Stamp Act

Snowman Ornaments and some other gift ideas ~ All Repeats....

We got back from Great Wolf Lodge late yesterday afternoon and came home to snow!  It just rained in Williamsburg but the closer we got to home, the rain turned to snow.  We are going to put the tree up and decorate so I don't think I will be doing any stamping today so I thought I would share with you some OLD posts of ornaments and gift ideas!!! 

My snowman ornaments are my very FAVORITES!!  I know many of you have seen them already so I am sorry for the repeat!!!

 

You can find the tutorial for these ~ HERE!

Here is a little gift card holder box.  You can find the tutorial for this HERE!

Here is a gift card set.  The instructions for this set is HERE!

This is an already drilled glass block that I got from Lowes.  I saw they had them again this year.  Additional details can be found HERE.

Here's a little treat holder ~

The details on this can be found HERE.

Hope you have a great Sunday!

~Lynda

Jacksonbelle Tuesday ~ A Holiday Gift, Tag, etc. Challenge!!!

Hello!

I feel like I haven't posted in a LLLOOOONNNNGGGG time.  I haven't had time to stamp lately and today was no exception!!  I am late, I'm always late, late should be my middle name!!! LOL!!!  Today's Jbelle challenge is to make a Holiday bag, box, tag, basically any type of gifty thing!  I decided to make a tag and it took me a lot longer than I expected.  Just what you need when you only have a little time to make something!! LOLOL!!!

Here is my tag~

 

The May Arts Twinkle ribbon at the top is looped so it can slide over a bottle of wine.  The base of the tag is Basic Black CS with a decorative layer of THIS Pink Paislee paper and then THIS Pink Paislee DP.  The Inkadinkado birds were stamped on Whisper White using Black Momento ink and colored using my Prismacolor Pencils as well as my Copic markers.  I stamped the bottom of the branch on another piece of Whisper White using Black Momento ink and then cut it out using THESE Spellbinders labels.  I stamped the sentiment, from THIS Verve stamp set, using Black Momento just below the branch.  I popped up the label and ran black velvet ribbon underneath and added a knot.

Be sure to check out what the girls have done with this challenge!

Keri Lee Sereika

Tobi Crawford

Stephanie Hargis

Jimmi Mayo

Bethany Paull

Michelle Phillipi

Carly Robertson

Shemaine Smith

Jill Dunn

Heather Lee-Reppen

Lindsey Botkin

Trudee Sauer

Hope you have a great day!

~Lynda

 

Mercy's Tuesday Sketch AND A Serendipity Ornament....

I have been busy lately!!!  I have 2 ornaments AND a card to share with you today!!!  Not that I want you all the think I am an "overachiever" but I have 2 AWESOME (ok, I think they are awesome) cards for tomorrow AND a my card for Saturday's C4C post which is a VERY cool new fold is already done!!!   You know this won't last!!! LOLOL!!!

My card today is based on Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge ~

 

The base of this card is Whisper White and is 5" square.  The next layers are first Tangerine Tango CS and then decorative paper from MME Colorful Christmas Collection.  The stripped strip below the image piece is from the same collection and was punched using my SU! scallop border punch.  Under the striped piece is Whisper White CS and on top is Celery May Arts Silk Ribbon.  The oval below the image is Razzleberry CS and was punched using my oval Nesties.  The darling snowperson image is from Serendipity Stamps and is called Snowperson with wreath and was stamped on Whisper White using Black Momento ink.  I colored using Prismacolor Pencils, Copic Markers and a blender pen & Razzleberry, Baja Breeze and Tangerine Tango ink pads.  I added white flock to the snowpersons scarf, tops of the pockets and gloves.  I added Stickles to the wreath, tiny flower rhinestones to the buttons and tiny round rhinestones to the hat.  I also added clear Martha Glitter at the base of the snowperson.  I used my Quickie glue pen to adhere all the rhinestones as well as the glitter.  On the inside I stamped the sentiment included in the set, "Happy Christmas".

