5x7 Accordian Albums

 

 

WOW WOW WOW! I am in love with these books!  They are 5" x 7" Accordian Books, and they've got lots of pages inside to fill with pictures, journaling, recipes, tags, ephemera...whatever you want!  Making the books themselves is not a tedious process - maybe an hour.  Then you can spend time dolling up the cover and inside pages however you'd like.  I can't stand it - I love them so much!

 

Disclaimer:  The original idea for making these books is not mine, but I did make a few changes along the way.  I saw a video a week or so ago from a Club Scrap demonstration that was made for the Scrapbook Expo page.  I absolutely loved it but also wanted to do some things differently. 

Let's get to it!  I demonstrated making this book the other day on Facebook.   If you did not catch me live, you can still watch it on my Demonstrator Page later, OR you can click the picture below to view it on YouTube.   If there is no picture, you can click HERE to view it on YouTube.

 

 

Making the covers is the trickiest part of this project, and I really suggest watching the video to see how to assemble them.  The idea was to make a "No Glue Cover", but it was too loosey-goosey for me so I added glue at the very end.  I make the covers first, then move on to the pages.  Here are the measurements and scoring, but again - please reference the video for the actual how-to of assembly.

 

Once you get your book and pages together.  I suggest fishing some ribbon through the covers, to secure the book closed.

 

Here's a top view of the accordian book

 

Flip through the pages - I really enjoyed using the True Love Designer Series Paper pack.  Everything black and white is kind of classic, and you can add whatever color that you want.  I used Berry Burst for my covers.  That decision was actually based on my ribbon...  I checked my ribbon stash, and wanted something at least 1/2" or 5/8" wide.  I had used some old 5/8" Grosgrain on my prototypes, so I wanted to go with something different.  I had a spool of  Berry Burst Finely Woven ribbon, so that determined my color choice.

 Another picture of the inside -

 

I worked on the cover art last.  I used a bigger piece of the True Love dsp, and then a smaller Basic Black layer that I embossed with the Parisian Flourish folder.  Add some flowers from the Art Gallery set, and the greeting is from the To a Wild Rose stamp set.  I was originally going to make this pink album be for Valentine's, but change my mind...I want to put pictures of some of my friends inside.

I stamped the flowers with Petal Pink, Berry Burst, and Just Jade inks.  Cut out with the matching dies.  I wanted to add some bling, but I forgot.  GASP!  :)  The picture did not capture it, but I did swipe some Shimmery Crystal Effects on all of the flowers.  It's a subtle shimmer...not nearly as sparkly as glitter.

Now for some pictures of the Halloween book that I made.  This was my first GOOD prototype...meaning, I didn't mess anything up.  :)  I used the Well Said stamp set, along with Playful Alphabet and Stitched So Sweetly dies for my cover.  You can also see the Old World Paper embossing folder in there.  After I die cut and placed the letters, I swiped the Clear Wink of Stella pen over all of them.

These colors came from the Monster Bash designer series papers that I had to use - Terracotta Tile, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand, and Basic Black.  Finished off with some Iridescent Pearls.

Some of the pages, followed by a top view.  I actually only had (8) pieces of the Monster Bash dsp left, so I used Basic Black card stock for the first and last pages.

 

 

Again - here is a picture of both covers - 

 

Thanks for joining me!  On Thursday, I'll be sharing and demonstrating my February Workshop, and you won't want to miss it.  I'll be making mostly sympathy and thinking of you cards, featuring the Healing Thoughts stamp set from Sale-a-Bration.

Supplies you'll need to create these (Stampin' Up, unless otherwise noted.  Items may be retired.):

Stamps:  Well Said, Art Gallery (bundle), To a Wild Rose

Ink:  Onyx (Versafine), Berry Burst, Petal Pink, Just Jade

Paper: Basic Black, Berry Burst, Terracotta Tile, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Monster Bash designer series paper, True Love designer series paper

Other:  Playful Alphabet dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Floral Gallery dies, Old World Paper embossing folder, Parisian Flourish embossing folder, Pumpkin Pie 5/8" grosgrain, Berry Burst 1/2" Finely Woven ribbon, Iridescent Pearls, Shimmery Crystal Effects.

Thanks for visiting, and Happy stamping!

Toni

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