Another Card Book

So I should admit this was actually the first card book I made.  I sent it to a friend for her birthday but wasn't sure if she had received it yet, so I did not want to post it until I was sure.  At this point enough time has passed and hopefully it arrived safe and sound. I once again used the Stack the Deck binding system to make six pockets which fit six cards and envelopes inside.  The cover and folders are covered using Basic Grey's Fact and Fiction lines.  It is possible that the clouds are from a different Basic Grey line.  I love the whimsy of the clouds and kite for the cover.
I did not get a good picture of the cards I included in this card book. I used six cards from Pebbles Card Making pad and stickers from Elizabeth Craft designs for the cards. 
I absolutely love the Pebbles Card Making Pad.  Each pad contains 36 cards that are pre-scored and you can just tear out from the pad.  Each card is blank on the inside and the outside is a fun basic pattern.  Each pad contains nine different colors,two patterns for each color and two of each card.

 
The patterns include chevron and polka dots.   They are great basics and for a card maker like myself, these card pads are a must have.  I bought both the primaries and the brights color pads.  They can be purchased at www.pebblesinc.com

Card Books



So recently I have been really into making mini-albums.  As I have mentioned before, I ♥ papercrafts and tend to lean more towards card making than scrapbooking.  Scrapbooking intimidates me, but mini-albums are smaller scaled like cards and easier for me to wrap my head around.  My recent obsession is combining the mini-album and cards into a card book.  Perfect for gift giving (in fact I gave this book to a friend for her birthday) the book holds six cards and can easily be reused to hold other cards or made into a mini album to hold photos and such. 

I used the "What's Up" collection by Basic Grey for the mini album and all the cards. I think the "Stack the Deck" book binding technique is the easiest way to make mini albums.  You can find the instructions on how to make a "Stack the Deck" binding here http://followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-first-day-of-christmas-projects-2011.html.

Each of these cards is A2 sized and I used A2 envelopes for the pockets of the book as well. Sooner or later I will charge the battery of my camera and stop using my cell phone to take photos for my blog.  Although I have to admit I think the camera on my cell phone is 14 megapixels and my camera is only 10. 

Side note: One of my goals for this year to get enough courage to make and sell these little gems and other papercrafts at a local craft fair.  Of course that requires having enough time and inventory to do so.  Hopefully one day I will get there, until then I will continue to make gifts for my friends and showcasing things here on my blog.   Additionally, I would love to teach a class at a local scrapbooking store as well.  Anyone interested in learning how to make one of these cards books?  Let me know and maybe I can put on a class. 

 

Kenley's Birthday Book

My closest friend Melissa's daughter Kenley's first birthday was this past weekend and I wanted to make something extra special for her.  I will be the first to admit that I am not a scrapbooker.  Honestly, I mostly make cards.  The scale of cards is easier for me to manage and the thought of creating 12x12 scrapbook pages is very overwhelming.  Recently though, I discovered that I do like making mini-albums and after watching a great tutorial video on the "Stack the Deck" binding system I put this book together in no time.
I used October Afternoon's Cakewalk papers, stickers and chipboards, along with some crochet trim I got at Michaels and some striped washi tape. 
The only thing I would do different is that I would have covered the cover entirely first, before adhering the bound pages.  I got a little overly excited about putting the book together and had to go back and add trim pieces to cover parts of the center binding where the inserts didn't cover.  There are tabs and six pockets with tabs to add additional photos.