I thought I’d go ahead and share another little DIY project I’ve been working on (yes – this one was Pinterest-inspired too)!
I’m a keeper of cards! I love getting/giving cards, even if they are almost extinct. But, one of the issues I’ve had with my card collection was lack of organization. They just existed in piles…birthday, Mother’s Day, Christmas, just because, thank you…all piled up together. I found an idea on Pinterest where someone made little books out of their cards, grouping them by category/holiday. So, here is my attempt at doing the same thing.
The first book I made was for 40th Birthday cards. I actually received more on that birthday than any prior, so it really needed to be a collection of its own. The other birthday cards can co-exist together in one book.
Most of the examples I found on Pinterest used chipboard, purchased from a local craft store. However, being a thrifty soul, I chose to use recycled cereal boxes, pasta boxes, cardboard, etc. for my chipboard and the “covers” of the books.
I simply cut the cereal boxes down to a size just a little bit larger than the largest card in the stack.
Since I’m also a scrapbooker, I’m never short on scrapbook paper and chose to use some in my stash to decorate the cereal boxes.
For the 40th Birthday book, I ripped up some of the scrapbook paper and used Mod Podge to glue it to the chipboard / cereal boxes. That was just the design element I chose for this particular one. I used my Cricut to cut out the letters used on the cover, but you could also use stickers if you prefer to go that route.
In the next book, sympathy book #1, I simply hot-glued the paper to the cereal boxes – no ripping, no Mod Podging at all. I used “in memory” type paper to decorate that particular cover.
I then used a hole-punch to punch two holes in the left-side of both the top and back covers as well as in each card going in the book. I chose 1.5″ album rings that you can find at your local craft store to “bind” the books together.
Insert all the covers and cards onto the rings, close them up, and you’re all set! VERY easy, but it can be time consuming, depending on how elaborate you want your covers to be. Now, for my sympathy book, I did choose to place a copy of the obituary inside the front cover – simply to enrich the book even more. Overall, however, the 40th birthday party book took me much longer than the sympathy book due to all of the small pieces of paper and Mod Podge usage.
I plan to make several more…including another sympathy book to finish up storage of all the cards I received following my previous husband’s death. I also have cards ready for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, thank you, just because, and several more. I’ll simply work on them as time allows and as I have empty cereal, cake, or pasta boxes to use. 🙂
Have a blessed rest of the day!
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