Suitcase Mini Album Dimensions, Directions and Tips

The Suitcase Mini Album I created for yesterdays Club Scrap Blog Hop was quite a success.  I honestly didn't think many people would be interested in re-creating it so I didn't take any in the process photos but I did go back and figure out how I made it so I can share it with you today.  LOL!!  I know that sounds crazy but when I'm making something I just wing it ;)

I did want to mention that the matching Memento Dye Inks are Peanut Brittle, Rhubarb Stalk and Rich Cocoa - all of which were used to embellish this album.

So, here goes....

I cut mine from the pizza box the kit came in.  I used the folded back edge for the bottom of the suitcase since it already had nice creases in it.  The bottom is 2" wide.

You will need to cut a piece of cardboard/chipboard -  6 1/2" wide x 17" long. If you're using your CS ruler it's easy to measure this out because it's got markings in both directions - horizontal & vertical.

Next I laid out each section of the suitcase.  

Working from the left to right mark it out as follows:

4 3/4" - suitcase front

2" - existing bottom

5" - suitcase back

2 1/4" - suitcase top

3" - front flap of the suitcase

You will need to score on each of the lines you just made.  The photo below shows the box cut out, scored and folded into the suitcase form.  The scissors are just there to hold the flap shut...it kept wanting to fly open.

I covered the outside of the suitcase with the dark brown cardstock from the kit.  Since the length of the cover is longer than 12" I had to piece together the cardstock.  I cut it in a way that the seam would meet on the bottom of the suitcase which is also what I did to cover the inside as well.

Cut a piece of dark brown cardstock - 12" x 8.5"wide, cut a second piece 7" x 8.5" long.  Adhere them to the outside of the album cover, crease & fold over and attach to the inside of the album.  

To cover the inside of the album I used the mustard cardstock.  Cut one piece 6" x 11", cut a second piece of cardstock 6" x 6".  Adhere them to the inside of the album again over lapping on the bottom of the suitcase.  

If you look closely at the above photo you can just see where the overlapping pieces (both the cover and inner liner) meet under the album pages.  I decorated the outside of the album with two 1/2" strips of mustard cardstock that I embellished with the map stamp and several vintage travel posters cut from the wine pattern cardstock.

To create the album part of the suitcase I cut a piece of dark brown cardstock 6" x 12" and scored it every 1/2".  This is the album binding.  I glued a page to each mountain in the accordion - mine ended up with 10 pages and 2 extra flaps that I used to glue the accordion album to the bottom of the suitcase.  If you want to add more pages to your album simply crease, fold and glue additional strips to the first.

To keep the accordion from pulling away from the album I used a stretchy cord loop to hold it in place. You can see that in the above photo as well. The album pages can move freely but won't pull away from the album.

To hide the cover seam and stretchy cord I covered the bottom with a strip of the destination cardstock.

I used a scrap of the mustard cardstock to create the handle.  I scored it, folded and creased it until it was 1" wide.  I folded the ends over and shaped the center to form the curve of the handle.  I used 2 large brads to affix the handle to the suitcase.

I used another strip of the destination cardstock to cover the brads on the inside of the cover.

I finished off the album by adding a few extra bits of left over cardstock and stamped the "Road Trip!" image using Rhubarb Stalk Memento Ink.   The luggage tag was made from a wooden tag (from a recent kit) which was stained with Memento Peanut Brittle, edged with Rhubarb Stalk and then stamped with Rich Cocoa.

The two "buttons" on the front of the album came with the kit and two Velcro dots were used as closures which I lined up with the "straps" on the suitcase. 

I hope you give it a try and have fun making it!