Project File: The 10 Things Mini-Album

Last week I got my crafty on and decided to revisit a mini album I'd made back in 2006. The album was called "10 Things That Make Me Happy" and yes, you guessed it, the contents listed 10 things that made me happy. Each spread of the 4 x 4-inch album contained one item and one corresponding photo.

I wondered how things had changed during the past five years. How many things still made me happy? You know, perennials versus trends. So I copied the design by creating a new template for the pages, and started writing. Within about a half hour, I had 10 new items and I was ready to find photos, papers and get down to making the album.

I wanted to show you my finished pages for this very simple hybrid scrapbooking project. (Click on any of the photos to see them larger in a new window.)

Repetitive, simple, small, and oh yeah, adorable. It has been so long since I've made a little album that in and of itself, made me happy.

I saved all of the templates in a new set available now at Designer Digitals for anyone who wants to create a similar project.

You provide the patterned papers, cardstock, jump rings, cardboard and basic scrapbooking supplies, and this set gives you the template pages which are set up as layered PSD files (for use in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements) to create an album of 10 things for yourself.

In this set, I give you ideas for a handful of different "10 Things" themes as part of an illustrated 6-page step-by-step How To PDF that walks you through the production process. The themes that come as part of interchangeable PNGS are:

albums that changed my life
moments I want to remember
movies that mattered to me
of my most favorite photos
people that I most admire
places that are close to my heart
songs I will never get sick of
things I love about you
things that make me happy
things you might not know about me
tv shows that rock my world

You just need to add the "10" either with chipboard numbers, stamps or stickers. If none of these appeal to you, you can create your own with a customizable title strip template.

Note: Even non-Photoshop users can use the templates, as there are printable PDFs included for both title strips and pages. (Non-PS users must handwrite their journaling.) Fully layered digital files are inlcuded for digital scrapbookers as well.

This album took me about an hour to make in all. I think it could be a really charming idea to make a "10 Things I Love About You" gift album for a child, a friend, or a partner as well.

If you have any questions about this album or the template set, don't hesitate to ask.

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ALBUM SUPPLIES: 10 Things Mini Album Layered Template set (Cathy Zielske) • patterened paper (October Afternoon) • cardboard • jump rings • cardstock (Bazzill Basics)