Mini Album - Accordion Book

Accordion Book

This is a fun project, and a great gift item. There is various ways to make these books, so I will just share with you the way I normally create it. You can also add in or take out pages to fit your project, just so long as you have an odd number of pages.

List of Supplies:

A - (2) pieces 5 ¾ in x 5 ¾ in Mat Board (inside front/back cover)
B - (2) pieces 6 ½ in x 6 ½ in pattern paper (for covering up mat board)
C - (2) pieces 5 ½ in x 5 ½ in pattern paper (for covering up back side of mat board pieces)
D - (3) pieces 5 ½ in x 5 ½ in cardstock (for pages)
E - (2) pieces 5 ½ in x 2 in cardstock (for hinges)
Modge podge
Paint brush (I use foam)
Adhesive (tape runner or tabs)
Ribbon (to tie book closed)

To make this easier for me, I will refer to the pieces above as A, B, C, D, etc…

1. Take the two pieces of mat board and put a layer of modge podge. Center onto B piece of pattern paper. Flip over and put modge podge on the edges that are overlapped. Then fold the edges over and hold for a few seconds while the modge podge starts to set up. Do this on both pieces. Sit aside to let dry.
2. Take E pieces and bend in half lengthwise, so you have two 1 in long pieces folded together. These are the hinges. So take two D pieces and adhere the E piece to hinge the two D pieces together. Repeat with the third D piece and the last E piece. Now you have one long accordion section.
3. At this point, do any rubberstamping you like and I also take my ink pad and ink all of the edges of each page, front and back. You can use the ink pad itself using the ‘direct to paper’ method or use a sponge to apply a softer look of edging.
4. I also ink all of the edges of the two covers now.
5. Now we will attach the accordion section to the front and back covers. (Note: If you want a ribbon to tie the book together, here is where you would slip it in, in between the mat board covers and the accordion section) I use modge podge for this since it will hold stronger. So spread the modge podge on to the last page of the accordion section and carefully center onto the unfinished side of the front cover. Now close up the book and repeat adding the back cover. It is a bit of challenge so just do it carefully and don’t add too much modge podge because it can get messy.
6. Now to finish off the covers, take the C pieces and cover the front and back covers, where the accordion section is glued to the mat boards. This will cover up all of the rest of the mat board and seams. I use modge podge for this too. Apply it to the C pieces then adhere.
7. Let the project dry and then you can add photos.

Have fun!
Debbie Weller
A.K.A. DebDuzScrappin