Coaster Book and Hinge Tutorial

AS promised here is a simple tutorial for making a book out of coasters  as well as a hinge technique some of you may already know.

The supplies you will need are: sharp pencil, 5 coasters, sharp scissors, a punch of some kind, card stock pack and hinge paper. I used CD stickers for this one because I liked the sparkle , although very little shows. You can use paper, card stock, ribbon...what ever. I used a square punch but in the past I have used round and even a butterfly (it was handy).

 trace and cut out your card stock. Lay out the way you book pages will
look. IN this case the cover is black, then a coaster, then another piece of card stock you can't see, then the next set is red card stock, a coaster and another color card stock (hidden under the red page)


Right now you are saying "you're as clear as mud Kathie"...it will all make sense as you go along.
Here is the back of the cover (the green) and page one (the red) with a coaster and page 2 under it. I like to lay them out this way so I  can move along in order.



Punch out your squares, or rounds or what ever. The CD labels I used had a sticky side which made everything easier, other wise you will glue them in place.

You will take, in the case the green and red and put them together facing each other (what you see in the above picture, is the back side of the red which, once the hinge is in place, will be glued unto a coaster.)

Fold your hinge in half, put glue on one side and slide it over both pieces of card stock, so half the hinge is on the red and half on the green. Make sure the hinge is on the wrong side of the card stock. Or the side of the card stock that will be glued to the coaster.

Then take you next set, right sides held together. IN this case the yellow page and the one that will be opposite it in your book (What you see here is the wrong side of the yellow page) I lay  the two new pages on the two I just finished so the hinges will all be in alignment when the book is done.

Here is each set of pages, minus the coasters..The hinges are all facing up, the valleys are not attached, it just looks that way.You can see the black covers one on the left and one on the far right. The cover will be glued to a coaster, the other side of the coaster will be glued to the card stock that is hinged to the blue you see on the left. A coaster will get glued to the blue side, then the next set will get glued to the blank side of that coaster and so on.

This picture shows the cover, coaster, back of cover page glued to another coaster. The green check will be glued to the back of the aforementioned coaster and then another coaster will be glued to the hinged page.

Remember if you are going to use brads to decorate anything, in this case a pocket, do so before gluing it to the coaster.

I use LINECO PH glue because it is used in book making and doesn't make pages bubble. I also use my 24K gold pen to edge all the pages, so it looks nice and neat and pretty.

You can hardly see the hinges once the book is all together...don't forget to add pockets and fun things for your partner to fill up with memories.

AS you can see the book lays nice and flat, before adding pockets and embellishments. I'm only going this far because I want you to come up with your own embellishing idea's. I have found that once I set a theme, everyone seems to follow. This is something you will be making for a partner so make it unique. Make it capable of holding small photo's, tickets, small maps or trinkets from a trip. Add things she can write on as well as add to. Hope you understood the process. If not write to me. Once you lay it all out, I think it will all make sense. Good Luck!

Getting Better

Have you noticed? I manage to get here more often and I'm also getting stuff done. One of these days I may actually get to some projects I can  keep or sell. You know, something of my own LOL
Actually I did make something I can keep. The challenge was to make a book sculpture. You all saw my hand reaching out of the book. I wanted to light one up so this is the first. I think I can do better so I will make something more elaborate.

as you can see, the light changes colors, clear, blue, pink and yellow. I had it in my bedroom last night with all the lights out and it was really rather pretty to watch. Yes, I do believe I will make more of these.
Also in my group we have a swap of Origami pendant books. They open and have a few pages to write on.
I made up 3, will probably make more because I think they would make adorable  R.A.K.'s to cheer someone up and wouldn't cost a fortune to mail. They are far from perfect i.e. not all pages are exact, but I'm happy with them as a pendant.

Never a dull moment in my studio.







That was all I got finished yesterday. I have to finish a simple tutorial today, then work on some charm ATC's....the idea is to make an ATC then a charm to go with it.
I have some Idea's...Oh what a surprise huh? Thanks for stopping by.

Finally!!!

What a task LOL Actually if I had nothing else to do , I don;'t think 25 ATC's is a big deal. Unfortunately I view task one at a time and see nothing as a big deal, until I start ALL of them LOL

I did manage to finish and wrap all 25

Of course my favorite is "Do you know what this is? Frosty the Snowman's baby picture" that's would be the card to the far left. The little antique Christmas card in the center is cute and sends the message, then I made 3 odd ones, just because that's the way I am. Then they were wrapped, with a snowflake added to each and a number 3 on the back, because that's the day everyone will open mine.

There ya go!! Done!! I have to admit, I had fun finding pictures I wanted to use. Had I had more time of course they would have gotten way out of hand with embellishments. But the task is complete < sigh of relief>
Then I had the 3 Asian cards for my old group. Again I kept it simple. I was wishing for Asian coins which I didn't have or 3 D  symbols which I didn't have. So this is the result and I hope my partner likes them.

My finally task for yesterday was to complete a Challenge on my Mixed Media Studio group. Each month I challenge the girls to make something from a common household item. This month was a Light bulb...any size
but it had to be altered. I used two tiny twinkle light bulbs and this is what I made.

