September 15, 2008

Use Your Printer to Dress Up Your Kid's Textbooks With Customized Vintage Covers

By Kara Hiltz

PrinTales: Laya Garcellano of Scraps Away! Makes Going Back to School More Fun

While brown paper book covers may get the job done, they don't exactly show off your kid's creative side. In this edition of PrinTales, Laya Garcellano of Scraps Away! shares her custom book covers project, which you can create with your printer.

Laya came to scrapbooking and paper crafts by way of being a collector (i.e., pack-rat). When she started a family, she found another reason to start hoarding mementos and keepsakes. But instead of just collecting them, she began to use them for projects and personal gifts. "I would make my own bookmarks, birthday gifts, cards or mementos for family and friends on special occasions," Laya told us.

Making the Move to Digital Crafts

Traditional scrapbooking blossomed out of Laya's personal collections, but her transition into digital scrapbooking came about when she and her husband felt overwhelmed by the number of pictures they snapped of their new daughter. "Aside from the all the photos being so adorable, it would still be incredibly expensive on a monthly basis, had we even succeeded in picking out which ones we'd really like to be printed," recalled Laya.

Suddenly, the realization hit her — go digital. "Now, I can layout as many pictures as I want without fearing for the family budget. I can send them as email or just post them on my blog!" exclaims Laya. Naturally, the next step came about in April when she started her Scraps Away! blog to share her scrapbooking projects.

Laya uses an Epson Stylus C67 BubbleJet printer for her digital printing, along with Epson paper. She believes that projects you want to physically share with family and friends make the best candidates for printed projects. "Holding your project, showing it and passing it around to people who take pleasure in what you've made makes all the effort worth every minute," says Laya.

Wrap Books in Personalized Covers

For this project, Laya uses older pieces of yellowed or faded paper to give her wrapper a vintage feel. "You can also use new paper and treat it with coffee or tea to age it," Laya suggests.

Supplies

• Paper (Letter-size/A4)
• Scissors
• Glue or double-sided tape
• Book or album
• Straight rule
• Printer
• Patterned paper ("I would recommend two contrasting/complementing paper patterns for the body and spine, and a neutral/plain pattern to provide accent," Laya told Databazaar Blog.)
• Frame for the cover
• Photo-editing software such as Adobe Photoshop
• Puncher (optional)
• Ribbon (optional)
• Cardstock (optional)

Steps

1. Measure your book or album and set your parameters accordingly with allowances to spare on each. "In this case, I printed on three letter-sized pieces of paper, one each for the front, back and spine pattern."
2. In your preferred computer program create an 8.5 x 11-inch canvas in landscape format for the front cover. Set your margins according. Add the paper pattern and insert the frame embellishment. Then, insert your text into the frame.
3. Do the same for the back cover. "You may want to leave it bare."
4. Do the same for the spine.
5. Print your three pages on old, stained paper for a vintage look. "Crumple it for added texture — but if you do this, I recommend printing the title frame on a separate sheet and gluing it later so the textures contrast nicely," suggests Laya.
6. Cut your paper sheets according to size.
7. Spread a thin layer of glue on the book or album cover (or apply your double-sided tape).
8. Lay the printed sheet over the cover and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles carefully. Repeat for the back cover.
9. Cut out the pattern for the spine and for the corners. Then, glue or tape a thin piece of accent paper to overlap the edges.
10. Spread the glue over the spine and whatever portion of the front and back covers you want to overlap.
11. Lay down the spine cover and smooth it out carefully.
12. Trim the edges all around the book or album to 5 centimeters.
13. Fold over the edges and glue them neatly in place.

You can also add a "lock" to your book by punching holes near the outer edges of both the front and back covers. Then thread a ribbon into the two holes and tie the ribbon to give the book or album a ribboned "lock," recommends Laya.

They say you can't judge a book by its cover. But thanks to Laya, you can certainly make a book look a whole lot better.

About PrinTales
If every picture tells a story, then every printer must contain several bookshelves' worth. In PrinTales, we bring these stories to you by profiling people who use their printers in a creative manner. Think of it as "once upon a time" for the digital generation.