Holiday Handbook - Flamingo Scraps

Hello all!

I don't know about you guys, but it seems to me that the thing I do most often around the holidays is make lists!  It starts right before Thanksgiving every year and continues into the New Year.  I like to have one place to keep all of my holiday lists, that is compact enough to fit in my purse (because you never know when you are going to have to add something to the list!)  So, I decided to make a cute little notebook with divided sections that would make it easier on me to stay organized. 

I adore Pink Paislee's City Sidewalks collection, and used the 8x8 paper pack for this project.  This is the same project that Tonya used on her adorable City Sidewalks Mini Album that she put together.  You can watch her entire process on Tonya's Ustream Channel.

I started with just a plain little notebook that I had laying around the house.  It is a little smaller than 4x6, so it is a great size to keep with me.  

I decided to help keep my various tasks straight, I would make some tabs for the end.  I decided that I would have four sections:  To Do, Menus, Gifts, and Days.   Here's a little trick I use to score things, I center the paper using the rulers on each side of the track and then run my stylus down the middle.  

After the tabs were cut and scored, I used a tab stamp that I had laying around, stamped the image on both sides of the fold and cut around it.

I decided that to make it easier for me to keep track of things, the "Days" section would have a page for each day from November 17 - January 1.  I just used my letter stamps and stamped the date on the top of each page.

 I used the same letter stamps to label each of the tabs as well.

Then, I got started on the inside.  Each of the dividers include three pages of the noteboook plus a piece of patterned paper on each side to give them a little more heft and stability.  I cut the papers to size and then lightly adhered them about a half inch away from the long edge to the first page and the last page that were to make up the divider. (Don't worry... we will be making them more permanent in a minute, I just wanted to be able to get the tabs in and make adjustments as necessary.)

At this point, to reduce bulk at the binding, so it would close completely, I decided to trim about a quarter of an inch from the inside portion of the patterned paper.  (You guys can be smarter than me and do this before you get it glued in.)  Then run another line of adhesive at the bottom to tack the patterned paper to the page.

I put a little adhesive on the tab and wedged it between the patterned paper and the piece of the notebook paper it was attached to in the front and the back of the divider.  I did this for all four tabs and made sure each was staggered a little from the one in front of it, so they could all be seen when the book is closed.

After all of the tabs were adhered in, I ran a quick zigzag stitch on my sewing machine across the top to serve the dual purpose of decoration and holding all of my pages together to form the divider.

Next, to cover where I trimmed the patterned paper, I just ran a strip of washi tape along the seam and around the page.  As you know, washi is so thin that it really doesn't add much additional bulk to your project.

 I added some of the additional paper from City Sidewalks on the inside covers.

I decided that I would adhere the front and back covers using Mod Podge, to act as both an adhesive and a sealant to try to give a little more protection to the notebook.

Quick tip:  I always have a problem when I use MP with it bubbling a bit.  I have found that you can put wax paper (just regular old kitchen wax paper) on top of the MP when it is still damp and then put it under a weight (in this case, under three scrapbooks I had on my coffee table) and once it dries, the wax paper comes off easily and your cover is perfectly flat.  (I also use wax paper to help move sticker letters around a layout when figuring out title placement - it's not much different than the backing they come on.)

 Once it was all dried, it was time to decorate!  I did not want anything too bulky for this notebook, so I used some of the Studio Calico veneers, lacy trim and other embellishments that I picked up at Flamingo Scraps to give the notebook a more festive feel for this upcoming holiday season!

Here is the finished project!

I hope everyone has a great (and organized!) holiday season!  Don't forget to visit Flamingo Scraps at http://store.ebay.com/Flamingo-Scraps for all your scrappy needs!  Also, keep an eye out for the new store that should be going live VERY SOON at www.flamingoscraps.com.  

Until next time!
Alicia