 Hi, it’s Cami from Tidbits here again today! Â
And I have a project that would be great for any type of collectors cards! Baseball cards, Pokemon, business cards, even family photos . . . . you name it! By using faux leather or vinyl, this mini book is durable enough for any little hands. Or you could even make it more manly for such a cute Father’s Day gift. (Which is only 6 days away!) Â
And guess what? This is the perfect nap time (or after lunch/after work/quick evening) project for you. Yep, a nice quick one! Â Â
Because sometimes you just need to feel like you accomplished something from start to finish, all in one sitting. Â
Because sometimes the only time you have to do something for yourself is while that baby is napping or the toddler is glued in front of the T.V. Â
Because sometimes it is really nice to have something tangible to show for a days work. Â
Because sometimes it’s not enough just to keep your kids from being found naked, starving and in a gutter somewhere. Â
Because sometimes you really need something to distract you from a sink full of dirty dishes and week old clean pile of laundry. Â
But most importantly, because sometimes your 5 year old has become completely obsessed with collecting miniature My Little Ponies (the Collectors Addition), equipped with the cutest little “collectors cards” and is afraid that the younger 3 year old little sister is going to destroy the cards if she doesn’t have somewhere special to put them. Â Sometimes that happens. Â
And because sometimes you are the coolest mom ever, you take that ever-so-sacred nap time and make something that will knock her socks off — which will also result in the biggest hug and kiss a 5 year old has ever given you. Â So – put the baby in the crib, and turn on some Daniel Tiger, because I am going to show you how to make the cutest little Card Collectors (or photo/business cards) Mini Book. It is so easy and quick to make up, and the possibilities are endless!! Â Keep reading, and I will show you 3 different ways to make a closure. Â Because sometimes . . . . . you need options. Â
All 3 book types begin the same. (I will specify the differences for each closure type down below.) Â Materials: You will need some vinyl or faux leather. The blue I had on hand seemed to be more like a faux leather because of the suede-like backing. The pink (that I found at Joann’s) was definitely vinyl. I used both as a cover for my books, and they worked great. You could also take a trip to the thrift store and find an old leather purse to cut up because you don’t really need much. Just two 5 x 7 inch rectangles, plus a little extra for embellishments.
Cuts: My plastic sheets came with 3 card sections across, however, you only need 2 slots for this project. If yours is the same, begin by cutting your full sheet of plastic sheets into 2 slot sections. You must be careful to not cut through the seal that divides the slots from each other. It’s also helpful to line up a ruler just under the sealed line and slice with a rotary cutter, or use scissors. Cut and separate each row. **Quick word of advice – do not try to do multiple sheets at once. They slip and you will end up cutting the seal. Â
Cut as many of these sheets as you want for your book. That is really up to you.
For the vinyl cover of your mini book, you want it overlapping the clear card protectors by about an inch. I centered the protector up with the vinyl and found that cutting my vinyl to 5 x 7 inches, worked out great. 
Cut a 2nd piece of vinyl the same size. One is for the outside of the cover and the other is for the inside cover of the book. 
Next, stack your card protectors as evenly as you can. Clip them together with hair clips or paper clips. 
Carefully and slowly stitch down the middle of the 2 sections, right on the seam. This project really goes well if you have a walking foot for your machine. (If you don’t, Ashley has some tips for sewing on slick fabrics, here.) The key is really to keep a firm grip on the layers and stop and adjust if you need to. 
Next, you are going to sew the protectors onto the inside vinyl piece. Center them on the fabric and clip in place. 
Sew together, only right on top of your stitches you made that are holding the protectors together. 
Now they are attached to the fabric. 
I’ll stop here for a few words of advice. Before you topstitch on your vinyl, you need to play around with the tension on the machine. I found if I increased my tension as high as it goes, the stitches looked great on the front and back. 
***Another thing to keep in mind – generally speaking, the machine stitches look best from the top thread rather than the bottom bobbin thread. So you want the cover of your book to be on top when you sew. Â Â
Okay, now we enter the part where you do things differently for each closure type. Â
First option –
Elastic ring with button closure:
If you have a hair elastic, this works great. You can also buy elastic from the fabric store. 
Snip the elastic down to the size you’d need to slip around your button (plus a little extra for a seam allowance). 
Take your outside vinyl piece and line it up evenly with the vinyl piece which has the protectors sewn onto it, with wrong sides together. Clip these together. 
Find the center of the book on the right side and insert your elastic ends, folded and sandwiched between the layers of vinyl. There really is no way to clip this in place effectively, so try to hold it there as best as you can, while you’re carrying it to the sewing machine. 
Begin at the elastic so you can get that secured while you sew around the book. (And notice that I flipped the book over, with the pages face down, so that my nicer stitches would show from the outside.) Put the edge of your presser foot along the edge of your book, so you are stitching about 1/8th of an inch from the edge. I suggest you back stitch where the elastic is inserted, to reinforce it in place. 
