Believe In Yourself

Hello friends,

Hope your week is going well! Things are looking up in California as some restrictions has been eased in our area. Although, we are still staying put and not doing things that involve travel or leaving home unless necessary.  Good thing I can work from home (as I have done for many years) and that my husband can teach school in his classroom via Zoom.  

Today I am sharing information/tips on another idea-ology project I recently created.  I used a Vignette Shrine as the housing for a zig zag book I created from chipboard.  This was a fun project because I've never done anything like this before.  And I like the "figuring stuff out" part.

So lets start with the Shrine itself.  I painted the interior with Speckled Egg Distress Paint and let that dry before moving on to the outside paper portion.  Some of the new Backdrops paper was cut into strips and added to the outside of the Shrine.  I just butted the pieces right up against each other rather than overlapping (but that is fine too).  There was no rhyme or reason, I just picked paper I liked - large scale like the butterflies and small scale like the print below.  That is what makes Backdrops so fun to use - the mix of scale helps to make almost every print to work with another.  I saved ever single scrap from my projects and put them in a Plastic Storage Envelope for later use.  I have found that even the smallest scrap works for something.

You might notice that I did not use tape for the lip edge of this piece.  I used Backdrops again.  You need about 1/4" of paper to cover the lip edge in any paper you wish.  It was easy to do, I just used my Tonic Guillotine Trimmer to cut the 1/4" strips from a small print.  The Trimmer can precisely cut paper that narrow because of the sharp blade and the plastic guard that holds the paper in place while you cut.  I also cut enough strips to use on the two levels of the base.

Lets talk about the closure - 

To begin, I cut off the top and bottom stitching of the Ruler Ribbon to make it narrower and give it frayed edges.  I sewed a loop at one end with the Mini Book Ring inside the loop (you don't need to do anything to the other end).  To test placement, I wrapped the Ruler Ribbon around the Shrine, then marked where the Ruler Ribbon goes around the corner.  I was able to add Score Tape to the Ribbon then add it to the Shrine just where I wanted it with no wait time for liquid glue.

You can see here I used a tack nail to secure the Hook Clasp to the Shrine.

When you want access to the book, you just open the Mini Book Ring and let the Hook Clasp fall away.

The book consists of 5 house shapes I cut from a chipboard.  I made a test book to get the right size and shape before I cut the final that is in use here.  I could have used the original but I decided to keep it as a template in case I wanted to re-create the book another time.  One thing I did find in the process was that you have to test how the book opens inside the Shrine, so you can make sure that each house flows out easily and does not get caught up in the roof line.  I also know that if you make each house the same width, it would be a much easier job, since it has to fold back on itself.

There are MANY way to connect the house pieces.  I decided to hide the mechanism under the paper but I could have easily used the new Linen Tape.  It would work perfect as a hinge detail.  

Once I had cut my house shapes, then tested them to see if they worked in the Shrine, I was ready to start.

1. Cut Backdrop paper to fit each house shape, set aside till chipboard is connected.
2. Use 1" Score Tape to connect each shape, leaving a 1/16" gap between the houses so they can fold over.
3. Adhere the pre-cut paper to each house with Collage Medium.  Be sure to go over the Score Tape in the "crack" between the houses with the Collage Medium.  This will seal the tape so it does not stick to itself when you fold it over.  Could you use something else to bind the house shapes?  yes!  you could use the idea-ology Linen Tape, a muslin/fabric strip or another kind of tape for book binding.  Remember it will be hidden in this method.

For the book, I chose to use some of the new Paper Dolls that were just released last month.  I picked 4 to work with but you can add as many as you wish.  The cover has one of the new Curio Frames with a Paper Doll over the top. You may be wondering why I tied her to the frame? It was really from a feeling I wanted to convey...that when we lack belief in ourself it can hold us back from doing things we are meant to do.

I have used one of my favorite new products, Mini Marquee, for the emboldened words, LEAD and LIFT.  The letters are a heavy plastic (they do not bend easily) and perfect over the paper.  I just used a bit of Collage Medium to glue them down since it dries clear.  That might not work as well over solid paper but it sure worked over patterned.

I added one of the new Stitched Scraps 2 to make the ephemera piece (idea-ology Remnants) look like a pocket.  I also added a heart charm from the new pack of Adornment Hearts and a sicker from the new Metallic Stick Book (same book as the word strips).

The stitching here is faux, meaning that I stitched the card (idea-ology Keepsakes) and then used Score tape to make a pocket that I added other ephemera into.

The last decorated page has one of the darling Mini Flair Embellishments (don't you love that dog?) with some crinkle ribbon sprayed in Rustic Wilderness Distress Spray Stain.

I found that I needed one more house shape to make all the decorated pages pull from the book - this one I just used Backdrops and some ephemera.

You can see when I turn the book over,  I have cut a 1" strip of chipboard and secured it to the book with idea-ology Linen Tape.  The 1" strip has Score Tape on the back so it can be adhered to the inside of the Shrine.

I hope this project might spur you on to trying something new or look at an old structure in a new way.  

Now carry on,

paula