Now, on to the ornaments.  I WISH I could take credit for the idea but I can't because I TOTALLY CASEd these from my Serendipity Stamps teammate, Yvonne.  She made one last month for our DT challenge and it is GORGEOUS!  She is truly an artist!!!  I won't give detailed information on these because Yvonne did a wonderful little tutorial and you can find it HERE!   

I used the same PTI Vintage Cream CS on both ornaments but obviously, used Basic Black on the one and Soft Sky on the other!  LOL!!  The black ribbon is silk and the vanilla ribbon is May Arts Satin with grosgrain edges.  I did not sponge the black ornament but did sponge the other with Ranger Antique Linen ink.  The snowflake stamps used on both are from Serendipity Stamps and can be found HERE!  The little tiny pearls are from Zva and can be found HERE.

Here is a closer look at each ~

 

That's it for now but be sure to stop by tomorrow!  Have a great day!

~Lynda

Serendipity Stamps Ornament/Gift Challenge.....

Good Morning!

Today is the 15th and that means that the Serendipity Design Team has a challenge!  This month our challenge was to make a ornament or gift for the Holiday Season.  I guess mine isn't exactly a gift or ornament but a decoration.  I had seen luminarie's on SCS and thought I'd give it a try.  SUPER easy!! 

All you need for this luminary is a 4 1/4" X 11" piece of Vellum CS, sticky strip, Black Stazon ink and stamps & markers of your choice!!  I stamped the darling  Cozy Village stamp by Serendipity Stamps using Black Stazon ink.   I colored on the back of the stamped image using SU! markers.  I then used my Quickie glue pen to add Martha Stewart clear glitter.  After stamping, coloring and adding the glitter, the only step left was to use Sticky Strip and adhere the ends together.

Here is a picture with the lights on in my room and a flickering battery operated tea light inside ~

 

Here's a picture with the lights out ~

My picture really doesn't show the beauty of it.  It really does look pretty in real life!!  If you want to make these but not color, you could use a silhouette stamp like Midnight Clear, Three Wise Men or Winter Doe.

Be sure to check out what my teammates did with this challenge as you are sure to get some awesome ideas for the Holidays!

Amy

Anya

Jennifer

Kathie

Sue

Yvonne

Thank you so much for stopping by and hope you have a great day!

~Lynda

Verve Project Parade ~ Divine Details!!!!

Good Morning!!!
Today it is my turn to show you the project I made for day 5 of the Divine Details Project Parade!!!  This time the theme is a little different.  The Diva's were to make a card/project and focus on the Divine Details!!!  The Divine Details are to share our process, like how we come up with our design, when making our card/project. 

When Julee showed the Diva's what the new stamps were going to look like for the last release, I immediately KNEW I wanted to do a wine bottle gift idea based totally on her new Kindred Spirits set.  With that said, for my project today, I chose the sentiment, Kindred Spirits, to be my theme.  Kindred Spirits and Wine were main focus so I initially chose K&Co.'s Blue Awning DP but then, I went to my LSS and found the most AMAZING Graphite 45 paper and knew immediately that those patterns were definitely the ones I wanted to use and I'll tell you, it really did make my card and projects that much easier.

When making a card, I depend heavily on sketches.  It makes things much easier for me to have a sketch to follow and then just pick my stamps and paper that will work with the sketch.  For my card today, I saw this weeks sketch at CPS and thought it would work PERFECTLY with my theme!  I love when things work out like that!  Anyway, here is my card ~

Since my post is going to be a LLLOOOOONNNNNGGGG one, I won't go in to step by step instructions on each piece of my ensemble but will definitely include the "shopping list" for each item at the end of my post.  Also, if you have ANY questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

The card is pretty self explanatory but I do want to tell you that the Nestabilities Classic ovals work with the Fleur de Lis oval frame but I don't have the Classic, just the Petite, so I ended up using my Coluzzle and it worked perfectly!  Thank goodness I didn't get rid of it!!! LOL!!!

The next piece of my ensemble is the Bare Elements Wine holder.  I got the holder at Micheal's for $5.  Our Michael's has all of their BE products on clearance.  Here is the covered holder ~

 

The EK Success Fleur de Lis border punch was another MUST USE on this project.  This project took a bit of time to put together but for me, having the theme, colors, stamps and papers all picked out, it really sped up the process.  Of course things don't always work this well for me but usually, if I have a sketch, I can make it work.

