Spring Mini with Butterflies | Ulrike Dold

Hi FJ friends!

Ulli here with you and I have a cute little butterfly spring mini with the gorgeous FJ Mari collection for you. When I saw this collection I knew I would make a butterfly mini book. I am so in love with all the butterflies in the new Mari collection. I made some years ago a mini book in the shape of a butterfly and wanted something new. So I only wanted to decorate the top and the inside with a butterfly shape.

First I cut chipboard to 4.25 x 4.25 inches (2 times) for the cover and to 4.25 x 1.5 inches for the spine. Then I drew a big butterfly shape (or better the half of it) by hand with the size of about 2.5 inches x 4.25 inches. I wanted to cover the mini book with my favorite paper from the kit: the Woodgrain and Dotted Line Paper. I cut it to 11.75 x 6 inches and covered the outside of my album with it. I used the butterfly which I penciled as a stencil and transferred it to a piece of vellum, which I folded before. Then I cut it with scissors and used my sewing machine and white thread to stitch this vellum butterfly on the cover of my mini book on the right border. I added the die cut shape "Spring" on it as the title of the mini and later I also used the Mari Chipboard Alphabet to add the year 2020 on it, too.

Then I cut a piece of the "Spots & Hearts" paper from the Mari collection to 4 1/8 x 10 inches. I used the cute pink and white striped bow from the Mari collection and undid the knot to use it for the closure of the mini book. It is short, but its long enough to make a big knot to close the album. I cut it into two pieces and glued one piece in the inside of the front and one piece in the inside of my mini in the back of the album. I used my self made butterfly stencil and made a little smaller butterfly with it. Then I used it for the solid Mari cardstock in pink/orange and another piece of vellum - both folded to get a complete butterfly shape. I put the vellum butterfly on the pink butterfly and stitched the butterfly on the fold from the cover paper ("Spots & Hearts") with my sewing machine. Then I glued the paper inside and over the ribbons to cover the inside of the album.

I made 5 pages/inserts for this mini book with the following papers:

1. "Floral & Window Pane": I cut the paper to 4 x 8.25 inches and folded the paper at 4 inches and at 4.25 inches. Then I used a butterfly punch to punch a little butterfly window into the front page. I put my pictures into the cute frames of the Mari die cuts and added the one behind the butterfly window. It’s such a cute little detail. Then I glued the page with the 0.25 inch spine into my mini. I added on the top of the pages the cute Mari Designer Cardstock Tags and used the first one on the left side and the second one on the right side. I wanted to have a changing position with these cute and colorful Designer Tabs in the mini album and wanted to use many of them.

The pages I decorated with the butterfly which I punched out of the paper, more die cut shapes and the Mari Chipboard Alphabet. I also used the cute Mari stamp with the phrases.

Page 2: I used the "Gingham & Butterfly" paper and cut it to 4 x 12 inches. I folded the paper at 4 inches, at 4.25 inches and at 8.25 inches. On the front I added a big circle from the "Tiny Floral & Chevron" paper and I decorated these pages with the Rebekah Puffy Alphabet, the Mari Chipboard Alphabet, the cute Mari stamp and the big pink chipboard heart from the Mari collection. On the right side of the flap page I used different circle punches and punched circle windows into it. I also used the punches for many different pictures from the stay home time with our kids. I added them under the circle windows and also all around the pages. Then I decorated them with some punched circles and the cute Megan Puffy Stickers with the hearts. I also used the cute Mari star die cuts in pink, blue and green and the ampersand in orange. I also added these pages with some double sided adhesive glue inside my mini.

Page 3: I used the "Swiss Dot & Note Book" paper and cut it to 4 x 12 inches. Then I folded it at 4 inches, 4.25 inches and at 8.25 inches and used the right flap as a pocket. I punched with a circle punch a half circle on the top and glued all borders with small adhesive glue tape on the middle part of the insert. Then I cut a piece of the cute white Mari 6x6 paper with the scalloped border to 4 x 4.25 inches and folded it at 4 inches. I added this white page in the inside of this insert. I added my pictures with many puffy alphabet stickers (Bailey and Rebekah) and also added two designer tabs on the top. I fussy cut the quote "Live Life In Full Bloom" and decorated one page with these paper strips.

