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!