Easy Mini Album Tutorial

So glad it's the start of a new week.  Last Friday started out pretty bad but thank goodness for my crafty friends, they made me realize how funny it all really was and by the time I was having dinner with them, I actually laughed about it too.

You see, it all started when I decided to go to Michael's Moskatells near my job, downtown Los Angeles.  It's a very large arts and crafts store.  After my little shopping excursion, I decided I wanted to have lunch at KooKooRoos,  and for some unknown reason, I took a bus to 7th and Figueroa.....even though KooKooRoos is not on 7th and Fig.  I was so certain it was there when I boarded the bus that, needless to say, once I got there and KooKooRoos was no where in sight, I was very disapointed.

I hopped  back on the bus to head back to work.  Once I got back to work my phone was ringing like crazy and my email inbox was overflowing.   While I worked through the phone calls and messages and a few other things, I thought about how I could have forgotten the location of my favorite restaurant.  What made me take the bus and go to the wrong location????

As it got time to go home, I gathered my things and I thought about how it must be old age.  This happens to people over forty and now I'm officially over forty.  It was bound to happen, at least it wasn't something big, like forgetting the kids at the grocery store or forgetting to drop them off at school.  Taking the bus to the wrong location was just a little mistake, right?

I continued walking.....destination- home.  I walked past the guards and took the elevator.  I started to pick up the pace, after all, it was Friday, the start of a fun weekend.   I took the bus down to the train station, something I do EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Around quitting time, EVERYONE is in a hurry.  People rush past trying to get home.  As soon as I got off the bus I heard the train coming.  I rushed past all the off loading passengers, I rushed past the sweet lady carrying a million bags, I rushed past the train tracks and quickly ran into the train which was nano seconds away from taking off.  Woo-hoo I made it!.....lookout weekend, here I come!....I sat happily in my favorite seat looking out a large window.  I do this every day, twice a day.  In the morning to get to work and in the afternoon to get home.
As I sat in the train, I could hear the engineer announce each stop along the way, like he always does.  On the third stop I realized how much I loved riding the train.  I looked out the window and saw unhappy people stuck in endless traffic, meanwhile, I was sitting nice and comfortable in my seat.  No traffic to worry about....no delays.... As I looked at all the unhappy people, who were stuck in traffic, I thought, "wow, I guess I like riding the train so much that I don't even remember my ride this morning.  Funny 'couse I always remember.....every day I remember".  And yes, it hit me like a ton of bricks with freezing cold water thereafter.  The reason why I couldn't remember riding the train that morning was because I DROVE MY CAR TO WORK!!!!

It's a good thing my dear friends saw the humor in it and snapped me out of my misery.....now I laugh hysterically about my absent minded Friday!

Has something like this ever happened to you? are you still upset about it or can you laugh about it now?

On to my Easy Mini Album:

All you need is a 12" by 12" inch double sided paper.  You can find it at a scrapbooking store like Joann's or Michael's.  A pair of scissors, glue and a piece of ribbon.

Here's the finished mini album:

First, fold the paper in half, make a sharp fold with your fingers then fold in half again.  Next, lay the paper down once again with the first fold so that it lays like below, notice the fold in the center.  Am I making sense? I feel like I'm thinking in Spanish, translating to English via Japanese. 

Fold each end toward the fold you made in the center, press down to make a sharp crease:

here's another view from a different angle:

Now, unfold the whole thing and fold in the sides like so, these two folds will act as pockets for each page:

Next, cut the paper like so, leaving the top part uncut:

Now the folding begins.  Start from the bottom and accordion fold like so:

When you get to the end, turn the paper over and fold down:

Still with me? glue the center part to look like this: the page sticking out towards the front is the one that got glued to it's back counterpart:
notice the pockets below:

Lastly, embellish your album, I added a clip art and some ribbon to tie together. Here's the back of the album, the back does not have pockets:

and the front of the album:

Hope you liked it and it inspires you to try it.

Microfiction Monday Fog

Susan at Stony River challenges bloggers every Monday with a linky party called,  Microfiction Monday.
She posts a picture and in 140 characters or less, you are to write a short story or short poem based on the picture. I have a story and a poem, hope you like them.

~Lovely vacation spot you brought me to Stell.  Oh Stanley, it's just a little morning fog, go set up our camping tent and stop complaining!
 (139 characters)

~Whilst your insecurities can cloud your mind like a dense fog,
your heart will lead you to her
go to her and lose yourself in her arms
(135 characters)

ATC Swap and Guerrilla Friday

Gotta love the post office....they bring me such nice things (except my bills).  Today I got this cute ATC card from Marilyn of Busy Martha from our card swap, the theme was White/Snow:

Thank you Marilyn, I love my ATC card.

My first Guerrilla Friday, yay! Guerrilla Friday was started by Marfi Bradford of Incipent Wings .  It's a day you make something nice for a complete stranger.  

I had so much fun with my Guerrilla Friday this morning.  It was quite an adventure. Look at the view this morning, the little bright spot on the left is the moon...pretty...This is a view of downtown Los Angeles from the third street bridge.  My little escapade took place to the right of all the buildings you see below:

Here's what chose for my Guerrilla Friday:

close up:

It's a little girly but I figured, who ever finds it probably has a daughter or a niece.  The three divas are rubber stamped images I purchased at Stampotique. 

I chose to leave this near the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.  Here's a picture of where I left my artwork with a note that read, "hello stranger, take me with you", lol.:  

It was not easy leaving it there since there's people everywhere you look.  I tried acting like a tourist, I figured my tactic would work because I had the camera.  But still, I may have looked a little suspicious to a group of young boys standing a few feet away.  As I walked away and greeted them good morning, I wondered if they would eventually see it.  But then, as I walked up the street, I saw a bus headed for the bench.  I turned to watch.....maybe one of it's passengers getting off the bus would find it???

Here's a look down the street:

and here's a look up the street:

and a look across the street:



The Cathedral was dedicated in 2002.  The Cathedral was designed by the Spanish architect, Rafael Moneo. It can accommodate over three thousand people.  The ceremonial room stands one hundred feet tall!  The complex is 58,000 square feet and it's twelve feet high.  Here's a picture from Wikipedia:

The organ is amazing, here's a picture from Wikipedia:

That wraps up my first Guerrilla Friday.  I hope it inspires you to try it yourself.