Competition Sparks Creativity

For a minute lest step back a few months.  The week before Thanksgiving, my favorite blog Lil Blue Boo was pumping up excitement for her new Lil Blue Boo / Dharma Trading Design Challenge.  Being mildly creative, I decided to look into it.  After her post of the rules, it seemed plausible, I just needed a medium.  (If you click the button to the side, you will see her posted rules)  

 To recap:  I needed to use a use a printing or dying technique with fabric.  This item could be anything I would like.  

Brain Storming:
In brief I like to take photos, I am not a photographer.  I have tons of photos hiding in my computer just waiting to bust free and be seen.

I have been wanting a good reason to print my photos on fabric using this technique I found on YouTube.  I desided to use this technique and incorporate the photos I had taken of my nephew and my cousin's daughter at the park.  

I incorporated the photos into two small picture books to give to them for Christmas.  Here is the process: 

Using the above video I prepped my fabric pages.  I used 100% cotton curtain lining from Joann Fabrics, I liked the extra weight. 

I printed 5x6 photos in the center of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of my prepped fabric paper 

 After the photo was printed and set, I ironed on a heavy interfacing to give the page some extra stiffness, and trimed the outside edges to 1/4 inch from the edge of the photo and 3/4 inch on the inside (binding side).  

I

then sewed on a fun fabric for the back side of the page using the photo edge as my stitching line on three sides leaving the binding side open creating a pocket.  

I inserted 4 7/8 x 5 7/8 - 2mm fun foam sheet into the pocket I made with the backing fabric.  and finished the edges with double folded 1/4 in bias tape.

My books each had 7 pages, a title page and 6 photo pages,  I sewed the first 4 pages together along the binding side, closing the pocket.  The last three pages got sewn together next.  

For the binding of the book I used 2 in satin binding as you would bias tape, and covered up the 3/4 in binded side on the 4 page and 3 page.  (be careful not to flip one side as I had done.  There is nothing like breaking 4 needles and ripping it out and starting all over)

To close the book I cheated and used a no sew fabric glue.  If my sewing machine broke  4 needles with 4 pages I hated to think what 7 pages would look like.  

 The final result of my nephew's book (Due to the present opening of my cousin's daughter's book being so close to the finishing of the book, I have no good pictures) :

THE END

Jennifer