Friday, April 27, 2012

Altered Ribbon Spool and a Tutorial!

I love making photo albums out of unusual items.....and I had this American Crafts ribbon spool sitting empty on my desk. I decided to alter it and make it a mini album of Cortney.
The photos are attached to the top piece......so when you want to view the photos, you just pull....
I added flowers to the top of the box using my Cricut and the Flower Shoppe Cartridge.  
This is what you will need to create your own ribbon spool mini album. : )  Got any of these laying around? 
; )
Take the top off and get rid of any excess glue on the edges. 
Measure the side and cut your designer paper the same width. Adhere to outside of ribbon spool.


After the edge has been cleaned a bit paint it with whatever color you desire....I chose a cream colored paint. 
Measure the inside of the spool and cut your paper.  Adhere it to the inside of the spool.

I used Spellbinder's dies to cover the top and bottom of the ribbon spool. 
I used seam binding to adhere my photos to, but any ribbon would work. I cut designer paper to the same size as my photos and sandwiched the seam binding in between the paper and the photo. 

So one side is all photos, and the other side is pretty paper.  I suppose you could do photos on both sides, but my thought was when you pulled it out.....you would only be looking at the one side....does that make sense? 
Here is the other side.....just pretty papers....no photos.
I placed some pop dots inside the box to elevate the photos a bit.  
I accordion folded the photos inside the box.
I glued it to the top of the box....then to look at the photos you just pull and view!
And here is the top of it again....all prettied up.  Lots of flowers, ribbon, a little chipboard piece by Maya Road.  Glitter....a doily....all the things I love....especially the little girl inside. 
If you have any questions regarding this tutorial at all, please feel free to leave a comment and I will clarify any instructions!
Have a great weekend my friends!
: )

44 comments:

Sis Patterson said...

You've done it again! Love how you can alter a common item into a stunning and wonderful photo album. Wow! Wow! And of course, Miss Cortney is such a precious and lovely star of your work - beautiful all the way around. Thank you for your sharing!

Susie said...

Genius. Totally love it. Will make one with my next empty ribbon spool. Thanks for sharing a great tutorial.

Sharon-The OKI StampQueen said...

Love this idea too! Hmmm...good use for some extra photos sitting around...and that old empty spool---wait, don't throw that trash out yet---! Lol! Blessings, Sharon

Marlene (cards4u) said...

OK this is way too sweet - thanks for the wonderful tutorial!!! Don't know how you get it all done??????

Esther Asbury said...

So very, very pretty! What a fun way to make a mini scrapbook!

Sara Andrews said...

This is just fabulous!! I now know what the Mothers in my life will be getting for Mother's Day.

Thank you Michele!

Gwen said...

Great idea! It is amazing how something you were going to throw away becomes a work of art.

Tangle said...

This such a creative and lovely idea! I love finding uses for all my leftover "junk"

Lilygirl said...

You never cease to amaze me!! Wonderful job!!

TheTulipCollector said...

Simply marvelous! A great Earth Day repurposing project. Our daughter would love this so I make have to make one for her. I have pics of our grandson that she hasn't seen!!

Regina said...

I always feel so guilty when I throw those away and now I know what to do with them. You always have such great ideas and then you make them beautiful too. Regina

Gail said...

very nice

Rea' said...

Cute idea, who would have thought!

Hanni said...

Thank you for this wonderful idea, so sweet.

Maria Matter said...

brilliant Michele! lovely idea!

mKim said...

This is such a great and beautiful idea! I always try to save everything to repurpose in crafty ways and this is a woderful. thank yu for the tutorial because I need step by step directions like this! You are the BEST!

Tracey said...

Fabulous...just fabulous! I love how creative you are....great recycling.

Beth F. said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous! You sure do think of everything!

Parables of a Crafter said...

You are truly gifted as an artist and also at instructing others!! I love the photo idea!!
We would love for you to visit our blog and possibly enter one of our challenges for our publication call!!

Website: http://parablesofacrafter.com

Anonymous said...

Excellent. Love it. When you show your work you encourage me to try to do more. Thank you!
Illene

swiagal said...

I'm so glad I follow your blog. I love your creative ideas! Thank you!
Priscilla

Sarah said...

What a fantastic idea! How do you think of these things? Thanks for sharing!

Suzanne said...

Hi Michele!
You are one of the most AMAZING crafters! Everything you alter transforms into something so BEAUTIFUL! I am so inspired by your creativity. Thank you for sharing your wonderful projects with us! Have a great weekend :)

Suzanne
suzwatanabe@yahoo.com

vdoyle8 said...

I. AM. SO. IMPRESSED. Love love love this!! It's simply gorgeous. Thank you for the great directions. I'm a little dense, however. The popdots on the inside bottom -- does the seam binding go on those?

joy said...

What a fabulous idea! - along with great instructions - thank you for inspiring me!

Nancy said...

What a cute idea! This would make such a great little gift.

Sharron aka Sharrahug said...

What a FABulous idea!!!!!
Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!
Huggies ~
Sharron♥

Tina said...

wow this is wonderful. I love the upcycle part of it and the photos of your daughter just make it that much sweeter. Thanks for sharing

tina

Cricut Couple said...

You are SO brilliant! This is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. What an amazing way to recycle something we just throw away by the dozens! Love it!

JennyKozar said...

I love this Michelle! This would make a wonderful gift.
Thanks for sharing.

Andrea Amu said...

This is amazing!! What a great recyle/refurbish idea!! Sooo lovely!

Linda Kaiser said...

My favorite altered item ever! I am featuring this on my Fab Five Friday post.... this is so amazing!

Linda

PS I will link back to your blog and your wonderful instructions!

Thanks again!!

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle said...

Wow! Beautiful and just what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing!

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle said...

Wow! Beautiful and just what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Inspiring and fun! I can hardly wait to make one. This may become special Christmas gifts for family. Thanks for the idea.
Imaginere

Coelle said...

Thanks to Linda's blog, I was directed here and what a SUPER creative way to show pics...just LOVE the idea...so talented to think of this!!

Anonymous said...

Awsome!!! What a great idea - and I love the way you did the flowers! Thank you so much for sharing!

Rosy

Marilyn said...

What a wonderful idea and a darling project!

doodlingdebbie said...

This is going to be added to my favorite things to do. I love what you have done with this. It is clever and a great way to recycle those spools. Thank you so much for sharing this idea.

ND (Naomi) said...

This is absolutely gorgeous. I was thinking it might be nice to scribble some journaling on the backside of the photos or use some meaningful sentiment stamps, instead of plain pretty paper. This would make a super gift.

Pitter and Glink said...

This is soooo clever!

Unknown said...

So pretty, I just tossed out a large spool like this - I wish I saved it now!

Chelsea @ Making Home Base said...

Soooo clever and original! I love it!

Anonymous said...

Love this!! Nice work. I will have to have one :)