I have a confession: I’m no hybrid-er. Not even a paper crafter. I don’t have tons of expensive tools or a room dedicated to crafting. I get paint on my clothes, I don’t like taking the time to measure. I make mistakes and white glue kind of scares me.

But I made a board book album, a CD album AND a matchbook album and I lived to tell the tale (and they turned out great!) And that’s why I’m the perfect person to grab you by the hand and walk into the world of hybrid; To tell you that TRUST ME, if I can do it – your 5 year old can do it and that means that you can do it too.

The strangest thing I hear from people is ‘oh I don’t do hybrid’ or ‘I’m not a hybrider’. As if you have apply for a membership to some kind of crafty club. Well good news, you don’t! So if you are the least bit interested in creating some basic projects but don’t know where to start, it’s your lucky day.

I photographed each project STEP by STEP as I did them to show you EXACTLY what to do (and what not to do). You really only need a few basic tools to get started (see notes at the end of post) and I swear to you it’s so simple you will wonder what you were so scared of once your try.

Here’s how it went down:
*click images to enlarge*

First design your album. That’s actually the hard part.  I used Cindy’s October Rust Album. Easy peasy. I used a 5×5” board book so I reduced all my pages and printed at 4.95×4.95” to make it a little easier when placing into the book. I fit two pages on an 8.5×11” sheet to save paper. Please make sure they are dry before you cut and assemble!

Here I’m showing you two cutting options. Big fancy cutting machine on the left and plain ‘ol ruler and craft knife on the right. I prefer the knife but the machine is a little faster but less accurate. You might try a sliding trimmer. They are pretty handy.

So look at that we are well on our way. All pages are cut out and now we are going to decide how to order them in the album. Here we have an optional step. Since the corners of the actual book are rounded It’s nice to round the corners of your pages. All you need is a corner punch (Michael’s, Joann’s) – it’s that little blue thing on the right. Works like a hole punch. Now don’t go punch crazy and round all your page corners before ordering them in your album because you only want to punch the outer edges. Hence, the pages on the right ONLY get punched on the right and vice versa.

Ok, so we’re cut, ordered and rounded. Time to GLUE! Let me explain to you why the Zig Glue Pen is your friend. The glue is blue so you can see where you’ve glued. It’s wet enough that you have time to wiggle and move your pages into the PERFECT position before it dries in case you don’t always get it exactly right the first time (which I never do) BUT it’s not wet enough to soak, wrinkle, or bubble photo paper and it won’t leak (unless you go overkill) and make your ink run. It sticks to everything, gives you a good hold. Plus it lasts forever and doesn’t dry out. Of course you can use other products like a tape runner, mounting squares etc. AVOID really wet glue. After you glue and stick, give each set of pages a few minutes to set before you move on.

Ta DA! I know what you’re thinking and yes…THAT’S IT. The album is done and you are a master crafter. If you want to add some extra embellishments to the cover, go for it. I added a sequin and rhinestone to mine. Of course there are no rules so you can go as wild or as tame as you want. Add paint, ribbon – whatever!

So if you’re up for the challenge, here is more detailed info on what you need to get started. Check back tomorrow for the NEXT project!!

HYBRID FOR DUMMIES: The Basics
You REALLY only need THREE basic supplies for most hybrid projects.

#1 – PRINT: Either send your project to print at a lab or do it at home. If you print at home (I do) the only investment (other than a printer) is quality photo paper. This is non- negotiable! Not crappy Staples brand paper, you want an HP, Canon, Kodak, or Epson photo paper. Glossy, Satin, Semi or Matte…your choice. Glossy give you brighter colors. Matte gives you a flatter finish. Satin is a happy medium. Check Costco for great deals or bulk packs of Kodak paper.

#2 – CUT: Some kind of cutting system (not scissors). You can buy a fancy cutter, a small paper cutter or cheap out like me and just use a craft knife and ruler. If you go with the ruler you’ll want a self-healing cutting mat (Staples, Office Depot). The point here is yes, you can get a big fancy machine…but you don’t HAVE to.

#3 – GLUE: I think I’ve tried them all so let me save you some time and money. My two MUST-HAVE’S in the glue department are the Zig Glue Pen (thick tip) and some kind of Tape Runner (I’m using Therm o Web Memory Tape Runner $4.99 US). These two things will get you through most everything quickly, easily and most importantly CLEANLY.

Hope that helps!
Your tips & q’s welcome.