Mother's Day Bouquet Book

Giving flowers for mother's day is a wonderful tradition. My mom has enjoyed fresh bouquet deliveries from each of her children for years. However, recently she has downsized her living space and no longer has room for large vases filled with sweet smelling blooms. I decided to continue the tradition, but with a bit of an artistic twist. Instead of a flower bouquet, I sent her this book bouquet. Each page contains a beautiful photo of a daisy (her favorite) and each daisy represents a grandchild or great grandchild. She has 18 total. And because her family is quickly blossoming with a new generation, the book was designed so that new pages can be easily added.

The book uses the piano hinge book binding technique to give it an exaggerated spine. Each page has a tab with slots which hinge together with a stick. For this project, I used 4 inch lollipop sticks colored with ink. The photographs of daisies were printed on 4 x 4 photo paper. Each photo is glued to a tab. The tabs include the hinge slots that bind the pages together. They were cut with a digital die cutting machine.

This Instructable is perfect for beginning paper crafters. You will find a variety of uses for the glueing and coloring techniques discussed. For another example of a piano hinge book, check out my Planet Book Instructable.

Step 1: Tools and Supplies

What You'll Need

• Printed photographs (4" x 4"). I used 18 different photos of daisies.
• White Drawing Paper or Cardstock
• Distress Oxide Inks
• Spritzing water bottle
• Teflon Mat
• 4 inch lollipop sticks
• Digital die cutting machine such as a Cricut (or ruler, mat, and craft knife)
• Glue

Tips

• Use an online photo editing site such as PicMonkey to size, add text, and optimize your graphics.
• Use a photo printing service to print your photos. I used Walgreens' printing service. I simply uploaded my photos to their website. They had the prints ready in an hour sized as 4" square. I was even able to use a coupon I found which saved me 40%. It also saved me the hassle of printing myself.
• This Instructable includes a .SVG file to be used with a digital die cutting machine such as a Cricut. Alternatively, it is not difficult to cut the tabs using a craft knife.

Step 2: Cut the Tabs

Use the attached SVG file to import into your digital die cut machine software. Print on cardstock or artist drawing paper. Cut a tab for each page desired.

Step 3: Decorate the Sticks and Tabs

Use your prefered technique to color the sticks and tabs. I wanted a serendipitous painterly mix of color, so I decided to use my Distress Oxide ink pads (Fossilized Amber, Wilted Violet, Worn Lipstick). Start by adding one or two colors of ink to a teflon craft mat. Spritz with water. Then, drag the paper to the surface of the mat. The colors will blend together in a colorful way. Do the same for the stick.

Step 4: Glue the Tabs

Fold the tab in half and glue the sides together.

Step 5: Glue Photos to Tabs

Apply glue to the edge of the tab as pictured. Glue the cover photo to the tab. Turn to the other side and glue the 2nd photo as pictured. Repeat for each additional page.

Step 6: Bind the Pages Together

Take the first page of your book and place the stick inside the bottom tab through the opening. Skip the next tab and go through the middle opening. Skip the next tab and go through the top hole. Turn the page over.

Take the 2nd page and set it on top of the first with the slots aligned. Place the stirrer inside the bottom slot and through the opening like you did in step 1. Run the stick through the next slot from the FIRST page. Run the stick through the middle slot from the SECOND page. Run the stick through the fourth slot from the FIRST page. Run the stick through the top slot on the 2nd page. Add the 3rd page using the same process attaching the new page to the previous page. Continue weaving along this manner until all of the pages are attached.

Tips

1. To keep the sticks from sliding, apply glue to the inside of the tab and squeeze to tighten as pictured. Apply pressure until the glue dries.
2. The stick on the first page does not use the 2nd and 4th slots.
3. After you have added the last page, 2 slots will be remain on the last page. Run a stick through the slots to finish.These slots can be used to add new pages if desired in the future.