I used 5″ x 7″ envelopes (and the cards that went with them) that I bought as a set from Joanns. I used nine envelopes and used Distress Stain in Black Soot on the edges of the envelopes. They no longer make the stains with daubers, and are now sprays..You can do the same process by using the new stain and spraying it onto a foam makeup wedge and wipe the makeup wedges along the envelope edges. Here’s the link to the distress stain: https://tinyurl.com/ya72moam
I glued them together with Scotch Tacky wet glue to glue the flaps together. Link: https://tinyurl.com/yda2qycy The album technique I used was done by Helen Griffin’s envelope album system for gluing the envelopes together. Here’s a link to her video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itgn7DyO1SU

Before doing anything else, I trimmed a very thin line off the bottom of six of the envelopes.  This allows me to make them into pockets.
I put the glue on the outside of the envelope flaps and then glued two envelopes so the flaps end up sticking up in the center and the fronts of the envelopes face each other as you glue them together. You’ll need three sets of two envelopes glued together, and three more envelopes that you’ll be gluing onto the center flap that sticks up (we’ll cover this a little later.) You’ll also need four (I made five but didn’t need the last one) pieces of cardstock that are 1 1/4″ wide scored on the long length at 1/2″ and 3/4″ and put tear tape on the back on the outside edges of the scores with the center section not having any glue on it. You normally will want these pieces to be as long as your envelopes, but I used the cards that aren’t as long as my envelopes,  they’re 7″ long and the book came out fine by using the shorter length cardstock versus using paper that is the same length as the envelope. I also put wet glue on the sides where I put tear tape so the sides of these strips will be well adhered to the base. I only took the tear tape off one side of my strip and laid the edge on the end of my envelopes (making sure the envelope flaps are inside and the opening is on the opposite side from where we are gluing our flaps.) Make sure the length is centered on the envelope so the envelope and strip are straight, then take off the tear tape backing on the other side, take another set of two envelopes and glue those to the other side of the strip. You’ll add another strip and two more envelopes, then you’ll adhere one strip to the back and one to the front so you can adhere your front and back covers.
Next, we’ll add the envelopes over the center flaps by cutting off the flap of the envelope we’re adding, put wet glue over the flap that sticks up in our album, and push the new envelope onto it until it reaches the center fold. Glue down any little flaps that might stick up on the envelope you’ve inserted.
I cut the cards that went with these envelopes so I could use them as inserts to write on. I cut them to 4 3/4 x 6 3/4″, rounded the corners withe my Kadomaru Pro corner rounder, and using the stamp set from Graphic 45 called Typography, stamped the cards with “Write your story.” I used black ink and clear embossing powder and heat set them. I used a punch from McGill Creativity called a File Tab punch to put tabs on each of the cards. I glued the tabs to each of the cards, staggering them so there were tabs at the top, middle and bottom.
I went to an old dictionary that was falling apart, and cut out pages to fit the pages and put tear tape on the back and adhered them to the album. I also used Graphic 45 Typography papers and cut them down and put tear tape. I cut the papers so they were 1/4″ shorter and narrower than the envelope. (Sorry I don’t have that measurement.)
I cut the covers to be 5 5/8″ by 7 1/2″ tall out of chipboard. I used grey cardstock 8 1/2″ x 11″ and using the back of a paintbrush, scored around the cardboard so it wouldn’t crack when I bend it. I trimmed out the corners on an angle to get rid of the excess paper. I used tear tape and wet glue to adhere the paper to the album covers.
I used Stampin Up linen thread (discontinued) and tied it to the ends of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Word Bands link: https://tinyurl.com/yc4nqc5f and used screw brads link: https://tinyurl.com/y8b852al with the legs cut off adhered with Glue Dots to the tops and bottoms of some of the pages of the album.
I used Deco Art Modelling Paste and Tattered Angel sprays in Boardwalk and Cardboard mixed together and adhered to the front cover through a stencil. After it was bricked, I covered the back of my covers with cardstock. To adhere the covers, I took the backing off the tear tape that was on the strip on the front, and lined it up so it was even top, bottom, left and right sides, then adhered the back making sure it’s even with the front cover. I needed to make a strip to surround the book. I took the same grey cardstock I used for the cover, that was 5″ wide and 7 1/2″ tall. I scored every 1/8″ on the 5″ side, so the paper is very flexible. Then I flipped it over and scored it again every 1/8″. I bought Tim Holtz Textile Surfaces to cover it, but it wasn’t tall enough to cover the length of the book, so I cut it 5″ wide. I took the adhesive off the back and laid it over the grey cardstock that I scored, then put tear tape over the back 1 1/2″ in on both sides, leaving the center loose. I added wet glue to the front and back covers 1 1/2″ and laid the paper on the cover. I put corner covers on the top and bottom of the front and back covers. link https://tinyurl.com/ybv7kycf

I painted an F with a beige paint. I used Mod Podge to cover it and let it dry. Then I used a stencil and an alcohol marker to color the F and glued it to the front cover of the album along with one of the Tim Holtz word bands. I also added a key on the spine of the album and the key hole I glued to the front of the album. Link https://tinyurl.com/ya4hwxfj

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