Maya Road & October Afternoon Mini Album

I was browsing through my local Hobby Lobby when I came across the cutest mini album in the world. It was a three ring binder by Maya Road that had a removable canvas cover. As soon as I laid my eyes on the mini album, my MIL and I both grabbed one. You can see a similar one here, but my mini album doesn't have the jean pocket on the front. It came with 3 canvas pages and 3 chipboard pages. It was so nice that they mixed up the pages like that because it gave me plenty of surfaces to choose from.

Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist - Electric Blue,  October Afternoon - Farmhouse Collection - Shape Stickers,  October Afternoon - Farmhouse Collection - Journaling Cards, October Afternoon - Farmhouse Collection - Gravel Road, October Afternoon - Sasparilla - Little Flyers

I decided to use my mini album for all the extra engagement photos that I knew I would never get around to scrapping (I have TONS of pictures everywhere). First things first, I took the canvas cover off my mini album and sprayed it with Electric Blue and let it dry. The color dried so pretty, not too dark and not too bright. Looking at the color blue, I decided to go with a simple prime color scheme (Blue, Red, and Yellow). The yellow doily sticker and the red rose sticker brought those colors to the cover of my mini album without being too childish. That's one of the main things I love about the Farmhouse collection; the colors are bright but mature. To ensure that everything stuck to the canvas cover, I used my sewing machine to sew them down.

While the cover was off, I covered the inside chipboard of my mini album with a fun and simple stripe. I loved it because it reminded me of seersucker (which is a southern thing!). I can't say enough about this Maya Road album. It was so easy to maneuver and the binder rings are so fun. I wish I had grabbed another mini album like this. Hopefully they will still be at Hobby Lobby for a ways to come.

The journaling cards were just perfect for all of my journaling. The colors and sayings were fun and they were the perfect size for the pages in the mini album. I didn't have to trim them at all. I just said what I wanted to say and glued it down.

This picture is actually a funny story. I wanted to have my engagement photos outside purely for the fields and hay bales. After spending months looking up "engagement photo ideas" I had a specific look in mind. Unfortunately, God had other things in mind.... like rain. When we got to the farm, all the hay bales were soaked and we couldn't sit in front of them or on them. But I was hell bent on a photo with one, so I made Caleb lean against one with me. I got my hay bale after all. : D

I love this journaling card specifically because of the church on the hill. I thought it tied in with the theme of marriage and a wedding. So, to go with the rolling countryside, I chose a picture of us out in 'the country'. The good times sticker is actually a rub on from their 5 and Dime collection. I couldn't find a link for you since it's no longer available.

The 'My Best Friend' sticker on this spread is actually from Sasparilla's little flyers. It was meant to be put on a flag, but I just liked it alone. The chipboard pages lended themselves to photos very well. All I did was run my ATG on top of the chipboard and press my photo onto it. Then, I flipped it over and used an exacto knife to trim around the edges. Lastly, I rubbed the edges with a nail file to get a smooth finish.

This picture was so cute but the photographer waited until the very end of the photo shoot to do it. Why does that matter? Well, it's a very simple equation:

1 tired man + 1 cutesy pose = 1 extremely grumpy man. 

He did NOT want to do this picture, but I'm glad I forced it out of him. I think the heart that our hands make is very sweet. What can I say? I'm a mushy kind of girl.

And this is the very last page of my mini album. I thought it would only be fitting to end on the photo of Caleb and I looking towards the future and leaving everything behind. This is also very meaningful for me because this is how Caleb walks with me ever since our first date. Ever the gentleman, his hand is always firmly on the small of my back. 

I absolutely love this mini album and I hope I get a chance to make another one of these. And I also hope that you'll stop by to see me again soon. If you haven't already, make sure to follow my blog by choosing an option on the right side of the screen. I appreciate all my followers and you'll be updated if I post anything new! See you soon!