AMAM - star book

I've volunteered to set the A Mini A Month challenge for this month over on UKScrappers, so here's how to make a star book like this one.....

You will need:

3 sheets of patterned paper (A)

3 sheets of colour 1 cardstock (B) - I used pink

2½ sheets of colour 2 cardstock (C) - I used white

2 lengths of ribbon approx 20cm long

Double sided tape

A trimmer, or ruler and craft knife - the key is to cut the pieces accurately and square ;-)

The patterned papers can be the same, or 2 different to repeat the pattern(s) across the book, or double sided which will give you a different look to each page - I've used 3 different ones for this one.

Now cut the pieces to the right size:

cut ONE (B) card to 14.5cm x 30cm - this is the cover
cut FIVE (C) card to 14.5cm x 29cm
cut FIVE (B) card to 14.5cm x 27cm
cut FIVE (A) patterned paper to 14.5cm x 25cm (be sure to check any patterns are going horizontally as this is the way the page will sit within the mini book)

Next take the cover, and score at 14.5cm and 15.5cm. Fold along these lines to make a spine. I used a lollipop stick to make a nice crisp fold.

Now fold all other pieces in half....


You are now ready to attach together. Take the pieces of the (C) cardstock - the longest ones - and add DST along the non folded edge like so:

stick to another piece of the cardstock ensuring the folds and edges are lined up. You will end up with this:

Now take the (B) pieces, use DST along the non folded edges and stick to the insides of the (C) pieces - like this:

Add the ribbon to the inside of the front and back of the covers. I used extra strong DST under the ribbon to make sure it stayed in place, and then a strip of normal DST over the top:

then stick to the outside of the pages.

You may find it easier to decorate the patterned paper pages before adding them to the star book, but I've just stuck mine in as the photos I will add to my book contain other people's children and so I cannot share them online. You just stick them to the inside of the (B) pieces like this:

After you have your cover on, the book will look like this. I used a piece of the left over patterned paper and a scrap of cardstock to mat it onto the front cover.




Here's the one I made a while ago which is decorated inside:


you just use the ribbon to tie it open in a star so all pages are on view:


The mini star book:

I've adjusted the sizes so this book can be made from 2 sheets of co-ordinating cardstock, a scrap of patterned paper 15cm x 8cm and 2 lengths of ribbon about 15cm long.

First cut 6 'inner' star pages (I used pink cardstock) to be 15cm x 8cm. Fold these in half.

Then cut 6 'outer' (ie the pages you decorate - I used brown cardstock) to be 12cm x 8cm. Again fold in half.

The only difference with this mini star book is that I find it is better to 'support' the folded spines by using a bit of extra strong DST at each end along the folded edge:

Then stick the larger pieces together as before:


and add the smaller pieces, just using DST along the non folded edge as for the larger book:


There isn't a spined cover for this one. Just cut 2 pieces of patterned paper to 8cm x 7.5cm, add ribbon to the inside of both pieces then stick to the front and back of the pages.

My son and I made this one into a thank you card for his teacher, it has a little poem inside and I'm hoping to get a photo of them together to add to the back page before giving it to her.


I hope you enjoy making star books this month :-)

End of the year.....

Well here we are, at the end of my 2010 adventure. Seems quite sad to be ending, but to be honest I think life has got in the way for the humans of the house and I have been quite neglected in the past couple of months. Not that I am complaining though - I've been out and about and having lots of fun without them, it's just I don't have any photos to prove it :-D

We had a very cold spell just before Christmas, but I wasn't going anywhere near the white stuff after last time! Oh no no no, I'm not that stupid. So I'll just post a couple of photos of the humans having some snow fun:

I made a new friend over Christmas too - this is Blitzen. He was fun to hang round with - and for a reindeer, very good at climbing trees!

He's also really good at playing games and we had a real giggle playing charades for kids....

.... although this one was easy for me

Of course, being the sporty type I was keen to see the basketball hoop that the boys got for Christmas. It was pretty impressive I have to say..... and Liam is quite good at scoring (of course the fact is the hoop is too low for him really but any higher and Joe doesn't stand a chance!)

On the other hand, you need to wear a hard hat when it's Joe's turn as he is full of enthusiasm but his aim is terrible!!

And then next thing I know, this is happening:

.....which led to this.....

... followed by me going back indoors in a sulk. There is no dignity in being suspended upside down from a basketball net I can assure you.

The humans knew they had to do some major grovelling so they decided to make some cakes. It was fun, but blimey charlie that mixer doesn't half whizz around - I had to cling on for dear life!! (boys look proper numpties in their apron and hats sets eh? they insist on wearing them every time they help cook anything lol)

Worth it to lick the whizzer though :-)

and they were super yummy when finished (ate mine too quick to get a photo apparently! - also not sure why the photo has come out so small...).

After indulging in those bad boys, we thought it wise to have a go on the Wii Fit to burn off some calories. Well that's a feat in itself when you're my size!

I much preferred playing the olympics sports game:

And just out of curiosity, I checked my end of year weight compared to my first post on this blog....

Oh dear, that is disappointing! I managed to gain 1g this year, it must have been all those choccies at Christmas lol.

Well I've had a brilliant year of Monkey Adventures and I hope you've enjoyed reading about them. I'll still be getting up to mischief and you might see me highjacking this blog now and then in 2011 :-) But until then, I'd like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year. Make sure it includes as much fun and adventure as possible!!