Covering the holder was really simple. I used to use Mod Podge when covering any alterables but discovered Martha Stewart decoupage and it rocks! It comes with a brush and works wonderfully. I had painted the holder with first light brown acrylic paint and then sponged black paint on top of it to distress it. The way I did the top border was to punch the houndstooth DP using my EK Success Fleur de Lis border punch and adhered it using the MS decoupage. Here comes the "tending to go overboard" part!!! I used the same Fleur de Lis border punch and punched the black Fleur de Lis' (is that a word???) and then glued EACH ONE on top of the houndstooth border using my Quickie glue pen.

Want to see what is inside???  Well here it is and NO the Wine is not empty, I am more of a beer drinker so I wasn't even tempted!!! LOL!!!

The butterflies were cut out from another pattern of the Graphic 45 Botanicabella Collection and adhered using glue dots. Here is a closer look at the Kindred Spirits sentiment I added to the bottle

The sentiment and the small Fleur de Lis image was embossed using black embossing powder and then I lightly sponged the edge of the top oval to give a little more dimension. I adhered the entire piece on the bottle using sticky strip.

The next part of the gift is a little box that will hold the 6 wine glass charms that I made.  One charm is missing because I put it on a wine glass.  The box instructions are as follows ~

Lid ~ Cut Transparency or whatever paper you want for the top, at 6" square.  Score all 4 sides at 9/16".  Assemble accordingly.  I used glue dots to hold the flaps down and then stamped a Fleur de Lis at each corner using Black Stazon to hid the glue dot.

Inside Insert ~ Cut a square that measures 5 5/8".  Score all 4 sides at 1/2".

Bottom ~ Cut card stock at 6 1/4" square and score at 3/4" on all 4 sides.  I used sticky strip to hold each corner together.

Wrap ~ Cut strip of paper that is 12" long and 2" wide.  Punch the top and bottom of the strip, wrap it around the box and hand "score" (just bend and crease so it will fit nicely around the box.  I have found that if I score it at the measurements I think it should be, it never fits right!!! LOL!!!).  Now you can use a glue dot on the bottom to hold the 2 ends together.  Remember you want this to slide off so you don't need it to fit too snug.

One thing I do want to mention, depending on the type of paper (i.e. card stock, thin DP, thick DP, transparency, etc..) the measurements might be off a little so you will need to adjust depending on what  you use.

The charms were made using silver hoop earrings and then I added different colored beads & a little charm which is the large scrolled image included in the Kindred Spirits set. I made them by stamping the image using black Stazon on clear Polyshrink which I purchased at Lucky Squirrel. I then heated and added a jump ring to add them to the charm.

The band is the butterfly patterned paper and was punched on both sides using the same Fleur de Lis border punch. I then added some black ribbon and the sentiment (which is from the Just for You set). I made the lid from a piece of transparency.  I will be back in a little while with the dimensions for the box!

This picture shows the box without the band and transparency lid ~

The charms are tied on Basic Black circles that measure 1 3/4" using linen thread.  I then mounted the circles inside the box using dimensionals.

Here is a close up of the charm on a wine glass ~

I will be donating this entire ensemble to the silent auction portion at the Crop for a Cure next month.  The crop is to raise money for St. Jude so hopefully it will bring in a little bit for such a wonderful cause!!  If you are interested in donating or attending, you can read all about it on my post HERE!

So that's it!! I hope you have enjoyed this peek in to my "Creative Process"!!! LOL!!! We'd love to have you play along with us this month! To play along, just make a project or card that shows us your Divine Details. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we love to see 'em! Then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky form in this post before 8PM Mountain on Saturday, August 1. Two lucky participants will win a stamp set of their choice from the Verve Store. We've also hidden another $25 gift certificate somewhere along the parade for a random commenter. So if you like what you see, be sure and give a little shout out in the comments of each post! Have fun and good luck!

