Mini Album Makers December Challenge

The Mini Album Makers Challenge will feature a monthly challenge, with each Design Team Member posting a link to a mini album tutorial, tip, or trick on the 1st of each month.  Then, one team member will post a full tutorial on the 14th of each month! (My BIG tutorial month is not until February, but I will post smaller tutorials monthly.) In addition, there will be guest makers each month!

Click HERE for the December Challenge! You will have all month to make a NEW project and enter the challenge for a chance to win a prize. (See prize details at the end of the post.) Winners will be posted on the 7th of each month on the Mini Album Makers Blog.

I have gone very far outside my comfort zone this month, as I have made a midori-style journal book. This style of notebook is named after the Japanese stationary company, Midori. Their Traveler's Company notebooks are all the rage, I gather. I confess that I have never created a book with signatures that had to be "sewn" into the cover! I made some mistakes, and there was a learning curve! But I feel a bit trendy now! {grin}

I created my midori-style notebook by using the Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Journal by Eileen Hull. Eileen is the prize sponsor this month (see information below), and since my dear friend Pam Bray (Scrapbook Flair)  is on EIleen's design team, I asked her to send me a few cuts of the Journal. And because Pam is a very good egg, she sent me a lovely package of die cut shapes! 

I created three signatures (which is fancy way of saying a section of paper). Each signature has 60 pages plus a cover. That is what I love about this style and size of journal. You can get a lot of pages into it and it's easy to reload blank pages. 

I used some twine and a metal charm as the closure for the journal. 

Here is a little tutorial on how I made my book. I did make a few mistakes, but nothing that will make the journal unusable.  

I started out with two chipboard covers, cut with the Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Journal. Pam cut these for me out of heavy weight chipboard. I gently folded on the score lines.

I used glue to attach the two cover pieces together, and then clamped them to allow the glue to dry. You can find detailed instructions on assembling the journal HERE.  

I place double-sided adhesive on the front of the journal covers, including the spine area.  

I then attached the decorative paper to the front of the cover and angled the corners. I cut the paper to 11" x 12". I used a Fiskars punch to re-punch the binding holes. This type of punch can go anywhere and can punch through even very thick items. I made sure to punch the holes any time I covered them with paper, so that I would not "lose" them! 

I wrapped the cover, just as I always do with my other styles of mini albums. I had a little trouble with this step as the paper was not as "stretchy" as I had hoped. I gently worked the folds for the spine. 

This is the cover, with the holes punched. I started to get some cracking on the one spine edge. 

I fixed the spine by covering the area with cloth "washi" tape, which is a bit stretchy. Again, I re-punched the holes.

Next, I added double-sided adhesive to the inside of the cover and spine. 

I added paper to the inside. I cut the inside paper to 8 3/4" x 10". You can see I trimmed it a bit too small, but it still looks fine. I think adding about 1/2" more to the width would have been better. 

I then threaded the holes with twine. Each signature will slip under one of the twine sections. Most people use elastic cord for this step, but I did not have any in my hoard. {imagine that!} I also knotted more twine through the center hole for the closure. 

The two ends of the twine come out the front of the spine and are secured by a metal button.  

The twine wraps around the front and back covers and then ties in front to hold the book closed.

I glued a set of silverware to the cover, and threaded the left-hand bit of twine trough. Now I can tie a bow to close the journal.  

I created three covers for my signatures. I cut the decorative paper to 7 1/2" x 8 1/2" and folded each in half to make 7 1/2" x 4 1/4" covers. I cut the signature covers slightly wider than the inside pages.

For the inside I simply used printer paper for the notebooks. (This was my first try, so I wanted to keep it simple!) I cut each page to 7 1/2" x 8 1/4" and folded them all in half. I cut 10 sheets (20 pages) per signature. 

I placed each signature (notebook) into a paper cover and then slipped it under one of the strings in the journal cover.  

Since I added three strings, I can add three signatures.  

I did not add any pockets or decor, but I may go back later and do that.  

Here is the second signature. 

And here is the third signature. I love this vintage-themed cooking paper! 

You can used lined paper or add anything you wish to the inside. I just kept mine blank, for now.  

This is what the back cover looks like with all signatures added. 

Thanks for joining me today! I hope you enjoyed my first ever midori-style journal! 

Below is a full list of the Design Team, with links to their blogs!

Alison Bomber

Anne Redfern

Astrid Maclean

Autumn Clark

Gloria Stengel (you are here)

Inna Bronnikova

Nancy Wethington

Our Prize Sponsor this month is....

Website

Facebook

Eileen Hull Facebook Fan Club

Shop

One lucky maker will receive....

The Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Mini Album Die (658982)! This is a $40.00 value! 

Our challenge follows a few simple rules:
Any Handmade Book Goes.  Enter any form of handmade mini albums, scrapbooks, journals, and book arts. Our focus is on completed works, so no layouts or journal spreads that are not part of a complete handmade book project. You do not have to provide a tutorial, but we wish you would. Feel free to use one of the DT tutorials to make your project and give proper credit where due. No back links allowed (this means your project must be first seen on social media between Dec. 1st and Dec. 31st, 2017).  Combine with any other challenges as applicable. No limit on entries. Share the love by visiting and commenting on other entries. Please become a follower. That's it - have fun! Click HERE to enter your project!

Come back on  January 1st for a new set of tutorials from the team!

Dies: Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Journal
Printed paper: Bo Bunny Kiss the Cook
Cloth washi: unknown
Button and charm: from my stash
Twine: craft supply
Corner rounder: Creative Memories
Hole punch: Fiskars
Score board: Martha Stewart
Chipboard: unknown
Printer paper: StaplesAdhesive: Scor-tape, multi medium