Good morning, everyone!!! Long time, no post! Things have been insanely busy lately, and I hate to say that I really haven’t dedicated as much time to ButterBeeScraps as I would like. BUT…I definitely wouldn’t skip a tutorial 😉
This month I decided to address a question I often get asked…”How the heck to I attach a charm to my mini album?” There are 3 different ways that I like to use. Then, I will share 1 more method brought to you by the one and only Ginger from My Sisters Scrapper on Youtube 🙂 Let’s get to it…
Method #1: Double Chain
This first method is the one I use the vast majority of the time. Keep in mind that I do use a soft binding on all of my mini albums, but this method works equally well on a solid spine mini.
Step 1
I start by punching 2 holes into the Kraft-tex or leather that I plan to use to cover the spine of my mini album…I do this before I attach the material to the covers of my mini album and space the holes such that each will end up 1/2″ from its respective cover and 1/2″ down from the top of the spine. If you are attaching the charm to a solid spine mini, you’ll want to punch the holes after the mini album is complete with all the pages added.
Step 2
Add 3/16″ eyelets to the punched holes.
Step 3
Add a large jump ring to the end of a piece of chain, and feed the plain end of the chain through one of the eyelets. The jump ring should end up on inside of the mini album.
Step 4
Feed the plain end of the chain through the second eyelet, working from the outside to the inside of the mini album, and attach a second jump ring to the end of your chain. You should now have a loop of chain hanging on the outside of your mini album.
Step 5
Cut the center of the chain out (or cut in half, depending on the length of chain you started with) and add charms to the remaining sections of chain using jump rings, a lobster clasp, or a swivel clasp…and voila! …you’re done 🙂
Method #2: Fiber
This second method is very similar to the first; however, instead of threading chain through the holes, I use fiber. Note that this method will not work on a solid spine mini album. You could use Method #4 below instead 😉
Step 1
Punch 2 holes in the spine cover and add eyelets, as described in Method #1 above.
Step 2
Thread various pieces of fiber through the eyelets such that the ends are on the outside of the spine. Tie the ends of your fiber together.
Step 3
Add charms to the fiber using small loops of chain, jump rings, a lobster clasp, or a swivel clasp.
Method #3: O-Ring or Binder Ring
This is the absolute easiest method of attaching a charm to your mini albums! The key is to use o-wires or binder rings to bind your mini album…then all you need to do is attach the charm to one of the wires or rings using a jump ring, lobster clasp or swivel clasp…that’s it!
If you’re more of a visual person like me, I put together this short video to help you visualize the three methods described above:
Method #4: Seam Binding by My Sisters Scrapper
The last method (but certainly not the least method) I’d like to share with you is how Ginger from My Sisters Scrapper does it 🙂 You can use this method on a soft or a solid spine mini album.
Step 1
Punch 1 hole in the center of the spine of your mini album, approximately 1/2″ to 3/4″ down from the top of the spine.
Step 2
Add a wide (or regular) 3/16″ eyelet to the hole punched in Step 1.
Step 3
Thread a single piece of seam binding through the hole, and tie a single knot in the binding. Ensure the knot is located on the outside of the binding.
Step 4
Thread your charm onto one end of the seam binding and tie a second knot in the seam binding. You can stop here, or add a bundle of additional seam binding to the binding before tying the second knot 🙂
You can find an excellent video tutorial by Ginger right HERE. I’ve also embedded the video below for your convenience 🙂
That about does it for this month’s tutorial. I thank you for hanging out with me today and hope you found today’s post useful! Cheers 🙂
Hi Monique!
I’m glad you’re back. I learn so much from your tutorials.
I tried the link to “My Sister’s Scrapper” and made it to the page successfully, however, it didn’t direct me to a specific video. I tried searching the page under “charms, attaching charms, attaching charms to mini albums, etc.,”, but couldn’t find a video that looked to.be the one you referenced.
Would you provide the name of the video I should be searching for?
Thanks!
Toni