Make Your Own "Cosy-All"

These days everything has a "cosy":

• Starbuck's Cosies... (I have one my friend Elena made for me)
  
• Cell Phone and iPod Cosies... (How else do you keep from scratching the screen?!)
  
• Water Bottle Cosies... (my aunt crochets these to put over the horn of the saddle to hang her water bottle when going horseback riding)
  

It's just a fun little thing that makes your stuff "comfortable". I am pretty sure the term is derived from tea cosy.

Here's the wikipedia definition: A tea cosy (American English tea cozy) is a cover for a teapot,^[1] traditionally made of cloth or wool, which is used to insulate the tea, keeping it warm while it brews.

Like I was saying, lots of things have cosies so...

What about Cover-Alls?!

Norma Kennedy, the winner of our spring challenge made a sort of cosy for her address book using fabric. I have been thinking of covering a Cover-All with felt for sometime and now I finally did it!


This is just the Cover-All without the book inside because I wanted to show that the whole Cover-All is truly covered with felt (and it isn't glued on).


Want to make one yourself? Here's how:

Gather the following supplies:

• Sewing Machine
• Felt
• Cover-All
• Felt Flowers
• Buttons
• Craft Thread
• Needle
• Scissors
• Pinking Shears
• Paint for distressing
  

1. Lay two layers of felt under the Cover-All and trim to be one inch larger than the Cover-All on all sides.


2. Using scissors (here I used pinking shears), snip the fabric where the envelope on the back of the Cover-All opens for the plastic sheet to slide in and out of the Cover-All. Do this on the top and the bottom of the cover.




3. Place the Cover-All to the side.

4. On one of the felt sheets cut from the notch you snipped on one side to the notch on the other side. This will be the inside of the Cover-All and will form the slot for that plastic sheet to slide into when you make your book. Do not cut BOTH sheets, just one.


5. Place the Cover-All between the two sheets of felt (the one solid piece on the outside and the cut in half piece on the inside). Sew closed with a sewing machine.

6. Trim the excess felt from the Cover-All using pinking shears. This is what the inside will look like once it is all sewn and trimmed:

Here's the slot on the inside where the plastic piece can slip into the back of the Cover-All:


7. Slip the Cosy-All off the Cover-All so you can embroider designs on the cover. I used a bit of paint on a foam brush to dry brush the book for a distressed effect. When you've finished, slip the Cosy-All back on the Cover-All and decorate the book inside.

Here are the exact supplies I used:

• 8x8 Craft Color Cover-All by Zutter
  
• Felt from the remnant section at Joann's (good place to get deals on fabric for scrapping!)
  
• Felt Sheets from Joann's
• Sizzix Big Shot & Dies
• Joann's Pinking Shears
• 3" Doll Needle from Joann's
  
• Folk Art Craft Paint
• Felt Flowers by K & Co
• Sequins from Athenian
• Buttons by American Crafts
• Craft Thread from Joann's
  

I embroidered some swirls onto the cover and then stitched on some felt flowers. I used a Sizzix Big Shot to diecut some flowers from sheets of felt available from the craft store. The other flowers came in a pack, pre-assembled with adhesive on the back. I carefully peeled them away from the adhesive so that when I sewed them on, the adhesive would not gum up my needle.


To attach the little sequin flowers, I stitched up from the bottom of the sequin through the hole in the center. Then I tied a double knot (or square knot) in the center. And then I threaded the needle back down through the hole in the center of the sequin and tied the string off.

Happy Creating!! And may all your books be "cozy"!

The Beyond the Book May Challenge

Hi y'all, Vicki Flinchum here! I'm jumping on here today to give you a new challenge! I want you to create a project that IS NOT an album! That's right! It can be anything but!!! The only "requirement" is that you use the Bind-it-All in some way, shape or form. If you use other Zutter tools or supplies all the bettter! We have a prize that will make your head spin! The brand new Zutter Spinner Album Kit!!! I'm going to post one for you later....when I get mine done! (I have my dear daugther's Girl Scout Troop calling me right now though, so it's not quite complete!).

Our new challenge begins today and the last comments must be posted by May 15 – that’s a Friday. Get creating and post a link to your creation here under this post. Our DT will huddle and make their selection by May 22nd! At that time, we will have another challenge for June! Sound fun? Hope so! Let’s see what you’ve got!

In the meantime, to get those creative juices flowing, here are a couple of NON ALBUM projects using my latest favorite scrappy supply....Zutter Clipboard.

Post a comment with a link to your project. Make sure you comment about what you did to use the Bind-it-All (like, "I punched holes for the ribbon"). Have fun and go beyooooooooond the book!

And if you haven't yet, make sure you check out the Owire video below and leave a comment to win some OH-wire!!!!

A little Madness in the Spring, Is wholesome even for the King....

.....or for the “Goddess” of the Bind-it-All Springtime Challenge!!!!!

The above quote is from Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), and better describes the madness the Design Team had in trying to determine their favorite projects for this challenge! While we may all be a bit looney with our socks knocked off of us with the terrific projects, we all agreed that it was a great privilege to view your work.

