I’m not even sure how I came across it, but I fell into a YouTube wormhole and ended up watching Kathy Orta’s Envelope Mini Album series. There are 5 episodes, ranging from 10 minutes to 30. She used a package of envelopes and cards from Local Big Box Craft Store to make a scrapbook album, ready to be embellished with pattern paper and whatever other bling you can throw at it.
These videos are from 2011, and Kathy Orta’s brand has grown since then. She sells kits to make her amazing albums, which have grown in complexity since these were published. She blogs at Paper Phenomenon and has a shop as well.
This album uses her hinge binding method, and a duct tape spine. It’s got lots of pockets and tags and pull outs for pictures or journaling. Not too bad for a first pass, but my technique definitely improved over time.
Then I fell into an even deeper YouTube wormhole and found many many more tutorials along the same vein. So I promptly made a bunch of these mini albums, which I will show off to you in a few different blog posts.
Stay tuned…
MCM
MamaCarrieMakes 
This is so cute! We’ve always wanted to try and make these. Thanks for the inspiration. Feel free to check out our blog, http://www.twinspiration.co 🙂