Tracy's not so mini Album - The Saga Continues

Here is the last sneak peek, because sneak peeks can get old. This is a tiny little book (a little smaller than an ATC) that goes with the album's zombie page.


I have been struggling with binding issues, and keeping Tracy aware of my struggles. Probably a lot more aware than she'd care to be kept...aware of. I bound it once with canvas that I colored. The result was so bad it literally had me tossing and turning in my bed. The next day I tore the canvas off. I felt a lot better.

Second try with the binding and some sparkly paper. Looked great, if I do say so myself. But, the pages were not turning correctly. They were creaking and popping. They didn't creak or pop with the canvas binding. I finally figured out I had put the thin cardboard spine onto the book facing the wrong way. It had a pretty side (black sparkle paper) and an ugly side (white cardboard). There was sticky strip on the ugly side. I bound the book with the pretty side facing out, then put the paper which wraps around the front, back and spine, onto the book. Not only could you see the ugly side of the spine when turning the pages, the pages were sticking to the sticky strip and that was causing the creaking and popping.

I tried to gently remove the entire binding "assembly" and I succeeded, if you don't count ripping the pattern paper off both the front and back of the album, and taking chunks out of the gussets on the spine.

The top two pages and the bottom page have the chunks taken out. It's only paper, and these areas are uh, paper thin? WAY more thin than that. I am going to have to cut some strips and glue them on top of the weak areas, and also on top of the not weak areas, so everything remains the same thickness. Thank you hubby, for that suggestion.

This book was supposed to be in the mail tomorrow at the very latest, to arrive while she is on her trip to the States. I've whined so much about this book that I don't even want to bother Tracy with yet another sad story. I cut some Christmas themed die cuts for her, and also Halloween cuts. I am going to send the Christmas cuts tomorrow so at least she will have a little package to open. I'm hoping she will be able to use some of them on her Christmas projects. The Halloween cuts will wait and travel with the mini album....hopefully before Valentine's Day.