DIY Network

Father's Day Album Using Elastic Binding Learn how to create a Father's Day Album with elastic binding. From "Scrapbooking" episode SCB-539

Guest Tera Leigh joins host Sandi Genovese and demonstrates how to create a Father's Day album using elastic binding.

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Guest Tera Leigh demonstrates a quick way to create a book that is perfect for an aging parent or child--who may find creating a traditional book a bit difficult.

Materials:

Create & Treasure Ready to Go Blank Board Book #20041, 6" x 6"
Robert Simmons Sapphire brushes: S55 #20 and #14 for painting book cover and elastic
Diva Craft Lounge--ScrapSilk™, SilkMesh™ (Patent Pending)
misc. embellishments
Folk Art Papier Opaque Paint (for painting book pages), 1740-Calypso Sky, 1737 Fresh Foliage, 1974-Aqua
FolkArt® Artists' Pigments™ (for painting elastic), 503-Yellow Citron, 463-Dioxazine Purple
Sakura Souffle dimensional gel pens
Fiskars oval hole punch
craft knife
craft mat
Tombow Mono Adhesive--permanent
glue stick
1/4" sewing elastic

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E

Father's Day Elastic Binding Book

Note: This is a quick way to create a book that is perfect for an aging parent or child who might be clumsy with a traditional book. The texture on the pages and the flexibility of the binding make it both visually interesting and durable for any purpose.

1. Open a blank board book and cut the binding so that the pages are separate. You will need to cut away the backboard section of the binding center.

2. Using a hole punch, punch five holes in the cover. Without measuring, simply punch a hole roughly at the center of the page, two more about 3/4" from the outside of the page, and then two additional holes in between those holes (one on each side). Once the binding is laced, you won't be able to tell if there is a slight difference in the measurements. Use the cover to punch the rest of the pages so that they will all line up correctly (figure A). Keep in mind that if one of the pages gets flipped, it won't line up correctly so keep the pages facing the same direction as you decorate them. It might help to place a small mark on one side of the pages so you can keep track of the direction.

3. Before binding the book, color the pages. You can use a combination of paints and ink pads. You may want to choose your colors based on the photos and embellishments you will use in the book. Let this dry before gluing any papers or embellishments into the book.

4. With roller adhesive, glue in embellishments and photo. You can use ScrapSilk, SilkMesh and other textured papers. Also add interactive elements, such as a library pocket in which you can put a photo glued to a piece of cardstock with ribbon in between so it can easily be pulled out of the pocket (figure B).

5. Using simple sewing elastic and acrylic or fabric paint, color the elastic to match the color theme of your book (figure C).

6. Allow to dry and then bind with a criss-cross binding (like tying a shoe), and tie it at the top. You can add a couple of metal embellishments to the end of the ties (figure D), or you can simply tie it off as a bow if you prefer.

7. Add journaling to bring the theme of the book together.

8. A couple other ideas are to use ties from a baseball glove to tie up a sports theme book, and you can use fishing line to bind together a book and lures for decorations (be sure and remove the spokes!) for the father that loves to fish (figure E).

Tips:

• When someone has Alzheimer's, reminding them of their past is an important part of helping them to hold onto their memories. While this book concentrates on his early life; you can create multiple books for various eras or people in the person's life.

• The elastic binding is a terrific choice for a scrapbook made for someone who might be losing their dexterity. The elastic allows the book to be opened as far as it will go without breaking. This means it will not break if the pages are pushed beyond a traditional binding's strength. It also makes a great binding for children's books.

• Textured backgrounds, like ScrapSilk and SilkMesh are terrific for those who like to touch the pages.