1+1 = double trouble!

Warning : this is an image heavy post!

Well, I had a lovely surprise when Liam came home from school last Thursday as he brought a friend to stay for the half term holiday. This is Winnie, the class bear. He even has his own book, not as cool as a blog but cool none-the-less.....

He's seen a bit of the world has our Winnie, travelling round to different people's houses etc. We spent Friday getting to know each other, and I have to say - I like this guy and I reckon we're gonna have a lot of fun this coming week....

Hmmmmm OK, so by Saturday I was beginning to feel a little bit left out. Surely it is me that gets all the attention and photos taken? I got in a bit of a sulk, but then Joe's mummy had a little cuddle and a chat with me and I now see that we are trying to make Winnie feel really welcome and special. And of course have lots of interesting photos to put in his book! ;-) So here he is with Liam ready to go to his football lesson. Was a bit chilly, so rather him than me.....

On Sunday the humans went swimming and so we thought we would have a go at re-enacting Home Alone (not that we have seen it but we've heard about it). hahahaha that was fun!


Banister sliding really was a good laugh, right up until you get to the end. Luckily my feet and legs stop me...

but poor old Winnie! No wonder he said something along the lines of *%@*$*%

To make himself feel better, Winnie ordered us in some pizza.....

and while waiting for it to be delivered he managed to find the sweets cupboard - must remember that for future reference!!

We went to bed feeling a little sick, but very happy!

Monday was a well exciting day... we went to Oxford. We drove to the Park & Ride and then took the bus into the centre.

There's lots of lovely architecture (buildings to us laymen!) in Oxford:

and this is the view when we get out of the way....

We visited the Natural History museum. Liam loved it, as he does have a thing for dinosaurs and animals - and he has been learning about skeletons at school during the last couple of weeks so he was in his element. Joe on the other hand kept saying he was scared, so I had to occupy him while Winnie and the others were looking at the exhibits.

(forced smile!!)

(one of my ancestors I expect...)

we learnt about fossils too:

The dinosaurs were really good, there was lots of displays and information about them

Note from Joe's mummy: before you get all uppety and grab the phone to call the Monkey Protection Society.... this was NOT my idea!! Believe it or not, other humans want to get in on the act. Random strangers at that, and the lady who orchestrated this little moment was taking it all very seriously, ensuring everything was at the right angle for the photo (which by the way isn't great as I couldn't use flash and the slightest movement resulted in big blur).

We had a really nice bus driver back to the Park & Ride and so we asked if Winnie could have his photo taken with him.

And would you believe it, Winnie was allowed to help drive the bus (photo has a lot of reflection on the windscreen, but he's there holding the steering wheel). Lucky thing. They asked if I wanted a turn but my arms are too short so I passed.

On Tuesday we went to Wales. Not that I saw any of it, because I spent the whole day in Joe's rucksack! Yesterday was very tiring for a little guy like me, so I was happy to let Winnie have the adventures today.

Here he is just about to cough up £5.50 to go into Wales......... {no comment! lol}

and then on the old Severn Bridge. Can't say that I would like to do this crossing on a windy day. You can just see the new bridge through the drizzle and mist.


We didn't do much on Wednesday. Winnie and I had some play time together and it was fun. In the evening we went to the crop with Joe's mummy. I've scrapbooked before, but it was Winnie's first time. I think he really enjoyed it, especially when the biscuits came out :-)


And then Joe's mummy turned her back for 2 minutes and Winnie was looking for honey in her empty glass.....

but from the back he looks like he is trying to live up to his name!

Thursday was a shopping day, bit boring if you ask me but Winnie and I did enjoy going to the library.

At this point I was having a nosey at the returns machine and almost got swallowed up by the thing! Glad the camera wasn't pointing in my direction, that would have been embarrassing having evidence of me clinging onto the hole so I didn't drop into the book collection trolley. Yikes!

On Friday we met Uncle Jim and Aunt Jean in Wantage for lunch. These fresh ham sandwiches were lovely. So were the cakes the humans had afterwards apparently but they were gone so quick there was no chance of a photo!

We learnt about King Alfred....

and then went to the museum, where they had lots of cool things to look at. Liam dressed up as King Alfred, doesn't he look a dude?

And then we learnt lots about the olden days, and the humans thought it would be funny to put us in the stocks. Yeah, very funny {{rolleyes}}.

Saturday saw some sunsine - yay! They don't call me Extreme Sports Monkey for nothing, and I'm trying to give Winnie a few tips this week, but we're struggling to think of things that I haven't done before. Anyway, here we are abseiling.... with a nice freefall bit at the end.

Really good fun and the safety harnesses worked very well; no unfortunate accidents thankfully.

On Sunday we had some friends over for pumpkin carving

and we made some spooky gingerbread biscuits - yummy!


Then we had a go at apple bobbing. It was great fun. Poor old Winnie had to just watch though as he has to go back to school tomorrow and couldn't risk getting wet.

Shame, as I thought this was brilliant!

even though I did fall in!

but would you look at the state of Joe lol. He wanted to wear his swimming goggles to put his face under the water. He looks a right twit, but at least he got his apple!

I've really enjoyed Winnie being here with us this week. We've put some photos into the class scrapbook, and then we made a mini book showing all of his adventures.

I think he might need a little rest after all this to be honest! And if you have managed to read this whole post, I think you probably do too lol.