Andrea's Review	Randi's Review	Penny's Review	Tammy's Review	Stephanie's Review

Review by Andrea

The innovative style that Tinkering Ink has brought to the scrapbooking world is so fresh and fun, that you can't help but smile every time you see one of their new products. The Peek-a-Boo albums that we're reviewing this month are no exception to that smile rule, in fact the ole "I could of had a V-8" slogan comes to mind once you see the product. We've seen various chipboard albums and acrylic albums, but never the two together. Well, step to the plate Tinkering Ink and whammo! A huge hit run with Peek-a-Boo albums, combining chipboard AND acrylic in one album. The peek-a-boo part comes from windows cut into the chipboard to see through the book and acrylic pages - sheer brilliance!

We have 2 types to look at with this review - a 6 1/2" x 4" version and 6 1/2" square version. Both books have 7 pages split to have 4 chipboard pages and 3 acrylic ones. The acrylic pages are solid with no windows whereas the chipboard ones have solid and windowed pages. The clear cellophane packaging offers tips in clear view on the back of the insert about creating with these albums. The larger album even has a terrific quote by Mark Twain on the back: "A smile is a window on your face to show your heart is at home." Oh so appropriate for this product description!

There are 2 metal rings included with each album package, making it super easy to keep all of the pages together. Since each page has holes for the rings, you could easily use ribbon or some other medium to serve as the binding for the book. What I loved about these 2 different shaped books is the ability to mix the pages between the albums! To show more of their versatility, I did exactly that and had 2 albums with different sized pages which seems to be the rage today! I found that it added some extra flair to the albums and fun for the people looking at the projects.

Visiting different beaches from coast to coast is one of my favorite things to do. Capturing some of the best shots from those visits in a Peek-a-Boo album just seemed like the ideal thing to do! Beachy items tend to be weathered and worn, so covering the windows with transparencies that had an aged grid pattern was one of the first steps to working on the chipboard pages. Since the chipboard is nice and thick, it seemed natural to me to create a shaker box in one of the windows with micro beads and sand by just using an additional transparency. It worked marvelously on the front cover! Adding patterned paper over the rest of the chipboard pages and transparencies went quickly after that. One tip is to trace your windows onto the paper before adding anything in the windows! Plan out your pages before assembling anything and it will prevent any problems later on.

Rub-ons, ink and paint work well on either the paper or acrylic, so keep that in mind too when building your books. Planning your photo placement before sticking anything down is a great idea too. Some fiber on the rings as a final step really brought the project to a great close!

Title: Beach
Products used: Peek-a-Boo Album, Rub-ons (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Paper, Monograms, Alphabet Letters (Tinkering Ink Westminster)
Transparencies, Rub-ons (Hambly)
Ink (Clearsnap)
Paint (Ranger)
Rub-on Letters (Making Memories)
Fiber, Beads, Sand (Unknown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Once I had been through the first book, the second one came together much quicker. The pages were planned with photos and papers, then the embellishments came at the end. I loved the window feature on the chipboard pages! It adds so much to an album, especially a small one when you may need to continue journaling or a series of pictures to explain a story. For this theme, I was able to show different flower pictures for the various quotes, adding more viewing pleasure for the reader.

Title: Flowers and Quotes
Products used: Peek-a-Boo Album, Rub-ons (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Paper, Sticker Letters, Elements (BasicGrey Sultry)
Transparencies, Rub-ons (Hambly)
Ink (Tsukineko)
Stickles (Ranger)
Scalloped Frames/Mats (Spellbinders Nestabilities)
Die Cut Machine (Wizard Spellbinders)
Beads (Unknown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I absolutely loved working with the Peek-a-Boo albums! It's a great concept brought to a successful conclusion. The ability to mix and match the pages between the albums is a huge strength to the product. The windows are totally cool and give the crafter a terrific option for viewing purposes - leave it open or close it by applying paper - it's their choice. I liked the option to have the covers be chipboard with the internal pages be acrylic. Again, my choice. Both the chipboard and acylic pages are thick and strong with no signs of "flimsy" anywhere. I do like the sizes of each album although the 6 1/2" dimension offers a bit of a dilemma with paper maximization. A little creativity needs to play into the design should you be short on paper here and there. This does not detract from the product, it just requires a little more planning ahead or thought when you're into the project.

