Tutorial: How to make a Hybrid Chipboard Album

Chipboard albums are a wonderful way to display some of your digital scrapbooking creations.  I created this fun and beautiful hybrid chipboard album for my mother’s birthday using Jen Allyson’s Vanity Fair Persimmon Papers , Persimmon Solids, and a few other goodies from the Design House Digital shop.

I will walk you through the steps I took to make my album.  You can use a pre-made album template or you can scan one of your raw chipboard album pages to get the exact shape and make a template of your own.  I created my pages, added journaling, and printed the 6×6 pages out.

I then cut out the album pages with scissors.  I wasn’t too concerned with cutting them out perfectly, because I knew that I would be inking some of the edges later on and the ink would hide any imperfections in my cutting abilities.

After cutting around the edges of the bracket shape I laid them out in the order I wanted them to be in the completed album.  In some chipboard albums the pages are designed to all fall in the same direction, or you can choose to place them back to back as I have done.

I then traced the circle where the hole would be (using a chipboard page as my guide) that would bind the album together with a jump ring.  Using an sharp craft knife I cut out a hole in each corner.  Next I used Liquitex Gel in matte finish to adhere, protect, and seal my pages to the raw chipboard.   I love using Liquitex gel on my hybrid and altered art projects, it goes on white and dries clear, this product also leaves the brush strokes when it is dried–I love the added texture.  Some people prefer to use modpodge or spray sealers, or gel in a glossy finish.  It’s all personal preference.  You can find these products at any large craft store or sometimes in art/craft areas of your local box store.

I took a paint brush and covered the chipboard with gel and then placed my scrapbook page on the chipboard and smoothed out any air bubbles that might have sneaked inside.  Allow page to dry then place a coat of gel on top of your scrapbook page.

Once all of my pages were dry, I embellished them and inked the edges.  I used a variety of products including, ribbon, buttons,  epoxy stickers, paper flowers, chipboard alphabet stickers, and ric rac.  You can use whatever type of glue you prefer to attach your embellishments to your album.  I love glue dots.

This project was exciting to make and I completed it over the course of three days working a little here and a little there.  It was my first chipboard album ever and I have to say that it was much easier than I thought.  The most time consuming step was drying.  I hope you enjoyed following this tutorial and feel inspired to try a hybrid album of your own.  Here are some pictures of the finished album.

Other Design House Digital projects used in my album: Jen Allyson’s Design 365 March Album templates, Real Simple Clean Frames, Audrey Neal’s Lovestruck Elements and Word Art.  I also used Citrus Splash elements and bracket album templates by CG Essentials .

10 Reasons I Love Digi

I feel sort of special and privileged as a digi scrapper. Here’s my top ten list of why I’m glad I’m a digi scrapper:

1. We don’t have to wait until the summer and winter shows to get new stuff. There are new releases every day in the digi world – most of them on sale for at least the first day.
2. Trends seem to move quickly through the digi world so our favorite designers are more able to react to what is popular to meet our whims and desires.
3. Digi scrappers have a more personal “relationship” with the designers of the products. I know most scrappers (even the hard-core) don’t know WHO designed the product. They only know what company is manufacturing it. We know the designers by name.
4. We we purchase a kit we essentially get an entire “line” of product. We don’t have to pick or choose what we want. We get everything.
5. And, obviously, we get to reuse what we purchase. A sheet of paper is not a single use item.
6. We are not dependent upon the buyers of local stores or large chains to make purchasing decisions for us. We buy direct from the designer – or at least through a consignment shop.
7. We don’t have to wait weeks or months for the new products to arrive. Our only wait time is determined by the speed of our internet connection.
8. Designers and manufacturers can’t discontinue our favorite products.
9. We never have to purchase adhesives or storage supplies.
10. We can easily change the scale, color, opacity, orientation, and size of the products purchases. Try “shrinking” a large scale printed paper or converting printed cardstock into translucent vellum.

So, I’ve finished my first digital layout…Now what?

So, I’ve finished my first digital layout…Now what?

I know that’s what you’re thinking, don’t even deny it.

Just like with digital scrapbooking, the possibilities are many, so we’ll touch on a few.

1) Print it yourself. This one is pretty obvious, I know, but there are many benefits to printing at home. Instant gratification, anyone?

2) Have it printed, by page. Obviously, a nice feature of our digital age. You can upload, have it printed, and shipped right to your door. Perfect for those hectic times when we get a bit behind. Or those lazy times, when you’re vegging in your pajamas all day.

3) Have it printed, by the book. That’s right. You can upload all of your pages and have them printed in a single, bound book. How cool is that? Again, delivery to home is a nice benefit.

4) Don’t print it. No one says you HAVE to print your layouts. (I have a friend who has never printed a single one, because she likes the way they look in her monitor!) Display them in a digital frame, post them to your blog, or carry them around on your iPod or cell phone. And don’t forget to share them in our Gallery at Design House Digital!

Of course, this can still raise a lot of questions. Can I really print it at home? Do I need a special (super expensive) printer? What company is the best? What if I drop my iPod in a puddle?

Don’t worry, we’ll address all of these (in more detail) in upcoming posts. For now, just realize that one of the coolest things about digital is that you’re not locked into ANYTHING. You can print twenty of the same layout, without having to buy twenty packs of embellishments. You can print it now, and have it printed into a book later. And then blog it.

Ain’t digital grand?