Oh Baby Baby by Betsy Skagen

There's a baby arriving in my family next month. Shhh....don't tell, but I am making a little book for the mother-to-be to keep memories of those precious first months.

The book will feature all sorts of pockets, fold-outs and teeny little spaces to store precious mementos and tags to record different milestones and memories. I am using some of Gypsy Soul's wonderful chipboard to add some fun elements.

Right now I am just putting together the individual pages. Once they are done, I will reassemble them back into book form.

Tutorial--How to Make a Baby Book

Begin by gently bending the wire binding and remove the chipboard pages.

Cover the pages with black gesso.

Dry with a heat gun.

Cut a pocket from black cardstock.

Adhere decorative paper to the page.

Glue the bottom flap and right side flap to the back of the page. Because of the binding on the left side, instead of adhering the left pocket flap to the back side of the page, you need to adhere it directly to the decorative paper beneath the pocket.  

Place decorative paper on the front of the pocket. 

Paint the Special Delivery chipboard element and dry with heat gun.

Cover the element with embossing ink, coat with ultra thick clear embossing powder and activate with heat gun. When cool, adhere the element to the front of the pocket.

Cut tags that fit into the pocket from decorative paper. Glue paper on the back that is conducive to journaling.

Adhere decorative papers and a tiny pink vellum envelope to the back side of the page.

To finish your page, use sandpaper to sand down all the edges and rub black ink around the edges. 

So sweet! Now I have to get busy and make many more pages before the stork brings a tiny bundle of joy. -Betsy

Great Stuff

Special Delivery chipboard element

Chipboard album

Black gesso

Authentique Paper

Assorted paper

Black cardstock

Black ink

Pink paint pen

Embossing ink

Ultra thick clear embossing powder

Pink vellum envelope

Baby Girl Brag Book with Gloria

Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday with Gloria! I have been wanting to make a baby brag book for a while now, using the lovely Graphic 45 papers in my stash. I finally had a chance to make it happen! GSLCuts sent me some chipboard cover sets (basically plain chipboard) and a set of the Memory Keeping Organizer Small Dividers. And I used my "magical mini album skills" to create this little sweetie!

I created a little girl brag book for a family friend (only I may have to make another one if we find out she's having a boy). This little book is perfect for wallet-sized photos.  The 3" x 4" dividers dictated the size of this mini, which is 3 1/2" x 4 3/4" x 3". The cover is so cute, with the phrase from Words and Phrases 2 Set, and darling Postage Frames! The Graphic 45 baby papers are simply adorable. I used a combination of Precious Memories, Baby 2 Bride Deluxe Collection, and the retired Little Darlings. There are 8 dividers in the set, so I have 8 double-sided pages for my album. To create your own brag book, start with two chipboard covers and a spine.

Cut the covers to 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". Cut the spine to 3 1/2" x 3". From ivory cardstock, create a tab hinge binding that allows for 8 pages. (For tutorials on creating the hinge system, click HERE or HERE.) Place the covers and spine onto a 6" x 6" piece of plaid paper, with a gap between the chipboard pieces a bit smaller than 1/8". Attach the chipboard to the paper and wrap the paper around the top and bottom as shown. (You may wish to reinforce the spine with Tyvek or similar product if you think your mini will get a lot of handling.)

Cut two pieces of flower print paper to 6" x 6" and attach them to the front and back covers, wrapping the edges and mitering the corners. 

Attach the tab hinge binding to the spine.

Cut two pieces of pink plaid paper to 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" and attach to the inside of the covers. Gently score and bend the covers at the gaps between the chipboard. Use a decorative border punch to punch two 1" x 3 1/2" pieces of ivory cardstock. 

Attach the punched border pieces to the front and back covers to hide the seams.

Paint the tabs and all edges of the Memory Keeping Organizer Small Dividers with ivory paint.

Use strong, double-sided tape to attach one divider panel to each tab hinge. 

Once all your hinges are attached, it is time to decorate. 

Select various chipboard elements for your mini album and paint them with ivory paint. I always select and paint more than I need, just in case I change my mind about the design as I go along! (See the supply list below for details.)

Use a Crop-a-Dile or similar tool to punch a hole into the center of the front and back covers, approximately 1/2" from the album edge. Attach a knob to the front cover. (I improvised by adding an upside-down eyelet to the cover and securing it with a yellow brad. This lifts the brad up just a tad, allowing the closure string to wrap around the brad.)  Attach a large grommet to the back cover. Thread some yellow twine through the grommet and wrap it around the brad on the front cover to close the album. 

To decorate the cover, glue a postage stamp image to the back of one of the Postage Frames. Attach the frame to the left side of the cover. Glue the My Girl phrase from the Words and Phrases 2 Set to the cover as shown. Embellish the frame with a few pastel flowers. 

 Attach a decorative chipboard embellishment to the spine of the album.

Start to decorate the album using GSLCuts items and embellishments! For the inside of the front and back covers, I used the Windows 6 Panel and some pretty decorations. 

Decorate your album pages as desired. To see all the pages, make sure to check out the video BELOW.

Each page of the album has pockets, flip outs, journaling spots, or photo mats. This chunky mini is perfect for all your small photos and makes a wonderful brag book!

Enjoy! Thanks for looking! Find all these wonderful chipboard items at the GSL Store!

~ Gloria Stengel: Scraps of Life

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:
Memory Keeping Organizer Small Dividers
Postage Frames
Words & Phrases 2 Set
Windows 6 Panel
Victorian Corners 2
Album Cover Set (coming soon)

Other:
Paper: Graphic 45 Precious Memories, Baby 2 Bride Deluxe Collection, Little Darlings (retired)
Tag: Graphic 45 Regular - Ivory
Grommet and eyelet: We R Memory Keepers (yellow)
Brad: pale yellow (source unknown)
Twine: Really Reasonable Ribbon Divine Twine Lemonwood
Paint: Martha Stewart Summer Linen acrylic, Ranger Distress Antique Linen
Mist: DecoArt Shimmer White
Tools: We R Memory Keepers Crop-a-Dile, Martha Stewart heart border punch, Stampin' Up 3/4" circle punch, EK Success corner rounder
Adhesive: Ranger Glossy Accents, Ranger multi-medium, foam squares, ATG tape, Scor-tape