DIY Ephemera Folder

A few weeks ago I made this folder to hold some of my paper ephemera which I've been storing in various locations - not very conducive to seeing and using. I saw several versions of this on You Tube so this is not my original idea but I think it's ingenious.

The base is made with two 12"x12" pieces of heavy scrapbook paper. I used old papers from The Girl's Paperie (anyone even remember that?) that I love and have been hoarding. I thought I might as well use them on this so I could see it and enjoy it regularly rather than being stashed away in a drawer! The finished size is 9"h  x 6"w and is tied shut with a torn strip of muslin.

First I cut two papers 12"x9" and scored each in half at 6" (folded to form the inside cover flaps). I adhered the two papers together with a 2.5" wide strip of heavy fabric glued along the two 9" adjacent edges, leaving an approximately 1.5" space to form a spine. I took two more papers and scored and folded them in half at 6" and then at 9" to form pockets. I glued these inside the front and back covers.

For the inside pages, I used some Tim Holtz embossed kraft papers from an old paper pad that I have never used since they will be mostly covered and are sturdy. I cut them to 12"x9" and folded in half to create the pages. On each I used pieces of plastic cut from old page protectors for the pockets for the ephemera.  

I had quite a time adhering these to the pages. My liquid glues wouldn't hold the plastic - I tried several kinds. Some people had sewed theirs but I didn't want to go to that trouble. I ended up using Scor-tape and my ATG tape which is holding up ok. A few overstuffed pockets are starting to come apart so I may have to redo those but most are fine. I used either two or three pockets on each page for different sized ephemera. I sewed these into the spine with a three-hole pamphlet stitch.

This folder holds quite a lot and I'm really liking the portability and accessibility of it. So far so good!

January Swaps

I've signed up for several swaps this month. The first was not actually a swap - we send as many cards as we like to one member who then distributes them to the residents of a nursing home. I sent quite a large envelope full this month as I had made many cards from scraps when I was cleaning up my craft room.

Next is the monthly altered trading coin (ATC) swap. ATCs are little 2.5" round art pieces. I participated in all twelve months of 2019 and am continuing for 2020.  January's theme was "Valentines" and we made two to send to two others. For mine I used bases punched from patterned scrapbook paper and then fussy-cut images from vintage valentines, along with a sentiment. I also added red heart stickers and Stickles around the edges.

A new swap (which I am hosting) is for "inchie" houses.  These are tiny houses which must be no larger than 1-inch square with an optional roof that makes the house no larger than 1.5 inches. This will be a quarterly swap with no theme and we make three to send to three others.  

I made myself a little template and then cut three houses out of some gelli-printed paper scraps I had. I also cut three more to back the houses and tiny rectangles for windows and doors.  I doodled around the details with a fine black pen.  These are so small it's very difficult to get much detail and it will be very interesting to see what others come up with!

And last but not least, I joined the first of an every-other-month junk journal page swap. The parameters are to make one page (not a spread) no larger than 6-7" tall by 3.5-5.5" wide using "junk." These type of journals are quite the rage now and it's amazing what you can do with junk mail, old papers, receipts, empty food boxes and your stash!

This is my fully-loaded page with tags stuffed in the pocket.

And with pockets emptied:

(not sure why this photo looks more green but the actual color is like the photo above)

The base is a folded map page from an atlas, lightly collaged with book pages and music papers.  Little scraps of fabric are sewn to the right edge and a kraft-colored doily is glued over the top edge of the page. The front pocket is half a security envelope glued on so as to create a pocket at the top as well as at the side. It is collaged with bits of vintage wallpapers with a few tiny labels added.

These are the two pieces added to the side pocket. One is a copy of an old postcard and the other is a tag created with an architectural image and a woman (which I repurposed from a card I received a long time ago!).

Peeking out of the top pocket are two tags and a little booklet.  The largest tag has collaged scraps of papers, a stamp and fussy-cut butterfly and a photograph of my mother and two of her sisters when they were teens. It's printed on vellum and I had made it for another project and never used it. I love it because she is sticking out her tongue! The smaller tag is again collaged with book pages, other scraps and an image of a vintage girl. I created the little booklet from an extra family photo Christmas card as it was a nice sturdy weight. I collaged bits of map and text papers to the outside and inside added some vintage lined paper for journaling. The fiber on the paper clip is from a fraying chenille  throw I have - love the color and texture.

December Daily - Days 26 - 31 and cover

 Days 26,  27 and 28

The book is getting really chunky and it's hard to see page 26. I used two coordinating scrapbook papers vertically with washi tape between. We drove from Sedona to Albuquerque that day and encountered snow in Flagstaff as we drove through. I added a photo of that as well as pictures of the little guys once they got home and opened the presents awaiting them there.

Day 27 is the other half of the red and white striped bag. This was our first day home and not much happened except for sleeping in and doing laundry!

For Day 28 I used a gorgeous cardinal napkin on the whole page. It was so beautiful I didn't want to cover it!  This was the day my computer died so I journaled a bit about that at the bottom.

