Earth Day is a time for us to remember the environment and how important it is for us to protect it. While people honor it different ways such as turning off the lights for Earth Hour or picking up trash on the side of the road, I have a little tradition of my own…
And it of course includes crafting!
Instead of throwing the cardboard from our album packaging in the garbage, I tend to save it. When I need to give a small, meaningful gift, I love using the cardboard to create a mini-album or brag book. Perfect for showing off photos of my kids to my co-workers or creating the cover for a birthday card. There are so many uses for it before putting it in the trash. And on Earth Day, I always set aside time to make one of these mini albums.
Ingredients to create this project:
- Cardboard from Album Packaging
- Woodland Whimsy Girl Paper Pack
- Woodland Whimsy Girl Stickers
- Woodland Whimsy Embellishments
- Forever Yours Flower Embellishments
- Binder Rings
- Tape Runner
- 12″ Straight Trimmer
- Hole Punch
- Foam Squares
To create this mini-album, I cut five pieces of cardboard packaging to measure 5″ x 5″. Using a hole punch, I punched two holes in the sides, in the same spot on all of the pieces of cardboard.
Next, I cut 10 pieces of paper (I used my smaller, scrap pieces) to measure 4″ x 4-1/2″. Adhere to the front and back of each piece of cardboard.
Add photo mats to each side to measure 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″. Then, print and add photos to measure 3″ x 4″. After you have added the photos, you can add stickers and embellishments for a finishing touch.
Add embellishments and stickers to the project using Foam Squares to add dimension.
Who do you know that would love a small mini-album as a gift? Even more bonus points for you knowing that you have helped to save the environment in the process.
Please share your Earth Day projects with us on your social media using #earthdaycm.
Happy Creating!
Love this project Melissa! Thanks so much for all of your creativity!
My son is now 24 years old, but when he was in Cub Scouts and about age 9, I used CM’s packaging cardboard and made picture frames for the Scouts to decorate, and the frames included an easel attached to the back to stand up. My dad had given me an oval bevel edge cutter, and the cardboard was thick enough to show off the bevel edge. I took a picture of each Scout in uniform and printed the pix for the Scouts to attach within the oval mat. Thanks for bringing up a g great memory for me!
I LOVE this and already posted it on my fb page!!
Wouldn’t want to use the cardboard for an heirloom project, however, because it’s not archival quality. At least that is what I was told by my CM consultant several years ago.
love it! I’m looking for a cheap, simple, small project to do at church with 70 elderly people…if anyone could send me some of their extra cardboards and scrap papers, I can make this happen! thank youxx
I see a potential use of ribbon vs the rings – depending on the number of pages!!! I also never throw out those pages – I use them for power lay outs.
Think I will make these for customer gifts for my fall retreat – using the cardboard and my scraps will make it an affordable, fun gift. Maybe even personalize it somewhat when I get my registrations in.