Graphic 45's Mon Amour collection mini album

Being on the Graphic 45 design team has been such a thrill for me and it has exceeded my wildest dreams in every way possible.    Diane, Aimee and Charee have got their very classy act together as G45 is such a fantastic and well run company!

The biggest thrill so far (other than seeing my name on the design team roster ☺) was when I received my shipment of all the new collections so that I could create projects for the summer Paper Arts show.  It was so exciting to be on the "inside" and  see Mon Amour, Worlds Fair and Christmas Carol up close even before sneak peeks were shown on the blog.  Along with those new collections came the reissued deluxe versions of Botanicabella and Steampunk Debutante.  My imagination had to go into overdrive since I had around 2 weeks to get a lot of  projects done and mailed to the offices in Oregon.

One of the projects I completed during that time was this mini album.  Now you know, it usually takes me nearly a week to make a mini album so I really had to push through this but oh gosh, these papers are so divine and romantic.  I loved every minute of that two weeks and ssshhhh, don't tell, but my husband was out of town so it was perfect.  No one was home wondering when dinner would be ready;  I could just play with my glue and scissors all day and night!

I built the mini from scratch using chipboard and followed Kathy Orta's binding system.   I didn't make this mini for anyone in particular but was thinking of a wedding album.  With that in mind, I made sure there were plenty of pocket pages and tags,  perfect for storing photos and other memorabilia.

The front and back cover are coated with Matte Medium to protect the covers and help keep them clean.

 I love all the beautiful floral imagery in this collection and so I went crazy on the cover with flowers!  There's a  Prima vine and Prima roses there along with roses from I Am Roses.  I used a G45 lion's head door knocker on the spine along with roses wrapping around to the front.

 Some of the pages are pocket pages that load from the sides and some load from the top.  I included G45's large tags in the top loading pockets.

The right page features waterfall photo storage and on the left is a pocket with a Graphic 45 regular sized tag.   You could put photos and/or journaling on the tag as well as tuck photos and notes in the pocket.

"Girly" pages for photos of the bride or maybe the bride's maids.

These pages are a bit more masculine for the groom's photos.  The page on the right has a little mini booklet with pages to store photos and journaling.

The page on the left opens up to reveal two large pages where the bride and groom can record their story and memories about their special day.

I always keep the backs of my minis simple so that they can store flat if desired.  This paper needs no decoration, the script writing on the black background is so elegant on the white cardstock binding.

Supplies List

Graphic 45 Mon Amour collection (12 x 12):

Mon Amour 4501203

Dearest Darling 4501204

One and Only 4501205

True Love 4501206

Heart's Desire 4501207

My Beloved 4501208

Precious One 4501209

Forever Mine 4501210

Graphic 45 Ornate Metal Key Holes

Graphic 45 Door Knockers

Graphic 45 Regular and Large Tag Albums - ivory

Graphic 45 Artist Trading Tags - ivory

Other Supplies:

Bazzill French Vanilla cardstock

Paper Studio black cardstock

Core'dinations G45 Signature Series cardstock Precious Pink, Vintage Rose, Spring Green

Grafix medium weight chipboard

Prima Le Mia flowers

Prima resin cherub

Prima vine - Divine

I Am Roses pink and white roses, carnations,  gardenias

Wild Orchid Crafts pink salmon seam binding

Zva pearls

Kaisercraft pearl strips black and white

Liquitex Matte Medium

Spellbinders Nestabilities Opulent Ovals

Martha Stewart Flourish Lace punch

EK Success Pointed Flowers

Colorbox Ink - Fireberry, Rose Coral

Distress Ink - Black Soot,

Scor-tape

Zip-Dry Glue

Foam tape

I hope you are inspired to create a project with these fabulous papers!  If you know me at all, you've heard me say that my favorite colors to design with are black, cream and red.  True, there's a lot of pink in this collection, but really it's a peachy pink blending with a lovely red.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I loved sharing this project with you.