Shopping List ~

Friends Forever & Ever Card ~

Stamps ~ Kindred Spirits (Verve),  Ink ~ Basic Black and Versamark,  Paper ~ Basic Black, Cosmo Cricket Vintage White and Graphic 45 Botanicabella Collection DP,  Other ~ Coluzzle & Oval template, glue dots, Black embossing powder, Kaiser Craft rhinestones, dimensionals

Wine Holder & Bottle ~

Stamps ~ Kindred Spirits (Verve), Ink ~ Versamark,  Paper ~ Basic Black CS and Graphic 45 Botanicabella Collection,  Other ~ Bare Elements bottle holder, Martha Stewart Decoupage, glue dots, Black and Light Brown acrylic paint, Antique Brass large eyelets (SU!), EK Success Fleur de Lis border punch, Quickie glue pen, Labels Four Nestabilities, Oval Nestabilities, Black embossing powder, Sticky Strip, Black satin May Arts ribbon, Linen Thread, Kaiser Craft rhinestones, jump ring, Polyshrink, heat tool

Wine Glass Charms & Box ~

Stamps ~ Just for You (Verve),  Ink ~ Versamark & Black Stazon (for charms),  Paper ~ Basic Black CS, Transparency, Graphic 45 Botanicabella Collection DP,  Other ~ Polyshrink, heat tool, Large oval punch (SU!), black embossing powder, dimensionals, glue dots, Misc. Beads (Michael's), silver hoop earrings, 1 3/4" circle punch, dimensionals, Scor-pal, Coluzzle and Oval template, black satin May Arts ribbon, linen thread, EK Success Fluer de Lis border punch, Kaiser Craft rhinestones.

OUR CREATIVE CORNER ~ A Gift Card Challenge!!!!!

Good Morning!
Today's challenge is one you will love!  Julee has challenged us to make a gift card holder!  Not only has she issued a great challenge but she has an AWESOME guest to play with us this week!  Tori Wild is our guest and if you are not familiar with Tori, you REALLY need to visit her blog, she is VERY talented!  I was surfing Tori's blog and ran across THIS darling gift card holder and totally wanted to make one for today!!!

I don't know about you but I am in need of a lot of gift card holders this Christmas!  As the kids in our family get older, it is harder to buy gifts for them so I tend to give money, gift cards or savings bonds.  My card today will go to our Niece in London.  Here is my card ~

The card itself was cut using the largest scalloped Nestie.  The cardstock I used is Poison Ivory which can be found HERE!  The pink snowflake paper is from THIS October Afternoon collection.  I stamped the Elzybell image directly on the decorative paper and then again on the Poison Ivory cardstock.  I colored and cut out the image from the cardstock and layered a couple more snow layers.  I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and added Pink Poinsettia Shimmerz and Silver & Crystal Stickles for lots of shine!  I added Martha clear rhinestones to the snowflakes on the DP and Martha clear coarse glitter to the "snow".  The ribbon on the top is pink and vanilla taffeta.

Here is a picture of the inside ~

I cut a circle from the awesome pink snowflake paper and because I didn't want to cover it up, I made a pocket using cardstock vellum and because I can hardly sew in a straight line, I opted to do faux stitching along the bottom of the pocket.  I first pierced the pocket and then used my quickie glue pen to to adhere the pocket to the DP along the stitching line and then added the stitching using my white gel pen.  I added some Martha bling on the inside as well.  This was super easy!  Thank you Tori for such a cute idea!  

I've got a busy day today so I better get going!  Be sure to check out what the OCC girls have done with this challenge ~ Dawn, Denise, Cindy, Jennifer,  Julee and Laurie !  Hope you all have a great day!

~Lynda

12 Days of Christmas ~ Day 10!!!!!

Hi Guys!!!!
I am sorry for not posting recently but I have had some freelance projects due and time was running out so I had to work on those and get them out!!!  While working on them I was also working on the project I am going to show you for my 10th Day of Christmas!

