DivineChoice Creations: Handmade Cardbook Keepsake

I came up with an idea this week that really got my creative juices flowing - the result I call a cardbook. Not claiming to be the first to come up with this idea as there are other mini book cards out there but not quite like this I'd bet. The idea came out of a request for a handmade card with something to do with libraries. This post will focus on the creative process of the idea when it first occured to me. Since then I've made two, one I've given and the other... well I haven't decided yet whether to give it away or list it on Folksy.

The idea

I came up with a good idea this week - the cardbook is what I call it. It came out of a request for a handmade card featuring something to do with libraries.

After a full day on the day job I mulled over the request. I don't often work on cards after work as I'm often too tired to do more than a couple of tweets and relax with a game or two. However I needed to get this task done sooner than the weekend. So I lay down on my bed thinking of how to make a lovely card that had something to do with libraries. I did doze a little. Perhaps that helped because when I woke a few minutes later I remembered the Itsy Bitsy Book I made for my grandson a while back and thought, 'Why not make a card that is also a book?'

It could be filled with messages from colleagues and make a nice little keepsake. That was the spark I needed. I got up and got a few sheets of A4 paper to work out how to make the pages. I'd have to adapt the project as I needed it to be bigger than the Itsy Bitsy Book.

How big?

I decided to use a small square card blank as the cover and worked on creating the pages to fit. I reviewed the original tutorial from which I made my grandson's mini book and the folding principle. In that one the book is created by folding, cutting and refolding A4 sheets into a tiny book of 16 pages. I changed the method which would allow me to choose the number of pages and would require more glue.

Creating the pages

The pages were cut from a folded A4 sheet. First of all I folded the sheet in half lengthways and then into three using the original card blank as a guide. When folding the pages I made them slightly smaller than the height and width of the card.

The pages were then cut with a craft knife and metal ruler.

Using a gluestick I stuck these folded pieces to each other so each inner page is made up of two and all the folded edges are lined up, making the inner pages of the cardbook.

The next step is to trim the unfolded edges of the pages just to get a nice even edge.

A small piece of scrap was used to bind the folded edges together. Then I put it under some magazines to help it make it flat, while I got on to the next stage of creation.

The card covers

I decided to cover both front and back of the card that would cover the pages with the patterned paper selected. It's not essential but I think it looks better. When I created the second cardbook I also rounded the outside corners of both the covers and the pages.

The card cover is then stuck to the single outside pages of the book. A small piece of contrasting paper is cut and put aside to make the bound edge of the cardbook.

The Binding

To stiffen part of the binding a slim piece of card is cut and stuck to the centre of the binding paper which is then folded on either side. I used wet glue to fix the binding paper to finish off the book.

Completing the Cardbook

The front cover of the cardbook is then decorated using whatever fits the design. Then I made a little box in which to present the cardbook, which can also be decorated with some more of the paper and suitable embellishments.

The immediate response I got for the first cardbook I made was, "It's gorgeous". I hope you like the second one which features in the photos, as much.