Step1
All your supplies
Collect your supplies and keep them all nearby.
Step2
Cut or tear a 3"x18" piece of heavyweight paper. The paper should be sturdy enough to handle watercolor paints.
Step3
Every 3 inches, fold & crease
Use your bone folder or the back of a spoon to crease every 3". You should have five (5) folds and six (6) "panels".
Step4
Lay paper on your work surface so the end panels are up and the end folds are "valley folds", or folds that look like: \/.
Step5
Choose your favorite color and paint the entire piece of paper - end to end.
Step6
While the paint is still wet, lay a piece of plastic wrap on top and scrunch it up. Let this dry. This will give you a neat pattern to work on.
Step7
Stamp, paint or draw the word "CREATE" with one letter on each "panel". Embellish the panels however you'd like - using your favorite supplies. Then let everything dry if you've used glues or other water-based media.
I used a combination of drawing, painting and cutouts using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, Copic multiliner pens, a white gel pen, scrapbooking & other papers, and a dragonfly stamp.
Step8
Flip your paper over so the decorated side is face-down. Put a piece of scrap paper under one end and spread a thin layer of glue on the end panel only.
Step9
Flip your paper over and center the end panel you just glued on one piece of mat board - make sure the white side of the mat board is face up.
Step10
Press the paper to the mat board and use a spoon or a bone folder to make sure it's securely adhered to the mat board. *wipe up excess glue with a damp paper towel*
Step11
This is what it'll look like with both covers on
Repeat step 10 with the other end & second piece of mat board
Step12
Cut a 18" piece of ribbon that matches your mat board. Put a dab of glue on the very middle of the back cover and stick a ribbon on it to use as a tie closure.
Step13
You can tie it up to give to a friend as a gift, or open it up and display on a shelf or mantle.
Comments
Lorin-Neikirk said
on 2/2/2008 What a charming idea! I can think of so many ways to use this, and I am so glad I ran across this article! We rarely-if ever- watch TV, so we enjoy doing things that involve creating and learning. This is what we'll do next! And I loved Serafina's idea about making one for Mothers' day with photos... A treasure.
alexiapetrakos said
on 1/17/2008 That's great Serafina! Mind showing off your creations? I'd love to see what you did.
Serafina said
on 1/17/2008 I used your HowTo and used my favorite Christmas cards as the photos rather than magazine pictures...it was wonderful. I plan to make one for Mother's Day using all the cards my daughter has given me over the years. Now that she is a mother herself, I think she'd get real enjoyment out of the cards she once gave me. Great article.