Tutorial: Scrappy Mini Book

I wrote this tutorial for the Kenner Road blog.  It's a quick run-down of how to put together the structure for this mini book:

Supplies:

• 7gypsies Book Covers
• Ribbon
• Scrips and Scraps
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Gel Medium (or other strong adhesive)
• Fabri-Tac
• Cardstock
• Bone Folder
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Corner Punch
• Binder Clips
• Scissors

STEP ONE: Create the Cover Base

The book covers from 7gypsies are 5.5x7 inches, so that's why my cover is the size it is.  I cut a piece of cardstock to 7x12 inches and then scored it to create a 1 inch wide spine.  You can see the score marks a little more easily in this photo:

If you don't know how to score, here are some instructions I found online.  I use a bone folder or my Scor-It to make my scores.

You'll also need to round the corners of your cover (because the 7gypsies book covers are rounded and we want this base to fit the covers perfectly).

I used a corner punch I bought at Staples a million years ago.  Here's the result:

STEP TWO: Create the Signatures

Put together a stack of "pages."  They should be 11 inches long and 6.5 inches tall to fit in your book.  You can use plain paper, scraps, fabric, whatever you'd like.  My stack is 5 pages high.  As you can see, I used binder clips to hold it together and keep things from shifting around.  I also used a pencil and a ruler to draw a line straight down the center of the signature.  This is my stitching line.

Above, you can see several signatures all stitched down the middle.  I made 3 signatures, but only ended up using 2 of them.

STEP THREE: Fold the Signatures

Fold each signature along the stitched center line and use a bone folder to help ensure you have a strong crease.

STEP FOUR: Stitch the Signatures Into the Cover Base

Use a pencil and a ruler to mark the inside of your spine on the cover base.  Make marks every 1/4 inch.  Sew your two signatures at the 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch marks.  Here's a photo of the signatures stitched into the cover base:

Again, I used binder clips to hold the signature to the cover base while I stitched.  You don't want anything to shift while it's going through the machine.

STEP FIVE: Decorate the Cover

Decorate the front cover any way you'd like.  And don't forget to include a ribbon to close up the whole thing.  The covers are made out of chipboard and you can sew right through them.  Just go slowly.

STEP SIX: Attach the Covers

I used gel medium to adhere the 7gypsies covers to the back and front of my cover base.  I used binder clips to hold everything together while it dried.

STEP SEVEN: Cover the Spine

All that's left now is to cover up that ugly spine!

Stitch two pieces of ribbon together length-wise to create an extra-wide ribbon:

Cut the ribbon to size, cover with Fabri-Tac and adhere it over the spine:

And that's it!  Your book is done! 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Finally, I thought I'd share some sneak peeks of the March kit from Kenner Road:

Don't miss the "Reveal Night Chat" on March 14 at 11pm EST! 

Thanks for stopping by!