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sarabooks™

What's a sarabook™? It's an interactive journalesque gift book. If that sounds like a mouthful, look at it this way: They're interactive, because each page has pockets, tags or charms. They're journalesque, meaning they're like a decorated journal with thoughts and inspiration on each page. And they're gift books, either for you or for a friend!

sarabook™ creator Sara Naumann came up with the original concept. Hot Off The Press developed the specialty supplies and materials. And friend and designer Katie Hacker loved the idea and created the sarabook™ you see here. (We thought it would make a perfect Valentine's Day gift!)

 

Love sarabook™
by Katie Hacker for Hot Off The Press

Supplies

 

How to make a sarabook™

#1 Cover the Cover: Cut a piece of paper that's 1" wider and 1" longer than the matboard cover. Glue a blank cover centered to the back of the paper. Miter the corners, fold in each side of the paper onto the cover blank and glue in place. Punch the holes with a 1/4" hole punch. Repeat for the back cover.

#2 Cover Your Pages: Apply adhesive to the cardstock pages, putting the glue along each edge and around the holes. Place your paper on top, then trim the edges with an X-acto® knife and ruler. Turn the page over and punch holes in the paper, following the guide of the holes on the page. Cover the reverse side with paper, trimming as before. Turn the page over and punch the holes.

#3 Bind Your Book: Cut three 14" lengths of different fibers. Place them in three groups. Wrap a small piece of clear tape around the very end of one of the fiber groups. Starting with the center hole, pull the fibers through all the pages. Tie the fibers in a loose knot so the pages can turn easily. Repeat for the left and right holes. Tie the key onto one of the fibers.

 

sarabook™ techniques

Chalking: Use chalk to highlight a word on a quote or to darken torn edges. Apply it with your finger, using a light touch at first and applying more if needed.

Inkpad Edging: Edge paper (especially quotes and tags) with an inkpad for a defined look. Simply run your inkpad along each straight edge of your paper piece.

Tearing Paper: When tearing patterned paper, you can opt for a white edge or a non-white edge. To get a white edge, tear the paper toward you. For a non-white edge, tear the paper away from you. The white edge will act as a mat, while a non-white edge will give a tone-on-tone effect. The tearing direction won't make a difference with parchment, glimmer paper or vellum.

Using Fibers: Choose thinner fibers for the inside of your book and save the others for the binding. Be sure you set aside enough fibers to bind the book together before you start decorating the inside.

Working With Vellum: Vellum looks best when the glue is hidden. First, try hiding the glue under other elements of the page, like a tag or quote. If you can't hide the glue, use the smallest amount possible. Remember, you don't need very much glue to hold the vellum in place. You can also attach vellum with brads or eyelets.

What to do with your finished sarabook™? Give your completed sarabook™ away as a gift—or make one as a gift to yourself!

 

Take a look at Katie's love-themed sarabook™

 Katie decorated her cover with two different patterned papers and a torn strip of vellum layered to create a half-and-half effect. She inked the large parchment "love", then matted it on glimmer paper and added gold eyelets. The smaller parchment "love " is also inked, then matted on a lavender label and decorated with brads. The smallest "love" is simply cut out and attached to an embossed paper charm.
The words and quotes are inked with purple, then added to the page with foam tape for dimension.


Katie created a pocket from a 5 1/2"x4 1/2" piece of light sponged paper. She folded the side flaps in and the bottom flap up, then tore the top edge. Four tags are attached to the pocket with foam tape; Katie cut apart the word "love" into separate letters, inked them, and added one to each tag.

The pocket on this page holds a dedication tag decorated with an inked quote, a brad and fibers. Katie also added a small signature tag with the name and the date. It's threaded onto the fibers that bind the book.

Sources

Hot Off The Press for sarabooks™
(800) 227-9595
www.sarabooks.info

 

About Sara

Sara Naumann is a dedicated paper-crafter and self-described Paper Addict. From rubber stamping to collage, scrapbooking to card-making, altered books to handmade journals, Sara has a passion for paper. "I'm so excited to share the sarabook™ idea. Having the materials coordinated for you—like these incredible papers and quotes and fibers—makes creating a handmade gift book something you can easily do in a weekend."

"The sarabooks™ line includes everything I've ever hand-stamped, hand-lettered or searched all over town for, all organized and color-coordinated," she says. "Let me show you!" Sara lives in Oregon.

 

About Katie Hacker

Katie Hacker is a talented freelance designer with a passion for crafting of all kinds. She enjoys sharing her talents with other people and regularly writes instructional books and magazine articles on a variety of crafting topics. Katie's specialty is beading, a medium she explores in books such as Katie's Basics of Beading. In all, Katie has had more than fifteen books published with Hot Off The Press on topics from teen/tween decorating to soap making. Katie lives in Indiana.