Secret Sister Mini Book with Instructions

This rockin' little mini book is part of my attempt at overcoming my self-imposed limitations with mini books. I love the concept of them but find myself getting hung up on 'rules' and restrictions with making them. In an effort to abandon all those restrictions, I came up with this little gem which was made as a gift for my secret sister who (in the chaos of moving) I forgot to send her October gift. I hope this will make up for my tardiness!! In case you are wondering about the snowmen, they are an acrylic stamp set from Close to my Heart - it's the December stamp of the month. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get your own set, use the contact button found on the sidebar to the right.

To make this cute mini book the instructions are as follows:

Materials
- six sheets cardstock for inside covers, spine and envelope pages
-one sheet coordinating cardstock for envelope bands
-assorted cardstock bits for accents
-2 pieces of chipboard cut to desired size for covers
-2 pieces of printed paper for cover
-needle & thread
-ribbon
-centering ruler & piercer with pad
-scotch tape
-glue stick & tape runner
-scoring tool & bone folder

Step one - cut three pieces of cardstock to measure 5 1/2 x 5 1/4"
Step two - score one of the pieces along the 5 1/2" side every 1/2" so that you make nine score marks. Accordion fold your paper using bone folder to ensure a good, crisp crease.
Step three- adhere accordion spine to remaining squares of cardstock to make inside covers. Be sure to attach the accordion so that the inside of the spine starts with a 'valley' fold. There should be five 'valley' folds and four 'mountain' folds.

Step four - using either an opened envelope or a template as above to fit a 5x5" card, cut out five envelopes. Be sure to score and fold each envelope and set aside. Do NOT glue them together !!
Step five - using your centering ruler and a piercer with a foam pad underneath, mark five holes in each of the valleys of the spine and inside the bottom fold of all the envelopes, taking care to ensure the center hole is evenly placed in the center and that holes in the spine match with those in the envelopes.
Step six- Stitch the envelopes together using a running stitch. When the thread ends on the outside (where the thread began, tie the tails together and trim them off - not too close to the knot.
Step seven- fold up the bottoms of the envelopes and glue them to the sides, creating pocket pages.
Step eight- cut four lengths of ribbon and weave them through the threads on the spine. Pull it as snug as you want, keeping in mind the bulkiness of the items to be stored inside the pages. Secure the ends with scotch tape.
Step nine- Cut heavy chipboard to measure 6x6" and glue to pre-cut piece of printed paper measuring 9x9". Be sure to smooth out any lumps on the cover with your bone folder.
Step ten- trim off corners to make folding the edges in easier.
Step eleven- glue the edges and fold them in. Press them down and smooth them out with your bone folder as you did with the right side of the cover.
Step twelve- cut five strips of cardstock for envelope closure bands measuring 12x2" Score them all at 3"
Step thirteen- Next score them all at 8 1/2".
Step fourteen- distress the edges of the envelope closure strips as I did above (just cuz it looked cool) and fold them up and glue them shut. Be sure they aren't too tight around your envelopes or they'll be a nightmare to slip on and off.
Step fifteen- Embellish the strips any way you like - This is a great way to conceal the seam.
Step sixteen- Use a ruler to mark the placement for your ribbon (at 3") and lightly draw a pencil line. Run your tape across this line and smooth out your ribbon directly on top of the adhesive. Take care to get your ribbon across the spine with similar tension to the ribbons that you placed earlier on the spine. (I had some trouble with that part)

Now you can embellish the cover however you like. I hope my instructions were clear and that you could understand them. If you need further clarification for any of the steps, let me know and I will try and help!