LIVE! Fun Stitched Envelope Treasure Book

As I've often said before, one of my favorite places for inspiration is my library of books and magazines. During one of those “grab a cup of tea and a big stack of old magazines moments,” my attention rested on an article from Pages, a Cloth Paper Scissors publication. Cancelled Letters – an envelope book by Susan Pagnucci – begged to be created with my handmade papers. Well, the paper isn't handmade, but I painted or printed each sheet and tag that I used to create the book. (If you would like to create a book like this and need a template, Susan Pagnucci has provided an envelope template for you. You'll need to create a free account and then search for the article or author's name.) After creating the template, selecting my papers, cutting out, marking the creases for folding with a Stylus and folding 6 envelopes (be sure to use a Teflon Bone Folder to prevent unwanted shine on your papers), I created the accordion spine and covers according to the article. It provides pretty clear instruction about making hole and stitching templates so that you can pierce them with a Craft Pick Paper Piercer. It's very easy to do by using an old phone book, tool I stitched the envelopes into the spine with a Tapestry Needle and Waxed Linen Thread. It's exciting to see it come together as each envelope is bound to the book. Once the envelopes are stitched, I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to close the bottom and sides. The spine needs ribbon or fibers, too. They hold the accordion closed as well as decorating the spine. I chose to use Seam Binding which may be colored many ways to match the scheme of your book. Click the images below to take a closer look. The top 2 images are from the book created with my own papers. The other, created on the LIVE Stream, is made from Tim Holtz card stock. The envelopes for a book like this are best created with card stock weight paper.