So without further adieu, here is our Springtime Challenge Goddess, and her winning project….

Norma Kennedy and her fabric covered, handmade address book.
Norma, the design team raved about your use of fabric and the clever way you wrapped the owire binding. It's beautiful, functional and so meaningful (because you made it yourself). It's sure to be a treasured address book for years to come! Congratulations! Norma, email me (nan@binditall.com) your choice of the R10 or R5 Round-it-All and your shipping address.

Note: 5/18/09: Norma's design is so fabulous that it got picked up for publication, so we removed the photos. Watch for it in a scrappy mag later this year :)

And, just because we felt like it, we picked a runner up…..meet "Goddess-in-Waiting"...ShabbyShaz!

The BIA Design Team liked the mini-ness, the roundness, the softness, and the digi-ness of this spring themed album. This representation of the photos doesn't do the project justice, so please check out ShabbyShaz's blog to see the larger versions.

Congrats to you, too, ShabbyShaz! We are going to send you some Cover-Alls and Owire in NEW Antique Silver to keep your creativity going! Email me your shipping address at nan@binditall.com.

Ladies, enjoy your virtual tiaras and thanks for participating.

Design Team member and resident Texas Scrap Addict, Vicki, will be blogging soon about the May Project Challenge....she will have you spinning with creativity (*hint hint)!!!

Have a great weekend!

Perfect O's with Your Owire

See the survey over here to the left, a few clicks down???? The one that asks what people want to see in BIA videos? Not too many people are interested in owire....so that must be why I felt compelled to do a video about it! Poor owire! It's such an important part of your binding project, and I WANT you to love your OHwire!!! Once you master the art of making a perfect "O" you will be the envy of all your binding friends and will never again suffer the heartache of egg-shaped owire!

My daughter Franny is in a Brownie Girl Scout troop and for two years running I have been asked to conduct a scrapbooking project for the girls. This year the Try-It badge is for Caring & Sharing, which includes a scrapbook project as one of the elements. Franny and I put together the books in preparation for the meeting, and this video shows you how to get the perfect "O" in your owire! Franny is the perfect video co-star, dontcha think?

Leave a comment about how your owire binding has improved after watching this video (or just how funny Franny is when she says the owire looks "oh-ish") for a chance to win a box of new Antique Silver or Antique Brass owire - yes, TWO winners! Zutter is so excited about these new-exclusive owire colors.

We will draw two random winners on Cinco by Mayo (that's May 5th!!).

More Clipboard Fun

The Zutter Clipboard covers are awesome! There are sooo many creative possibilities. Jennifer Priest detailed a wonderful project last week. And, I'm gonna show a couple more!






So how about a dish sign for your dishwasher or a organizer for your keys and messages. The dish sign is made from a 5x7.5 inch clipboard cover. The message center from an 8x10 inch clipboard cover. Clipboard has soooooo many possiblilites!

Display-it-All Winners

Decided to pull TWO winners for the Display-it-All giveaway. The feedback from you all is great! Glad to see that I am not the only one with boxes of mini albums that need to see daylight! Have fun with the Display-it-All and show off your albums!

-----------------------
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 72 23
Timestamp: 2009-04-15 17:15:27 UTC

#23 - Charisma3103 (4/6)

#72 - Debra Lynn (4/12)
-----------------------

Ladies send me an email with your shipping address (nan@binditall.com).

We are going to do another giveaway next week, and the Spring Challenge deadline is Friday!!!

Spring Cleaning

It's a spring, time to clean and renew, time to bring fresh life into your home! Spring cleaning is also a time to reassess the kids' chores in my home. My daughter will not remember if she did her chores and as a busy mom, it is tiring reminding her to do the same things day in and day out.

I figured I needed a chore chart that she could fill out on a daily basis, on her own. I also wanted a chart that was easy to update or change. The best way to get a customized chore chart would be to make it! I used the Bind It All because as our needs change, I can remove the old chart papers and bind in new ones with my Bind It All.

Here's the supplies you'll need to create this project:

• Clipboard Wood Cover (8" x 10" size)
  
• Bind It All
• 3/4" or 1" O-Wires ( I used black but any color is fine)
• Paper trimmed to 8" x 10" plus a few scraps for decorating
  
• Alphabet Stickers or Diecut Letters
• Paint and Brush
• Crop-A-Dile
• Ribbon
• Pen (Sharpie)
  
• Word Processing Program and Plain White Printer Paper
  

I recently got my hands on some Clipboard Wood Covers from Zutter. I covered the cover with patterned paper and then painted the edges of the wood with a coordinating paint. I used the paint kind of like ink to give the edges of the wood dimension.



I chose to use Clipboard Wood Covers because they are sturdier than regular chipboard. This chart will be handled daily and then have the force of someone ripping off a new tear sheet each week--it needs to hold up because I plan to use for years to come. So Clipboard Wood Covers were an obvious good choice since they are durable, completely customizable, and easy to use with the Bind It All.


