Some card organisation ...

I have been meaning to make something like this for absolutely ages. It's such a nuisance to forget Birthdays and other special occasions, or having to create a card at the last minute. This is now officially a thing of the past : I present a custom made book to store my cards and record special dates. Here is the cover :

I didn't want the cover to be too fancy, as it will be used a lot and I didn't want things falling off. I may write something in the frame at some point, but the paper is so pretty ...

And on the inside of the book there are 12 page pockets for cards, with space to record the special events that are happening during that month. Once I have written the dates in, I wont forget to make cards :) 

When is your Birthday again ? LOL

To make this book I used custom sized chipboard 0.060 depth from Southern Ridge Trading Company. The cover is 8 inches x 8 inches, the inner page pockets are 7.5 inches x 7.5 inches and made with 110gram card stock.  I selected this chipboard in particular because of the strength, durability and quality. If I had made this book from regular cardboard it would not have held up over time, it would have buckled under the weight of the cards in the pockets. I knew I needed a quality product.

For the cover I also used a frame, FRA-132. I painted it with white acrylic paint, then in a pale green - with a dry brush, you don't add too much water. Did you know that you tend to get a truer paint color when you paint something white before you paint it with a color? When the paint was dry I lightly touched a blue ink stamp pad to the surface, and clear embossed it - can you see the reflective nature of the blue in the pic below. I sponged the edges in brown distress ink. Finally I wove some flowers, also for sale from Southern Ridge Trading Company, through the trellis. It was all glued firmly onto the front of the book.

I punched holes with my crop-a-dile and used 1.5 inch book rings, with co-ordinating ribbon tied to them.

And finally, a view from the side :

Doesn't organisation feel GREAT ! LOL I think this little book will get a lot of use. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you found some inspiration here :)