Using Retiring Papers for a Good Cause!

Aloha, all!

     This is my very last post featuring the papers that will be retiring come June 4th – or whenever Stampin' Up! runs out of them!

     Even after having made dozens of cards and other projects with my retiring papers, I still had quite a few whole sheets left over.  I really didn't have a problem deciding what to do with them as our Family and Community Education Club (FCE), which is part of the former Homemakers Extension club system, is participating in a fund-raising fair this coming Saturday.  A couple of years ago I covered standard composition books with Designer Series Papers and they sold like hotcakes at the fair (hotcakes are also sold by one of the clubs, I'm sure, and I'll bet these books sold better!).  This year I was able to cover about two dozen books with my papers.  I could have done a few more, but I ran out of books, which I'd purchased at dirt cheap prices at last year's Back to School sales.

     Here are 5 of the books.  You can see that I also used a lot of retiring Stampin' Up! ribbon to decorate the front and provide a place on which to clip the matching pens.  As most of us who do this kind of project do, I used the pens called "RSVP" pens.  The pens are clear so I could unscrew the bottoms and slip a piece of paper that matches the front of the books into the pens.

     Every book is different, as I needed to scrounge up two matching sheets of paper so the front and back of each book matched.  Here's how I did the covers – quick and easy!

1. Cut 2 pieces of Designer Series Paper 12" x 9-1/2"; cut two pieces of coordinating paper 9" x 6".
2. Apply adhesive (I used Sticky Strip) all around the edges of the front of the book, placing the adhesive on the spine side right up against the woven spine cover.  Make one adhesive "swipe" diagonally across the front. While I did use Sticky Strip, glue stick is also good, but you do need to make sure that it is completely dry before proceeding to the next step.
3. Open the book and lay the cover on which you're working flat.  Clip a bit of a diagonal at both corners, but make sure that at least an inch and a half remains close to the corners.  Snip three times from the edge of the paper to the edge of the book at the corner.  Apply adhesive to these corner pieces and fold them onto the inside of the cover.  Then apply adhesive to the top, bottom and side pieces and adhere them to the inside of the cover.  SNAIL or Glue stick is fine for all these steps.
4. Finally, apply adhesive to the 9" x 6" piece of paper and adhere to the inside of the cover, covering the edges of the front piece that have been folded in.  Use Sticky Strip around the edges of this piece and as well as one strip on a diagonal across the piece.
5. One side done!  Repeat with the other side.

     If you're in the Hilo, Hawaii, area on Saturday, May 3, 2014, come to Aunty Sally's Luau Hale from 8 to noon and enjoy all the crafts, foods, and plants for sale as well as the entertainment by local groups.  It's a fun day and I'm really looking forward to it!