Bookies, you may want to avert your eyes. I know the idea of gutting an old book can knot the stomach. And this book was printed in 1984, making it nearly as old as me. Eeep! Oldie but a goodie, eh?
I will add that I got the idea of scrapbooking within a story book from my crazy-talented librarian friend, so I feel a bit better about the whole thing. I mean, if a librarian can do it, it must be okay, right? (Thanks for always inspiring me, Kim Jackson!) Let's look at it as a way to give the book new life and a new story to tell.
So, for starters, I gutted a book that I picked up an at antique store for $4. Doing so was a process of carefully removing the staples in the spine and removing the pages. I tore some of the spine, so I can't stress the "carefully" aspect of this step enough.
Once the pages were out, I used one as a template to cut pages for my album. I cut from cardstock and patterned paper, scoring each sheet thoroughly as I went. You want the page to turn with ease.
From Storybook to Scrapbook
Once my pages were cut, I set to decorating them. If you aren't familiar with a "December Daily" album, it's one that focuses on telling a single story each day in December, a time when there's much going on. To do this and still have plenty of time to enjoy the season, people often create the foundation of their albums ahead of time. The key is keeping it relatively simple so you're left with room to still be creative with the photo(s) you want to use each day and the amount of writing you want to do. With this in mind, I left my pages pretty basic. Take a look!
Title Page
Pages 1 & 2
DESIGN TIP: If you're going the storybook route, design your pages before binding them into the book's cover. It makes it easier to work with the paper and helps protect your fragile book. Fragile if you're using an "antique," that is. (Still hate that something younger than me is considered an antique. *sob)
Pages 3 & 4
Pages 5 & 6
Pages 7 & 8
Pages 9 & 10
Pages 11 & 12
Pages 13 & 14
DESIGN TIP: When creating your pages, only put glue towards the center of each page, this way, you can lift up edges and tuck things beneath when the time comes to dress the page up.
Pages 15 & 16
Pages 17 & 18
Pages 19 & 20
I intentionally left the tag dangling free so it would offer more real estate on the back, should i want to add an additional photo or more journaling here.
Pages 21 & 22
Pages 23 & 24
DESIGN TIP: When making a full album like this, it's easiest to work with a coordinating package of paper and embellishments. It makes matching colors simple and takes the guesswork out of coordinating the accents. This adorable collection is from October Afternoon. A VERY special thanks to Brooke Mathewson at CK Events for hooking me up. The girl knows what I like!
Drum roll, please...
Page 25--Christmas Day!
I adhered a small envelope to the back cover as a place to contain tickets and other memorabilia we might collect this month. I can't wait to see what ends up inside.
If you want to see more about the book and ways its original artwork can be repurposed, I invite you to check out my latest Studio 5 TV segment below (or at link to the left).
Thanks for your interest! I'll share the occasional finished page of my December Daily book on my Instagram account. I hope to see you there sometime soon. In the meantime, I hope your December days are merry and bright. <3