SIMON SAYS SHOW SOME STRIPES & MINI BOOK TUTORIAL

Okay, I have to admit...stripes are not my favorite things to work with.  So I was a bit baffled by what to create this week for the Stripes Challenge.  If you haven't already seen the amazing designs my SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW Design Teammates have created for you this week...you should head over to THE CHALLENGE BLOG and have a look!  They are so inspiring!!!  Week after week they bring it for you!! 

I haven't made a mini book in a while and in fact, I'd never made one of the mini books I'm about to show you.  But, I was fascinated with it because you can make the interior of the book from ONE SHEET OF 12x12 PAPER!  The rest is from small pieces of chipboard and cardstock scraps.  Doesn't sound like very much...but the results have all sorts of creative potential!

First, let me show you and tell you about my little Butterfly Mini Book and then I'll show you how I made it.

  
Here is the cover of my mini book.  I used the beautiful papers from Graphic 45's now retired (but still available) Botanicabella Collection.  I distressed all of the edges and interior of this book with one of Tim Holtz' new fall Distress Inks, Gathered Twigs.  It is a warm, rich brown color.  I love it!  Next I used stamps from Tim Holtz' Papillon and Fabulous Flourishes sets to create my cover. The images were stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink.  I cut out 4 butterflies from one of the sheets of paper from the G45 collection.  I glued them together at the bodies using Glossy Accents.  (As a matter of fact, all of the gluing I did on the embellishments was done with Glossy Accents.)  Next, I added just a touch of Platinum Stickles to the golden area of the top wings and then covered the wings with Crackle Accents to give them more of a vintage look.  Platinum Stickles are a GREAT color to use when doing vintage.  It takes on all sorts of antique colors: silver, gold, copper, etc.  Love it for vintage work!!!  I then lifted the top wings for a more dimensional look.  Next, I found 4 vintage images of butterflies and sized them 1" x 3/4" to fit in the little frames of Tim Holtz' Filmstrip Ribbon.  Then I glued them in place.  Next I glued my dimensional butterflies down.  Then I added the "B" from Tim Holtz' Grungeboard Alphabet Soup.  I covered the "B" with Platinum Stickles for that vintage feel and glued it in place.  Finally, I added a metal gold book plate with the word "butterflies" in it.  This word was also found on the same page as my dimensional butterflies.  I covered "butterflies" with Crackle Accents; again, for a more vintage look. 

Here is the back of the book.  I simply stamped parts of flourishes in various locations.

I didn't completely embellish the interior of the book because I wanted to show you the difference in the plain vs. lightly embellished pages.  Here are two pages that are obviously not embellished...only distressed with Gathered Twigs..AND I USED STRIPED PAPER - in keeping with this week's challenge theme!  I did not put anything in the pockets but they are the perfect size for ATCs or mini tags.  

Before I go any further talking about the embellishments on the interior of the book, I want to show you a piece of paper from the Graphic 45 Bontanicabella collection.  It is called "Antiquities".

  
Isn't this beautiful?  I used this one sheet to make several of the backgrounds on the interior of the little mini book.  The individual images would also make wonderful little inserts or mini tags for the pockets.  I wanted to show you this sheet first so you can better understand how perfectly it works on the interior pages....and it's all from just one sheet of paper!

  
Here is the interior of the front cover and the first pocket.  I decided to make this book about butterflies so I typed out several butterfly quotes I found online.  I sized them to fit in my little book.  The two inside cover quotes were torn and distressed with Gathered Twigs and lightly edged with a black cats eye ink pad.  I also lightly dusted them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Powder for a subtle shimmer.  As you will later see, the quotes on the interior of the book are done differently.  The butterflies on the opposite page are one of the images on the Graphic 45 Antiquities sheet shown above.  All I did was cut it out, distress it with Gathered Twigs and lightly go around the edges with Platinum Stickles for a more vintage feel.  Then I glued it in place.  Easy peasy...