So the stamp I used isn't really a Christmas stamp but it sure is a beautiful stamp!!!  I added "snow" to try to make it Christmas.  The white mailbox is from Target's dollar spot.  I bought it last January or February.  They seem to carry them around Valentines Day.  Anyway, I stamped the image on a 4" x 11" strip of Whisper White cardstock using Basic Black ink.  The image is by Stampscapes and is called Lakeside Cove Large.  I stamped the image on the other side as well so it looks exactly the same except there isn't a flag on that side!  I colored the images using my Prismacolor Pencils and also sponged Bashful Blue ink to shade in an arch over the trees but left some white in the center. 

To get the cardstock around the flag I measured 1 1/2" from the bottom and 1/2" in.  I used my 1/2" circle punch and then from the left side to the hole, I cut to make an opening so I could slip the cardstock around the flag.  To adhere the cardstock to the mailbox, I used Sticky Strip.  After I got the cardstock on the mailbox, I added the ribbon and using my Quickie glue pen, I added Martha Stewart clear coarse glitter in the trees and on the rocks.  I did also add Angel Wings Shimmerz to the water but it is hard to see in the picture.  Here is a picture of the front which I used the same stamp, coloring, etc....just made it fit to the front!

The Merry Little Christmas sentiment is from Cute Converse in which I stamped on Whisper White using Basic Black ink.  I matted it on Always Artichoke cardstock and added 2 small snowflakes that I punched from Bashful Blue cardstock and added the same Martha glitter.

I also made a matching gift card holder by cutting a 6" long and 4" wide piece of Bashful Blue cardstock.  I then scored it at 2" and 4 1/2".  I added Artichoke cardstock to the top and a strip of Whisper White that I punched using my Martha snowflake border punch.  I added some old snowflake ribbon to hide the seam!  The center circle was cut using my Nesties and matted on a Going Gray scalloped circle.  The holder is closed using a half circle of white velcro.  There are some pictures of it below.  Here is a picture of the mailbox open with the gift card holder~

Here is a picture of the gift card holder closed ~

And here is a picture of it open.  You can see I held the card holder part closed using  silver brads.

Don't forget that the 16th is the deadline to get your applications in for the Jacksonbelle DT Call!  All the details are HERE!  Also, a week or so ago Kisa tagged me and gave me this award ~

Thank you SO much Kisa ~ you are so sweet!  The rules appear to be very easy….Just pass the award onto 5 of your Kreativ blogging friends, and leave a comment to let them know about their award!

Here are my Kreativ Blogging friend choices!!!

Jennifer Meyer

Cindy Haffner

Lindsey Botkin

Rachel Baird

Julee Tilman

Thank you for stopping by and I'll be back tomorrow!!!

~Lynda

12 Days of Christmas ~ Day 7!!!!!

Today's gift idea for my 7th day of 12 Days of Christmas is a gift card holder!!!  I have seen the cutest little boxes or tins to hold gift cards and thought, I can make one of those!!!  Anyway, here it is!

My bow isn't the greatest but just look past it to see the BEAUTY in the box!!! LOL!!!  The ribbon is by May Arts.   The ornament and sentiment is from Verve's Ornamental Christmas and was stamped on Whisper White using Basic Black ink.  I cut it out and mounted it on Basic Black cardstock and cut it out again.  I wanted to make it stronger.  I stamped the ornament on the back of my K&Co. glitter paper, cut the strips out and then glued them down on the ornament.  I punched the tiny snowflakes from the same glitter paper using my Martha Stewart border punch/embosser and then glued them on top of the black snowflakes using my Quickie Glue Pen.  I stamped the ornament top on the Black glitter paper, cut it out and then adhered it to the top of the ornament.  I added the silver cord at the top by taping it to the back.  I then added Whisper White card stock on the back to cover everything AND give a place for the To and From to be added!  I tied it on using white scrapper's floss.  Here is a different angle that shows the base ~

The base is the K&Co. glitter paper that I got at Target!  The measurements are 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  I then scored at 3/4".  I used Sticky Strip to hold the sides together.  

The lid measurements are 6" X 4 1/2" and then scored at 7/8".   After cutting the corners to adhere, BEFORE adhering, I used the Martha Stewart snowflake border/embosser.  You just punch it as you would any border, basically put the paper all the way in to the punch, no need to adjust.  After punching, use Sticky Strip to adhere the corners.  I added the same glitter snowflakes on the border using my Quickie glue pen.

