Wednesday, January 20, 2010

DIY Sticker Book

Sam's really into stickers lately. I know this because I find myself carrying sheets of them in the car, my purse, kitchen cabinet...
The only problem is she doesn't have a suitable place to stick them. Paper frustrates her because she can't pull them back off so they end up on our floor & then inevitably on the bottoms of everyone's socks. I've been looking all over for a sticker book like I had when I was a kid, you know the kind with the slick pages that you could stick & restick your whole collection on? Well, either there's a mad rush for them and they're sold out everywhere or they just don't make them anymore.
So you know what I said? Screw it, I'll make my own. (:You'll need: Freezer Paper (I tried a few different slick surfaces but the plastic coated side of freezer paper least ripped her stickers) crafting adhesive spray, board book (Sam had ripped off all the flaps in this one) scrapbooking paper (optional) 1/2" wide ribbon, hot glue gun
Start off by making 2 templates. One for the cover of the book & one for the inside pages. For the cover I layed my book out and traced half, then marked the width of the spine & then marked the other half. *BE SURE TO DRAW ON THE NON-WAXY SIDE! Cut out along markings.For the inside pages I just layed the book on it's inner pages & traced it's shape. You'll need one of these for each set of two pages on the inside of the book. For example if your book is 12 pages long you'll need 6 of these inner templates.Next, and this is totally optional, I cut out some scrapbooking paper to cover up the images on the pages, the freezer paper is a bit translucent & that would've driven my crazy everytime I looked at it. I gave the book a good spray of adhesive (cover your work surface, it'll get sticky) & then layered on the scrapbook paper. Next I sprayed the newly attached scrapbooking paper & lined the spine of the book up with the center of my cover template. *DON'T FORGET, YOU WANT TO GLUE ON THE NON-WAXY SIDE. SLICK SIDE OUT! After the spine was glued on I pressed on the front & back cover working from the center out. A credit card will come in handy for pushing out air bubbles. Gluing the freezer paper on totally took me back to covering my school books with contact paper. Do kids still do that? Probably not, I'm getting old. And yes, that is the sleeve of my bathrobe in the pictures. And yes, I'm wearing my robe at 3pm, I'm not embarrassed. Anyway, let's keep going...

Next you'll want to glue on each of your inner page sheets. I found it helpful to run my scissors down the center so the pages wouldn't bubble up when you open & shut the book.Finally I trimmed off any excess & it was time to trim the pages with ribbon. I used 1/2" wide grosgrain ribbon. Start at one corner and hot glue the ribbon so half of it's width is left hanging off the page. (you'll glue this over the other side next) When you get to a corner make a small snip so you can make the turn with the least bulk, keep going until you get to the spine & cut. Flip the page over and glue down the overlap. Repeat this for every page. I also cut a small piece at the end to cover up the spineSo far I think she likes it, I plan on bringing this thing everywhere so can just stick & restick to her little sticker heart's desire!

36 comments:

  1. Good idea! I might try this. My Phoenix loves stickers as well. But I think he likes to stick them on his body more then anything else.

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  2. Brilliant! So glad she likes it. *grin*

    (FYI - I noticed sticker books in my Usborne books catalogue. :-))

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  3. That is such a great idea!!! I'm def doing this!

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  4. What a truly clever idea! Thanks for the tip.

    ~ Just Joany
    Red Wagon Flights

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  5. You are so darn crafty, and so clever! My little girl is the same way, she hates sticking them on paper, because then she can't get them off. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.

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  6. What an awesome idea!!!! We have stickers EVERYWHERE. I too have been looking for a sticker book. I am making one of these for sure. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Very crafty idea. My kids use the Clearfile books (with the plastic sleeves in) and put plain sheets in the sleeves as a background.

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  8. Clever idea!
    We have that same book & funny, we too have most of the flaps torn off too!
    I hate throwing away books...this is a great up-cycle idea.

    Question for ya:
    Where did you get those cute/sweet stickers she is playing with?

    Thanks,
    ~DeAyn

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  9. Great idea! Freezer paper is wonderful stuff.

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  10. That is such a fun idea, I love your book! Thanks so much, I'll be linking.

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  11. Brilliant! I never would have thought to use a board book. Your blog is full of really wonderful ideas! I'm excited to keep reading ;)

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  12. Yay! I'm so glad you guys like it! The sticker book is from Melissa & Doug. We have an all natural type of baby store here that sells a lot of Melissa & Doug products. The sticker books are $4.99, about 10 pages long and HUGE. That and as you saw the stickers are darn cute too. Highly recommended! (:

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  13. Great idea! I've been hoarding the broken board books too, to turn into photo albums, but this is another great use for them! :)

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  14. Oh, I love this book! And I know what you mean with the sticker love ... my daughter did the same! I also wanted to give her something that she could stick the stickers to and remove them again. Unfortunately we don't have freezer paper overhere (Germany) - at least not that I know of. I tried it with laminated sheets. But the stickers still would stick and not come off again ... :-(

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  15. I linked this to my facebook page- it turned out so cute! I used bias tape for the edges and it worked really well!
    Thanks for the great idea!

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  16. what a super cute idea! she looks adorable playing with her stickers! great way to use those books that are loved just a little too much!

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  17. Brilliant idea! I've searched for sticker books for so long and haven't found ANY!! I remember loving my sticker books so much, too.

    ~ Sarah

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  18. Great idea. I haven't been able to find freezer paper in Australia... but this inspires me to experiment. Thanks.

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  19. I tried this and my stickers would only half stick to the freezer paper. Which means they would come off just fine just not stick back on, Any suggestions?

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  20. Hmmm, are you sure you put it slick side out? I know, that's a dumb question, I'm sure you did but I'm kind of stumped. Sam's stick really well, but not too well, since the idea is that she can peel them on & off. Maybe try a different type of sticker? Sorry it didn't work for you!

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  21. Ya i did do it slick side out, and even ripped out a page and tried it the other way. Maybe I just got cheap stickers?! Well keep trying :) Thanks again for all the fun crafts you share!

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  22. Just made my daughter one of these and she loves it! Thanks for the awesome idea!!!

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  23. Oh my word what a fabulous idea! I too have been looking for those sticker books with no success. I am totally going to have to make one for my little girl. Thanks for sharing your great idea!

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  24. Finally got around to actually doing one of your DIY! Thanks for the great tutorial. Photos are on my blog if you want to see.

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  25. I did this project the other day, just posted about it on my blog if you would like to see! Thanks for the great tutorial :)
    http://merbobear.blogspot.com/2010/06/diy-sticker-book.html

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  26. I am going to make one for my daughter and my son! I am so excited. I love all your ideas. You are awesome!

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  27. I just passed this on to my friend! She loves it! and I am going to make some for Birthday presents! You Rock!

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  28. Hi!! I linked you to my blog!!! I hope thats ok!! Love your blog!!
    Annie!
    http://landrscharminglife.blogspot.com/2011/03/sticker-board.html

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  29. I just made up this DIY Sticker book for my little cousin for her birthday. Awesome! I think she'll really like it.

    My results are posted on my blog with a link back to your wonderful instructions: http://tawnykw.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-sticker-book.html

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  30. Adorable idea. Thanks for sharing.

    Renee
    Http://Renee-joyjournet.blogspot.com

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