MINI BOOK WITH SEWN SPINE

 I usually fold my little books or attach the pages with rings or ties, but I have branched out a little with this book which has a sewn spine.

I made three signatures (sheets of paper folded and stacked) and sewed them together.  You can find any number of examples of how to do this on line, but basically, starting on the outside of the folded stack,  I just made three holes went in at the middle, then out on one side, back in on the other side, out again through the middle and then tied of the threads.

I used some lilac handmade paper that I have had for ages but for which I've never quite found a use.  I used quilting thread, passed through bees wax to do the actual sewing, and pre-pierced the holes using an awl.  If your stack is too thick to go through is one go, make a template with the position of the holes marked so that you can do a few sheets at a time, but still get the holes in the right place.

The cover was made with two pieces of packing card slightly larger than the pages, with a third piece placed between with a couple of mm between, for the spine.  (I just measured the height of the sewn signatures to work out how wide to make this.  After cutting a piece of darker and thicker lavender handmade paper, about 1cm larger than the three pieces together, I applied double sided tape to the edges of the card pieces and centred them on the cover.  After mitring the corners, I put some more double-sided tape on the edges and stuck them down.

Next up I just checked everything for size, and then stuck the front page of the inner pages to the inner edge of the front cover, and repeated the same with the back page and the back cover.

I probably should have re en-forced the spine with masking or cloth tape but as the cover paper was strong, and the book quite small I didn't bother, and I think it will all stay together OK....time will tell.

Excuse my gardening fingers but I thought I'd include my hand to give you a sense of scale.  Rather than stick to any pre-determined measurement I simply used the size of the paper as a guide.

Clearly if you wanted you could easily add extra decoration to the front, which I may well do once I decide how to use the book.

BACKGROUND WITH RICE AND ACRYLIC PAINT

RICE ON WET PAINT

 I'm always keen to try new background techniques, but as this one is a bit on the messy side, I haven't had the chance to try it until now.  (Hence I have forgotten the source of the idea.....sorry....happy to credit if you want to claim it as your own).

The idea is basically just to spread a layer of very watery acrylic paint, and then sprinkle rice on top immediately.

After the paint is completely dry, the rice is removed.  The rice absorbs some of the paint, leaving paint-free areas, and creating patterns.

As you can see, it worked OK.....not remarkably.  I think it would probably be better had a used a less absorbent paper as the background so that more liquid is taken up by the rice.  I also found it impossible to remove the rice without ripping some of the paper underneath.  This isn't necessarily bad - it does have its own "look."

All in all I'm glad I finally got around to trying this technique but don't think I'll be using it frequently. There are easier ways of creating similar effects, and in terms of the lay on/take off technique, salt seems more reliable.  Still, if you haven't tried it its worth a go.  I imagine dark blue paint on gold or silver paper might make a nice starry sky.........

RICE PATTERNED BACKGROUND

ACCORDION FOLDED SEWING KIT

Closed Sewing Kit

Open Sewing Kit

I have lots and lots of paper.  I am not complaining about this fortunate state of affairs, but every now and then I do feel that perhaps I should actually use some of it.

As I seemed to be forever borrowing sewing needles from the ladies at work, these little kits seemed appropriate.

I just folded a long strip of textured white card three times (to make four panels) - up then down then up again to make an accordion.

I added paper to the back panels, securing a ribbon under the end one (which becomes the front of the book) so that it can be tied around the book to keep it closed.

On the other side I added little pieces of felt secured with split pins to sticky backed magnets to hold needles and pins, and a little pocket to hold a bobbin shaped piece of card wound with three different colours of cotton.

They won't last forever but don't take too long to make and are very functional - just a nice size to slip in your handbag (or desk drawer for the next time some annoying person like me wants to borrow a needle or pin!)

PAPER SCRAP EARRINGS

Here's one for folks who can't bring themselves to throw out even the tiniest scraps of handmade and Japanese papers......buy some earring backings and little glass cabouchons and go wild.

Due to a slight misreading of quantities on ebay,  I now have enough to wear a different pair each day for, oh, well, give or take.....about a year!!  (But I have used up a lot of little bits of paper!!)

Some polystyrene packing provided a nice stable base, whilst I was gluing the bits together.  The black, gold and burgundy examples were made by colouring the base of the glass with Sharpie markers before glueing them to the base, but the rest were all made with scraps of paper.

