Aloha everyone!  Heather Leopard here writing this blog post while on an amazing vacation in Hawaii.  I wanted to create a beach tag mini album to document our activities as a gift to my family.  The idea was to create a new page every day and add a small 2″ x 3″ photo of the day.  The photos show the album without pictures since we are just beginning our vacation.  I will be back home by the time you read this so join me on Instagram (@heatherleopard) to see it with photos included.

As you can see, I created a pineapple box to hold the beach tag mini album.  The mini album is made using many tags, die cuts and stickers.  So cool, so fun and so QUICK!

This project took a little planning ahead of time. I knew I wanted to give it to my family when I got to Hawaii but I didn’t want it to get damaged en route to Hawaii.  With that in mind, I cut the box bits and tags ahead of time.  I knew I wanted to use my mobile printer that prints 2″ x 3″  photos so I made the tags large enough to hold the photos.  I waited to put it together until I got there (super easy to pack since I left all the pieces flat!).

Pineapple gift box

I used a cut file from the Silhouette store.  The pineapple leaves came in one size but I wanted them to better resemble a pineapple stalk so I cut three sizes and layered them over each other as shown.

Naturally I had to use the pineapple patterned paper to cover the base of the box that will hold the beach tag mini album.

Beach tag Mini album

I pre-cut each pattern in various-sized tags including everything from standard tags and leaves to scallop circles. I liked most of the Side A and Side B patterns so I ended up dividing many of the the tags for greater variety.

The die cuts and cardstock stickers are great for adding dimension and layers to the tags.  Some of these will be tucked under the photos while others will go on top.  In addition, I also added mini puffy stickers because they are just too cute.

Beach tag mini album assembly

The first tag I created was the cover.  These are quite small so I had to keep it to a minimum. I started with a palm tree (and added a sun/puffy stickers later). Next, I included the location and year.

Here you can see the tags for the first half of the mini album. You can also see how I added the sun and puffy stickers to the cover tag. To make these, I sorted the larger tags in the order I wanted them and then I added the smaller accent tags.  I finished them off with additional die cut shapes and stickers.

Below are the tags for the second half of the mini album.

Once they were all complete, I tied them together with a palm tree leaf. Some of these will hold photos while the others are perfect for journaling and holding items we may collect along the way.  I may also add tickets and other items using a hole punch.

Ready for the memories

Once the palm leaf dries, it will become more sturdy.  However… I may want to add in more tags  or souvenirs, so a metal book ring or ribbon might be better suited for the job.  That way, I can tie on the palm leaf to when I get home.

So there it is. This beach tag mini album was very fast to put together. It seems like it took me only about 30 minutes once all the pieces were cut so probably 45 – 60 minutes max.  Simply cut the tags, embellish, add photos and journaling, you are done!

I can’t wait to fill it up with details of our trip but I’m looking forward to creating memories with my family most of all.

Supplies:
Sunshiny Days Flower Garden (733603)
Sunshiny Days Summer Day (733606)
Sunshiny Days Fresh Squeezed (733605)
Sunshiny Days Beach Day (733601)
Sunshiny Days Pineapple Float (733600)
Sunshiny Days Flip Flops (733599)
Sunshiny Days Daydream (733598)
Sunshiny Days Paradise (733596)
Sunshiny Days Puffy Stickers (733611)
Sunshiny Days Chipboard Stickers (733610)
Sunshiny Days Ephemera Die cuts (733609)
Sunshiny Days Cardstock Stickers (733608)
Sunshiny Days Alpha Thickers (733607)