April 26, 2010

Mother's Day Mini Album

Hello Quickutz friends, it’s Shaunte Wadley again.

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching, and I thought I would share an inexpensive project with you. This project would be perfect as a gift for the special women in your life, or as a gift for yourself on Mother’s Day.

I started with a mirrored compact that I found at the dollar store.


I used an awl to chip out the make-up, and actually with this compact, the makeup portion came completely out in a metal tin. I then washed and dried the compact. (And realized I would have never made it as a hand model.)


Next I gathered my supplies:

Nested Circles CC-SHAPE-14-024
Nested Flowers CC-SHAPE-088-5
Small Flowers RS-0005
Tab RS-0517
12x12 cardstock
Felt
Ribbon
Brads
Button

Cut a strip of your cardstock measuring 2.25" X 12".

Then, using your paper trimmer as a guide, measure every two inches along your 12” strip, and score the paper. I like to run my bone folder right down the gutter of my paper trimmer where the blade would normally run. This gives me an accurate measurement, and a clean score line.


You should end up with a strip containing six equal squares.


Cut the strip in half, in the middle.

Next, you will want your nested circle die. Choose the die that is almost the exact size of your project. Be very careful to position the circle die so it DOES NOT CUT THE SIDES of the folded strip. (The top and bottom of the strip will be cut.) Roll it through your die-cutting tool. Repeat with the other half of the folded strip.

Whoa, who needs a manicure? :-)


You will end up with two sections of (now rounded) paper.


Adhere the sections back together, over-lapping one full circle as shown.


Using a strong adhesive, glue the end of the section into the compact, making sure to line it up so the compact will close. I used E-6000 glue. It smells good. I love me some glue fumes!


Next, I gathered my photos. I had already sized my photos to a 2" x 2” square, though this is not necessary.

Choose a photo that will fit within the nested circle die that is one or two steps smaller than the die you used to cut the cardstock strips.

I found it helpful to use the sticky mat to hold my photos into position when I ran them through the die-cutting tool.

Adhere the photos to the circles. You could also choose to add journaling or decorate as you wish if you don’t have a whole bunch of rug-rats to squeeze into the album like I do!

Before you adhere the top photo, cut a tab from cardstock, and attach it to the top circle of the cardstock strip. This will make it easier for the recipient to pull the album out of the compact.


Go crazy and decorate your album up however you wish. You can use stars, flowers, butterflies--whatever! I chose a small flower. I am sure my boys don’t appreciate that, but it is for MY purse!

When you are finished decorating, tuck everything into the album, and make sure it still fits inside the compact!

Now we are going to decorate the top of the compact, and cover up the distracting brand name.
Grab your felt piece, and the middle sized nested flower die. You will need to cut two of the middle sized flowers, and one of the smaller size.

Take a section of ribbon, and loop it to create a “leaf”. Attach it to the bottom flower. I used a brad to make sure it held well.

Using your strong glue, adhere the bottom flower to the top of the compact. Then using hot glue (the other adhesive tended to soak into the felt) adhere the second flower to the top of the flower already on the compact. Slightly off-set the flowers.

Adhere the smaller flower, and your button.


You are finished! A cute mini-album that will hold up in any purse!


Now if I were giving this as a gift, I would probably include a card with a sentiment along the lines of “I couldn’t “make-up” a better mother/grandmother/mother-in-law than YOU!” to match the compact/make-up theme.

Happy Mother’s Day!

28 comments:

Summer Braxton said...

Oh my word!!!!!!!!! This is ridiculously amazing!! What a perfect grandma gift!!!!!!!! I'm seriously wild about this! Whoa.

Lynne said...

What a really fun idea!!

A.J said...

Brilliant idea, very inventive and great for a mother's day project.

Vicki said...

that is just fabulous. a very clever project. thanks for sharing.

alison said...

I love this project...and am going to try it this weekend...great for grandmothers !

Unknown said...

I am going to do this as well - great idea!!

Unknown said...

If you have any questions as you go, just ask! I will check in here, periodically. :)

Penny said...

My question is, Can I just buy some from you so I don't have to make them? I wish I lived closer! I will try to make one but I'm sure I'll need a backup gift. Shaunte you are very creative.

Angie Gerber said...

CUTE, but can you make mine?

Jennifer Priest said...

OMG so cute!!!!

wig4usc said...

Adorable! I wouldn't have thought you could cut through all the folds a the same time, I'm going to give this a try!

jan metcalf said...

Very clever idea, any mom would love to have a compact of pics!

Unknown said...

@wig4usc:
You will have to cut the 12" strip in half, and cut through only three "folds" at a time, but yeah, no problems with a half-sheet. :)

Nikki Vetos said...

I saw this last night and made sure to hit the dollar store this morning-I plan to make a few this weekend! I live in a small-ish city but there were just two left on the shelves, so I wonder how many people around here went searching for the compacts today! I probably have a couple hiding in the bathroom that I could tear apart too since I rarely wear makeup.. Hmmm the search continues! Such a great & inexpensive idea!

Unknown said...

@Nikki- I bought a couple last night for friends. The color of the make-up was horrid. The cashier gave me a funny look. lol. I wanted to explain myself, but didn't care *that* much. I bet those things have been sitting in the store for years...

Nikki Vetos said...

Ha! I know-I was asking the checkout lady if there was someone who would know if there were any in the back because I wanted a ton more. She probably thought I was insane but I didn't bother explaining either! Since I only had two, asking for more probably wasn't too strange, but I would have asked for more even if I had a pile of ten. The ideas for these exploded upon seeing this project-it's just one of those things that makes me wander around my house looking for more stuff to turn into scrapbooks/cards!

Shar said...

Super cute idea!!! I can't wait to make one myself. TFS. This is fabulous. :)

connie said...

this is a cute idea!

Tammy @ she wears flowers said...

This is so clever and amazingly cute!

The Girls said...

This is amazing!! Thanks for sharing it!!! :)

Kory said...

Thank you for posting this... I am using it for my primary class!! You are VERY crafty and creative and I LOVE IT!

Unknown said...

@Kory...WOW! You are a go-the-extra-mile teacher! I love it! Crossing my fingers that you find enough compacts! (And that you have a small-ish class...lol)

Lisa Mala6 said...

Neat idea. I'll have to check out the $store next time I am in town. TFS

Nikki Vetos said...

I went back for more $1 compacts yesterday!! It was my birthday and I had a hobby lobby gift card, so I went to spend that on my Epic Six. Since the dollar store is in the same strip mall, I peeked in and snagged 5 more compacts! These are just fun and purse-friendly for any gal! My toddler's just fallen asleep so I'm off to play! Happy Mother's Day!

Unknown said...

@Nikki--SCORE! lol.
I gave mine to my mom and mother-in-law. They were the hit of the day. (Not bragging or anything... ;) )

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Anonymous said...

I love this! Great gift for any occasion. (I have many empty compacts.)

TY
Cheers
Sally

Cori @ MTS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cori @ MTS said...

This is so stinkin creative!
I hope it's okay that I blogged about this with a link back.
Thanks for sharing your creative talents!
Cori, morethanscrap.blogspot.com

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