Love it, love it, love it Tinkering Ink! Keep the creativity coming and I can't wait to see what you have next up your sleeve!

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Review by Randi

Mini albums are so much fun, and they are always a welcome gift for friends and family. Tinkering Ink has provided a way for us to create a truly one-of-a-kind unique album very quickly in their new "Peek-a-Boo" Album kits.

The Peek-a-Boo Albums are available in two sizes, 6.5" x 6.5" and 6.5" x 4". Each is packaged with four chipboard pages, (some with cut away windows, thus the "Peek-a-Boo" name) three clear acrylic pages for layering, and two binder rings. They sell online for about $15.00 each.

There are so many ways to mix and match these albums! First of all, the two designs are interchangeable. One can combine the square and the rectangular pages and still have the holes line up perfectly. If that isn't enough, one can also flip the pages to arrange the windows in different areas on the page. The 6.5" x 4" album also has an assortment of stick-out tabs on the edge of the pages to add even more interest.

My first project used the smaller of the albums as a graduation CARD for a close friend of the family. The pages inside recap some of the memories of his senior year that we share together. I chose to cover the chipboard pages with colorful patterned paper and embellish with graduation themed stickers. Distressing with ink added extra depth. Some of the chipboard pages are followed with an acrylic page, so some of the stickers are actually on the clear pages rather than the chipboard page itself. I thought it added some neat dimension.

I wanted an extra page, so I created a new back cover using chipboard and one of the pages as a template. I left the cut away windows open so that Aaron could adhere photos from the graduation there.

Graduation Card for Aaron
6.5" x 4" Peek-a-Boo Album (Tinkering Ink)
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (MAMBI and Karen Foster)
Stickers (MAMBI)
Black Perfect Medium Ink (Ranger)
Ribbon (Tie One On Ribbon Club)
Permanent Bond Glue Runner (Adhesive Tech)

I used the second album to create a storybook for my grandsons. I was unable to bring my dog when our family recently rented a house in town. So Teddy has gone to live with my oldest daughter in the country, and my dog is now THEIR dog. I thought they would enjoy knowing how he came to be a part of our family. The book's size is just right for little hands.

Getting Teddy
6.5" x 6.5" Peek-a-Boo Album (Tinkering Ink)
Papaya Puree Medium and Nautical Blue Medium Prismatics Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster)
Stickers (Karen Foster)
Blue Lagoon Color Chalk Ink (ColorBox)
Fine Line Dimensional Adhesive (Adhesive Tech)
Permanent Bond Glue Runner (Adhesive Tech)

As with the graduation card above, I chose patterned paper to cover all of the pages, then inked the edges. I also added a dimensional glaze to my stickers to make them 3-D.

I took my leisurely time on these albums but each only took me a few hours from start to finish. I tried inking, painting, and covering the pages with paper and all three methods turned out well. I loved the different options with the cut away windows and being able to flip the pages and rearrange them. The only suggestion I have is to provide some size options that are not larger than 6 inches. The reason? I like to be able to get more pages out of a 12" sheet of paper, and decreasing the album size by 1/2" would allow the paper to stretch further. Size aside, I loved these, and I think you will too.

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Review by Penny

I was super excited to be able to review Tinkering Ink's new Peek-a-Boo Albums this month!

I received two of them, the first a 6.5" x 4" album with four chipboard pages and three acrylic pages, all prepunched for binding with two rings that are included in the package.

All four of the chipboard pages are shaped a bit differently. Three of them have windows and also three with different shaped tabs. The chipboard is nice and sturdy and held up well to sanding.

The thick acrylic sheets are covered in a light blue plastic to keep them clean and perfectly clear for your use. The plastic is easy to remove by using your fingernail at one of the corners to peel it away.

