Some Inside Info - 'Month of Love Booklet'

I've had some requests to show a bit of detail on how I made my 'Month of Love' Booklet so; here it is....

Firstly; decide on a colour scheme and gather items for consideration. I used two sheets of 12in x 12in Kaisercrafts 'Love Notes Collection' Scrapbooking Paper, plus a sheet of pink heavy card and grey light card from my stash. I also used the "Love Notes" stamp set and a couple of other stamps I had, plus some die cuts, stickers and bling from my stash; and some rub-on's in the pink colour.

I cut;

one; 12in x 8in sheet of Pink Heavy Cardboard (Brazzil) for the front and back cover

one; 12in x 8in paper sheet of 'Love Notes' spotted side for the outside front and back cover

two; 5.75in x 7.75in paper sheets of 'Love Notes' lacey side for the inside of the cover

one; 11.75in x 7.75in grey page light card for the pages

The images were then cut out and a stamp colour selected to ink the edges. I chose a teal green colour (Versacolour - Winter Green) as there was a small section between the couple in my main front picture in that colour which I thought blended well with the pink.

I find it best to use a fairly "darkish" colour for inking edges; black, chocolate brown etc are all good, but always consider other "brightish" colours, as they may also work well to blend all of your cutouts and pages together.

Only use a very small piece of sponge and if the dye in the pad is strong, put a disposable glove on, to keep stains off your fingers. I hold the image so the edge is looking straight up at me then; stroke along the edge with the inked sponge. If I want a bit more colour on the actual paper, I then point the edge away from me so that I am seeing more paper and stroke the edge gently with the sponge from left to right

I dyed some of my white 'Crinkled Seam Binding' with the colour from the stamp pad. I lightly wet my gloved fingers with some water, to spread the dye along the ribbon. Then; just kept padding with the stamp pad and squashing the ribbon up until I had the desired colour.

The next step was to "audition" my bits and pieces to see how they would look on the front cover. I laid some vintage lace down first then the ribbon around the middle mark and played around with the other embellishments until I was happy with my scene. The free digital vintage print (sorry cannot remember where I got it from) was the main star of my story and I found a line in a old song book "I'm with you once more - under the stars" to link it together. The hearts were stamped from the 'Love Notes' Stamp Collection and the bird and swirl were die cuts from my stash. The gorgeous bling tree was purchased at 'Scrapawhile, Taree and from memory the brand was Green Paper...you should see the range; its stunning!

Once the embellishments were decided upon, I set them aside and sewed the lace to the paper sheet with the sewing machine. The two side "silver" ties were glued to the back of the sheet also (not showing in this photo, but you will see them in the finished photo).

Then; double sided tape was applied to all edges and the centre of the back of the sheet in readiness for glueing to the main pink cardboard sheet later.

I taped a plastic ruler to my work mat on a vertical line. Then; I slid the cover paper sheet underneath it with one side of the ruler edge sitting on the exact centre line. All of the front cover embellishments were then glued in place on the right hand side, either with double sided tape or craft glue. I secured the branches of the tree with a few stitches from a needle and thread, plus craft glue at the base.

The last step for the embellishment of the front and back cover was to stamp an image on the left hand side for the back cover. It's not showing here; but you will see it in the previous post. The front cover was then complete and set aside.

The next step is an important one (sorry I haven't got a photo). One side of the 12in x 8in pink heavy cardstock is now needed to be prepared for the inside of the cover. I glued the inside cover papers; both measuring 5.75in x 7.75in to the left and right on the 12in x 8in Pink Cover Card.

The measurement allows for a quarter inch seam to be left down the middle of the sheet. This is the "expansion" gap which will allow you to fold your book easily.

All inside sheets must have this gap....take note of it in the next photo and in the one where I am sewing the book together from the inside. The measurement also allows for a one eighth border around the top, bottom and side edges.

To finish the front and back cover, I removed the double sided tape from the back of the front cover and glued it to the back of the prepared inside cover.

As you will see from the photo below; I then prepared both sides of my 11.75in x 7.75in grey "pages sheet". Pockets were cut from card and papers, layers were cut and layered with double sided tape, stamping and glitter glue was also used and tags were made from scratch or by using the Creative Memories Tag Maker.

One sheet was treated as four individual pages and the all important "expansion" seam was left down the middle. Also the side edges of pockets were also kept away from the seam to decrease bulk when folding the book..

Once the individual pages are complete on both sides of the 11.75in x 7.75in, they were "sandwiched" together with the cover.

Washing pegs were used to hold the two sheets of embellished work together.

A pencil line was drawn from the top to the bottom of the middle line and then sewn on with my sewing machine. This creates the spine seam. Generally a normal sewing machine needle will sew effectively, but if cardboard is thick; a "jeans" sewing machine needle is best to use.

After sewing the spine; gently fold the book over until it stays in place. I use a 'bone scorer' on the outside edge to press the spine down. A blunt knife handle can also be used.

My lovely 'Crinkled Seam Binding' was then wrapped around the inside middle, and out to the spine of the book then; tied in a bow.

Phew.....I hope my instructions are clear enough for you to have a go at making your own 'Month Of Love' Booklet. They really are easy, and are a special keepsake or gift.

If you do make one; let me know so I can pop over to your blog and drool over it...its bound to be pretty!