I was inspired this month by a project we made at retreat - a composition book with tabs that stuck outside of the book.
I wondered how I could make this as a stitched book, with the tabs inside the book, like this (sneak peek at the inside!):
I also have to admit that some of the ladies at Retreat didn't think algebra was useful in daily life, so I also took this a bit as a personal challenge to work math into my next project!
The first puzzle to solve was how to use the envelope punch board to evenly space the tabs. At Retreat, I just did what Karen told me, but I was on my own here.
I wanted to make a six inch book (since our paper is 12 x 12 inches), and have three evenly spaced tabs. I did a little sketch of what I wanted first and got a formula to express the width of the paper, width of the tabs, and gap between the tabs.
The envelope punch board has 1/8" spacing on the ruler, so I used a spreadsheet to vary the width of the tabs from 1 to 5 inches in 1/8" increments, and played with different amounts of small gaps until I found a combination that yielded a paper width of six inches wide.
If there is interest, I can explain this in a bit more detail later and show different sizes - let me know in the comments! With a formula and a spreadsheet, there is a lot you can do here to customize your tabs.
I cut paper that was 6" wide and 12" long from my kit. On the short end, I punched three papers as follows on the short end:
- For tab 1 - punch at 0" and 1.75"
- For tab 2 - punch at 2 1/8" and 3 7/8"
- For tab 3 - punch at 4 1/4" and 6" (or repeat tab 1 and flip the paper)
Trim the pieces you don't want so you end up with one tab on each of three papers. Score these at 5 3/4" inches.
I wanted the tabs to stick out from the book, the remaining paper was cut to 6" wide and 11 5/8" long and scored in the middle (5 3/4").
The outer papers on the book are either a tab piece or a smaller piece of paper, so I created a pocket page for the front and back. (see my previous tutorial)
The book was stitched together using waxed linen thread over ribbons. (see Tricia's video for an awesome explanation of this technique - starting at about 6:30)
Not being content with just having an awesome book on the inside, I created a niche on the cover to hang some charms and baubles. (see my previous tutorials)
And, here is the finished project. I might do some more embellishing later, but it is bedtime now!
Hope you enjoy the next stop on the hop - the lovely Debbie Weller always has a fun project showcasing the monthly kit. If you got lost along the way or want to start out at the beginning, check out Club Scrap's blog for a complete listing of participants.
I can't wait to see what Fire and Ice brings us next month....
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