I've Been Busy...

Today was the luncheon for the library volunteers. The volunteer program at our elementary school is very active. There are ~20 library volunteers, and we come in for an afternoon or morning every other week, all school year. We check books in and out, shelve, and generally do the grunt work so the librarian and her assistant can actually work with the kids, maintain the books and add new ones, and schedule authors and illustrators to visit. They do a great job. Our librarian tailors her programs to fit the ages and needs of the kids - younger kids learn how to use the library and older ones learn how to use the library. Last time I was in, she had the 3rd graders on a book hunt - she gave them clues, either by Dewey Decimal call number, author and subject, or title, and they had to find the books in the library. It was a great exercise to really use what they had learned, and by structuring it as a game, the kids had a blast.

So every year she has a luncheon or party for her volunteers. Last year, in addition to a gift card we all chipped in for, the volunteer chair gave her handmade earrings. I thought, "Hey, I'm going to be co-chair this coming year, I could make her something!" Well, one thing led to another and I've been making books, so what could be more appropriate as a gift for the librarian?

This is the book I made for the assistant. It's approximately 3"x3", made as "meander book." That's a variation on an accordian book.

Cover is binder board covered with scrapbook paper. I drilled a little hole, and the button is actually a brad, so it is firmly attached to the cover. I poked it through the ribbon on one end, so the ribbon wraps around the book and then around the button. All the stickers and transparency pieces are from Making Memories. Some of the rub-ons are MM, some are Stampin' Up.

First page spread. Rub-ons and stickers, and I cut little slits to hold the corners of the quote.Second page spread. Because of how the book is made, I was able to cut the window in two pages and sandwich the bird transparency inside. The white is rub-ons on the following page.

Next spread goes over 4 pages. The left-hand quote is attached with flower eyelets. The white is rub-ons, and the colored flowers are stickers. The right-hand quote is again sandwiched between pages, with just a piece of white cardstock behind to make it more readable. Last spread! The transparency is held on with 4 mini glue dots in the corners, covered up by flat back gems (adhered with glue dots). The flowers are a transparency, again sandwiched, but with part of the plastic cut away so the button flower pokes through a little. It's adhered on the back page, which is attached to the back cover.

Unfolded, standing up.
From the top, you can see how the "window" pages stick out. The book is cut from one square piece of paper, divided into 16 equal squares. You then cut along some of the fold lines to make a long strip of paper that turns, or "meanders". Some people let the book turn, I chose to attach those pages together to make my windows.

This actually came together really quickly, although I found it easier to just start putting things together rather than plan each page. I'd purchased all the stickers, etc., from the same collection (in the clearance bin!) so everything coordinated, and I happened to have paper that worked with it too.

I'll post the librarian's book later, I'm off to the orthodontist with JC now. Goody!