D.I.Y. Address Book

June 8, 2009

All of us know how it goes when you write out a letter or a post and put it on your desk to await the locating of the proper address. You find it month’s later, buried under a pile of cast off detritus and it’s good for not much more than the recycling bin. What better tool to accompany a pile of handmade stationary than a handmade address book. If you want to keep your child (or yourself!) in the mode of reaching out via the written word, you’ll increase your odds of success by having the addresses handy and ready.

Materials:

• screen printing paint (optional)
• brayer for paint (you know those rollers used for printmaking?)
• thin cardboard (we used a six pack container)
• 6 sheets of paper  (construction paper weight is good)
• hemp string or other similar weight string
• rubber stamp letters (optional)

Step 1. (Optional) On a sheet of rubber made for carving rubber stamps, carve out your groovy cover design. On a block of wood or cardboard covered with plastic wrap and roll out a thin layer of screenprinting paint with your brayer. On ours Kathie did a cool faux woodprint design.

Step 2. Cut two pieces of cardboard each 5 3/4″ x 8 1/2″

Step 3. Roll the rubber stamp with the paint covered brayer and print the cardboard

Step 4. Stamp ADDRESSES on your cardboard

Step 5. Fold your 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper in half so that it measures 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″

Step 6. Stick your paper inside your cardboard pieces

Step 7. Hole punch your stack of cardboard and paper at 6 points along the edge. 3 sets of 2 holes. (see picture)

Step 8. Feed your string through as shown

Step 9. Fill out your book with a list of your favorite people’s addresses. Keeping your favorites handy will increase the odds of you sending them mail on a regular basis. In ours we’ve got grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. Life will be better for it.

Posted in Tutorials