A flag book for a fabulous vacation

So, where have I been?  I have a day job at a University, and for three months every year, my schedule is just swamped and leaves no time for blogging.  I thought I'd planned in advance for my busy schedule, but it just wasn't meant to be.

After recovering from work, we went on a planned and wonderful trip to Disney World (Interested?  Read all about it!)  This was supposed to be our only trip this summer, but then I had to go to England for work (and then to visit family) and then a spur-of-the-moment trip for a funeral (1000 miles driving in four days).  That was about 6 weeks of traveling in a summer when only two were planned!

In between trips, I really wanted to make a quick mini-book about our trip to Disney World.  I really wanted some time to myself, and I really feel at peace while crafting.

My choice for this type of project is a flag book.  The pages are little "flags" that simply cry out for a photo or fabulous embellish.

To start, I cut all of my pieces and prepared them.  I've done some of these aspects in my other projects, so I'll just provide links to instructions if you need more explanation:

• Two bookboard covers covered with paper (bookboard is 4 1/8" by 12.25" - large paper is needed to cover this paper. Try the oversized sheets by Club Scrap or a pad of larger watercolor paper.)
• The Club Scrap Essentials video shows you how to cover the board perfectly
• Two pieces of paper to cover the inside of the covers (3 7/8" by 12" - green with polka dots in the picture below)
• One piece of paper to make an accordion spine (12" x 12"-red in my picture)
• To prepare the spine:
• Score the paper starting at two inches
• Make 17 score lines every half inch
• Use a Scor-it board if possible - it makes the straightest score lines, which really helps this project be a success
• If you use a Scor-it board, flip the paper over every other score so that you make "mountain" and "valley" scores.
• Lots of flags (my book will use 24 measuring 3 7/8" x 4")

Score the accordion piece on the score lines - like folding a fan when you were crafting as a kid.

Glue the flat flaps to the covers, carefully lining up the scored edge with the edge of the book cover.

Glue some ribbon on each side. This will hold it in place while you complete the other glueing.  I love this polka dot ribbon!

Glue the green inside covers on each cover, centering each nicely, and burnishing well after glueing.

At this point, my book felt a little wobbly, and I was running out of crafting time.  I was a bit disappointed, because I love the colors, and was afraid I had done something wrong.  I put my book in a book press just to press the spine a bit.  When I took it out of my press the next time I had time to do crafting, I was amazed!  The spine was super crisp, and the book already felt solid.  You definitely need sharp, crisp folds for this book to be successful.  Use some weights or a heavy book if you aren't able to get this on your own with a bone folder.

Finally, glue the flags in.  If possible, do the top and bottom set of flags first.  The middle set can then be evenly spaced between them.  Another secret to this book is that the flags can't rub against each other, so each row needs to be even and even space between them.  The top and bottom rows of flags are glued to the left side of the fold, while the middle set is glued to the right side of the fold.  Here is a close-up of the bottom set of flags.

And, here is what the finished book looks like before I add pictures:

I'll share the pictures when it's finished.  I have some super cool pictures from Disney World, and I just got the embellishments I want to use in the mail this week.

All of the paper and ribbon is from the Club Scrap Comics kit except the cover which is oversized.  I think a really heavy cardstock is a must for the spine and pages of this project.  Stampin' Up! cardstock is also a good thickness for the spine.

The book can also be resized so you don't need extra large paper.

Want more information on flag books?  Here are some resources I found:

• Videos from Club Scrap - Flag Book Part 1 | Flag Book Part 2 | Tower Flag Book
• The Flagbook Bind-o-Rama - an artistic look at some of the possibilities with these books
• How to make a flag book - if you don't want to do the cover boards, this is a different way to make a simpler book