I went into Microsoft Word (or you can use any word processing program on your computer) to create the pages for the chart. I set the page up for landscape orientation with 0.5" page margins and two columns, with 0.5" space between the columns.

I created a Chart with the tool in the Word program (Insert > Table) and filled in the spaces that I needed with columns for the days of the week. Then I started entering my daughter's chores on the chart. Since she's a tween, she has some new additions to her hygiene regimen that she needs reminders to do that I included. We just got a new dog so she also needs reminders to feed and water the dog. Whatever your needs are, you can totally customize the chart to suit them.

Since there was space on the bottom of the page, I added my family household chores too, making sure every room gets a little attention each week. This has really helped me to stay on top of things and minimize my stress - I just follow my little schedule. On Friday mornings I am always panicked that the trash did not get put out on the street for pickup so I included a reminder for that as well.

To make the "check ovals" like I have on my chart you'll go to Insert > Picture > AutoShape in Microsoft Word and then select the oval shape. After that you can copy and paste it where ever you need it, as many times as you need it.

I printed 25 sheets of the chore chart, two per page, on white printer paper (nothing fancy). I cut the pages in half between the columns to measure 8.5" x 5.5".

I set the Bind It All on the "C" setting and punched binding holes on one side of the clipboard wood. Then I moved it to the "A" setting and slid the Wood Cover over so that I would punch a total of 9 holes in the Wood. I am punching 9 holes since the paper is 5.5" wide when cut. I inserted the little black tab into the second hole from the end, then punched again to get a total of 9 holes. I also punched 9 holes in the pages, on the "C" Setting and then bound them to the Clipboard Wood.

Why the "C" Setting? Because the Bind It All punches holes every 0.5". On the "C" Setting the Bind It All punches the holes with a 0.5" margin on either side -- this means a 0.5" space will be on each side of the page if I punch it on "C" from the left side and then punch the page again on "C" from the right hand side. Just a note in case you are making custom projects like this yourself--make sure your projects measure in half inch incremements (4.5", 5", 5.5", 6", 6.5" and so on) and binding will be super easy!

I could not use the C Setting on both sides of the clipboard wood because my binding holes only went partway across the top of the clipboard. But on projects where the wires will go the length of the your project, if the project measures in half inch incremements you can use the "C" setting to punch binding holes for the entire project.


I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the two upper corners of the Clipboard Wood and then I tied ribbon to make a hanger, putting a bow on one side. Then I added some strips of coordinating paper and "Daily Duties" using sticker and diecut letters to the chart.


To make a pen holder, I looped a piece of ribon around a Sharpie marker. Then I glued the loose ends of the ribbon to the back of the chart, securing underneath a strip of paper to make it extra strong.

The chart now hangs in a hallway we walk in everyday so we can be reminded of what we need to do:

My daughter loves it and enjoys checking off the boxes. It helps her feel a sense of accomplishment to have completed her daily tasks. It also helps me because I don't have to remember to remind her to do all of her chores since she enjoys using the chart. And I don't forget to do my chores either.

Happy Creating ~~~ Jennifer Priest

P.S. Don't forget to enter our Springtime Challenge to win a Round It All!! It rounds Clipboard Wood too!!!

Beyond the Book

I am a mini album addict. In fact, when I first bought my blue Bind It All several years ago...that's why I did! To make my own little books to gift away and share. Since that time, my BIA has become the staple of my scrappy space. I've learned to create a variety of projects with this great tool: books, home decor and, most recently...layouts.

Now I must admit, the idea to incorporate an interactive element into a layout isn't new to me or many of us. But, for me, using my BIA was. I got the idea from Zutter's own Nan Paturzo...she used it to create an amazing two page layout. You can see it in the soon to hit the stores, Bind-It-All Around The World Idea Book.

Here's the layout I created. Thanks Nan, for the inspiration! Hope you will share your projects with us. You can find out all the details on this project in the design team galleries at Zutter Zisters and how to submit to the Inspiration Station!

Meet the Display-it-All

Here is the Display-it-All - one of the newest members of the Zutter family. This is what you will use when all your mini albums and custom bound projects are done! DISPLAY them! I have loads of mini books that are stashed away...I love 'em, but they end up cluttered on shelves or in baskets. It's also great to give mini books as gifts, but it's even nicer if the recipient can show it off, or enjoy it on their desk, coffee table or shelf. The Display-it-All is made for all that!

You can hang your albums on the upright stand, or you can attach it (semi-) permanently to the metal plates. You can remove the albums and change it out as many times as you like. If you don't want to poke holes in your album, you can attach scrap chipboard to the back (like I did in the video) and get all the benefits of the Display-it-All without damaging the back cover. I think you will want a bunch of these!

I am going to send a Display-it-All to one lucky comment poster. Tell me what you think of this little Zutter goodie, and we will send one your way! Start posting - we will draw a name on the 15th. Edit: 4-8-09: Sorry about the confusion on the MSRP: It IS $7.99.

Don't forget to post a link on the Challenge post too for a chance to win a Round-it-All!