Mini Color Album

Here is a great gift idea for the little ones on your Christmas list!! It's a personalized mini Color Book. It makes a great gift to help learn colors, animals and get to see themselves in a REAL book :) This book was made for my nephew Matthew. This is where Ranger's Adirondack color line come in sooooooo handy. You can dye your papers, images, photos, twill, etc. with the Color Wash Dye Inks then stamp with their coordinating Ink Pads! It makes this project so easy because there is no time wasted trying to find inks and dyes to match!

My Color Bookby Roni Johnson

Size: 5"x8" + book rings & ribbon

Supplies:


Ranger Adirondack Color Wash Dyes - Red Pepper, Terra Cotta, Butterscotch, Lettuce, Denim, Eggplant & Espresso

Ranger Adirondack Dye Inks - Red Pepper, Terra Cotta, Butterscotch, Lettuce, Denim & Eggplant, Black, Espresso
Ranger Adirondack Pigment Pens
Ranger Decor-It White Ink

Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black
Ranger - Stickles, Glossy Accents, Sepia Accents

Chipboard (several sheets, enough for each page + front & back covers)

White & Colored Cardstock

Printed Coloring Page Animals

Cold Laminate Sheets

Photos of your subject

Alphabet Stamps

Natural Twill (optional)

Ribbon lots and lots of Ribbon

Book Rings

Crop - A - Dial or other Hole Punch

Eyelets

Iron (if desired)



Instructions:


1. Start by printing off desired coloring book pages to be used on each page of your book on white cardstock. I used animals but it could be dinosaurs, kittens, dogs, cars, etc. Whatever you think the little one will like.

2. Print off photos to be used on each page and the front cover.
3. Trim photos & cut out coloring page images. Color any parts of your coloring page images that you don't want to be the color of the dye ink. Once colored, cover with Glossy Accents. If your coloring page images have eyes that need to be white, cover these with Glossy Accents as well. (Note: The GA will resist the dye in later steps. )
4. Determine the size you want your finished pages to be. I made mine 5x8 so I could use 8 1/2x11 sized sheets without any waste. The twill is optional but I think it gives the book a nice edge for little hands. To cut the twill, you will need to measure 3 sides (2 short & 1 long) of a page then multiply by 2 - this will be the length you need to cut your twill for each page.
5. I normally don't do a whole lot of writing things down ahead of time but for this project you will need to in order to keep everything straight. Make a list of what images you want to use on each color page - for example: Red, Bird, Photo #2, Orange, Tiger, Photo #3, etc. You will want to label each piece of cardstock, coloring page image and photo on the back side. (Trust me, this sounds like a pain but it will make things go much smoother in the next step.
6. It is now time to dye all of your pieces!! You will dye a sheet of cardstock, coloring book image, photo for each color. To dye, lay your pieces out and spritz with the color dyes. If you get an image too dark simply spritz with water to lighten the dye. To dye the rainbow page, front and back covers spray each ink in an arch pattern across the pages.
The twill can be dyed in any combination you desire. I dyed my twill 1/2 and half. One color for one side of the page and one for the flip side. Everything must be completely dry before you can move on. (Note: if you're impatient like I am you can use your iron to speed things up!)
7. Once everything has dried you're ready to start stamping. I used a set of My Sentiments Exactly Alpha stamps for the background color names. Spell out your color and stamp, stamp stamp. Be sure to stamp some off the edges and mix things up a bit so the finished page looks natural. Repeat for each color. Once you have finished with each color, set aside.
8. Time to embellish your coloring page images. Add Stickles, Accents (Glossy, Matte, etc.). If desired, highlight each line with Glossy Accents for added dimension. Set aside to dry.
9. Mount each photo on cardstock. I mounted all of the photos on black cardstock so I didn't detract from the color.
10. Adhere each piece of dyed cardstock to your chipboard pages.
11. Attach dyed photos and coloring page images to the color pages.
12. Cover each page with color laminate sheets. This will protect the pages from dirty little fingers and prolong the life of the book.
13. Attach individual pages to the corresponding following pages. For example, you would attach the "Let's learn our colors" intro page to the Red page, Orange and Yellow back to back, Green to the back of Blue. Make sure all pages are oriented in the correct direction. Now is the time to fix it! After the holes are punched it will be too late.
14. Punch holes in each page using the Crop-A-Dial. You will need 3 holes on the top of the page. Attach eyelets in these holes. If using twill on the edges, holes every 1/2 - 3/4" around the other 3 edges.
15. Weave twill around each page. Cut off any excess and tuck tail between pages.
16. Thread each page onto book rings and tie ribbon around rings.
17. YOU'RE DONE!!! Time to give it to your little one and watch his or her eyes light up :)
Hope you enjoy the book and give it a try. It will become a cherished heirloom passed down for generations!

((((((((INKY HUGS)))))))))