Getting started making your book.

BEFORE you begin the process of cutting on the text shapes for your book you need to think about the finished project.  Is it going to be….

• Using brown paper bags for book pages
• Using thick card stock to mat the text shapes and photos
• How will your book be set up for page flipping
• What type of binding are  you going to use
• Will you use the accordion style hinge using card stock
• Will you be using a binding machine like a Bind-It-All or a Cinch
• Will you use a spiral binding or a metal binding with the machines

ALL of these considerations need to be thought out before you begin cutting away at your text shapes for your book.  Once you cut out the shape there is no going back…unless you reprint the page and start over.

Story page 1

If you have a style of mini album making you are comfortable with and want to stick with that there is no reason to change what you are comfortable with.  Cut out the shapes and mount them to card stock.  Crop  your photos to fit your pages and your style and do what you are good at.

I, however, like to write checks my mind is not prepared to cash   Complicated works of art seem to be my forte.  People with common sense say “Whoa!  That woman has done lost her mind if she thinks I’m going to jump off the cliff with her!”

Feel free to use my “Mentoring” as a guide.  Do what you can and are able to do with your skill level.

Now on to the show.

Cut the shape away from the paper.  Leave some room all around the shape for the actual part of the fiddly bits.  Using a ruler, make a straight pencil line on both the top and bottom of the image.  Draw the line from edge to edge.  As you can see in the photo below.

Draw a straight line at top and bottom of image

Carefully, with scissors or a craft knife, cut along the pencil lines.  Then where the image and pencil lines intersect cut away the paper along the image border.  As shown in the photo below.

Cut the image as shown

When it comes to images that are not circular do the same thing with the ruler and pencil to define the area.  As the example below of an arrow shape.  Draw the bottom line along the bottom of the arrow and extend it outward a bit.

 

Draw a straight line along the bottom of the image

Draw a straight line along the top of the image and extend it out a little ways.  As seen in the next photo.

Draw a straight line across the top of the image

Cut along the bottom line until you come to the edge of the shape that moves upwards.  Follow the image border until you get to the top pencil line then continue cutting to the outer edge.  See the photo below.

 

Cut around the image leaving a margin on the side

When you have completed cutting out all the images in this fashion the next thing to do is to trace around the images on chipboard.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT NOTE:  Make sure to LEAVE 1/2 inch of open space between the image and the edge of the chipboard before you trace the image.  This will give you the area necessary for binding.

Lay your image on the chipboard.  Aline the outer edge of the image 1/2 inch from the edge of the chipboard.  Draw around the cut out shape.  As you go along your chipboard will look like this.

Leave 1/2 inch space from image edge to paper margin

Trace around the image shape.

Trace the image

Go on to the next shape and trace around it.

Trace around the next image

Continue tracing your images until you have finished with the last one.

Trace around all your images

NOTE:  A helpful thing to do.  On the back side of your image write a number and place that same number on the chipboard traced item.  See the photo below to understand what I have just said

 

Number the back side of the image and the corresponding traced image

This will help you keep track of the images and the chipboard pieces once they are cut out.

The placement on the chipboard is not important.  ONLY having the margin along the chipboard edges.  You will have some images upside down in orientation.

Images in traced out places

Along the straight lines of your images you can use a metal ruler and the craft knife for your cuts.

Use a metal ruler and craft knife on straight cuts

The curved areas are just a tad bit tricky.  You will have to GO SLOW in cutting around the curves.  Start at the cut area of the straight part then carefully work your way around the curve.  You will need to make a minimum of three passes with the craft knife to cut cleanly through the chipboard.

Carefully cut along the curve with the craft knife

When you have cut all the way through the shape will easily release from the chipboard.  Keep cutting until the piece comes free with gentle pressure.

DON’T YANK THE PIECE.  You will tear it and then have to start over.  There will be utterances made by you children should not hear

Sorry about the out of focus photo

Cut around the curve shape then gently pull to release the shape

Get your pieces all cut out.  You will be ready to do something else by this time.  If only to give your hands and fingers a rest.

 

Pieces cut out

Don’t get upset about the pointy edges that will appear from your cuts.  This is no big thing.

Don’t worry about the pointy bits

When you have sufficiently recovered from the strenuous task of earlier….you will need to use a sanding block or an Emory board to sand off the sharp point.

Sanding block

Now you see it….

Pointy bit

Now you DON’T see it.

 

Sanded off point

I think this is enough for today.  Besides, Joe is in need of my “gofer” skills

Leslie

Create and illustrate your own story book.

I have been missing in action due to the fact that Joe, my husband, has had surgery on his left hand and wrist due to Carpul Tunnel Syndrome.  He had the surgery a week ago Thursday and I  have been acting as “Nurse”.

Joe’s stitches

During the time I was tending to him and in close proximity to his recliner I took advantage of the few moments between being Nurse and “gofer” to play with a desktop publishing software I have on my computer.

Here is the set up.  One of our daughter’s birthday is in April.  I am making a “book” for her.  For those of you, out there in the “World Wide Webs”, that have older children or have raised your children into adulthood can remember the times when you were not quite so sure  your parenting skills were keen enough to raise children.  You hoped your children would be healthy, self reliant, and have good common sense even though you screwed up a bazillion times and have many regrets.  Maybe I should rephrase that.  I worried that I had screwed up our kids….

This book I am making is to give Tiffany a boost in her self confidence for the job she is doing with her little boy.  He knows he is loved by his extended family and he can trust the adults that surround him.  That is no small feat with all the looney toons that populate our communities and families.

There will be several blog posts regarding this book.  At this point I have 78 photos to share in the process of making this….and I’m about half way finished at this point.  I don’t think you want to sit for several hours going through what I’ve done so far.  There are a lot of steps involved in this project.

I will share some snippets of my progress to get your mind working and thinking about how you can change your “Mini Album” perspectives and play with self publishing on a very small scale.

Most people have a Desktop Publishing Software on their computers.  I use a Mac and the software I use is THE PRINT SHOP.  My software is old, and I mean OLD.   I haven’t updated it since I bought it in 2004.  Can you tell that I don’t use it?

Anyway, I thought I would knock the dust off of it and give it a try.

NOTE:  If you think this project is intriguing and you would like to attempt this….and have very little experience with any Desktop Publishing you may want to stick with shapes that are easy to get text to appear in the shapes.  Trust me on this.

The following is the “Story” for the book.  I have used many circles and squares with an arrow or two in for good measure.  I printed my pages on Wausau Exacto Index 110 pound paper.  I purchased a ream of paper from my local office supply store.  I don’t know how the paper weight will translate to metric equivalents for the Europeans and Canadians.  Just some heavy weight printer paper.

Story page 1

Story page 2

Story page 3

Story page 4

Here are a couple pages from the book I am creating so you can see how I’m using the shapes and some sweet photos of my adorable grandson.

 

Assigning text shapes to photos

Photos to go with the text shapes

Laying the text shapes and photos out on a book back

Testing the photos on the book back

In the coming days I will be showing you how I am making this book come together.  Using chipboard to mount all the elements and create the book back and front.  I have yet to decide if I want a gate fold front or just a single front piece.

I may be a bit sporadic in keeping up with this blog.  Joe has good days where I am at his mercy.  He has some projects he wants to do with some power tools and I get to be the one assembling these tools.

What the heck am I doing?

Assembling a Drill Press

He can’t lift more than 4 pounds…..I, however, don’t have any such restrictions

Leslie