Hi! Thanks for stopping by today.

I have been asked how I make my accordion frames to go inside of my mini albums, so I thought I'd share that with you today for Cut At Home.

Here are a few examples of accordion frames I have made in the past:

                                   

 

                                     

I love to make an accordion booklet in my albums for two reasons. They look great, but they will also hold lots more photos. When making mini albums, I try my best to make it in such a way that lots of photos can be added. By adding an accordion, that usually gives me room for 10-12 more photos on one page alone.

I start with a frame. In today's example, I am using the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Thirty Nine Dies. You want to choose a die with a solid edge. This way when you attach your accordion book behind it, it will cover it.

From the largest die, I cut 5 pieces from black cardstock by running it through my Sizzix Big Shot Machine. I then adhered them together. This makes it very sturdy when opening and closing the booklet.

I then nestled the largest & second largest dies, to cut out a black cardstock frame, and adhered that to the top of my large stack of frame's, using wet glue.

From the Graphic 45 Rare Oddities 6x6 collection, I cut a decorative piece to go in the middle of my frame from the second largest down. I adhered that right into the center.

  

For my accordion book...it's very easy. Just determine what size will fit nicely behind your book. In my case a 4 1/4" x 3 1/4" will fit perfectly. Therefore I cut 5 pieces of the same black cardstock to
8 1/2" x 3 1/4", then on the 8 1/2" size, I scored it down the middle at 4 1/4".

This gave me a little booklet at 4 1/4" x 3 1/4". I then adhered them together, by offsetting them.

Once I finished my booklet, I then glued that to the back side of my frame. I wrapped seam-binding ribbon around it, to hold the book closed while in the album. Adding tape to the back, I used Angel Craft Tape, which is a strong adhesive, covering the back side completely. 

I want to make sure this is very secure once it is in my album.

 

I then added this to the center of my page, in my mini album:

Here is a view with the book open:

    

This is a great way to add lots more photos into your album.

I have a video showing this process, if you'd like to watch the step by step, please stop by Cut At Home's blog. You will also find a list of supplies used.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial!

You can also find me at:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/corenescreations

~Corene