June Journals Eileen Hull Collaboration!

Hello! This month Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team has an exciting opportunity to work with Belagio Cork Fabric in our June Journal creations. This collaboration has been lots of fun! (Did you miss the first installment of projects in last week's post?) This durable and user friendly fabric can be easily die cut, sewn by machine, combined with fabric, paper or pretty much any substrate you can think of. Thin sheets of real cork are laminated to a fabric backing so it is very flexible and durable. It is thinner that other cork sheets on the market but that is intentional to make it suitable for many different applications. It’s perfect for covering three dimensional projects like boxes, books, and home decor pieces. I know I really enjoyed using it to create this little notebook for my cousin's new baby:

I thought his parents might appreciate a little book they can write down all the "firsts" in and to record those baby moments and memories.

back of book

I used the cork fabric combined with printed cotton fabric. I can attest that the cork fabric does die cut and stitch beautifully! I love the foil shine on it; especially on the base layer that you see through the cut out moon and stars.

I covered pre-made little notebooks for the signatures.

How-to Tips:

1) First I cut pieces of Mat Board a little bigger than the final sizes of the covers and spine and then covered one side with the firefly fabric and the other side with the gold foiled cork fabric. (I used double sided adhesive sheets.) Then I used the Passport Book die to cut the two covers and spine.

Next I cut two pieces of the blue cork fabric slightly smaller than the covers so there would be a border of the base fabric. I used the moon and stars dies to cut out the shapes. The "B" is cut using Eileen's retired Block/Cube/Bank 3-D Die

2) I added decorative stitching to the "B" and edges before I glued the blue parts onto the cover. The mat board is thick and I didn't want to stitch all the way through it (and the adhesive) with my sewing machine.

3) The Passport Book Die also has a section on it for cutting pages to fit in the book. I already had pre-made little notebooks that fit perfectly so I used those. (Time saver!!) The covers were Christmas plaid so I definitely had to cover them!

I made little scalloped trim pieces from the cork fabric to decorate the edges of each signature. Again, I did the stitching on the pieces and then glued it onto the booklets. The covers were thin enough, but I had used adhesive sheets to stick the cardstock on and didn't want to gum up my sewing machine.

All ready to put together:

4) Binding! There are several ways you can bind these books. One of my favorite ways is to use elastic cord so you can just slip the signatures underneath the straps and they are held in perfectly.

Where can you find Belagio Cork Fabric?

• Hobby Lobby carries packaged cork in 18″ x 15″ pieces in 9 different patterns in the notions department.
• There are two types – a natural and a natural with gold at Walmart stores that have fabric departments. It is sold by the yard.
• As for the entire collection, many quilt and craft shops around the country carry it by the yard and in packaged 18″ x 15″ pieces.
• Online the Belagio cork fabric is available on Walmart.com and Amazon.com.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great week and have a chance to do something crafty and creative. =) Be sure to check out Eileen's blog all this month to see what fab creations the Team has made to inspire you! I am also entering this into the June Mini Album Makers Challenge.

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix
Passport Book ( Sizzix / SB ) 
Movers & Shapers Die, Scallop Border #662815 - retired
Block/Cube/Bank 3-D #658983 - retired

Tim Hottz Sizzix
Witchcraft ( Sizzix ) 
Movers & Shapers Mini Owl & Crescent Moon #658725 - retired

Belagio Cork Fabric
firefly cotton fabric
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Spray - Dried Marigold
Elastic cord for binding
Sizzix Mat Board
button
sari silk/ribbon

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.

Firefly Baby Journal
by MonalisaH -Lisa Hoel
Scrapbook.com