The words on this quote are cut out individually and glued in place.  I first distressed the quote with Broken China Distress Ink and edged each piece with a black cats eye.  The background on the opposite is another of the images from Antiquities.  Only this time, I altered its appearance by using an Aqua Paint Dabber, Picket Fence Distress Stain and water in a Mister.  I mixed the three on my craft sheet to create a color and applied it to the paper using some Cut N Dry Foam.  Heat dry and then keep adding color until you get the opaqueness you're looking for.  (You can still see the text above my stamped butterflies).  I love the texture, marbled look and the really different backgrounds you can achieve by using this technique.  I lightly distressed the edges with Gathered Twigs and just edged with a black cats eye.  Then I stamped two butterflies from Tim Holtz' Papillon stamp set and lightly smeared some Crackle Accents over much the surface with my finger and let it dry.  I finished this background by lightly dusting Biscotti Perfect Pearls over some of the perimeter and then glued my background in place.  I added a piece of vintage lace that I lightly distressed with Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks.

The quote on this page was done like the previous page except I distressed with Gathered Twigs.  I used another of the images from Antiquities on the right.  I distressed the image with Wild Honey and Gathered Twigs and edged with a black cats eye.  I punched out a small butterfly using Martha Stewarts' Butterfly Punch.  Then I turned the butterfly over, edged it with Platinum Stickles and let it dry.  I glued the background in place and then glued the body of the small butterfly back in the hole I'd created with the punch.  I pulled up the wings for a more dimensional look.  I distressed a piece of vintage lace with Gathered Twigs and glued it down.  Then I cut another of the beautiful butterflies like I used on the cover out of the Botanicabella papers and glued it in place. 

 The quote on this page was distressed with Wild Honey and a touch of Gathered Twigs.  The image on the right is yet another from Antiquities.  I first distressed it with Gathered Twigs and added some Broken China.  When I blended the blue-ish Broken China over the brown Gathered Twigs, I got a beautiful teal-ish green.  I punched another butterfly and distressed it with Broken China and then lightly smeared some Platinum Stickles all over it.  When it dried, I glued it's body onto the background and lifted the wings.  

This is the  final page I embellished.  The quote was distressed using Gathered Twig.  The background image on the opposite side (again from Antiquities) was again altered using paint and stain.  This time, I used a Terra Cotta Paint Dabber, Picket Fence Stain and water in a Mister.  Using the same technique, I achieved more of a white background.  You can still see the text underneath.  I stamped my image of the little winged girl using Jet Black Archival Ink and heat tooled it dry.  Then I lightly added some Orange Peel, Stardust and Black Diamond Stickles to her wings.  When dry, I glued the background in place.  Then I added the really neat vintage stamp that I covered in Crackle Accents and distressed with Gathered Twigs.  The stamp is also one of the images on the Botanicabella papers.   

This is an inexpensive project to do.  You can construct the interior of the book from ONE SHEET OF 12x12 paper.  I basically made this entire book from scrap chipboard and the equivalent of a little over two sheets of paper!  Just imagine the creative possibilities with so little materials needed!!

So, are you curious as to how to construct this little mini book?  Here's how to do it:

1.  Start with a piece of 12x12 cardstock.  Lightly score it at 3" intervals horizontally and vertically.  You should end up with 4 rows of 4 squares or sixteen 3" squares in all.  Lightly fold all of the folds so that you can better see the squares.  Then lay the sheet out flat again.

2.  Next, start at LEFT side of the 12x12 sheet of scored cardstock and cut right on the VERTICAL fold line up to the last HORIZONTAL line.  STOP!  Don't cut past that last horizontal fold line that intersects at that point.

3.  Turn the 12x12 sheet completely around.  The strip you just cut will now be on the right side and the uncut portion of that strip is at the bottom.  Locate the next vertical fold line in on the RIGHT hand side that has not been cut (and next to the uncut portion of the first vertical fold line you just cut).  Begin at the bottom and cut directly on the VERTICAL fold line up to the last HORIZONTAL cross line and STOP!  (Just like you did on the previous fold line). 

4.  Turn the 12x12 sheet completely around again.  The two vertical strips you have cut will now be on your left side.  Locate the next vertical line from the LEFT had side that has not been cut (and next to the uncut portion of the last vertical fold line you just cut).  Begin at the bottom and cut directly on the VERTICAL fold line up to the last HORIZONTAL cross line and stop!  (Just like you did on the previous fold line).

5.  Turn the 12x12 sheet completely around again and cut the last VERTICAL strip up to the last HORIZONTAL cross line and STOP!

 

Your 12x12 sheet of paper should now look like this (if you slightly pull it apart).

