On a Personal Note - Tag Books

Hey, fans and fabulous folks! It's Bibi here (owner of Rubber Dance) with a few things I've made for Unruly Paper Art's theme this month, which is BOOKS.

Unruly Paper Arts is a fabulous blogozine, which I'm very glad to have the opportunity to sponsor this month. When I first heard that the theme for February would be books, I thought "COOL, I can do that!" But as the deadline for making something came nearer and nearer, my initial optimism became duller and duller... You see, I'm not a book maker, I don't alter books, I can't bind books, and I most certainly do not sew ... so how on earth could I put papers together and call it a BOOK?? The answer is often in the question, so let's start again: How could I put papers together ... A-ha! The way I usually "put papers together", of course, using this clever invention: 

Well, I wish I had one of those beauties, but I had to make do with a modern version:

They've come a long way since the original McGill stapler, or have they?

So, with a stapler in hand, I was ready for the book making industry!
Here's the cover of my first BOOK - a tagbook:

Stamps: Inka Doll, Create, Old Book Page text stamp, (all from Rubber Dance).

Supplies: Tag, Checker board and Splash stencils from Kite, Distress inks (Salty Ocean, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo, Mustard Seed), black StazOn, white cardstock, watercolour pencils, eyelets, ribbon, string, fibers, Stickles (Cinnamon and Crystal), foam tape, and, last but not least, a stapler.

Description: Using a checkered stencil, colour two tags with blue and orange squares with Distress inks and a foam applicator.

Using a decorative pattern stencil, apply brown ink with a foam applicator. Now, colour the entire stencilled tag with yellow ink on a foam applicator and see how nicely the colours blend. Place checker board stencil over the tag again and stamp the text onto the orange squares:

For the pages to insert between the two tags, cut out some pieces of white cardstock or copy paper, just a bit smaller than the tags and short enough so they won't cover the hole on the top of the tags. Before stapling the whole thing together, score a line just above the staples on the front cover tag so it'll be easier to open the tagbook:

Dye a white ribbon using Distress inks mixed with water. Dry completely with a heat gun and stamp the text on one side of the ribbon.  Adhere a piece of the ribbon to the bottom of the cover tag using a strong double sided tape, fold it as you go (or sew it on if you're so inclined ...). I added a strip of a vintage book's spine to pinch down the ribbon on the upper side, then added stripes of Cinnamon Stickles to it:

Stamp Inka Doll and Create on a piece of white cardstock, using solvent black ink. Colour doll, cut out and adhere to tag with foam tape. Smear Crystal Stickles over the Inka Doll for more bling:

Splash some green and brown ink over the word Create, cut out and add eyelets on both sides. Adhere to tag with foam tape on the back and a string through the eyelets, wrap string around the tag. Add some fibers to the string on one side. Add some Cinnamon Stickles on the edges:

Tie the cover tags together with the rest of your decorated ribbon:

Leave your finished tagbook out for a couple of days so you can admire your work before you put it in a drawer and forget all about it. Alternatively, use it as a notebook! ;-) 

Here's another tagbook I've made. I used the same stencils and stamps, and again - the stapler is my friend....

Look at that cute seahorse charm! I got it from my friend Stacy for Christmas (along with the stencils I've used for my tagbooks - and a LOT more!), and I told her that the seahorse was so adorable I would have to use it on something for myself to keep - that's how selfish I am! LOL (There were five of those babies, though, so who knows - maybe I'll share. Maybe...)

Stones from my mom's old hippie necklace (above and below).

Note to self: Add Dimensional Magic to stuff before you adhere it to your projects,
or it will - without a shred of a doubt -  spill over!

Back cover, made with a stencil and modelling paste and stamped with Old Book Page Stamp after the paste had almost dried:

I hope you liked my little notebooks. Now, go out in the world and make your own! :-)
But before you do that, here's my book makers' special:

I'm offering a discount on the Old Book Page Stamp this month.
You'll need a coupon code in order to get your discount, which is OLD20 - use that one and get 20 % off the Old Book Page single stamp OR the entire set of stamps where this stamp can be found! "Collage Mix" is a large sheet of unmounted, red rubber stamps - measuring 20 x 26 cm (8 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches).

Collage Mix

The single stamp measures 6 x 11 cm (2 3/8 x 4 inches) and looks like this:

Old Book Page Stamp (Gothic text in Swedish)

You can find the stamps over at my website: www.rubberdance.com, under the category Collage & Backgrounds. Remember the coupon code: OLD20, and get 20 % off the single stamp and/or entire set. Coupon is good Feb 1st to 28th, 2015.


Thanks for stamping stapling by! 

xox,

Bibi

Let your Muse loose!
www.rubberdance.com
- proud sponsor of

Unruly Paper Arts

If you missed my first Unruly project this month, you can find it here.