, it's a work of art. Thank you so much for sharing it with us and also the very detailed tutorial. Have a great week, Cara x

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  46. Really pretty minibook. Love the flower. Have a great day.

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  47. Beautiful book and that flower is just gorgeous! How well you added all the lovely elements on such a mini book! The texture created with stencil is so neat and perfect! Thanks for sharing all the tips :)
    Thank you so much for your lovely comment on my photo frame and 3D decoupaged flower at my blog. For the frame made in glitter foam, I have used a sticker foam sheet. Cut the strips out of it, remove the sticker sheet and just line it at the border since it has self glue it curved easily at the edge. Joints were not visible due to glitter, so it came out neatly.

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  48. Gorgeous, Love those special touches. You use blogger? How do you get the pictures to post small all in one box, like how you showed the supplies you used? I try to add small pictures and I can never get them to line up.

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    1. Patricia yes I too cant get blogger picture aligning to work so I made a collage of the photos in a freeware called Fotor and then uploaded it to blogger

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  49. Sonia, you are a real artist. This project is so beautiful, I love it. Thank you for explaning how you have made it.
    Lia xx

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  50. Really stunning mini book Sonia - I love it! And the techniques and tips are so useful as well!

    Thanks for coming to play in the Snippets Playground!

    Hugs

    Di xx

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  51. This is mouth wateringly stunningly beautiful. LOVE the butterfly and what a great gift for the teachers.

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  52. Your mini book is absolutely beautiful!!!
    Pam
    scrap-n-sewgranny.blogspot.com

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  53. Gorgeous colors and beautiful details!

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  54. Lovely work. all the embellishments make it very cute. Thanks for sharing tips.
    A great handmade gift indeed

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  55. This is so beautiful, Sonia! I spied the Bob n Betty paper right away! Taking some time this evening to join your giveaways!

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  56. Stunning Mini album. Fabulous embellishments and love the vellum embossed flower! TFS

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  57. Wow this is super gorgeous! !

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  58. A beautiful book, with many lovely details. Hugs, Teresa

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  59. This is so beautiful, Thank you playing along with us at Allsorts this week, Good Luck
    Kevin xx

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  60. This is so beautiful - what a wonderful treasure it will be to look at year after year!

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  61. This is very nice and a wonderful creation.I just love it,I am first time
    Visited your blog and want to learn more like this,will you help me?

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  62. This is just beautiful! I LOVE that flower!! You are such an inspiration! :)

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  63. This is beautiful Sonia, so many gorgeous details.
    Pauline
    x

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