Hello, my crafty friends!
It’s October, and you know what that means! A new month, a new quarter, and a brand-new Hither and Yon Studio Craft Along!
But this one is a little different, and a little bittersweet, because this will be our final quarterly Craft Along series!
So, I wanted to do something special to wrap up three wonderful years of crafting together. Something that combines my love of paper crafting, mini albums, and junk journaling with one of the reasons we make these beautiful little things in the first place: to preserve our memories!
Welcome to Little Albums, Big Memories: 12 Months of Memory Keeping Folios!
Let’s Make 12 Beautiful DIY Mini Photo Albums!
For our final Q4 Craft Along, we’re making 12 unique memory keeping folios, one for every month of the year!
These are simple, handmade mini photo albums designed to hold all those special memories we collect throughout the year. Family gatherings, holidays, vacations, celebrations, and even those little everyday moments that might otherwise be forgotten.
Each folio will have its own personality, with beautiful papers, pockets, flip-outs, photo mats, and plenty of little places to tuck photographs, journaling, and other keepsakes.
We’re keeping the basic construction fairly consistent throughout the series, but changing up the interior layouts, decorative details, and paper collections so that each mini album is just a little different from the last.
And the best part? At the end of the quarter, we’ll make a coordinating display holder for all 12 folios!
Imagine having an entire year’s worth of memories, all tucked away in their own little handmade albums and displayed together in one beautiful collection.
We’ll have them ready for 2027, but you certainly don’t have to use them for that year. You could make these for a past year, a special occasion, or give them away as handmade gifts.
And guys, there’s no pressure to make all 12! Make one, make four, or make the entire collection. You can even use your favorite folio design over and over with different papers.
This is supposed to be FUN!
12 FREE Printable Paper and Ephemera Collections!
I’m giving you 12 FREE monthly paper and ephemera packs filled with coordinating backgrounds, patterned papers, labels, illustrated cut-aparts, and decorative elements.
Use them for our mini albums or your own junk journals, scrapbooks, cards, and other paper crafting projects!
You may also sell finished physical creations made with these printables, but the digital files cannot be shared, redistributed, or resold.
How the Q4 Craft Along Works
We’ll create four folios each month with step-by-step YouTube tutorials and free printable cut-and-score lists.
October: January, February, March & April
November: May, June, July & August
December: September, October, November & December
When you sign up, you’ll receive access to January through April immediately. I’ll add four more collections in November and four in December.
Be sure to save your original download link because everything will be added to the same folder!
A Peek at Our First Three DIY Mini Albums
More Mini Albums Coming Soon!
April’s wild violet and clover collection will finish out October, followed by four more folios in November and our final four in December.
I’ll continue updating the blog with new photos and project details throughout the quarter, so bookmark this page and check back!
The End of an Era, But Plenty More Crafting Ahead!
After three wonderful years and 26 free kits, it’s time to retire our scheduled monthly and quarterly Craft Alongs.
It’s a little bittersweet, but this change will give me more freedom to explore new projects and return to some old favorites.
Don’t worry, guys! The freebies and tutorials aren’t going anywhere!
Friday Freebies, Ko-fi member printables, and Facebook group freebies will continue. In 2027, I’m looking forward to sharing more complete junk journals, mini albums, folios, ephemera makes, and other fun paper crafting projects!
Whether you’re new to mini albums or you’ve been crafting with me for years, I’d love to have you join us for this final series!
Grab your free printables, gather your supplies, and let’s make these Little Albums and Big Memories!
Happy Crafting!
DJ
