May 19, 2012

Mini Book Gift Tag DIY

It is gifting season in my little world.  Not only is May time for mother's day, but my sister, sister in law, and mother in law have birthdays sprinkled throughout the month.  To top it all off, my beautiful sister in law Emily graduated from the University of Arkansas on May 12th!  I love giving gifts!  It has been so much fun making cards, presents, and special treats for my wonderful family members!

One little gift that I am especially proud of is this mini book gift tag I made for my sister in law Emily.  I have recently taught myself to bind books, and I have been just a little obsessed with it.



To make the mini book gift tag, you will first need to learn the basics of book binding.  The video found here is a great tutorial (it's how I learned). 

Now that you know some of the terminology and techniques, here is how I made my book!



1.  Cut two 2.5" x 5" rectangles from decorative scrapbook paper.  Fold each of the rectangles in half hamburger style to make two 2.5" squares.   This will be the cover of your mini book. 

2.  Cut two more 2.5" x 5" rectangles from craft paper card stock, or any color card stock you want!  Fold each of these rectangles in half like you did the cover in step one.  These will be the 'signitures' of your book.  

3. Use a sewing needle to poke 3 holes in the fold of each of the rectangles.  Your first hole will be a .25" from the top, your second hole will be 1.25" from the top, and your third hole is .25" from the bottom. 

4.  Align your signatures sandwiching the card stock signatures with the decorative scrapbook paper.  Use the technique from the video to bind and finish the book.  I use linen embroidery floss.


5. Slip a ribbon, or string of some kind (I like bakers twine) between the 1st and 2nd coptic stiches and inbetween the signitures.  This is the hanger for you to attach the book to a gift.  If you would rather slip the tag under the ribbon on your gift, or give the book on its own, you can skip this step.

6. Decorate your book!

Thats it!  You can always add more signitures, or make the book a different size




     

1 comment:

  1. Hey thats mine! im still obsessed with it. I show it off to everyone. Im pretty sure that was my favorite present... and it was only the tag!

    ReplyDelete