Triangle Book Decoration Tips
By Sunni
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Double stick tape
Procedure
There are many ways to open this book. You can just pull it apart like an accordian. You can open it all the way and lay it flat. You can turn the pages one by one and discover three ways to do that. The triangle book is a delight and the trick is to decorate it so no matter how it gets opened, it will still remain in balance. For the sake of demonstration, I chose a 12"x12" piece of cardstock with primary red on one side and primary yellow on the other. (bleh)
Instead of creating a seperate front and back cover, I simply folded the designated triangle back and taped them down with double sided tape. This gave me sturdy covers even if it shorted me four "pages."
Next I applied some background papers to give the paper some appeal.
Brads and eyelets are fun, too, but you need to place them on the background paper before you secure it or they will be punched all the way through the pages.
For brads, use an awl or needle tool to make a starter hole. Press the brad through the hole and seperate the tongs. Very lightly tap them with a hammer to secure them snugly in place. TIP: Align the brad's tongs parallel to the edge of the paper instead of "pointing toward" it as shown below. This will give you more room for glue or tape and a neater edge.
For eyelets there are cosnic tools for splaying the tube section which secures the eyelet in place. In the picture below, the tool on the right is used to punch a perfect hole in the paper. The tool on the left is used to splay the eyelet.
Use a self-healing pad beneath your paper to prevent damage to your work surface. place your punch where you want your eyelet. Using a light touch, briskly rap the end of the punch with a small hammer. Slip the eyelet into the hole, making sure the faxe of the eyelet is on the "front" of the paper. Choose a splayer tip to fit the size eyelet you are using and place the nib in the tube section of the eyelet. Holding the splayer straight up and down, very lightly tap the end of the tool with a small hammer. When you have all the eyelets splayed, lightly tap the fractured pieces so they lie reasonably flat and secure the eyelet to the paper. Pay close attention as you flatten as you can quickly pierce through the paper and cause it to tear.
In this book, I chose some vellum as a background paper. Regular permanent inks take forever to dry. I recommend you find a pen specific for vellum. These come in different colors and dry quickly.
The pages of your book are a blank canvas. Only your imagination limits you. There is no right or wrong way to do these, so jump in and play.
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Copyright 2005-2006 Jacqueline Fitzgerald Graham
Last revised: May 16, 2006.
Webmistress: Sunni Bergeron