I pierced holes around one picture with a paper piercer and stitched with light green thread by hand a frame around it. On the other side I layered many flowers which I made with flower hand punches in three sizes with the pink solid papers and the "Spots & Hearts" paper. I added a pink label with the "Beautiful" stamp of the Mari stamp set and the Mari Chipboard Alphabet for the Peach blossoms.

I also used the Shay Tag Metal Die and punched from two Mari Journaling cards two tags for the pocket. I also added pictures there and some titles with the Brooke Puffy Alphabet and the black Tiny Puffy Alphabet.

I stamped the Krystal stamp "around the house" on white cardstock and used a circle punch to get a circle embellishment. I added it on the picture on the top of the pocket. I also added chipboard bits and die cuts here and there and the cute pinkish Bailey puffy alphas.

Page 4: I used the Mari paper "Spots & Hearts" and cut a piece of paper in 4 x 8.25 inches (like page 1). I folded it with a folding tool at 4 inches and 4.25 inches. Then I cut a paper from the white essentials cardstock to 8 x 4 inches and folded it at 4 inches. I wanted to make a flap page and wanted to place the wonderful Mari vellum butterflies there. I searched the right positions for the butterflies and drew with my pencil some flight paths for the butterflies. I pierced holes into these paths and searched for thread in the matching colors. Then I stitched them by hand and glued the wonderful vellum butterflies on the top of them. To cover the back of the flap I used a piece of cardstock in 4x4 inches and glued it over this part.

I added first some circle shaped pictures on the back of the page before. Then I cut out the inner part of the Mari journaling card with the frame and backed it with a big picture. I decorated everything with puffy alphabet stickers, die cuts and chipboard pieces.

I added the big title "Sun" with the big die cut alphabet from the Tori collection on the butterfly page with the flap and also used the "Happiness" stamp from the Mari collection there.

I love the eye catcher page with the vellum butterflies so much. It was so worth investing the time for some hand stitching there.

Page 5: For the last page I used the Mari "Tiny Floral & Chevron“ paper and cut it to 4 x 12 inches. I folded it at 4 inches, 4.25 inches and 8.25 inches. At the first page I added a big circle with a 3 inch hand punch. I added a big picture behind it. Then I used the butterfly punch again and punched out some little vellum butterflies and butterflies from the "Dotted Line" paper. I stitched them together with my sewing machine and decorated the border of the circle. On the other side I also used some butterflies from the pink solid and spots paper. I decorated everything with Mari die cuts, the Mari Stamp Set, the Mari chipboard pieces and also used some Mari journaling cards there.

I forgot to photograph the page inside of the yellow flap page but I put the floral Mari journaling card into the inside and a picture of my shoes and some floor marks for the minimum distance while shopping in these days.

On the back of my book I used a Jaimee gingham vellum pocket and glued the Mari "Spring" journaling card on the pocket. I made hidden journaling about Spring 2020 with the first lockdown in Germany through Covid 19. I wrote it by hand on the Mari journaling card with the green dots and added an eyelet in aqua on the top. Then I knotted some twine in grey on it.

I hope you like my mini book with the gorgeous new Mari collection and maybe you feel inspired to make a Mari mini book, too. I can't wait to see what you create with this gorgeous collection. 

There is a walk-through video below if you'd like to see more...

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

xx Ulli

SUPPLIES:  Mari Kit | Mari Paper Pack | Mari Die Cut Shapes | Mari Designer Cardstock Tabs | Mari Chipboard Alphabet Stickers | Mari Stamp Set | Mari Chipboard Shapes | Mari Layered Vellum Butterflies | 6x6 Essentials White Cardstock | Mari Journaling Cards | Rebekah Puffy Alphabet Stickers | Bailey Pinkish Puffy Alphabet Stickers | Brooke Puffy Alphabet Stickers | Tori JUMBO Die Cut Alphabets & Numbers | Krystal Stamp Set | Julia Epoxy Dot Stickers | Jaimee Vellum Envelopes | Megan Puffy Stickers | Shay Tag Builder Metal Die Set | Holly Mini Puffy Alphabet Stickers | 12 x 12 Essentials White Cardstock