I think he is kind of cute. I just happen to like dragon flies. So that be that...my accomplishments for yesterday. While I didn't get everything done that I would have liked to complete. I did get 3 things out of the way . I will continue to move forward today and hopefully complete the rest of my obligations.
Hope you enjoy what you see and thanks for stopping by.

Busy Days

What kind of silly woman signs up to make 25 ATC's and wraps them? LOL I keep asking myself that question. Obviously 24 other silly women besides me .
I have them all almost done and will be taking pictures, hopefully by this afternoon. Right behind those are 3 with an Asian theme and then another 10, 5 each with different theme , plus charm. Don't even ask.
Those are only the things on my work table, now follow me over to my OTHER work table and you  see a book sculpture, some little books that need "stuff" and another little mini album...Oh but wait!! ( now I sound like a TV commercial huh?) off on another small table in my studio is a tunnel book LOL OMG!! what have I done? I ask myself why I am busy playing in this "Storybook Blog" when I should be finishing stuff up.
I did manage to finish my Banner. I think it was called winter night, or something that had to do with evening.
When I think winter evenings, the color blue comes to mind, so this is what I did.

The fabric is actually called "snowy evening" then I cut out some glittery snow flakes and frame, then found an antique pic of a darling little girl with a furry hat and muff. Added a hanging jewel and some bling and called it done.
I never know with these things if I've done too much or not enough, so I ask myself "would I like getting this as my banner ?" My answer was yes, I'd be delighted. I love sparkle and bling. I try and do that with what ever I mail to someone else. Considering some of the swaps I have gotten (we've all had the experience) I don't think everyone feels the same way. Sometimes it looks like a matter of "Git 'er done". I finally dropped out of those groups and stayed with the ones I feel have "standards" and feel an obligation to do their very best. I'd sooner write to my partner and tell them I will be a little late, then rush something. That being said, I've only had to do that once. I'm usually early with swaps.
So instead of talking about these 25 cards, I guess I should bite the bullet and get them done. They seem to need a little something, so I will ponder that while I vacuum.
Thanks for stopping by!!

Another day

With no pictures LOL Oh what a surprise!! But I have been working on things. I just haven't taken pic's yet.
I also have that ATC Christmas in July swap...That's 25 ATC's that are slowly coming together.
I must say, regardless of health issues, I am busy. Perhaps more busy then I should be, but it keeps me happy and my mind off other things.

Deb I know you read this and I want you to know I love that you want to  "Steal" my closure idea LOL That's why I showed it. I also want to post that "water color paper" makes a nice sturdy ATC. It is thicker then card stock and when you layer it with "stuff" embellishments, pictures etc. It really does hold up well. I like it better then the "cereal box" and I do believe it is thicker.

I'm still working on my coaster tutorial. I want my group to make a memory book for their partner, but I want it made a certain way, so stay tuned.
That's pretty much all I have for today. Thanks for stopping by. Oh and Ellen, if you should be checking now and then, please let me know when your annual visit may be. I always look forward to seeing you and John.

Silly Me

Are there really people who Blog every day? No. I'm not kidding. Are there really people who find the time to BLOG every day? I mean I have a friend with OCD which of course means she is pretty good with time management and even she doesn't have THAT much free time. I think maybe I should give up something...hmm Housework perhaps. Well you don't expect me to give up my animals do you?
Speaking of which; you've all heard about my goats. If not, I have two at the moment Jake, I got as a 2 month old and his brother I got at 4 months old (same Dad different mom).His name is Harley.
Look what I got from my friend Deb at Paxton Valley Folk Art.

The dark one is Jake and the white one is Harley. Are they adorable or what? I live in a " Woodsy environment" so "prims" fit right in. I'm very eclectic in my decor, always have been. I find one style (Modern, contemporary etc.) very boring.Eclectic works for me. Steam punk, shabby chic, prim.. it doesn't matter. It's all blendable.(is that a word?) Don't forget to check Deb out at her etsy shop (same name) Paxton Valley Folk Art.
Meanwhile I have been working on some mini books. None are finished yet but I did find a cool way of keeping them closed so they can be used as pendants.

I have these little mini brads that were perfect. Back string is tied around one and then slipped around the front one. Tada!! I neat closed book you can wear.
I had a Baby Shower to attend. Mommy likes Dinosaur's so that's her theme for this kid. We already know his name , Jaxon...so I got busy making a gift and then picked up some baby clothes and a tough little toy LOL
This is what I came up with

Hey it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

So that's pretty much what I have been doing. That and getting ready to knock out my "Christmas in July" ATC's and the swaps I have going in my own group. Which is a mini book pendant and a mini album that is just adorable and perfect as a password book. There is also a Tunnel Book challenge (meaning you get to keep it) and an interesting ATC  swap. You have to make 2 ATC's with hints of you favorite childhood book. Then we will all be guessing the title of the book from the hints. So if you aren't busy, stop by, join the group and join us in our fun. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediastudio/

Thanks for stopping by!!