Materials needed:
• Family album measuring approx. 10” x 8 ½ “ (Me & My Big Ideas)
• 1/3 yard oyster pink silk fabric
• Fabri-Tac fabric adhesive
• 1/8” hole punch
• Ribbon punch
• 10” piece of old lace
• 2 x 10” pieces of narrow Plum silk ribbon
• 10 x 8” pieces of narrow Plum silk ribbon
• 20 Eggplant eyelets, setting tool and a hammer
• 6 Velvet leaves
• 1 vintage female image and a small metal frame
• Chameleon sticker letters (Wordsworth Stamps)
• Copper Leafing pen (Krylon)
• Distress inkpad in Milled Lavender
• Brilliance Graphite Black inkpad
• Venezia Correspondance Rubber stamp #S7117 (Stampington & Co.)
• Cream cardstock – 1 sheet 11” x 8
I wanted to make a samples book which she can carry about with her – something that would not be too bulky. When I saw the album by Me & My Big Ideas I knew I had found just the thing. It contains ten sleeves inside which are ideal for categorizing her fabric, whilst keeping the fabric snippets clean. Each group can be put into its own sleeve and she will have many choices within the one book.
I began by disassembling the album – a bit involving, but worth it. Unfold the two inner spines which hold the sleeves together and remove both screws. Put these in a safe place for the last step.
To cover the album you need to lay your fabric on a work table, right side down, and place the open album over it. Cut your fabric to allow a ½” inch border all the way around. Cut two smaller lengths to cover both spine pieces. Enwrap the spines and glue the fabric into place, making sure the fabric is a tight fit, as it will need to fold back into place at the finish.
Fold all the edges inwards, paying special attention to all corners, making a neat fold, and glue into place with a line of Fabri-Tac glue.
Now you can begin to decorate the outer cover. Place a length of old lace at the left hand side and glue the cut edges inside the album before completing the lining. Run a thin line of Fabri-Tac glue down the entire length of the two longer strips of narrow ribbon and glue them down over the lace, securing the cut ends inside the album with a dot of the glue.
The next step is to finish the interior lining:
Cut two pieces to fit both the front and back cover, allowing a slight border. Turn the edges inwards and press with an iron, run a line of glue around all edges and secure one on each inside cover. This will all dry whilst you prepare the tags for the sleeves and create the final decorations for the front cover.
Take the sticker letters spell “ Fragments” and lay them over a scrap of plastic. Draw a Copper leafing pen over the letters and allow the letters to dry.
When dry, place them in position on the front cover and when you are satisfied that they are in the right place press them down firmly. If by any chance you feel that they will “lift”, spread a dot of Fabri-Tac glue on a scrap of card, pick up the glue with a pin and spread some on each letter carefully before firming down again.
Take a small vintage female image and insert into a metal frame. Glue six velvet leaves to the lower right corner, drop several dots of the Fabri-Tac glue to the reverse side of the frame and position over the leaves. Press it down firmly, add a weight and leave for 24 hours to set.
Meanwhile, start creating some themed tags. I used the “Shapes” element in Microsoft Word, printing fabric related words within the tag shapes. Cut out all the small tags and insert an Eggplant eyelet in each one. Now stamp the floral scroll from S7117 Venezia Correspondance over each one with Milled Lavender ink. Allow to dry. While they are drying, run a Graphite Black ink pad around each tag to further accentuate the border and give more definition.
The next step is to insert an eyelet at the lower edge of each sleeve, one for each tag. Place all the sleeves together and punch one hole in each sleeve so that the holes are evenly spaced across and will display all ten tags.
Insert an eyelet in each sleeve and tie all tags to their corresponding sleeve, using the shorter lengths of silk ribbon. Tie each one into a bow.
Lastly, you now need to replace the sleeves back into the album with their fittings. Using a ribbon punch, make a small hole on each spine, on the inside, where you will feel the original hole in the card. Push the screws back into their original position through the fabric, add the sleeves and re-join the screw fittings tightly.
If the album doesn’t readily close, place a weight on it overnight and all should be well.
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