Taking a Trip Back in Time With Tim Holtz Stamps and Oxides - A Mini Mini Album

Hello friends! How about a little time travel? I've taken a trip down memory lane and made a star album. (Remember when they were popular?) My tiny album includes stamped images from some of my first Tim Holtz stamp sets--those dreadful acrylic ones. Well, even though they are grungy and sticky, they still make a nice impression, and I felt it was time to give them some love.

Here's what my  3 by 2 inch  album looks like when it's opened up. I didn't know it was going to be a star album until I was finished! I am terrible at visualizing these types of things, and I actually started this back in December. No tutorials were followed; I just winged it. So if you've made one like this, and I don't give you credit, it's because I didn't follow your tutorial. I also have no step by step photos, because I really didn't think I would ever finish this miniature monster. It may seem like an odd orientation, but that's just how I like to look at thing--like a stenographer's notebook.

I can recall that the papers were from a kraft paper scrap pack from ages ago, already cut to size. Sadly I think I threw out the rest of the pack, but I saved these thinking they would make a quick album! Ha! NOT. Each of these 14 business card sized pieces of kraft paper have ugly prints on the opposite side. I just flipped them to the 'clean' side and dipped into various Distress Oxide puddles all in blue. It was my original intent to make an album titled, 'If You're Feeling Blue' with little cheerful quotes for my daughter. Her blue period is over, so this just became a trip back in time for me. I tried to make facing panels look similar. Nothing fancy--just fun!

The stamping went quickly, and so did the assembly, once I figured out what the heck I was doing. I glued two completed cards back to back, leaving just the bottom quarter inch unglued. I made an accordion folded spine with 7 'mountains' and two free ends which would become the inside front and back covers. I added glue to the bottom quarter inch of the stamped panels, and slipped them over the 'mountain' folds. I debated about gluing the back of the folds together, but when I found out the album made a star shape I decided against it. At the last minute I decided to add some old Tim tissue tape to cover the seams of the pages.

Although the album looks pretty all fanned out, it folds down nice and flat, shown below.

I made the covers by cutting my cat food box into panels just a tiny bit larger than the pages. I took plain kraft paper, inked with Ranger ink refresher, and crumpled it up, to make it more flexible to wrap my cat food panels with. Then I glued the inside front and back panels to the inside, covering the folded over edge. Lastly, I made two more panels out of some kraft paper, inking with Blueprint Sketch and Cracked Pistachio DOX and glued these to the front and back. Here's the plain backside.

I really enjoyed my trip down memory lane, and it felt good to use some of the stamps that got me hooked on Tim Holtz' products so many years ago. It is the little things that make life big!

Thank you for your visit today and for your lovely comments!

Hugs and Blessings!

Sara Emily

I'm sharing with these challenges:

Mini Album Makers March Mini Album Tutorials and Challenge (of course!)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Road Trip A trip down memory lane with my old Tim Holtz stamps!

Simon Says Stamp National Craft Month

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #135 - ANYTHING GOES + option EASTER

Noor Designs March Challenge - Spring

Love To Scrap LTSCB #107 - Anything Goes!

Deep Ocean Challenge "Easter / Spring"

heARTful Stamping Challenge Anything Goes + a stamp Mar 18 – 25

Double D Just "Wing" It