Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Mini Maze in a Matchbook Tutorial

I pinned one of Kay's matchbook projects more than a year ago, and it gets re-pinned at least once a day. Turns out, matchbook-sized art is a "thing."

For Club Scrap's Literature blog hop, I decided to explore an easy way to make a matchbook from scratch and developed a "Maze Book" formula to easily create an inner book. The best part of the project is decorating the sleeve and book with miniature items from your stash!






The majority of supplies used in my project are from Club Scrap's Literature collection.

You'll need the following trimmed papers:

  • 3-5/8x3-1/8" Lt. Kraft (Tray)
  • 1-7/8x4-5/8" Red (Sleeve)
  • 5x7" Dk. Kraft (Maze Book)
  • 1-3/4x2-7/8" Brown (Maze Book Cover)

I used the handy new model of the Scor-Pal with grooves positioned every 1/8" and Club Scrap's new Needle Tip Glue Applicator filled with CS® Bookbinding Glue. (The best glue ever.)

1. Score the 3-5/8x3-1/8 Lt. Kraft tray paper 3/8 and 7/8" from each outside edge.


2. Score the 1-7/8x4-5/8 Red outside sleeve horizontally at 1.5, 2, 3.5 and 4".


3. Score the 5x7" Dk. Kraft maze book paper horizontally at 1.75, 3.5 and 5.25". Score vertically at 1.25, 2.5 and 3.75".


4. Score the 1-3/4x2-7/8" Brown maze book cover horizontally at 1-1/4 and 1-5/8".


5. Position the Lt. Kraft tray paper vertically, and cut vertical darts from the inner score lines to the second intersecting score line.


6. Remove the outside corners of the tray paper to create tabs and flaps, as shown.


7. Apply glue to the long outside flaps with a CS® Needle Tip Glue Applicator, fold the flaps over, and burnish with a bone folder. TIP: Always fold with the bump of the score on the inside of the fold.


8. Add a "handle" to the 1/2" area on the outside of one short flap to act as a drawer pull. Use a brad, bead, miniature hardware, or nailhead.


9. Apply glue to the outside short flaps.


10. Fold the long walls up at a 90-degree angle, turn the tabs in, and wrap the short flaps around the tabs to form the tray.


11. Apply glue to the 5/8" tab on the Red outside wrap. Secure the tab on the inside of the wrap. (This image demonstrates the best positioning of the flap during the gluing process but might be a little confusing. The goal is the form a perfect rectangle with the 5/8" tab on the inside.)


12. Position the 5x7" Dk. Kraft maze book paper horizontally. Use a scissors or ruler and craft knife to cut vertical slits into the paper. Start at the top edge of the first column, and cut down to the last intersecting horizontal score. Cut from the bottom of the center score, and stop at the last intersecting score. Cut from the top of the 3rd vertical column, and stop at the last intersecting horizontal score.


13. Accordion fold along the score lines, flipping and reversing folds as necessary to form the book. For a tutorial on how a maze book is created, watch this video.


14. Adhere the pages of the book back to back so they don't flop open.


15. Apply glue to the inside flaps of the Brown maze book cover.


16. Insert the maze book into the cover and burnish to form a secure bond. Drop the maze book into the matchbook tray.


17. Slide the tray into the Red sleeve.


18. Decorate the outside cover and maze book to heart's content! Tweezers and the needle tip glue applicator will help when working with small objects.


Let's take a closer look at the finished project!






(The little owl charm is from my stash . . . but isn't he cute?)

It's time to hop over to Ink Stains with Roni. If you want to see a master list of all bloggers involved in the hop, click HERE.

Happy mini maze matchbook making!
Tricia

16 comments:

  1. Oh my goodnes, the perfect gift voor Raymond. He loves mini books!
    I can also imagine a xmas tree decorated with these minibooks. Fantastic idea, Tricia and so beautifully made.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Omg this way gorgeous and adorable! Love it is tiny!

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW, Tricia this itty bitty little box and book are ADORABLE! Of course, your directions are impeccable!! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is just too adorable and cute and delightful and and and ....

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMGOSH this is absolutely too stink'n CUTE, and I LOVE it!!! Love the darling little book too, its so cute, wow!!! Beautiful job!!!!
    hugs
    Cheryl

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is the most adorable little matchbook! I think my hands are to clunky to make something that small, but I am going to give it a try! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love tiny books! Thank you for the very clear instructions on how to make my own.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So freakin' cute. I agree with Donna; my fingers are probably too chubby to make one, but I'm going to try!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I just love this and of course wish that I made it LOL!!! So cool that you actually pinned one of my projects, that blog post of mine is certainly in the running for most views in my history of blogging haha! Your Mini Maze In A Matchbook is so sweet!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. OMGosh this is sooooo adorable. Love it. Thank you for the matchbox tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is so fun- LOVE this darling mini book! Amazing job!

    ReplyDelete
  12. OMGoodness. This is so tiny! way to use up those itty-bitty embellishments!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am a huge fan of the itty bitty books!!!! This one is so cute in its own lil box, can't get much better than that - could be a perfect Christmas tree ornament gift!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. So cute! I'm going to make your Christmas Thyme version for my daughter's schoolteachers for Xmas. The librarian is going to go nuts! Thanks for some great inspiration!

    ReplyDelete