Accordion Flag Book Tutorial

I'm pretty sure you already knew it was National Accordion Awareness Month, but just in case, I thought I'd celebrate by making this Picnic accordion spine flag book!

Some of you may remember when Club Scrap had flag book kits a few years ago. I still enjoy this project and thought it would be fun to design one around the size of the four 3.25x3.25" Picnic Lite Cutaparts as inside pages.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Cut one 8x10.25" Dk Green paper to use for the binding. Score vertically every 1/2".

2. Fold accordion-style on score lines.

3. Cut two 3.5x10.25" matte board covers and two 4.5x11.25" Picnic Light Pink Print outside cover wraps. Adhere the cover papers to the matte boards with Bookbinding Glue.

4. Cut each corner at a 45 degree angle, leaving 1/8" of paper extending beyond the tip of each matte board corner.

5. Wrap flaps around to the back of the covers and adhere with bookbinding glue.

6. Brush glue onto one outside flap of the accordion spine.

7. Attach the spine to the wrapped cover flush with top and bottom edges. Align the first fold of the accordion with the long outside edge of the cover. Be mindful of the direction of your front/back covers if you have a design plan!

8. Repeat for the other cover.

9. Cut two 3.25x10" Dk Green inside covers and adhere to the inside of the book with bookbinding glue.

10. Trim (21) 3.25x3.25" inside pages. I used four squares from the Picnic Lite White Cutapart. The rest are paper scraps left from other projects. I also snuck in one print from the Club Stamp collection releasing tomorrow.

11. Glue the first row of pages flush with the top edge of the spine. Place the page in the right side of the valley of each fold for the entire horizontal row.

12. Repeat for the bottom row of pages.

13. Adhere the center row of pages between the top and bottom rows, being sure the page is attached to the left side of the valley of each fold.

14. Embellish the cover with cutaparts and secure closed with a ribbon.

Wouldn't it be great to have this done before a picnic so attendees could write a little something inside? All you have to do is add your photos later!

Thank you for observing National Accordion Awareness Month with me. Blogging with you in mind is always a picnic!

Kay at Club Scrap

A Big, Fat Book of Wine

I admit to enjoying a lovely glass of wine now 'n then. Cab Sav, Sauv Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, and even a buttery Chardonnay now 'n then. You?

Ever since we released our Uncorked Collection Unmounted stamps, I've had a vision for this little wine tasting journal.

I finally decided to make one. I think I might give it as a Christmas gift to my wine buddy, Scott Carney, if I can part with it. Scott knows way more about wine than I do, so he'd take far better tasting notes in this journal.



Tricia's Notes: Gee, this one is tasty. Buy this again.
Scott's Notes: Lovely vintage, but could use a year or two of aging. Spicy finish with nice tannins.

I am mere grasshopper understudy to the great sommelier that is Scott Carney.

OK. Sorry. Back to the "book of wine". I love this project. I really do. I loved every minute of making it. Except punching the holes. Not a fun job.

Supplies:
Uncorked Unmounted Stamps
(4) pkg. Gimme a Ring Drop a Line Journaling Cards (Plain Side)
Sorrento Newsprint Thickers
Sorrento and Equestrian Fibers
(6) 12x12 Sheets All That Jazz Dark Brown Print (seconds)
(2) 3-3/8x4" Matte Board
8.5x11 Sorrento Ginger Print
Crop-A-Dile
(2) 2" Binding Rings
CS® Bookbinding Glue
Foam Brush
Bone Folder
12" Paper Trimmer
CS® Earth and India Black Inks
CS® Grid Ruler

1. Stamp the unmounted "tasting notes" image onto the back of each journaling card with Earth ink.

2. Trim each 12x12 Dark Brown Print into nine 3.25x3.75" pieces. (Trim at 11.25, 7.5 and 3.75". Cut each 3.75x12 horizontally at 9.75, 6.5 and 3.25".) Nest one journaling card onto the right edge of a panel. Center the grid ruler onto the panel, 1/4" from the left edge. Mark holes for punching at center, and 1.25" above and below center. Punch holes.

3. Trim the 8.5x11 Sorrento Ginger Print vertically at 6". Trim the 6x11 horizontally at 5.5". Cut the 2.5x11 horizontally at 6.5 and 3.25". (This will create two 5.5x6" outside covers and two 2.5x3.25" inside covers.) Glue the matte boards to the center of the outside covers.

4. Mitre the corners and wrap the flaps. Glue the inside covers in place. (For a great tutorial on this process, please watch this Essentials Video on wrapping!)

5. Place the punched inside page onto the inside back cover with the left edge of the page flush with the left edge of the cover. Mark the location of the holes onto the cover and punch.

6. Transfer the location of the holes on the back covers onto the front cover and punch.

7. Transfer punched holes to all of the panels and attach the journaling cards. Thread the covers and journaling pages onto the binding rings. Decorate the front cover with those adorable newsprint Thickers featured in the Sorrento JR kit.

8. I added a few extra pages to the book to be used as dividers for "reds," "whites," and "other" categories.

8. Tie a bunch of ribbon and fiber onto the rings. Yummy!

So, should I keep it? Or should I hand it off to the winemaster. Decisions, decisions.

Cheers!

Tricia

Serenity Shutter Box Project Video

Hey, Bloggers . . . Tricia here!

Once a month, Kay and I duck into the studio and create the Club Stamp Project together. It's always a good time. Sometimes we start having so much fun that Kay forgets to snap the picture!

We take tons of step out photos, and I always say, "Better to have too many than not enough."

Armed with more than seventy pictures, I started to write the instructions for the Serenity Club Stamp project. We were able to narrow it down to a mere 33 steps! The aim is to write steps that are clear, concise and brief supported by a photo that tells the story.

But a video just tells it so much better.

Even with agressive editing, the video didn't make it under YouTube's fifteen minute limit, so you'll find it hosted on Vimeo.

You can pick up the full Club Stamp kit or the "nekkid" components in the GHM! Dept. And don't forget the Bookbinding Glue!

Here's the video. We hope it helps make this project even more fun! (More fun than that heartbreaking loss against Seattle last night.)