My Creative Escape Alternate Project Instructions....

***Another version can be seen here.***

**ETA: Kits and Project Instructions can be found here.**

Ok...still sifting through emails that I have gotten about the book I made for Jake's 2nd Birthday so I am going to try to answer all of those questions in this post.

 

This book was one I bought at Half Price books (love this place) I go directly to the bargain books in the back and they range from .50 to $3.00 and I look for any book that is on a topic that I would want to create a book on for someone or ones that have colors that I am drawn to on the spine. This one had a great orange spine which is his favorite color so I was sold!

 

So I will try to take you through my process step by step...if I miss something and you are confused email me.

 

Remove the guts of the book with an exacto knife. This is not as hard as it sounds, it is actually quite easy.

 

 

 

 

Once you have removed the guts you will want to pick a coordinating paper and cover the spine where you have removed the pages.

 

 

Now you will want to insert your binder mechanism. You can purchase them online, just search binder mechanism. I know this store carries them. Just look under binder rings and make sure you look for the right dimensions to fit your book.

 

 

I purchased my screws, screw caps and hook from Home Depot. The hooks are ones that go on the back of a picture frame to hang it. And the screws and screw caps are in the nuts and bolts section.

 

Insert the hook on the outside and run your screw through the hook, spine and binder mechanism and cap off with the screw cap.

 

 

 

Ok...and now for the fun part, making the inside pages. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Make pages of any size, shape, or depth. I love "junking" mine up so that you get a nice layered effect when opening your book. Below are some of the pages I created for Jake's book:

 

 

On this page I used a badge or ticket holder from the office supply store. I then printed a contact sheet of photos on an inkjet transparency, cut them to size and inserted them into the holder. Really anything you can punch a hole in can become a page, I used this cute August label since that is his birthday month.

 

 

More of the photos printed on transparency and you can see I left the white strip along the bottom of the transparency and added a vintage math card...anything in my studio that had a two on it was in this book! The large two here was a number I bought at Home Depot that would go on a mailbox and I cut the reflective part off.

 

 

Journaling Cards make great pages as well. Love the orange vintage ticket sticking out at the top of the page. Got those at this fabulous online store.

 

 

This is my favorite photo of the day so I had printed it several times for the grandparents when I decided to adhere them back to back and make them a page since there was such great space on here for journaling. Don't forget that with a white sharpie you can journal directly on your photos for a cool effect. And of course what is cooler than grungeboard?? Painted this 2 and then distressed it a bit. Rubons are from Jenni Bowlin Studios.

 

 

And the cherish on this page is from the packaging that comes with the Heidi Swapp clear stamps...all of them have one and I save them and use them as embellishments on my projects. On this one I stamped "moments like this" and then stitched it in place at the top of the sheet protector.

 

 

Again, on this one I used a cute cardstock label, stapled at the top that I will journal and then added a metal "2".

 

 

The spine of the book all junked up with vintage rhinestones, hardware from Tim's Idealogy line, beads, a metal J...just all kinds of goodness.

 

 

So that is it...if you made it this far you are dedicated. ;)

 

Hope this answers a few of the questions you have had...if not, post them here and I will answer them.

 

Thanks!

Comments

[Jill]

This is awesome. I'm totally going to try this sometime soon!!! Thanks for sharing!

[Vickie Jones aka AFScrapperMom]

Okay
Your class was my last one on Friday, I got there late, had a seat in the back (I'm a front of the room gal, I thought gee this is cute, and left in exhaustion 20 minutes early...

But I opened it last night and WOW oh WOW did the project really jump out at me. I'm using it to document DS's life changing trip to Havasupi Falls this May/June. What an awesome idea and project, love it! Thanks so much!

[Donna T]

Thanks so much.... Can't wait to do another.

[Maria T]

wow how suuuper cooool!

[Zarah]

Oh goodness... That is just AWESOME!! I am gonna get hunting for some binders how. Hopefully they should be available SOMEWHERE even in Sweden! :D

[miss h]

Thank you for sharing your instructions! What a great project.

[Catherine]

I loved your class at CE and am delighted to see today's how to. The photos and step by step instructions are wonderful, thanks Janet.

PS...just loved your class, lol I think I already said that.
Catherine

[diane reeves]

that is so cute! thanks for sharing the how-to.

I can't wait to try this myself!

[rebekah]

what a cool project, janet! love it! :) hope you're doing fantastic, girl!

[betsy sammarco]

This is just unbelievable! Can't wait to try this!

Hate to ask you another question Janet, but what did you do on the cover of your son's book? It looks like you placed a photo there???

[Bridget]

AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for sharing the instructions, I really wish I could have made the class.

[gina]

Thank you for sharing such specific instructions! (I peeked thanks to the link on Ali Edwards' blog.) I have just the project in mind for this technique. Thanks!

[alexandra s.m.]

Hi there, You are so talented and I really appreciate the instructions and all the photos on your blog which I've just discovered thanks to Ali E.!
THANK YOU! I SHALL BE BACK!

[Colleen]

OK, totally looooove this!

[elise]

wow.
great project.
thanks for sharing.

[Kristi]

OH WOW - this rocks! Thanks for sharing it. Kristi (from Cropper Hopper)

[Deirdre]

SO inspiring! Thank you for sharing this. I'd like to know more about how you remade the cover (and if you cover it to last with anything?).

[Jan]

THANK YOU! Took your class at CE and I have been searching the internet to purchase those dang binder mechanisms. I was having NO LUCK and I thought I was a good surfer! THANK YOU for the link. You have inspired MANY ideas with this project. I will try and share once I have completed one.

[Rachel]

This is such a fantastic idea! I'll be linking to this!

[MARILYN NIMMO]

WOW - this is something I will have to try.

[Vicki]

Love your book and thanks SO much for the specific instructions and links. So often very hard to find the how-to.
I also found you from Ali E.

[Astrid]

I also found you via Ali. And I have to say I love love this. I have tought something like this, but didn't know how to. Hope I can find the right supplies here in the Netherlands. Thank you so much!!

[JosieK]

Amazing. Great idea...and really you make it look really easy. I'd probably still be sitting with the screwdriver, tapping it on the table 2 weeks later...ha ha!
Fabulous idea and thank you so much for the detailed instructions!

[crystal]

Um, BEAUTIFUL! What inspiration!

[kim]

I guess a lot of us found you via Ali.... I can't wait to do the project and was researching the binder... any recommendation on the "depth" of the binder -- the website listed different ones were available? I have a ton of old encyclopedias and your book looks about the same size-- what depth did you purchase?
Thanks again for an amazing project!