There is a gift card holder inside the little box!!!  OK so my Outback card doesn't match ~ it's all I had!!!  LOL!!!  The little card holder piece measures 3 3/4" x 5".  It is then scored at 1/2".  Before taping the sides together, use your slit punch on each end.  This will hold the gift card in place.   I slid the punch in ALMOST all the way ~ hold it back just a little to make the opening a little larger.  If it is too small, the slit will rip and that really is irritating when this is the last piece to get done!!! LOL!!!  I added a couple of the little glitter snowflakes inside the box to tie it all in together!

I hope you like today's gift project and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!  Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see ya back here tomorrow!

~Lynda

Witch's Wart's, Frog Eye's and Rat Droppings.....hmmmm.......

Helloooooowwwwww!!!!!  Sound spooky?????  LOL!!!  Again, I cannot take credit for this REALLY cute gift idea.  I copied the idea from Jen Del Muro HERE!!  I LOVED what she did and at some point copy exactly what she made but I took her awesome idea and tailored it to work for Halloween gifts for my kids teachers!  I will also show you what I made for their teachers and classmates 2 years ago and just their teachers last year, at the end of this post.  Here is this years gift ~

With my next ones I will make the top and bottom borders wider but not too wide because I want to make sure the goodies are showing!!!  I got the large boxes HERE and the tubes HERE (they are both at Impress Rubber Stamps).  The boxes and tubes are awesome quality, inexpensive and fast shipping!!!

The strip across the bottom is Basic Black cardstock which I punched using one of the new Martha Stewart Halloween punches.  I added the pumpkin which is also a Martha punch.  The cardstock I used for this is Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun for the eyes and mouth (just taped a scrap piece of Summer Sun to the back of the pumpkin).  I mounted the pumpkin using a dimensional.  The little black bats are from ANOTHER (I know, I have ISSUES!!! LOL!!!) Martha border punch which punches a border and punches out bats so I used the bats that were punched out, added Angel Wings Shimmerz and glued them on with my Quickie Glue Pen.

The wrap around the tubes is THIS Imaginisce decorative paper and some May Arts orange & black gingham.  I used sticky strip to adhere the paper to the tube.  I printed the names on Whisper White cardstock (I know, the orange Jelly Belly's don't look like bat wings but the cat fur label got ruined) from my computer using the Chiller font and then punched them out using my word window punch.  I punched a hole in the top and tied them on using black hemp.

The top piece is Old Olive cardstock which AGAIN I used the new Martha slime border punch.  I also added some Angel Wings Shimmerz to the slime parts.  I then added some black satin ribbon and a small knot of the orange & black May Arts gingham.  To adhere the borders to the top and bottom I used sticky strip.  The cardstock I used is 12x12 as the 8 1/2" x 11 cardstock was too short to wrap around.

Here is a close up ~

Here is a picture of the tubes out of the box ~

The tubes hold A LOT of candy.  All of this candy, except the rat droppings (chocolate covered raisins) was bought at Target in the Jelly Belly isle and YES, it did cost an ARM and BOTH LEGS but, I really WANTED it!!!! LOL!!!!  Luckily, the tubes and boxes were cheap!!! 

Here is another Halloween gift idea.  I made these for the kids teachers last year and the year before that, made them for both kids classes and teachers ~ at least 40!!!!  Once you get going, you can make a bunch pretty quickly.  I got the round paper mache boxes at Michael's.  They cost $1.99 but I was lucky enough to get them at 50% off!!!  They also have oval boxes which are awesome too!   The tutorial I made last year for these is HERE!  Here is a picture of the spider ~

If you have any questions about either of these projects, please don't hesitate to ask!!! 

Have a great day!

~Lynda

Handmade Book Tutorial....

Good Morning!
I have my book tutorial all ready for you and I hope you enjoy it!!  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  Before I get started I have to tell you that the actual book and pages were something I learned at a class last year taught by Donna Downey so that is not my idea!  Of course I have added and changed things to make it work better for me as will you!!!

Just so you know what you are making, here is a picture of the finished product!