Title: The Story of Us Mini Album
Products used: Peek-a-Boo Mini Album (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink Noir Blanc and Beloved Collections)
Rub-Ons (Stampin' Up!)
Tag, Epoxy Button Charms, Word Velvet Sticker (Making Memories)
Word Sticker (Scenic Route)
Letter Die Cuts and Stickers (BasicGrey)
Felt (Francy Pants)
Rhinestones (Junkitz)
Grungeboard (Tim Holtz for Advantus)
Distress Ink (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Flowers (Prima)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

The second album is square 6.5" x 6.5" with rounded corners on the opening side. This album also has two holes and two rings included in the package for its binding.

The style of this album is a bit more consistent in its shape. One page has two windows, two have one window and one has no window and three acrylic pages.

Title: Mall of America Mini Album
Products used: Peek-a-Boo Mini Album (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Papers (Tinkering Ink Blur and Westminster Collections)
Finery, Rub-Ons and Stickers (Tinkering Ink)
Felt (Fancy Pants)
Journaling Sticker (Jenni Bowlin)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)
Other: lace

Both of these albums can be mixed and matched with each other. Their seven page size is big enough to tell a story with detailed words and pictures. The chipboard is nice and thick and easy to cover, glue, sand, ink and paint. The acrylic is also sturdy and worked well with rub-ons and adhesive.

As with the other Tinkering Ink products, these albums are top quality and well worth their $14.00 retail price. Also check out their unique multi-layered album ($19.99), the arrow and signs album ($19.99) and their coordinating rub-on transfers ($6.99). The Peek-a-Boo albums are an excellent addition to the Tinkering Ink product family!

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Review by Tammy

Tinkering Ink sets the pace for creativity by adding a brand new twist to the growing popularity of acrylic albums - introducing the Peek-a-Boo album. Each album kit contains four interchangeable chipboard pages with pre-cut windows, three acrylic pages, and two 1-inch binder rings. The pages are made from a sturdy chipboard material and the acrylic pages are packaged with a blue film coating to prevent scratches. The windows in the various layers provide a surprise peak into the next layer when the album is complete, making this a fun album to look at time and time again.

I have always enjoyed the simplicity and beauty of mini albums but completing one of these masterpieces seemed too difficult to make it worth the effort. WOW! Was I wrong. Tinkering Ink makes this a great project. When asked to review the new Peek-a-Boo albums by Tinkering Ink I knew this would give me the chance to work through obstacles that I had encountered with mini albums in the past. This would also give me the opportunity to try my hand at working with acrylic pages.

I chose the 6 1/2 x 6 1/2-inch Peek-a-Boo album to create a brag book. The windows in the chipboard pages and transparency of the acrylic pages taught me that I needed to pre-plan the entire book as a completed project and not just as a collection of single pages. When working with this album I discovered that it was important to not only be concerned with the design on the current page, but also to watch what was before and after making sure that the design flowed and nothing overlapped or left pictures/designs peeking through in wrong places.

Since I spend the majority of my scrapbooking time working on single pages, I needed to rethink the way I would design my Peek-a-Boo album. In order to make it flow, I found it necessary to repeat the same designs and patterns throughout the entire book. Keeping my chipboard page designs similar was not as difficult as it was on the acrylic pages. These pages proved to be the most challenging because not only did I have to be concerned with the backside of my design but the page design showing through to the rest of the album needed to coordinate with the designs of the pages before and after. I also found it necessary to choose art mediums that would remain permanent when applied to acrylic.

For this album I chose to use a black Slick Writer pen and a mixture of re-inker and Diamond Glaze to provide the designs on the acrylic pages and on the chipboard pages I used a black Micro pen in various pen tip sizes.

Title: Oh Boy
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics, Baby Blue Medium)
Patterned Paper (Paper Studio)
Peek-a-Boo album (Tinkering Ink)
Punch (EK Success)
Pens (Micron & Slick Writer)
Chipboard (Misc)
Letters (Heidi Swapp)
Rhinestones (Paper Studio)
Diamond Glaze
Palette Re-inker
Font (CK Buddies)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Now that my first project was finished I was ready to move on to the next. The 6 1/2 x 4-inch Peek-a-Boo book took one-third the time to complete as did my first book. This album would take on a completely different look and feel since it would be for my son. Daisy is his prized Jersey Heifer and his days revolve around taking care of her and making sure that she is properly milked, fed, and groomed. Since she is very special to my son, I wanted to create this album for him, featuring Daisy. The album needed to have a rustic flair so I chose to rely on some Heidi Grace rub-on's to supply unity throughout the pages. I also used a brown Tombow pen on the chipboard pages and a brown Slick Writer to provide a distressed edge to the acrylic pages. Some distress ink was added to the edges of the papers and this book was complete in just a few hours!

