A cute little handmade book....

Here's a project that I made earlier this past spring. I had gotten a HUGE bag of plain white coasters and wanted to put some of them to use. At that time, I had also gotten a really great stack of papers from Die Cuts with a View. The Old World stack. The papers and the coasters were destined to be married. And by the looks of them together, they sure do love each other. *wink*

The coasters I used were 4 x 4 coasters (which is a very common size) and covered them with the paper. I thought this little book would make a great gift album for a grandma....or for a teacher's gift. The pages are small, but they are perfect for wallet sized pictures and some journaling.

You all know my habit for hoarding. Tis a nasty, nasty habit. I have all these lovely little (and some not so little) things to use on my cards, altered projects, scrapbooks, etc.....but most of the time, I like looking at them in the packaging and can't bring myself to use them. And then I wonder, "If I use this embellishment on a project, what happens if later on, I wanted to use it on another project? What if I can't get any more of that embellishment? What happens if I can't even find something CLOSE to that to replace it with?" I create a "crafting panic attack" that probably isn't all that big of a deal in the larger scheme of things. It's amazing how many times I've bought a certain item to use on a project, put it away because I want to hoard it for that particular project and then when I actually sit down to make the project, I realize that I've hoarded the item away SO well that I can't even remember where I put it! I've gotten better about using the things I've saved for years, realizing that they're just gonna be there 20 years from now if I don't use them. It's a hard habit to break, but I'm getting there.

So, what was the point in all of that? This little pewter finish fern charm. That's been hanging out in my bins for about *cough*5 years*cough*. I figured it was high time to use it. So there it is. It's sitting on top of a couple pieces of chipboard shapes that were also covered with paper from the Old World Stack.

I switched up the papers inside the book as I loved so many of the papers and couldn't stick to just one. If I had used ALL the papers I wanted to, I would have ended up with a book about 20 pages high! And they're not thin pages, either, since I used the thicker coasters for this project. (They're the thickness that you find in most children's board books and hold up REALLY well to a lot of handling.)

The book holds closed with a really pretty ivory narrow organdy ribbon. I covered the spine with an inked up piece of twill tape.

I still don't have pictures in this little book yet, but I have plans for it. One of these days.....one of these days.

Just as a heads up.....

There's lots of new announcements coming up. I've got great news that I can't wait to share with you and hope that by the end of the week, things will be in place. Also, there are new releases over at GinaK Designs AND Kitchen Sink Stamps as of November 1st! Make sure to head over and check out what they're up to! FUN STUFF!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Comments

[Marie]

This coaster book is so pretty Erika! Love those papers and the colors are so pretty. TFS

[Mitzi]

Oh so pretty! Just wondering what you put on the spine of the book to hold it together. I used coasters for a project but used eyelets and ribbon to hold them together. They look nice displayed (open) on a desk. TFS!

[mary puskar]

Where did you get those nice thicker coasters if I may ask? Thanks so much
Mary Puskar

[MeredithC]

Very cute book! I've been my stack of this exact same paper, but I would love to try a coaster book (been hoarding my coasters too!lol). Could you tell me what you used to hold the book together? tfs. Meredith C

[mbrein23]

Ha! I am a hoarder too!!! I soooooo can relate! Love the fern embellishment - the perfect touch! I also have a box of coasters .... You have inspired me to get out in my studio and make all those little books I had "planned" when I purchased my coasters. Adorable little book - love how you bound it so seamlessly - Thanks Erika! -Melinda Brein

[Mary C. Anderson]

I love your coaster book Erika. It is lovely. It would be a great gift for a grandmother, a Mom,teacher any woman as far as I am concerned. :) I can't wait to hear your big news. Can you give us all a tiny little hint? :)

Oh and I am a hoarder too.

Mary

[Kim Leach]

>>> because I want to hoard it for that particular project and then when I actually sit down to make the project, I realize that I've hoarded the item away SO well that I can't even remember where I put it! <<<<

Oh, Erika, you SOOOOOOOO get me!!! Yes, I do understand **cough--your--cough, cough** plight! I have those 10 white 4x4 coasters I bought on SCS "just to try them out" and I STILL HAVE THEM SITTING HERE NAKED!!! And your little book is just the thing to make so I can play with all that DP I have collecting **achoo** (excuse me) dust in my files....then again, I *might* need it for that coaster box project in my head.....ummmmm....anyhow, thanks for sharing your book with us!! Beautiful....embellishment and all :)

[Julie Mutch]

Erika, this is just gorgeous! What a great little project...one that I'll have to make for sure, being the 'Altering Fool' that I am! lol :)

I'd be interested, as well, in seeing how exactly you did the spine binding if you get a chance to show us and include pics. :) Thanks so much for sharing! I'm a frequent lurker that loves to see what you're up to! :)

Take care and hope you're having a great weekend!

[Mandy]

Beautiful!