The decorative papers I used are from the new SU! Summer Picnic line.  Step #1 is to get 2 pieces of 6 1/4" chipboard.  The chipboard I had was too thin so I glued 2 pieces together so it would be more sturdy.  I use just a regular old Tombow glue stick and it has worked great for me!

OK, Step #2 ~ cut the decorative paper you would like for your front and back covers at 7" square.  I used the Cherries for my front cover and just the polka dot Bashful Blue for the back.  Here is a picture showing how I glued the Chipboard on top of the decorative paper as well as the measurements. 

Step #3 ~ now you are going to fold the edges in and glue them down.  I ran my glue stick along the top edge and then glued the top flap down.  I then did the same thing and glued the bottom edge down.  I then did each side and the reason I did it this was was to give the corners a nicer fold.

Step #4 ~ Tape (regular Scotch tape will work) the ribbon you would like to use to tie your book closed.  I used Wide Olive grosgrain.

Step #5 ~ Now you are going to make the spine.  For this book I used a piece of Old Olive cardstock that measured 6 1/4" wide and 11" long.  I scored every 3/4".  I have 5 pockets in my book and I JUST had enough valleys so if you want more pockets, you can use a 12" long piece of cardstock and score closer together.  I scored this wide because I found it easier to add my holes to hold the book together.

Step #6 ~ cut 2 pieces of coordinating cardstock 6" square.  These are for your front and back covers and to cover up the spine and ribbon.  I used my glue stick to adhere these.  Here is a picture ~



























Step #7 ~ Now do the same thing for the back cover.

Step #8 ~ How to fold your pockets!

        Step #8A ~ Fold 12x12 piece of decorative paper in half.  (You will want to use thin              paper as it folds nicer.  Chatterbox is perfect and the SU! paper worked fine.  A few
       edges frayed but not bad!).  Using a bone folder helps!














        Step #8B ~ Unfold and just flip up the bottom right and fold in like this ~














       Step #8C ~ do the same on the left side so your paper now looks like this ~














       Step #8D ~ Now, keep your paper folded as above and flip up the point so it now             looks  like this ~














        Step #8E ~ Be sure to use a bone folder or something to crease the edge on this fold.  Now you are going to fold this in half.  The crease will be from the top of the point to the bottom ~













The right open side of this will got into your spine and the the top of the point will be on the outside, like this ~













Step #9 ~ Fill the above pages just as it shows.  The back 2 flaps per page you will put inside each valley of the spine (1 valley per page).  You can use adhesive it you want to hold them in place but if you hold it tightly, they will stay in place.

Step #10 ~ Now you will drill the holes.  I marked the front of my book with a pencil at 1 1/2" from the top and the same from the bottom up.  I used my husbands cordless DeWalt screwdriver to drill my holes.  I did it on top of a phone book and it has worked great for me!














I made my own reinforcers by punching a 1/2" circle from Real Red cardstock and then I punched another circle out of the center of it with a 1/4" handheld punch.  I then added 2 ~ 1" binder clips and here is what it looks like ~













The final step is to decorate it and add what you want on the inside.  For this one I made a recipe card and will add more as well as a great recipe I have for Cheesecake when I get a chance.  When I made these for my kids' teachers and my friend last year, I made big tags our of coordinating cardstock and had all the kids write a note to their teachers and for my friend, I had all her friends write notes wishing her a Happy day!  There is a lot you can do.  The links to my other books are HERE and HERE!

The way I decorated this one was to use my Quickutz Daisy die and Olive and Summer Picnic papers.  I added red Heidi Swapp crystals (used my Quickie glue pen), added a chipboard "r" that I covered in Red cardstock, stamped special from EFP and punched it using my word window punch, tied it on using white polka dot ribbon from Micheal's and white scrappers floss and then added the rest of the word recipes using Alphabits and the 1/4" circle punch.   I used a bunch of misc. ribbon and that's it!  Here is a picture of the inside and how it should look ~ this is the back page ~













and here is a look at the center pages ~













Here is another look at the finished project!  Thanks for stopping by and please don't hesitate to ask ANY questions as I am sure I forgot something!!!  Have a great day!