MINI POCKET BOOK (single 12 x 12 sheet)

To make this little book, you will need a single 12 x 12 sheet of paper or light cardstock. You can use plain and decorate as you choose, or, as I have done with my finished book, use a sheet of double sided cardstock. I used a Scor-Pal for my scoring, but you don't have to have one of these. The pockets in this book are large enough to hold ATC's or photo's of a similar size.

Step 1. Score your sheet at 6" then turn your card over and score at 2" from each edge. (2" and 10" if measuring from left). Try to score so that the valley scores will be on the outside when you fold your pockets up.


Step 2. Turn your card a quarter turn and score at 3", 6" and 9" (again measuring from left).


Step 3. Now, put a strip of narrow DST (or glue) along the short edges of the four corner scored rectangles.


Step 4. Fold up along the original 2" and 10" scores and stick down.


Step 5. Now, you will make your ONLY cut. Cut from one end up the original 6" score to the top 3" score line.


Steps 6 & 7. Accordian fold each side as shown, and then, making sure the pockets are on the outside, fold over and glue the parts marked A1 and A2 together back to back.


Your book is nearly complete now, but you will see that the back (where I'm holding it) is open and floppy, so you need to bind it.


There are various ways to do this, but I've given you 3 examples.
First, you can use a stitch binding. Follow the instructions in the Domino Book tutorial allowing for the different number of pages. (apologies for this naff pic).


Secondly, you can use your Bind-it-All which works really well. A word of warning though. If you have the original blue machine, (I don't know about the new one) the book is too thick to punch in one go. Do the centre folds first and then making sure you're punching in the same direction, do the outside folds. You also, cannot turn the back round as per the usual instructions so your wire ends will still be on the outside. Twist them to the back and it looks absolutely fine.


The third option, and my favourite, is to simply glue the open backs together so you have a solid little booklet with no openings at the back or the tops/bottoms of the pages. After I'd stuck my pages together I decorated the book with a few stamps, some understated embellies and glued a strip of ribbon right around the book for a fastening. I printed off 8 photographs of my granddaughter to go in the pockets and gave it to my daughter to carry in her handbag.




So there you are. I hope you like it. It's a lovely little book and has all sorts of uses. Try it yourself and experiment with different closures and bindings.

WAXED PAPER IN YOUR CUTTLEBUG

You can make your own backgrounds by embossing waxed paper. You may have to experiment with your card as some work better than others.

1. Load up your cuttlebug as normal and using a sheet of waxed paper in your folder instead of card, emboss it. (you may need a shim to get a good impression).


2. Heat a DRY iron to hot. If you have a steam iron, turn the steam off. Put the wax paper onto your chosen cardstock and cover with a sheet of scrap copy paper. Iron over this until you see the wax pattern appear on your scrap.




3. Quickly peel the wax paper off your card and then cover your card with a DYE ink of your choice. I like my distress inks. If you have a good card, you should see the design appear.


4. When your card is covered, take a piece of kitchen towel and rub off the excess ink.


You now have a background to use that will match your chosen embossing folder.

POCKET TAG BOOK

This little book is made from one A4 sheet of paper. Using just one sheet makes a lovely little gift, but you can use more than one and make multiple pages for something more substantial.

STEP 1. Fold a sheet of A4 paper in half, open it, turn over and fold each edge into the centre.


Step 2. Fold the 4 corners in to meet the valley folds.


Step 3. Now fold the outsides in to meet the middle.


Step 4. Turn the paper over and fold the bottom up – making sure you leave a bit at the top about ¼ inch deep.


Step 5. Fold the ¼ inch over and tuck into the corners. You may glue this if you wish, use DST or just leave it loose.


Step 6. With the folded over top inside, fold in half, and your tag pockets are complete.


I like to make a template and mark each part. This means that when you make your proper one, you will know exactly which pieces are what for decorating. This is especially useful if stamping and need to work on a flat sheet of paper.


Decorate as it is or make a cover from card. You will have four sloping pockets and 2slit pockets down the side. If you choose, you can also make extra internal pages. I attached my pages with brads down the spine, but you can use ribbon or another type of binding.