CLEAR EMBOSSED BLACK CARD

CLEAR EMBOSSED BLACK CARD

This is a rather bad photo of clear-embossed Versamark on a black background.  I hope you take my word for it, that it does, in reality look great!!

I used a flash to photograph it, hence, the reflection of the stamped image, and the appearance of a far greater contrast between the image and background than exists in the real world.

The actual example is very subtle and would make a great background for cards.  Try it yourself to see!!

EMBOSSING WITH CARBON PAPER

CARBON PAPER EMBOSSED SAMPLES

Often I'm playing with various bits and pieces in the craftroom and have a "good idea" only to be disappointed to find only a few thousand other people have already posted the same idea to Pinterest, their blogs and any other place you like to name.

I'm pretty sure someone, somewhere has put this one up too, but I haven't seen it yet!  Its a stupidly simple idea too - just pop a sheet of carbon paper (blue side down towards your paper) inside your embossing folder before winding through your Cuttlebug or Big Shot.

You get the same result as inking up your folder without making a mess (not that this has ever deterred me, but I know its an issue for some folk).  The blue and white is, as they say on all the home reno shows "on trend" at the moment, and you can get some really cool results by re-using the carbon paper with a second patterned folder.

I did this with the top example (the paisley), apart from being lighter, if you look closely you can see shadows of the little flowers in the background.  The carbon is fairly stable, but you could probably spray some sealer on top if you want to be extra sure that the blue stays in place.

COLOURING EMBOSSED METAL

EMBOSSED METAL COLOURED WITH SHARPIES

Last week, I showed an example of colouring a stamped image with Fusion pens, which didn't work overly well on metal.

This week I've embossed an image, again on the reverse of a soft drink can, and coloured the image with Sharpie pens.

I'm much happier with the results - still a little patchy but not nearly as bad as my last try.

It was also a lot easier colouring the debossed areas of the panel, which had a nice easy to feel edge (yes, my eyesight is terrible - and yes, that may explain a lot!), but also meant that there was no need to carefully avoid a Staz-on stamped outline.

All in all though, I have to confess to preferring the plain black ink stamped Beethoven image I posted ages ago!

COLOURING RUBBER-STAMPED METAL

Metal coloured with fusion pens.

I've been trying out some different ways to add colour to metal.  (Yes I know its not paper, but you can use them on cards!)

This weeks example is a stamped image coloured with Kaiser fusion pens.  The metal was the reverse of a Diet Coke Can, cut with deckle scissors.

I chose alcohol based markers because the water based variety would bead, and probably not dry, although I was aware that I would have to avoid colouring over or if possible into the stamped lines, as two different alcohol based products might dissolve into each other.

 I wasn't overly impressed with the results. There was a lot of streaking.  This might work OK (although I'm not convinced it does) for the water, but not so well for areas requiring a smooth result.  I tried colouring in long streaks, randomly, and in small circles. The latter worked best, and is the example shown.  All in all the Fusion pens which are great for all sorts of other things are not ideal for this application.  I did find something better though.........I'll post the result next week.

USE A CUTTING DIE IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS

There are a lot of sites around that feature different ways to cut up and use punched shapes but not so much about dies, which are just as versatile, if not more so.  I played with my lectern and bird set from Couture Creations and came up with a few ideas, and that was without even combining shapes....I must have a look at some of my other dies and see how else they can be used!

LOTS OF WAYS TO USE ONE CUTTING DIE

EASY FRIDGE MAGNETS

FRIDGE MAGNETS

Here are a couple of ideas for easy fridge magnets.

The first isn't strictly papercraft but it does involve a couple of things you might have in your craft room - the thin magnet sheet that comes with most dies, a die (in this case a Spellbinders dress stand), and a die-cutting machine in which to use it.  (I used my trusty Cuttlebug).
I expected to be able to cut the shape with the die, but was pleasantly surprised to find that with the rubber embossing mat, the detail could be embossed onto the magnet!  I made this over a year ago, and have been kind of waiting for the detail to disappear - it hasn't!

The second magnet is just some pretty Washi stuck onto a glass cabouchon, with a fairly heavy duty magnet (due to the weight of the glass) stuck onto the back.

I'm happy enough with both of them to allow them a spot on the side of the fridge!

ACCORDION BOOK FOR A PAPERCLIP COLLECTION

Someone made reference to something being "as boring as a paperclip collection", and although I agreed, whilst I was sorting thorough my craft room, it dawned on me that I might just possibly, at a stretch, perhaps be........a paperclip collector myself.

