Butterfly Mini Album by Amber Mitchell

Hello friends! Amber Mitchell here for the first time on Paige's blog today to share with you a fun, layered project that has left me so ready for spring!

Even though I love this time of year, it would be a lie to say that I'm not eager for flowers, sunshine, and nice breezy days. So when I saw Paige's Layered Butterfly cut file, I just knew I had to turn it into a spring-themed mini album. And the digital Oh My Heart collection with all of its pastels and florals was the perfect collection for doing just that!

Originally, this cut file is smaller and designed to be used as an embellishment. Since I wanted to make a layered mini, I first needed to make each layer larger by increasing the size of the entire file. To do that, I just grouped all the layers together and increased the size until the largest one was about 9.5" in width. After that, I cut each layer out, one by one, using various patterns to make the album more eye catching. Side note: this cut file comes with six layers but for my mini I decided to use the five largest ones.

To add texture, I machine-stitched carefully around each individual butterfly shape using gold thread. This got a bit harder as the butterflies got smaller, so taking it slow is key. To assemble the base, I layered the butterflies from smallest to largest and machine stitched twice down the center to adhere them all together. Stitching twice adds a lot of texture as well as increases longevity and security for the album base itself.

My favorite part of any project is embellishing. I used my cutting machine to print and cut the digital ephemera packs from the Oh My Heart collection. I sized the pieces down a smidge since some of my pages required smaller embellishments. Then it was all about adding layers upon layers. To add a bit more texture, I pulled pieces from the 30-page Paige Evans #StickerBook, some wood veneers from the Turn the Page collection, and layered those amongst the ephemera. While embellishing, I made sure to leave empty spaces to add photos at a later date.

I used quite a bit of foam tape to add dimension to each page. Since this album is layered, it looks better "fluffed out" compared to lying flat. The foam tape gave just enough depth to each page to accomplish that look.

For a finishing touch, I added an adorable heart charm (they are literally my favorite) from the Oh My Heart collection and that's the album finished and ready for photos!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Take care and happy crafting!

SUPPLIES: Patterned papers, stickers, embellishments, die cuts; OH MY HEART; Die cut machine: Cricut; Cut file: Layered Butterfly by Paige Evans

Location: California, USA / Blog: Happy Crafty Studio / Instagram: @bambismail / YouTube: bambidearr / Pinterest: bambidearr