How to Bind for Scrapbooking
As an alternative to scrapbooking pages for a large album, create mini-books with decorations and photos to give as holiday gifts. Add an attractive finished appearance to the books by binding them with coordinating ribbons or fibers. Mini-books allow you to focus on a theme, such as your recent vacation, a child's school year or a special project. Create your theme book by choosing coordinating scrapbooking papers and embellishments. Then decorate your book and bind it together.
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Things You'll Need
- 12-inch square card stock paper
- Scissors
- Bone folder
- Cutting mat
- Craft knife
- Embellishments (optional)
- Photos (optional)
- Pushpin
- Hole punch
- Ribbon
Instructions
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Cut 12-by-12-inch card stock paper vertically in half to create 12-by-6-inch pages. Cut as many as you need, depending on the size you want your book to be. Use one color or a variety of colors for your book.
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2
Fold the 12-by-6-inch papers in half to form a 6-inch square book. Flatten the edges by pressing them with a bone folder.
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3
Nestle your folded papers inside each other with the folds together. Close the book and place it on a cutting mat. The pages will not line up evenly in the book, so trim the excess. Place a metal ruler along the inside edge of the top paper. Use a craft knife to cut through the edges that are uneven with this edge. Make several swipes with the knife to clean the edges.
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4
Decorate the pages of your book in any way you desire. Add stickers, paper frames and photos to embellish them.
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Assemble the book and open it to the center. Using a pushpin, punch two holes into the fold of the book. The two holes should be evenly spaced from the edges and center of the fold. You will use these holes as a guide for making larger holes for stringing.
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Disassemble the book and use a hole punch to create holes in each individual sheet of paper over the area you marked with a pushpin.
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Cut an 18-inch length of ribbon (or twine, yarn or fibers).
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Assemble the book and thread the ribbon through the two holes starting at the inside center of the book. Pull the ribbon through so there is an even amount hanging through both holes.
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Tie the ribbon with a single knot that lands in the center of the fold. Then tie a decorative bow with the ribbon. Alternatively, tie knots in the ribbon to meet at the edge of the spine. Make the knots large enough so that they will not pull through the punched holes.
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Tips & Warnings
Thread your ribbons starting from the outside spine to the inside center to create a ribbon bookmark. Tie the ribbons together in a knot at the top hole on the inside center of the spine.
Use caution when cutting with a craft knife.
References
- Photo Credit Kim Carson/Photodisc/Getty Images
