Hello Blog Land, Turkey Day is over & it is time to turn our eyes toward Christmas. Eileen Hull has a new release called Book Club. The Inspiration team are playing with it all month. The dies should be in stores this December! Every year I have a list book that I keep in my purse that has all the presents, things to do and decorating or cooking ideas in it.
Here is the book I made for this year 2017. It has 3 signatures or groups of paper to keep everything at this hectic time of year organized. The best part of this passport book is I can simply remove the signatures & pop them in my purse. They are filled with random paper & ephemera from my stash. You can easily follow along & substitute whatever product you have. Be creative!
I am also entering this in the Mini Album Makers Challenge.
This is a wonderful group that all book makers need to check out. There are some awesome ladies over there & lots of great inspiration. *come join the challenge & you can win Eileen's Mini Album Die by Sizzix.
I started by cutting the covers window with mat board. Use the top piece from the Trinket Box & Frame die, with the oval mover & shapers die that comes with it. First step was running it through using an embossing folder. Next up was adding color using watercolor paint. I misted the mat board lightly and added a layer of paint. Don't get the mat board too wet, it is very sturdy but too much water will cause the board to pull apart a bit.
While the board was still wet I added some Infusions powder and with my paint brush moved the powder around activating it. This really unified my colors, an easy way to bring the background together. Dry well with a heat gun.
Hit the high points of the emboss image using an emboss ink pad & sprinkle with embossing powder. I used one of my favorites, Burnt Copper Leaves by Emerald Creeks. If you get too much powder simply brush off before heat setting.
For the base of the book I cut out the passport die from mat board covered in scrapbook paper. Use only 1 cover & the spine. The back cover was cut from Kunin Felt. This is a very sturdy felt that will hold up well. It will also make the overall book less rigid.
Before adhering the cover but after adding the Supertape, punch out holes for brads to make assembly easier.
Cover brad posts using washi tape. I also distressed the edges & painted the inside of the spine in copper metallic acrylic paint.
Wrap elastic around the spine and tie a knot to hold. You want to be able to slide your signature through the elastic so it needs to be taunt but not too tight. The Passport Book has 3 notches top & bottom which helps the elastic stay put. This will allow me to make changes as my book grows. When it is finished I can always the signatures through the holes in the spine if I want.
Time to cut some paper! I cut my paper 7x5" & using the Passport die cut out the signatures. You can only cut 2 papers at a time of the score line in the middle gets too much pressure applied and it ends up cutting the pages in half. I used papers from my stash that are double sided to make things easier. Each of my signatures have about 5 pieces of paper. I also used some notepad paper to make lists.
On the start of the signatures I used 3x4 cards.
Here is a peak at the inside of it. I will be adding stamps, tags, distressing and fun little embellishments.
Finally for the cover I added some holiday flowers & embellishments.
The door pull was perfect to act as a closure. I simply ran ribbon through an eyelet on the back cover, held it with a candy cane button & tied the ribbon in a loop. The loop simply goes around the door pull and holds the book in place.
Hot Tips:
*If you don't want the edges of your project to be white when using mat board color them with a marker before assembly it is much easier.
*When cutting the Passport Book spine piece, put paper you want to show on the outside of the book side down on the die. This will cut the score lines so the spine bends properly.
*Mark & punch holes for brads on covers and spine before assembly, but after adding your Supertape.
*Add Supertape & brads to the covers once for extra strength. Assemble the outside covers. For the inside spine, peel off the Supertape backing, then add & fix brads. Cover this inside spine strip with a piece of washi or paper to hide the posts.
*Cover stickers on cover with a layer of decoupage glue to prevent them falling off. It will dry clear.
*I am also entering this in Frilly & Funkie's Challenge. The challenge over there is "Most Memorable Gift" as this is partially a book to keep track of my gift buying I thought it fit well!!
Supplies:
Eileen Hull Dies by Sizzix:
- Trinket Box & Frame #662360
- Passport Book #660331
Other Supplies:
- Emerald Creek- Emboss in Charred Gold
- PaperArtsy- Infusions in Emerald Isle
- Prima -Water Color Paint- Odyssey
- " -Metal Door Pull
- Brads by Stampin Up
- Kunin Group -ecofi Plus felt -Smoke color.
- Supertape by Therm*O*Web