Hello Blogland, here today with a fabulous "Create Art" fabric journal using the newest diecut by Eileen Hull... drum roll, the Tiny Book! This book is so stinking cute!! It measures a very small 2 1/4 x 3" and yet has so much potential to be so many things!!! This month of May the Inspiration team is all about flowers & nothing says flowers like butterflies!!
This time around I played with fabric to create this fun & funky cover. I also used some of Eileen's other dies & lots of Tim Holtz. The cover is fabric from Tim's both inside & out. I especially loved that Eileen's butterfly fit perfectly in a piece of the fabric that was an owl but it looks completely like a butterfly!
What Is Inside?
The inside of this tiny journal has 3 signatures which I will show you as the tutorial unfolds. The signatures are a combo of junk journal type ephemera, stamping & diecuts as well as pages for writing. There are some pockets as you can see here filled with fun tags, tickets etc.
Let's Get Started!!
Cut 1 cover using the Tiny Book diecut with Foam Adhesive.
Making The Covers.
Gather your fabric & decide which you want for the outside & inside covers. Don't cut it yet. Take your foam Tiny Book piece & peel off one side of the adhesive. Place on top of the wrong side of your fabric. Cut around the fabric leaving about a 1/2" extra. Peel off the other side of the adhesive & place on top of the other fabric, laying it on the wrong side. Cut around following the same size cut as the other side of the fabric.
You don't have to but I sewed around the edges of my fabric avoiding the foam. Then I pulled some threads to make it look aged. This is the base for the cover done. Simple isn't it?
Time To Make The Inside Booklets!
While I made these books way back in January I thought I would point you in a direction to get some backgrounds done. Tim Holtz has been doing a weekly video demo & some of the techniques would be great for background pages... you can find them all archived on his Facebook page or on his blog. This is a technique I love using to make grungy book pages. Spray with different colors of Distress Stain, dab on some Distress Oxide spots, dry & then randomly stamp. These papers end up so crunchy & fabulous.
Here is a photo of creating the 3 booklets or signatures while having some nummy coffee. I cut the paper for the booklets 4.5" long x 3" tall. Each signature has a cover or 1st page that is a sturdy scrapbook paper. The papers are folded in half width wise & slip into each other to create books.
Putting It All Together.
I used Tim's paper from different paper packs & added ephemera, chat words, paper dolls. Just had fun adding stuff from my stash. The books should only have 3-6 papers each so you can sew through them. If you don't machine sew no worries you can see a different way to put the signature in this blog post- go right to the end of the post & I explain it.
Once the booklets were made it was time to sew them into the cover. I started with the middle book just because it was easiest. Sew the book into the middle of the cover. After every pass clean your needle with a wet wipe. It will pick up the adhesive from the foam.
Sew the front signature on the left side of the middle book. It is a bit tricky & clamping your book into the cover with binder clips may help to keep it in straight. Then sew the last book in on the right of the middle book as shown in the picture. You can see I left about a 1/4" between the books.
As you can see from the photo my last signature in the book did not sew very straight. This is why I would suggest binder clips. * Hot Tip- make sure if you sew your signature together with a machine
that the stitches are not too tight. I was rushing to get my sample made
for Creativation and the stitches were tight. The papers started
ripping out like they were perforated. Yikes. Glue & washi
strategically placed helped solve my problem.
Create The Cover!
For the cover I used Eileen's butterfly from her set Birds & Butterflies. The fabric was lined with a square of foam adhesive & cut out from Tim's Halloween fabric. The owl eyes look just like a pattern that a butterfly or moth would have- so cool. Layers of tulle & cheesecloth colored with Bay ink was added under the butterfly.Yes details can be fun!
The quote was created by cutting a piece of cereal box & heat embossed. Once cool the quote was added. *Hot tip: Normally I would just use a clear emboss on top but I found out that if you hear emboss these stickers the heat melts the words away!! So I added a layer of Glossy Accents. It domes naturally & create an epoxy look while drying clear.
My closure is from the pocket notebook diecut cut out of Kraftex, embossed & then scuffed with ink to make it pop. The strap is attached to the band with some beads for decoration on the outside.
I punched a hole with a cropodile in the middle of the book between the last 2 signatures, added an eyelet to give it some reinforcement & tied the elastic with a knot in the inside.
Just a few more photos to show you some of the inside to wrap it all up! Here is a page using the Tag & pocket on the left & the bird on the right. You can also see where I made decorative tabs for each book.
Here is the inside cover & 1st signature. Lots of tags & ephemera here!
This page has a ticket as a wee pocket with some ephemera on the right & an inked stamped page on the left. Can you believe that is not stitching but a stamp? Looks so real. Ok that is plenty for today!!! I hope you enjoyed this project & you get a chance to play along. Stay safe & healthy & go get inky!!
Supplies:
*dies that are discontinued but you may find in Eileen's etsy shop - Bookmark/Tag/Pocket, Credit Card Sleeve (die cut the quote is on) & Colorblend in Bay for the cheesecloth piece.
Tim Holtz- Fabric, Ephemera, Stamps, Tags by Sizzix.
Ranger- Glossy Accents, Distress Ink, Distress Stains & Archival Inks.
