Update on Assembling Children's Board Book

In early April I posted a process for creating a Board Book for my granddaughter.  I am happy to report that she is quite pleased with her book and loves seeing her own toys and other familiar items in a book. She is enjoying it so much that we decided to add more pages.

Today was 'book construction' day and things went much more quickly and smoothly this second time - the biggest issue was that it took me a bit to remember where I had stored the roll of laminate. :)

I had said in my last post that I used some Illustration Board for the pages last time. Since I had already cut into the board cut some 8 1/2" x 11" sheets previously, this time I was able to manouevre the board so I could use a paper cutter. That was incredibly easier than cutting with a scissor. If you have access to some cardboard 8 1/2" x 11" sheets that you could use for backing for the pages, you could really do yourself a favor!

8 1/2 x 11 Post-It sheets attached to backing and ready for laminating

Secondly, I mentioned that I discovered cutting the laminate larger than the pages and trimming it after made it easier to work with. I want to underscore that. This time I allowed about an extra 1/4" to 1/2" and that gave me plenty of leeway for error as I mounted the laminate.

Finally, I came up with a technique for mounting both the large post-it notes and the laminate on the 8 1/2" x 11" pages. Basically allign a corner of the sheet on one side of the page and then peel off the backing on the catty-corner of the sheet  and fold it back. Set down the sheet and affix that corner to the page and then simply peel back the rest of the backing of the post-it note or laminate.

Happy to report that I was done with the project very quickly and now have more pages for our granddaughter's book to go in the mail to her. (The holes to add them to the rings will have to be done out west so they match up with the existing pages. )

Finished pages ready for mailing.

Labor of Love

After spending a week with my granddaughter, I am always filled with creative ideas to support her as she explores the world. On my most recent visit, it was clear that she was exploring her own voice and using words to describe the familiar things in her environment. She also loves board books. So, the obvious conclusion - create a board book of some other familiar things in her environment.

My logical mind began to frame out how to create a book. Creating the pages would be simple, given that I owned a color printer. It didn't seem like it should be too hard to assemble...

I found a great reference on the web in an Apartment Therapy web site. And, I discovered many other suggestions as I surfed the web. So, over the weekend I went looking for materials and yesterday was 'book day'.

Using photos that my daughter sent of familiar items in my granddaughter's life, the project was fairly straight-forward. Aiming to make my life simple, I decided the final size of the book would be half of an 8 1/2" by 11" size page. This meant I could print two book pages per 8 1/2" x 11" sheet and do most of the assembly before cutting the pages apart.

I began by creating the pages in a design application that I had on my computer and then printed the pages on full page size post-it labels - the most expensive material for the project.

I then cut a product called 'Eco-Brites Illustration Board' to 8 1/2" x 11" size and mounted printed sheets sheets to the front and back of a board. The most challenging part of the task followed. I had a roll of Adhesive Laminate that I used to cover each mounted sheet. I found the laminate difficult to control and some of the pages are not quite smooth as a result. My technique improved with repetition and I found if I cut the laminate slightly larger than the page and trimmed it after, it was much easier to use.

Finally, I cut the full letter size pages in half and made holes in the side for book rings. We decided on this method of assembly so we could add to the book over time. 

The pages of the finished book turn quite easily and I am looking forward to reading the book with Judith-Catherine on my next visit in a few weeks!

PS: Linking up with Nina Marie at Off the Wall Fridays

PPS: I have posted an update to this project with a few additional suggestions.