Thursday 21 May 2009

Mens Concertina Card/Book





I spent most of yesterday afternoon folding the papers we put in our concertina book packs. The square one isn't too bad as it is a 4 panel book, but the 6" x 4" book has 8 panels and starts with a metre long piece of paper, I folded so many... and afterwards my hands hurt, and were very shiny!

They are worth the effort though as they make super projects/gifts. If you'd like to see what we have made with them you can see more in our Gallery, click here to be taken to the main page, you will need to find the albums for Concertina Cards. If you haven't visited a picturetrail gallery before, just to help (as we have been asked before) click on the picture of the album cover you want and it will open to show more photos. I should add that it is the blank books only so you can decorate them as you want to, not particularly as we have. They are great to personalise for people with photos and relevant themes.

I never really know whether I should call them cards or books, as they are a bit too substantial to be cards, they certainly look lovely on a mantlepiece and I defy anyone to feel disappointed on receiving one as a gift. They come with instructions on how to put them together and tips to help you make them.

The book I'm showing here is one I made with Moonshadow inks and our AOD Mens unmounted stamp sheet, that would be ideal for a Fathers Day card/gift (to continue my running theme) but there are lots more ideas for them in the gallery.

I've made pockets on some of the panels that they could keep business cards in or little notes, for this one I made ATCs, you could do the same and write greetings or messages on them, or perhaps put in some small family photos in the pockets.

I cut off 2 of the panels for this one to make a 6 panel book or you could make it a four panel if time is short.

The front and back covers are made with copier paper and Moonshadow ink (the Scrunch technique), after it dried I went loopy over the surface with different ink pads (just lightly drawn across the high peaks), I sprayed it with water, scrunch it again and even embossed it. It now feels like fabric, lovely to touch, you'd never believe it was cheap copier paper!

If you fancy giving them a try, they are available here in our shop.

Jill x

4 comments:

  1. The concertina books are stunning Jill and are certainly more than a card :0)

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  2. Thank you for your lovely comments on my Blog Jill. I really appreciate it and thanks also for the great service you always provide.
    These concertina books would be great for a really special occasion like a wedding or special anniversary, they look lovely.

    Lisax

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  3. Thanks Lisa, I have to admit I'm a bit addicted to making them as they can be a bit of a challenge, but the reward comes at the end when it's finished and you know you've made it, it's a great sense of achievement. Plus, if you can bear to part with them, they do make lovely gifts for special occasions, especially if they are personalised.

    I've got my mind on doing another at the moment, but have other things to get finished first.

    Jill x

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  4. I love these concertina books and bought some from your shop quite a while ago but so far, I've only had time to make 1 which was a request from a friend for her daughter's 21st birthday.

    I really enjoyed making it into a sort of 'This is your Life' book with photos taken throughout her 21 years.

    The only regret I have is that it was before I started photographing my makes for my blog so I have no record of it and I was so pleased with it and so was my friend and her daughter.

    Lesley Xx

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Your comments are always really appreciated!