Dream Big Graduate!

Today, I'm sharing a mini album at long last!  If you've noticed, I've been making  a lot of cards and notepads lately which is fun, but I am crazy for mini's.  That's why I was so excited when a dear friend of mine asked me to create a junque journal/smash book for her high school graduate.   I had THE BEST time creating this book because I got to come up with all sorts of ways to include her daughter's favorite things like vintage sheet music, Broadway musicals, the Andrews Sisters, Marine Corps and WWII history.  

 

I used Heidi Swapp's Binder Album, which is bare chipboard, embossed with a chevron pattern.  To give it some vintage-inspire glitz, I spritzed it with Color Shine in mustard, and added some pennant flag accents.    One of Scrap Your World's Blooming Beauties in a lovely teal blue was the perfect touch to add some glamour to the cover.

 

 

 Once I decided on the cover, it was time to have fun with the inside!  I knew I wanted to add a ton of hand-stitching and layers.  And of course banners...love this stitched one by Recollections.

 

 

I tried to highlight some important dates in the graduate's life, like this little calendar tab, since her birthday is in June.   I designed some flexibility into the journal, like the removable journaling cards, in case she prefers to add a picture here.

 

 

 She loves musical theater, so I worked in some Broadway Playbills.

 

Her mom is planning to let her classmates sign the book at her graduation party, so made sure there are plenty of places for notes and messages, like this little "Inspire" notecard.

 

 She can stash mementos in this pocket made from Andrews Sisters sheet music.

 

 

November 2nd marks another important date, and I found these wonderfully aged USMC tags to reflect her fondness for this service's history.

 

I really like how attaching the pages by sewing allows you to have layers and "hidden pages" like the doily one below.





Here, I actually used some of the vintage sheet music for a background page on the left and I just had to add an embellished kraft envelope on the right.

 

 

I had a lot of fun creating an eclectic feel because her tastes are so different.

 

And I covered one of the remaining pages with this fun authentic WWII war bond, I hope she loves it!  I added a few of the divided page protectors at the end, filled with journaling cards for her friends to sign.