The 'Something To Make' Challenge: Make a Scrapbook

Friday, 27 July 2012

Make a Scrapbook

Well it's always best to start at the beginning! So, here it is... the first item in the Something to Make book. A Scrapbook...

Making a scrapbook is a very simple item to start with and useful as we are about to create a LOT of paper pieces and this will keep everything looking neat and tidy. It involves sewing which is a great skill to teach children. It encourages hand-eye coordination and concentration. It also helps us grown-ups develop patience... sewing is not a quick task for little hands.

Time taken for us to make it: 45 minutes
Cost to me: 50p

Make a Scrapbook instructions

What we used:

At least 5 sheets of paper approx 60cm x 42cm
Scissors
A large needle (we have plastic one with a rounded tip, ideal for small children)
Thread picker
Embroidery thread

We had all of these items already at home other than the paper. We bought some cheap but thick paper for 10p per sheet from our local craft shop. We encourage you to do the same. The larger chain stores are great and they are very useful, but it goes without saying - always try to support your local independent shops or market stall holders.

Our friendly local craft shop

Gather all of your materials

What we did... We made sure that all the sheets of paper were the same size, then creased each sheet down the centre by folding them in half. Before sewing we made some guide holes down the centre of the creases. I marked where we needed the holes, then Amelie carefully punched them with the thread picker.

Carefully punching guide-holes for threading the spine

We tied a large knot in the thread, and sewed through all the sheets in large stitches up and down the crease. Finishing by securing the thread by knotting it around the last stitch.

Just keep sewing...

Once the entire length of the spine was sewn together we decorated the cover with our felt tip pens. A proper cover will be made for this later on.

Get creative

There you go... easy peasy, lemon squeezy! We'll be using our scrapbook for things we'll be making during this challenge. We have also made another, much smaller one, using A4 paper which we used as a diary during our holiday. Each evening we wrote what we had done that day and drew a picture illustrating it. When we returned home we filled the remaining pages with some of the photos we had taken whilst away. Creating these scrapbooks are brilliant for recording precious memories, and spending the time making them from scratch will create a precious memory in itself.

That's it for this post. We hope you have enjoyed reading it. I'm just finding my stride, but I'm enjoying the process.

We're off to make some things out of paper! We'll keep you posted on how we get on :o) x

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So, what's this blog all about...

My 3 year old daughter and I have set ourselves the challenge of creating every item in the book Something to Make – Pretty & Practical Ideas, collected by Felicia Law, first published in 1971 by Young Puffin. We aim to complete this within 1 year!

The idea of this project came about after watching the 2009 film ‘Julie & Julia’ starring Amy Adams & Meryl Streep. The film is based on the true stories of Julie Powell & Julia Child. It follows Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession whilst intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book. I thought “What a great idea! Creating every dish in a cookery book over the space of a year!” I then went on to think “Whose cookery book would I attempt? Jamie, Nigella, Gordon… so many to choose from… Hang on! This could cost me a fortune and while my bank balance shrinks, my waistline will expand!!” I didn’t think about it again… until the day I was sorting through some of my childhood books to read to my daughter. I came across my Mum’s copy of ‘Something to Make’. It’s such a great little book, full of creative ideas which now seem so retro and, in turn, fashionable again. Just flicking through the pages makes me feel very nostalgic. This would be perfect!! A project I could enjoy with my daughter, it will feed my creative side and it won’t be a strain on my pocket as all the pieces are made out of scraps of paper or material and other items you would normally throw into the recycling bin.

‘So, what next?’… I emailed Penguin Publishers (as Young Puffin is part of their group) and told them of my plan. The lovely people at Penguin gave me their blessing and were excited to see this challenge begin.

That brings us to the present…

I have never written a blog before. I am not a writer or an artist, just a Mum with a creative itch to scratch. I think this would be a fun challenge for me and my daughter, and my husband will be joining us in some of the activities too. I also hope that the blog will inspire other parents to get creative with their kids. All of the items can be made from odds and ends found around the house, so it is great for encouraging activities in the most froogle of homes.

I hope you find inspiration here and I welcome your feedback. Tell me what you have made after reading the posts and I’d love to see photos of your creations.