We are loving National Scrapbooking Month so far, and we hope you are, too! To continue the celebration, we’re going to really shake things up today and show you how to make a shaker window the size of a scrapbook page!
STEP 1. The very first thing you’re going to do is determine the size of window you’d like on your project. For it to fit a traditional 12″ x 12″ scrapbook page, you’ll need to keep your window no bigger than 11½” x 11½”. Next, decide if you’d like the base of the window (the paper that shows through under the sequins) to be the same as your base page or if you’d rather have a different pattern or color show through. If you’re keeping it the same as the base page, skip the rest of this step and move on to number 2. If you’d like the base to be something different, cut a circle* from the patterned paper or cardstock you’d prefer instead. The size and shape you cut here will determine the size and shape of your window. The window on our page is a 10″ circle, so our base is also 10″
*One of the great things about this big window idea is that you’re not limited to a circle shape. Make a square, a rectangle, a heart, a star—your window can be any shape you can cut out from a 12″ x 12″ Memory Protector™. (See step 2.)
STEP 2. Carefully trim the edges from a 12″ x 12″ Memory Protector™; this should leave you with two clear plastic sheets. Take one of these pieces and cut another circle (or the shape you chose for your window) from it. Make sure this second shape is the same size as your base piece, if you have one.
STEP 3. The last thing you will need to cut to create your large window is an overlay. When you cut your overlay, make sure that it is the same size as your other two pieces so they will all match up later when you stack them to assemble your window. On our page, we created an overlay that frames our shape and also has a world map in the center (making our complete project look like a globe). Your overlay doesn’t have to be this complicated. Decide how much of the inside window you really need or want to see. Also take into consideration where you will be putting other elements of your scrapbook page, like photos and journaling.
STEP 4. When you’ve got all your pieces cut, gently rub the base and the clear plastic window in circular motions with an anti-static pouch. This will help reduce static cling and allow the sequins move freely when you shake or turn the completed page.
STEP 5. Carefully place small pieces of 3-D foam tape around the perimeter of your base piece. Keeping your base flat, add a handful of loose sequins inside the frame you just created.
STEP 6. Lay the clear plastic shape on top of the 3-D foam tape and press firmly around the edges.
If you don’t have a separate base piece and are using your base page as the back of your window, add the 3-D foam tape to the perimeter of the plastic shape instead. Then, fill the center of your framed plastic shape with sequins and lay the base page on top of it to attach. Flip the page over to see your window.
STEP 7. The last step in assembling this large window is to hide the foam frame by layering the overlay on top of it. (An adhesive runner should do the trick!)
Now that your window is complete, all that is left to do is to attach it to your project along with all of those extra elements that make a scrapbook page truly yours.
The page we used as our example today comes from The World Is Yours Scrapbooking Workshop Kit. If you’d like to recreate it, be sure to check out the instructions, HERE.
What projects have you added windows to? Do you have any fun ideas, tips or tricks to share? Let us know in the comments below, and happy crafting!
You could create an entire series of Story Starters just to document the places that make you happy. Or, consider ways you can include other people in this kind of storytelling. You could do a Story Starter album with your family members, highlighting the places that each person loves with a photo and their own stories about that place.