Title: Daisy
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics, Vanilla Cream)
Peek-a-Boo album (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Paper (Michael's)
Rub-on's (Heidi Grace)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink)
Brown Pens (Tombow & Slick Writer)
Chipboard Letters (misc)
Paint (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Tinkering Ink has got me hooked on mini albums - Peek-a-Boo albums to be exact! Once I got past the learning curve these little books were a complete blast to work with. No matter how much planning I did on my part, once each book was completed I found little surprises that peeked through that I couldn't have planned if I tried. The quality of the materials of each album are superior making each one a treasured keepsake.

While a novice scrapbooker may find these album kits more challenging to work with, I highly recommend the Tinkering Ink Peek-a-Boo albums to scrapbookers of all ages and skill levels. I think you will find that the final product is definitely worth the effort!

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Review by Stephanie

Tinkering Ink has come up with a really exciting new album concept. They call it the Peek-a-Boo Album: chipboard and acrylic with cute little windows. I was very excited to receive two different Tinkering Ink Peek-a-Boo albums this month. I saw them previewed several months ago, and I knew right away they'd make awesome event-specific albums. Now that I have them, I must say that Tinkering Ink has created a product that everyone will be thrilled to work with.

I received one 6 1/2" x 4" album and one 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" album. Each album consisted of four chipboard pages and three acrylic pages. Adding the acrylic pages was a great idea because, for someone like me who is intimidated with the entire acrylic album idea, I had the best of both worlds. I could create a chipboard album and experiment with acrylic at the same time. Way to go Tinkering Ink!!!

I chose to work with the smaller album first. I have long wanted to document the love between my son and his Teddy and thought this would be a perfect album to use. Initially it was little tricky setting up the pages so that the pictures would "peek" through the windows, but once I began working on it, the album came together easily and I am thrilled with the results.

There are so many ways and variations of completing this album. I chose to use it lengthwise, but it would work just as easily in the opposite direction. A little preplanning works well for these albums because you want to be sure your pictures line up in the windows as you turn from page to page.

My front cover has the album title and when you open it up, you can see part of the title was actually on the inside page, so I needed to be sure to carry the title again onto that page. The windows really are an awesome feature! As you flip the pages you get totally new looks. The final page of the album has a picture of Teddy and the journaling for the album. Please check my gallery for additional pages and to read the journaling.

Title: Me & Teddy
Products used: Album (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Paper, Felt, Die Cuts (Tinkering Ink, Gibson line)
Stickers (Bo Bunny, My Minds Eye, Stickopotomous)
Ink (StazOn)
Brads, Stamp (Making Memories)
Ribbon (Maya Road, Offray)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For the second album, I wanted to document my son's ice hockey victory since this was his first year playing and his team won the championship.

This is a preview of the complete album as well as the front and back covers.

Journaling about this hockey season and assorted pictures from the championship are shown on the inside pages. Again, the windows play an important role in this album as they allow pictures to show through to the other pages and I tried to create a seamless transition from page to page. As the boys skated with the championship cup, they played "We are the Champions" by Queen, so I included the words to that song with the appropriate pictures.

Title: Hockey Album
Products used: Album (Tinkering Ink)
Patterned Paper (Rusty Pickle, Chatterbox, Scrapping Sports, Junkitz, Creative Imagination)
Stickers (Pebbles Inc., Rusty Pickle, Karen Foster, Creative Imagination, Bo Bunny)
Ink (Ranger)
Tag (Rusty Pickle)
Ribbon (Offray)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Thank you Tinkering Ink for creating another great product. I had a lot of fun creating these albums. For anyone needing to create a gift album for a grandparent, friend, or teacher, I would highly recommend you get these albums. If you want event-specific albums as I have created, think birthday and vacations. Thanks Tinkering Ink.

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