Made it from scratch: OA Make it Merry Mini - Page 1

Before we get started on the first page, let's do a little project prep work okay?

 

First we need to make our base pages (6 in all).

• Pull out 3 sheets of 6" x 12" grunge paper.
• Cut the sheets into pages that measure 5" wide and  6" tall.
• When you are finished you should have 3 - 5" x 6" pages and 3 scraps about 2" wide x 6" tall. *Make sure to save the scrap pieces too (you'll need them for the cover later).*
• Optional step: I painted the edges of the pages with a Ranger Paint dabber (sandal) so that they grey of the grunge paper was covered, but you can leave the grunge paper raw if you'd like.

One thing to note: as you work through the project make sure to save your scraps. We'll be using them on future pages!

Here's the first page: 

Okay, now we're ready to make the first page. Here are the supplies you'll need:

• Snowflake paper from the 8x8 October Afternoon Make it Merry paper pad.
• "No." Label from the October Afternoon Witch Hazel label set.
• Teal button from the October Afternoon Make it Merry button pack.
• "Christmas wishes" sticker from the October Afternoon Make it Merry Little Flyers.
• Red baker's twine from the October Afternoon Make it Merry kit, or other red twine.
• Black chevron ribbon from May Arts
• Corrugated heart from Jillibean Soup (or punch your own).
• "1" brad from Basic Grey "Clippings" line.
• Adhesives: Red line tape, 1/16" thick foam tape, runner adhesive
• Other: Sewing machine and black thread. (If you don't want to sew you can just do pen stitching with a black pen.)

Directions:

1. Cut the "Make a Song" (snowflake) paper to 5" wide by 6" tall.
2. Cut a strip of the "Make a Garland" (the strip with the blue and black text) paper where it meets the next patterned strip and trim to 6" in length.
3. Adhere the first two pieces to the grungepaper page base. (If you are planning to stitch the paper, make sure that you don't apply the glue where you'll be sewing. keep the glue about 1" from the edges.) If you aren't going to stitch the pages, make sure to glue thoroughly and be forewarned that wet glues will cause the grungepaper to buckle and warp if applied too thick.
4. Create a template to determine where to punch the holes in the page for the binding.
1. To do this I got out the ring binder, a scrap piece of grunge paper, a ruler, and a pencil.
2. Place the ruler flush to one side of a ring and draw a line onto the scrap grunge, repeat this until you've drawn lines for each side of the two binding rings.
3. Measure 1/2" in from the left side and draw a line the length (6") of the piece. This will create an "cross-hairs" (intersection) with the ring binding marks. Punch a 1/4" hole at each of the two intersections.
5. Use your new punching template to mark where to punch your page, then punch the 1/4" holes in the page.
6. Sew a rectangular border around the the page about 3/8" from the edge. (Start on the side where you punched the holes.) If you don't want to sew for real, just draw stitching marks with a black pen instead. (Personally I like to use a fine or med point American Crafts Slick Writer for doing pen stitching.)
7. Size and print your photo at 3.5" wide x 4.5" high. Then either leave a 1/8" white border around the photo when you trim it, or mat the photo on white cardstock.
8. Cut a piece of green cardstock to 3-7/8" wide by 5" tall. Mount photo to green cardstock. Mount this to the page just inside of the stitching lines on the right.
9. Cut a piece of black and white chevron ribbon to 3.5" long. Turn the top under about 1" from the end and stitch to make a loop at the top. Trim the end to make it look like a banner. Add red line tape to the back. Adhere to the upper left corner of the page.
10. Grab the "Christmas Wishes" mini banner sticker from the OA Little Flyers set, add 1/16" thick foam tape to the back and layer on top of the black chevron ribbon.
11. Cut a piece of red baker's twine to 36" (3 ft). Wrap it around the page twice and knot it about 1-1/4" from the top of the page. Slide a teal button onto the twine and then tie the twine in a bow.
12. Add red line tape to the back of the corrugated heart and tuck it partially under the ribbon and button.
13. Add the black "No." label to the lower right corner, folding part of the sticker around the back of the page. Poke a hole through the label, paper, and grungepaper. Push the brad through and spread the back.

Page finished! (And hopefully in less than an hour.)