Showing posts with label Secret Belgium Binding. Show all posts

MR DT: Album | Joy

Hello! End of the year means joy to me as I start to prepare some gifts for my dearest family and friends! This is also the time I start humming Christmas Carols while I work on my projects ha!
Today I am up on Mayaroad, and would like to share a mini album of Joy, having a dear friend in mind. She has kept almost every vintage Christmas postcards and photographs, a collection she loves dearly. I thought it would be nice to make an album for her.


This album is covered with leather, then hand bounded together with secret belgium binding. This mode of binding is my favorite, because it can look vintage or fun loving depending on the thread you use. This time, I am using the jute craft string as the main element in this project. Gotta love this roll of jute craft string, I have to add some of these to almost all my projects!


The main focus on the album cover was the jewel center burlap blossom. I really liked this flower piece, it is grunge and elegant all at the same time! The only difference was that I used a plier to remove the jewel centre, so I could use them seperately as a splatter around my centerpiece.


I have used the KO vintage trims on this album. Since it was too white to my liking, I decided to add some coffee stains to it. It is really easy, just add coffee powder (no instant coffee mix, just plain grinded coffee beans) to water. Soak the trim until the color appeals to you.


I added the trims to the background in rows of different lengths, and also to the center of the burlap blossom. Just run a running stitch at the straight ends of the trim, and then tighten to form a rosette trim. To top it up, I added a snowflake metal charm. To add a title to the album, I started out with distressing on the remains of the shipping tags I had used previously. Then I stamped the word Joy and happy days with silver ink pad. These words are from the Homemade Holidays stamp set. Just for fun, I added a scroll tied together with the jute craft string and accompanied by the gold star pins.


For the pages I kept it simple yet with a little fun! These pull out tags creates interest for the receiver. I used the Manila shipping tags as a base, distressed with shades of brown for contrast. You can use these tags too! On a few pieces, I stamped the snowflakes  from the Homemade Holidays stamp set randomly on the tag. I have also added some jute craft strings here and there, and at the top of the shipping tag.


When slided, the shipping tag raises and disclose the photo that is behind it. I like this element of surprise for the receiver! At the base of the shipping tag, I have also added the coffee dyed trim and a row of the pearl center trim.



Here is how the slider mechanism looks like!

Hope you get inspired for Christmas projects with Mayaroad products!



Visit Mayaroad for more inspirations!



MWL DT: Dreams~ [Secret Belgium Binding]

My upcoming workshop Made With Love has gotten me thinking. The experiment with a variation of the secret belgium binding had been so fulfilling, so I really wanted to vary this method of binding again! Today I am sharing a new hand stitched album on Made With Love blog, after exploring this secret belgium binding a little further!


I wanted to make this album for my little niece Sophie; she is growing up way too fast! Seeing her on the day she was born warms my heart. The first collection which came to my mind was the Pink Paislee "Oh My Heart" collection by Paige Evans! This collection has packed a lot of fun elements and I totally can see how Sophie would love these colors!


Now that I have the stitch and papers in mind, the next thing to decide was the album structure. I commonly get inspired by Sizzix dies, and of course, this was no exception! This time I chose to use the Sizzix Eileen Hull's Scoreboard XL Die - Caddy Bag. Sure, it was meant to be used as a caddy, but who says it can't be turned into a pocket album? Eileen Hull has a great collection of dies which can be used in different ways, check out her other Scoreboard XL dies in Made With Love! (Another of my personal favourite is the Flower pocket XL die. That's another die which could possibly turn into another album!)


Here is a closer look at the secret belgium binding. This binding method is beautiful. This time, I altered the front stitches so they look like a branch out / arrows, just to add some fun element to the front cover. 


How can you not love this collection? There are a number of puns in this collection, and I love how witty they sound! This was one of them, and I had a good laugh over it. Most first time parents would know how their weekends and weekdays are fully booked! It always seems that there is no time except baby time~


Each of the pages had a pocket, where I filled them up with tags. Additional photos and journaling goes onto these tags - you could use both sides of the tags if you wished.


This is my best friend for making tags! The We Are Memory Keepers Tab punch board has made our scrapbooking lives much easier, just a few steps and viola, you get the tab all punched out! 


This was how I assembled the pieces from the die-cuts - using the Xyron Creative Station Lite. I am using the 5" refills. Album making just got a whole load easier with this machine! The added benefits - running the pattern papers through the machine gives an awesome sense of satisfaction as well!

I had fun with this album, and hope you enjoyed the walk through! All products used are from Made With Love, thanks for dropping by my blog today! 

Products Used:

Pink Paislee Paige Evan
- Oh My Heart Collection
Xyron Creative Station Lite
Sizzix Eileen Hull
- Caddy Bag
We Are Memory Keepers
- Tab Punch Board



MWL Workshop: You Are Beautiful [ Apr 2017~]

Description : Shabby vintage is in the house! Book Binding does not necessarily relate to books. It can also be used in shadow box construction and Stacy will show you how! This advanced workshop is going to make your crafty fingers do some massive workout - great for those who are itching to do some major sewing and construction!

Techniques Learnt: Shadow box construction, 4 albums, Altered secret belgium binding