ATC Brag Book

ATC brag book made by Lois

Instructions kindly written by Lois

Closed view with ribbon

Open View, without cards

 

Open view with 4 cards inside

 

Concentina Brag Book

                                       Lois Cochrane, November 2012

Requirements:

2 pieces Cardboard – 4 ¾ “ x 3 ¼ “, 2 Pieces Decorative Paper for outside cover (4 ¼ “ x 5 ¾”),

2 Pieces Decorative Paper for the inside cover (3” x 4 ½ “), 1 triangle (half of a 2” square) for marking the envelopes,  12 – 15 business envelope ends – cut to size width of envelope x 2 ¾ “ high

Glue stick, acrylic paints for decorating the envelopes, apx 1M Ribbon for tie, beads to add to ribbon tie, double sided tape – narrow

Directions:

Mark a centre line on the envelope and position your triangle to line up with this on the open side, and mark around the triangle.  Cut out the triangles from each envelope.

Lay your envelopes out on a protective sheet on your table and paint one side. (I used dye-na-flow paints which are opaque – watered down acrylic paint will do the job as it only needs to be a wash of colour.) When the first side has dried, turn over and paint the other side.

In the meantime, make your cover for the holder.  On the outside of your cardboard piece roughly apply some glue around the whole area to hold the paper in place.  Place your outside piece of decorative paper face down on a firm surface and position the glued card in the centre, turn over and smooth the paper towards the edges.  On the inside of the card piece, run a line of glue down each side, then turn the edges from the front over to the inside and smooth in place – trimming in the corners if necessary to form a neat turn.  Glue the remaining smaller piece of decorative paper over the edges to form a neat look.

Creating the pockets: Place a piece of double sided tape in the centre of the pocket, from the tip of the cut triangle to the base of the pocket.  Line up the next pocket and attach it to the first pocket, pressing the area with the tape to make it secure.  Continue adding pockets until all of the pockets are attached to each other.  Tip: If you alternate the side of the pocket that has the envelope flap as you attach each new pocket, the pockets will lie flatter.

Use the glue stick or tape to adhere one end of the ribbon to the centre back of the last pocket.  Cover the rest of the pocket with glue and centre the stack of pockets onto the inside back cover.  The ribbon should now be firmly attached between the last pocket and the cover.  Glue the front cover onto the stack, making sure the front and back covers are aligned.

Wrap the ribbon around the book 4-5 times to determine how long you need it to be.  Make a knot at the end of the ribbon and add your beads for decoration.  Make another knot to secure the beads  then cut off any extra ribbon.