I am a huge fan of Graphic 45 papers. The offices are located where I live and the first time I happened to see their offices in the wild (I was parking nearby for a work meeting), I was delighted. I love the images reminiscent of the 1920s and the 1930s. For me, Graphic 45 works best with mini albums or photo albums, which is what this project was based on, although I’m tempted to try my hand at some mixed media projects, too.
I used a tutorial designed and sold by Paper Phenomenon, Photo Mats & Inserts Tutorial 1. Kathy King is a creative and marketing genius who has taken her unusual interactive mini album designs and turned them into an incredible business. I even used the same paper collection, Graphic 45’s Home Sweet Home, because I loved it so much. The 12×12 paper pad and stickers are no longer available, however Graphic 45 is preparing to release the Collector’s Edition, which will feature a sampling of the 12×12 papers, one of the chipboard stickers sheets, and a full sheet of the card stock stickers. I have quite a lot of the 12×12 pad and chipboard stickers left, or I would be tempted to order it.
The tutorial calls for using a Kraft colored file folder as the base and includes all the measurements you’ll need for cutting the folder as well as the paper. I admit mine is a little wonky because I was just getting used to using my Crop-a-Dile Big Bite, which I think I bought to use on this project.
I used some of the cut aparts as little tucks and photo mats, mounting them on scraps of the file. The paperclip is from a set of Recollections brand shaped paperclips I picked up at Michaels. The shapes included were stars, arrows, hearts and banners, but the blue banner clip went perfectly with the project.
This opens to the left… 
…to give you this.
I just dug out my 12×12 pad and chipboard stickers to see what I had left. I have been looking at my Graphic 45 collection recently and enjoying the textures and art. I might have to make some more photo inserts or perhaps some mini folios.
The only down side is that the bottom edge of the paper on the front and back are starting to lift. This may be because I used scor-tape to adhere the paper and may be fixed with some liquid glue and pressure. When I first started making mini albums I used mostly scor-tape with some liquid glue when directed (I was following a lot of tutorials on YouTube and from Kathy King). Now that I’m more comfortable with my skills, I feel more comfortable using liquid glue or knowing when it’s better to use which adhesive.
I’ve never figured out what to do with my mini albums, so right now they sit in my collection and I pull them out on occasion to remind myself of what I’ve done and where my creativity has led me.
Thank you for coming with me! Feel free to suggest cool projects that the Home Sweet Home collection would look good on!
CraftyAs 