Laurie is always looking for ways to add a twist to the traditional. This week’s project is an alternative on a ring pillow. Instead of being tied on top, the rings are safely tucked away in a small well cut from the pages of the book. Ive attended a couple weddings where I’ve seen the little guys throwing the pillow around with the rings attached before they walk down the aisle, so having them enclosed in a book might be a great way to deter rings from flying everywhere too. Enjoy!
What you’ll need:
One small book (The book I used was roughly 4" x 6")
One length of wide ribbon (approximately 2.25 times the width of your book)
One length of narrow ribbon (approximately 4 times the width of your book)
One silk or ribbon flower
A scrap of decorative paper
Paper glue
Large square paper punch
Scissors
A small, flat paint brush
A needle and thread.
Directions:
1. Open your book to the second page. Take your large square
craft punch, turn it upside down (so you can see to guide and center
it) and feed several of the right hand pages into the punch. Slide it
towards the middle of the book as far as you can go, keeping it
vertically centered. Squeeze the punch, and punch out the squares. Important: Do not punch a hole in the first page of the book.
Remove the punch, feed the next few pages in , center again and
punch out the squares. Continue to punch out squares until
you’ve created a hole that is at least 3/4 of an inch deep. (see
figure 1)
2. On the page after the last punched page, glue down a scrap
of decorative paper to line the bottom of the "well" you just
created. (see figures 2 and 3)
3. Center the wider ribbon on the spine of the book. Glue the
tail of the wider ribbon inside the back cover of the book. Wrap the
ribbon around the outside of the book cover, and glue the other tail down inside the front cover.
Glue the first page of the book (the one without the hole punched
in it) to the inside cover to secure and conceal the ribbon tail.
Glue the last page of the book to the inside of the back cover to
secure the ribbon. Allow to glue to dry. ( see figure 4)
4. Open the front cover of the book. Use your brush to apply a
generous coat of glue along the page edges on all three sides. Allow
the glue to dry, then give it a second coat. Don’t close the book
until it’s had a thorough chance to dry, otherwise, the "lid" could get
stuck closed (see figure 5)
5. Center your smaller ribbon on the spine of the book, in the
middle of the wider ribbon, and tack it down using a couple of stitches
with your needle and thread. (see figure 6)
6. Take your flower, and stitch it down to both layers of ribbon on the front cover of the book. (see figure 7)
7. Place your rings in the well and tie the ribbon tails into a bow to securely close box. (see figure 8 and 9)
What it cost:
Book $8.00
Grosgrain ribbon – $1.75 a yard
Vintage Lily of the Valley ribbon $7.50 for a half yard
Large square craft punch $13.00
Ribbon rose (made with 1 yard of ribbon @ 3.99 a yard)
