Let’s talk Valentine’s Day gifts. It’s always hard to find just the right one for that special someone in your life. I find that going handmade is always a good option because it represents a gift of your time, resources and talent which has a little more impact than a store bought gift. I’m excited to share a fun handmade Valentine’s Day gift idea–check out the envelope photo album I made below for my sweetheart for Valentine’s Day!
This 3×4 inch little book is filled with mini envelopes that I made with my Mini Envelope Punch Board. The envelopes hold some of my favorite instax mini photos of me and my husband on some past dates we’ve enjoyed, including our 21st anniversary celebration. They’re some of our most precious memories, so I’m really excited to share this handmade gift with him!
This envelope photo album is easy to make with some double sided scrapbook papers like these adorable ones from the Pebbles Inc Forever My Always collection (or the Loves Me collection), the Mini Envelope Punch Board, and the Trim and Score Board. Here’s how!
Start by trimming your paper to 5 1/4 inches square to make envelopes for 2 1/4 x 3 3/8 cards. You can find measurements and guides on the punch board and the included instruction booklet.
Then I used the Mini Envelope Punch Board to create five small envelopes to hold my photos. I trimmed off the top flaps to allow easy access in the album. Tip: when making vertically oriented envelopes I like to trim off one of the side flaps right along the line where they meet on the envelope.
Next, I created the cover and binding for the envelope album. I trimmed one piece of 4 x 6 1/4 inch piece of scrapbook paper for the cover, and one 3 7/8 x 6 inch piece for the binding. I scored the cover piece at 3 inches and 3 1/4 inches, and I scored the binding piece at every 1/2 inch.
I folded the cover along the score lines, and then accordion folded the binding. I added adhesive to the back of the binding and secured it to the inside of the cover as seen below. You should have a 1/2 inch flap for each of your five envelopes. (This photo is missing one–I realized that after I photographed this, but fixed it before I added my envelopes.)
Then I adhered my envelopes to the binding with the 1/2 inch flaps on the back side of each envelope.
I added my photos to each envelope, and finished off my album by embellishing the cover and each of the envelopes. I kept the embellishments on the inside flat so that the album can close and store easily.
This little photo album is great for Valetine’s Day, but would also make the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or the holidays. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to share your Mini Envelope Punch Board projects with me. Happy crafting!