Days 29 and 30

Day 29 had a beautiful embossed (and very old) paper on it. I only added a red doily and a die cut paper for journaling.

Day 30 is the other half of the small page earlier in the book. I added the decorative piece which was a scrap and just big enough to make a pocket. Inside the pocket is a tag with journaling about a not-very-exciting day!

Day 31 - New Year's Eve - and inside back cover

We had a quiet NYE at home so this last page is very limited in decoration.  The back cover has the same paper as the inside front cover with a sentiment which I cut out of a Christmas card.

Whew finished!

Here is the front cover. I waited until the inside pages were done before decorating this. I loved the red and black from the original book cover so retained that. I added a piece of torn Christmas music layered with pieces of gold mesh ribbon, a tag, a few ribbon streamers and a metal poinsettia clip from the Dollar Tree. (I did buy that new especially for this cover. Most everything else was scraps and miscellaneous from my stash - and I still have so much left!)

Here's a side view to show how chunky this got! I punched holes in the front and back covers, inserted eyelets and tied on pieces of lace trim to tie it closed.

I am very happy to have yet another December Daily finished. This was my fourth year to do this and I love both the process as well as being able to look back through the years at the memories. I also use it as an excuse to use my stash and try every year to not buy much!  Slowly, slowly, I am beginning to whittle it down!

December Daily - Days 19-25

Once we returned from the Christmas week, I updated the December Daily pages for the days we were gone.

Day 19

The background is a woodsy napkin my friend sent me. I added a Christmas card I received from another friend with a moose which coordinated nicely.  This was the day we traveled to Albuquerque and met some longtime friends in Old Town for dinner. I added a photo of the four of us.

Inside the card I added a photo of that day's "12 Days of Christmas" swap ornament along with strips of the washi tape that were on the package. I also added part of my boarding pass.

Days 20 and 21

Day 20 's background is scrapbook paper with an open pocket at the bottom. I hinged our family Christmas card to the top.

I added some journaling about the day on the backside of the card and some Christmas postage stamps on the page. Inside the pocket I placed the tag from the day #8 gift with a photo on the back.

Day 21 is a small page. I used a journaling card as a flip out and added photos underneath. On the backside I used another napkin gifted to me and a photo of two grand boys in the hot tub in our hotel the first night.

Day 22

The background on this page is tissue paper. This was our first day in Sedona and the rental house. I added several photos. Under the journalling card which says "4 more days until Christmas" for Dec. 22, there is another photo and journaling.

Days 23 and 24

Day 23's background is a black and white scrapbook paper. It wasn't quite tall enough to cover the page so I added a red scalloped piece. This page has a photo of some of my guys watching TV at the AirBnB, a photo of day #9's ornament and some info from the brochure of some ruins we visited.

The red and white striped bag is just an extra and I added a card inside for more journaling.

Day 24 was Christmas eve and I added four little stocking stickers at the top of the page. There is a pocket at the bottom with a journaling card inside with more photos and journaling. There is also a photo of all of us in our Harry Potter pjs that our daughter and son-in-law gifted us and insisted we wear!

Day 25 - Christmas!

I used a double page spread for this day. It is mostly covered with a beautiful red and white napkin. I added several photos from our day as well as a Christmas card I received which matched the page so well. The card is only attached with a paper clip to reveal more photos and journaling.

I'll share the remaining pages in a future post. Hope you're enjoying it !

Remaining "12 Days of Christmas" Swap Projects

These are the five remaining gifts I received in the "12 Days of Christmas" Swap.

Day 8 - four wonderful Tim Holtz-style Christmas tags

Day 9 - a beautiful wire-wrapped tiger eye pendant

Day 10 - a lovely alcohol ink pendant

Day 11 - a fun woodsy embroidery hoop ornament

 

Day 12 - two darling matchboxes - when you open them the matches are the legs - 

super cute and clever

I always enjoy this annual swap!

Happy New Year ... and update

It's a new year and new decade! Wow! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

We spent a few days in Albuquerque and then drove to Sedona, AZ, with one daughter's family. The rest of the family joined us there for Christmas week. It was a chaotic, fun time - and exhausting with four kids (our youngest couldn't get away), three spouses and four young grand boys! I love that my adult children still enjoy each other and want to get together as often as possible. And the boys all get along really well. No matter how long they are apart, when they get together they just pick up as though they were never separated.

We returned home the day after Christmas to rewind and relax.  Two days later my computer went black and refused to work. When we took it to Apple for repair they told us it was obsolete (9 1/2 years old!) and I needed a new one. Once we purchased that, we had to try to reload all the data. We thought it had been backed up but all this time, the hard drive backup wasn't working! Long story short, Apple had to do a data transfer and I just got it back today. Amazing how we miss this technology when we don't have it! I have my iPad and phone, but some things are just better with the computer.

So, I'm "back in business!" I have lots of photos to edit and will post again soon.