6.  Beginning with the lower LEFT side, you are going to fold the squares together, using a mountain/valley fold.  Start by folding the first square UP and proceed with a valley/mountain/valley system.  When you get to the top of the first strip, just fold the first strip BEHIND the top of the second strip and keep folding...valley/mountain/valley.  When you get to the bottom of the next strip, simply fold all of your gathered squares BEHIND the bottom of the next strip and repeat the valley/mountain/valley.  When you reach the top of the last strip, simply fold the gathered squares BEHIND the top and repeat the valley/mountain/valley fold until all of the squares have been folded into a little 3" stacked book that when turned on one side should open like this:

  (At this point, most of the tops of your pages are open.  Only a couple of them are folded.  That is not a problem. We will join them with double sided tape in a minute.  Just be sure that your book has a flap on each end that will glue to the book covers and that you can see visualize how the pages will be formed soon.  Set aside...

Now your book will need covers....

7.  Cut two pieces of chipboard 3 1/4" square.  Cut whatever cardstock you want to use as a cover for your book in a 3 1/2" square.  Mark in 1/4" on the top and one side of your cardstock and draw a line.  This will help you place your chipboard correctly on the cardstock.  Use just a dot of glue or a little piece of double sided tape on the wrong side of the cardstock to hold it in place as you fold over the sides.  Use 1/8" double sided tape around the outside edges of your chipboard (to hold your folded over cardstock).  Clip the corners of the cardstock to miter them onto the backside of the chipboard.  At this point, I cut two more cardstock squares that were just under 3" and covered the backside of my exposed chipboard cover before attaching the book pages.  Now to form the book....

8.  Fold the book back up into the 3" stack of folded squares.  The two outside flaps are what will glue on to the chipboard covers you just made; so don't include those in the taping of the book.  Turn the book over so that you are working with the INSIDE of the pages and have the book in a stack.

It is important to remember when doing this step that as you are working, the open pocket side of the book will always be closest to you when putting the book together.  The back and/or spine of the book will always be the farthest away side from you (opposite of the open pocket side). 

9.  Unfold just the top flap and the first "page" which consists of two squares.  Put 1/8" double sided tape on the edge of the two sides and the and at the FOLD next to the flap.  (What will be the front of the page will be folded at the moment).  Press together.  (Right now, the front of this pocket is folded.  It will be opened after the book is all put together).  Open the next two squares and they will fold the opposite way from the first squares you just taped.  Be sure that the OPEN edge of the book is facing toward you.  The back side of the book should be a folded edge, spanning both squares.  Put double sided tape at the left edge, the fold on the inside and at back along the folded edge.  Press those squares together.  The front of this pocket will be open.  Open the next two squares.  They will open the same way your original two squares opened.  Tape along the two edges and along the FOLD next to the pages that are starting to stack.  (This is creating the spine for your book as well as closing off the top and bottom of the page).  The front of the page is folded at this time.  The next two squares will fold out the opposite way (as they did earlier).  This time, be sure that the FOLDED edge is FACING YOU and the OPEN edge is at the BACK.  Tape the left side, the right side along the inside fold and along the open edge at the back with double sided tape and press into place.  Now fold out the next two squares and tape them along the two edges and along the fold next to the stacked squares.  Fold over and press into place.  Open out the next two squares. This time, the OPEN edge will be facing you.  The FOLDED edge will be at the back.  Tape the left  and right (along the inside fold) edges and tape along the FOLDED edge at the back.  Press in place.  Open the last two squares, tape and press into place.  Everything should be taped together except the two flaps on either end of the stack.  Your book should look like this (minus the semi-circle punched pockets).

10.  Using a 1" circle punch, center and punch HALF of the circle punch on all of the pockets.

11.  Cut open the pockets that are folded along the fold line to open them up.

12.  Distress all of the edges of the edges of your mini book.

13.  Put double sided tape on the side of the FLAPS that is to adhere to the INSIDE covers of the book.

14.   Center the inside covers and line them up with the back side of the cover.  The spine of the book should be just inside the back edge of the cover.

 

  Wha-La!!!  Your little mini book is finished and ready for embellishing!

Now...it's YOUR turn to create something with stripes and post it to our challenge at SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW!!

 

If you are the lucky winner of our random drawing, you will win a 

And.... you could be chosen as one of our TOP THREE designers for the week!  I've seen some pretty incredible creations every week!!!  Are YOU one of the next TOP THREE??

Good luck!!!