The Cards

I used the Bookatrix board to make the

open book cards like this one below

Adding a border around the edges and also a bookmark hides

 any rough edges and the crease marks down the

center of the page.

I like to make the pages stand out more too by adding a

 double layer of 3D sticky pads (put one on top of

 another to add extra height)

This gives the book a more realistic feel for me and everyone

 that has been given one of my cards, agrees

with me on this too.

How to make a bookatrix card

To make a bookatrix card like the one

above you will need

1 piece of gold card

1 piece of cream card

1 piece of pearlised white card

1 sheet of decoupage (your choice of picture)

1 packet of 3D sticky pads (I use the medium sized ones not the biggest ones)

1 roll of double sided tape

1 sheet of gold or silver peel off edges

1 sheet of gold or silver peel off letters or words of your choice

Sharp craft scissors

Tweezers

Bookatrix Board

Ball tool to score the lines to cut your books pages out

Method

1. Lay the gold card on to the bookatrix (the side showing the open pages of a book)

2. Using the ball tool, follow the channels from the corner to the first page channel and follow it round the board.  This will give the first page (back page of the book as it lies open)

3. Cut the page out carefully with the scissors and put to one side

4. Lay the cream card on the board as before and repeat step 2, only this time, go to the second channel and follow that around the board.  This will give you a smaller page than the first one when it is placed on top of it

5. Repeat this with the white pearlised card but go to the third channel on the pages and follow round the board

6. Cut each page out separately and lay one on top of the other to check they are the right sizes.  They should go down in size

7. Put the second and third pages aside and concentrate on the largest page.  Cut a length of double sided tape to fit the center of the page and place it on top of the center crease.  Don't take the protective backing off the top just yet 

8.  Take the second page,  (you should have 3 lines down the center) and fold the page down the first outside crease, then repeat with the other side.  Don't fold the one in the middle

9.  Remove the backing from the tape on the first page and carefully position the second page on top so that there is equal gap around the outside edges and press down firmly to secure.  Put them to one side.  Crease the third page as before and lay in front of you but down attach it to the others yet

10. Carefully peel off a length of chosen peel off edging and place it around the edge of the second page.  You will need more than one to  complete the effect.  Place it as near to the edge as possible 

11. Place the third page in front of you and using the scissors, carefully cut out the first piece of the decoupage picture and using small strips of double sided tape, position it on to the page on either side (Left or Right, it's entirely your choice) using the tweezers to hold it while you position it correctly 

12. Cut the picure out in stages and use the 3D sticky pads to attach them to the first page to build up a 3D picture.  Use two pads one on top of each other to raise some parts higher than others in the appropriate places

13. Once you have finished the picture you can start to place the lettering on the opposite side of the page.  Remember that if you are adding a bookmark down the center you will need to position the letters towards the outside edge of the page to allow for this or you will not be able to read them correctly

14.  Turn over the bookatrix board and place a piece of the cream card over the bookmark, then use the ball tool to follow the channel as with the pages

15. Cut out and place out of the way.  Then repeat the process with the pearlised card, but this time follow the inside channel to create a smaller bookmark. Cut out

16. Edge the larger of the bookmarks with the same peel off edging as you used on the pages

17. Place 3 treble 3D pads (3 pads one on top of the other) on the back of the biggest bookmark at refular intervals down its length and use 2 double 3D pads in the same way on the back of the smaller bookmark.  Peel the backing of the pads on the larger one but leave them on the smaller one for now.  Attach the larger bookmark to the page with the picture and wording on it in the centre.  Stand the card up to make sure it stands alone.  If it doesn't, move the bookmark up slightly higher and try again.  You may need to bend the card in the middle carefully to help it stand

18. Place the lettering on the smaller bookmark and then attach it to the larger bookmark, positioning it in the center as with the pages

Congratulations...

Your bookatrix keepsake card is now complete. 

It's time to make the box.

Click on the next link to see how to do this...