That left two alternatives - denial or celebration.  Having decided on the latter, Imade this little accordion book in which to display (some of) the collection.  I love this style of book.  Its super easy to make, but it sits so nicely that the whole contents can be displayed at once, or you can turn the pages like a regular book.  Better still it packs away easily for storage.  I used a fairly stiff card for the "pages" and covered some slightly higher and wider panels for the back and front, securing some ribbon under to tie it closed.

I was sure that the paperclip comment was a quote, and upon consulting Dr Google was delighted to find that it came from Sesame Street (Ernie to Bert, even although Ernie had his own collection!)
Better still, there was a whole song!!!  This solved the problem of what to write on the back - and I liked the sentiment - its easy to find beauty in a sunset or panoramic landscape - sometimes you just have to try a little harder to see it things like.........PAPERCLIPS!!!

PAPERCLIP ACCORDIAN BOOK

STICKER SHEET PIN PRICKING

 Its always good to find a new way to use an old product - I'm sure someone else has probably thought of this, but as I haven't come across it before I'll stake a claim!

Its a simple idea - after you remove the sticker from an outline sticker sheet, use the remaining outline as a guide to pinprick the pattern onto card.

You can either remove all the pieces and reassmble them on the card (difficult and hard to use more than once) or just cut around it and hold it in place with Magic tape whilst you make the holes!

PAPER PRICKING WITH STICKERS

EASY BOOK

This is one of the very simplest ways to make a little note book.  I should have put something next to it to indicate scale, but its about 9cm high - just right for pockets or bags.

I just folded up some nice handmade paper for the pages (folding each in half and then stacking), cut the cover out of double-sided scrapbooking paper (G45), and placed in around the outside.

I lay the stack out flat and put some paper clips around the edge so the stack wouldn't slip whilst I used a sharp, thick needle to make a hole in the middle of the fold (spine).  I then added two holes equidistant on either side of the middle.

All that remained was to sew the pages together, using thin twine.  Starting from the outside of the middle hole, sew into the centre then out through one of the side holes, then back in through the other side hole, then back out the middle hole again.  Finish by tying the ends together.  How simple is that!!

FIVE IDEAS WITH PAPER CLAY

PAPER CLAY IDEAS

I've been playing with paper clay - here are a few ideas to try.

Beginning at the red rose circle and working in a clockwise direction:

RED ROSE CIRCLE - I rolled out some paperclay fairly thinly, then inked up a Darkroom Door background stamp with red Versacolor ink and pressed it into the clay.  I then cut a circle using a cookie cutter.  It would be OK as a feature or background on a card but would probably look better on top of a box as though its light its fairly chunky.

LEAF IMPRINT - The clay was rolled thinly again but this time a (real) fern leaf was pressed into it.  The only trouble was, that it left all its brown spored behind in the clay!!  I cut it out very badly, but the general principle is OK, and it should work with any leaf with prominent veins or stiff fronds.

PINK ROSE - I used the stamped clay left over from the rose circle, kneading it well to mix the red ink through the white clay (hence the pink colour), I then formed it into a rough sausage shape, then pinched it flat, so that it stayed flattish on one side and "petalish" on the other, then I rolled it into a coil and pinched it well together at the end, cutting off the "lump" at the bottom so that it sat nice and flat.

FACE - I used a silicone mould to make the face, leaving it to dry overnight, then added details with Sharpie pens, and a ribbon scarf (OK, I admit to doubting my skill at drawing hair).

GREEN TILE - I tried adding colour to the clay with strokes of alcohol marker  (as suggested on several sites).  It worked, but was a bit like hard work compared to using the stamp pad ink.  I inked a large background stamp from Stamp-it with black ink, stamped onto the rolled-out clay, then cut one of the tiles out.

I don't think I'll be using paper clay a lot - its not really my thing, but it was interesting to play with and I can see that for some applications it will be exactly what I need.  I like its lightness, that means it can be used on cards without overbalancing them, or for Carmen Miranda-esque earrings that don't pull your earlobes down to your waistline!  I also like its flexibility and will, at some stage see how it goes as a mould for polymer clays and suchlike.

TUNNEL BOOK

Tunnel Book

This was supposed to be a sample, but I liked it enough to add a cover, so at least it's a pretty sample.
Begin with two accordian pleated sides of the same size.  Add panels of the same size with centred cut outs of decreasing size.  (I used nesting dies).
I put a piece of mirror board at the end, so you can look down the tunnel and see yourself!  If you're more arty, you could make a scene with different features on each layer.