How to Upcycle Greeting Cards into Books

Hello! Here's another How-To post for your Tuesday. Since we are in the season of giving, I thought I'd stick with things that you can make and gift. This one is particularly nice, because if you still have last year's holiday cards, you can use those for the cover of your books. Best of all, this present is minimal in cost, but big on "hey, I got you something". And I DO love to give out presents, don't you?



First things first, per usual. Your supply list!

Greeting cards: old, new, vintage or blue--it doesn't matter. Still have the envelope: hang on to it!

Blank paper: I used printer paper, but you can use scrapbook paper, notebook paper, nothing too thick. About 6-10 sheets per book.

Needle and Thread: I use button thread, because it is strong and less likely to fray over time.

Compass or Awl: something with a largeish pokey end. A metal skewer from the kitchen works too.

Paper squisher: If I were Martha, I'd say you need a bone folder. What you need is something to crease your paper when you fold it in half.

Work surface: I use a cork tile, you can use a cutting board, a stack of newspapers, anything to protect your table when you are poking holes.

Ruler: There is measurement required for this one. But not too much!



Open up your greeting card on your work surface and measure the inside dimensions. Now subtract half an inch from your totals. Cut your paper to that size. Go on. I'll wait. OK, now stack up your 6-10 sheets and fold the stack in half.

Use your paper squisher to really crease the folded edge. Put some weight on it!



Now open up your stack and admire that nice clean crease. Get your ruler out and measure one inch from the top edge, and make a hole with your poker. Measure one inch from the bottom edge, and make a hole with your poker. Put your paper stack inside your opened greeting card.

Line it up so there is a bit of card poking out around the edges. (and yes, you caught me! My paper is smaller in width than what I told you) Now, poke through the holes you already made to create holes in the card.
Do you see hole A and hole B? Hole A is at the bottom and hole B is at the top. These distinctions will become important as we start to sew the whole thing together.

Prep your needle and thread: I usually make my thread the length of my arm. Tie a knot in the loose end of your thread. Pick up your paper stack and sew from the outside to the inside (this will hide the knotted tail of thread)



Sew the paper stack from hole A to hole B. DO NOT SEW THE COVER ON YET. Sew A to B on the crease, B to A on the outside.  

From A UNDER the paper stack to hole A in the cover. From cover hole A to cover hole B--BUT NOT THROUGH PAPER HOLE B.

 Bring the needle and thread over the TOP of the paper and sew into hole B. And back out through cover hole B. AT THIS POINT YOUR PAPER STACK SHOULD BE TETHERED AT BOTH HOLES A&B TO THE COVER (if not, retrace your steps). Go from cover hole B to cover hole A, all the way through to the center of your book.

Loop your thread around the inside bindings and tie a knot. YOU JUST MADE A BOOK!

Stand it up and admire your handiwork. I like to give mine a little jostle to make sure the pages are securely attached. If they aren't, go ahead and do two loops all the way through with your needle and thread.

 Still have that envelope? Slide your book inside, close it, slap a bow on it and you have one sweet little present!

You can always take the idea one step further...

Make a mini travel journal. I used 300lb press watercolor paper for the cover.

And on the inside, I made half-size sheets. This leaves me room to affix an envelope for bits of paper I pick up on my travels.

The benefit of this is that it weighs significantly less than my full size sketchbook, so carrying it around will be easier. When we travel we do a lot of walking!

In progress

Beneath the Cloak.
I was thinking about the story of Red Riding Hood and it occurred to me how important the wolf is to Red. Without him, she'd just be a none too observant girl who takes care of her Grandma.
And it was an opportunity to paint a wolf, which I have never done before.

Tutorial: embedding paper in polymer clay

 I was talking to a friend on the phone and I was trying to discribe how to do this, and I thought: this would be so much easier if she could see what I am talking about. Thus, a blog post!

First things first! Assemble what you will need in front of you--I personally hate having to stop mid-project to search for my thingamawhoozer.

 Supplies: A straight edge (could be a ruler, could be an old book)
A needle tool (or just a straight-up needle--you'll use this to scooch things around when using your hands won't work)
A cutting blade (the blades designed for use with polymer clay are nice, but an old paring knife works well too)
An old credit card (trust me)
Your selected image (I picked irises because they are my mom's favorite)
TLS (Translucent Liquid Sculpey. Find it in your sculpey aisle at your local craft shop or online)
Foil (for baking on)
Polymer Clay (in any color you like. I prefer Sculpey, but Fimo is good, too)
Wipes (for cleaning up your hands and tools)
And a rolling machine (or a rolling pin. I believe that you shouldn't invest in the tools until you are sure that you are going to stick with something)

Got everything? Good. Lay it all out in front of you.

Get a piece of clay that is silver-dollar sized, and run it through your roller machine on 01. (You know better than to cram your brick right in there, right? You have to smoosh it a little first)

When you are done, it should be about as thick as a nickle. (what can you buy with a nickle?)

Lay that down on your work table and put your image on top. Go ahead with your cutting blade, and trim away the excess. Take your image off, and put it to the side.

Then take your bottle of Translucent Liquid Sculpey and squeeze a wide squiggle of the stuff on your clay rectangle. Once you have your squiggle, smooth it out with that old credit card.

It should look about like this. Lay your image back down on top of the Translucent stuff--IMAGE SIDE UP. The Translucent Sculpey acts like glue. If you put the image down crooked, don't panic! Use your needle tool to lift up a corner--then slowly peel your image up and lay it down how you want it.

Put another squiggle of Translucent Liquid Sculpey ON TOP of your image. Spread that around until it is nice and even.

Plop the whole thing on the aluminum foil, make a tent over your piece and bake at 275 for 15 minutes (or what ever your package directions say). We tent so that the clay doesn't discolor from direct heat while baking.

Easy-peasey, right?

Go on and make a whole bunch of them! Poke holes in them, string them on cords and you have yourself some mighty fine holiday presents.