In the Style of Smash Book.... My Way

The Smash Pen ribbon loop holder was glued onto the front cover of this book

I've heard a lot about Smash Books, but haven't actually seen them.  A couple of the online scrapbook supply stores that I shop with mention the components as being "In Stock" periodically.  Apparently, these are popular items and aren't in stock all the time.  I snooped around and realized it is basically an old-fashioned scrapbook. Mine is going to be more of a journal/vision type book with a nod to my scrapbook from the 7th Grade.

Some of the contents including a zentangle attempt

My 6 year old dd wanted me to make one for her.  Which got me motivated to make ones for my older dd and niece.  And then, so I didn't feel left out, I made one for me, too.

Components prior to assembling with Cinch

There are a few free internet sights that I used for various printables:

http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/   Free Graph Paper, I love the circle one!

http://www.calendarlabs.com/ and http://www.redcastle.com/software/fw/printcal.htm  Both of these sights have free calendars.

A pocket page originally 6" x 12" before cutting and folding

Chip board covers are 6" x 9"
Dividers are 5 3/4" x 8 3/4"
Pages are 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Pocket Pages are made from 6" x 12" cardstock with a 1/2" cut off 8 1/2" from one side. Fold up the bottom 3 1/2" x 6". Fold in the 1/2" flap and adhere it to the side that will be on the outside of the book.  The side that is bound into the book isn't glued.   The finished pocket page will be 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".

I typed the tabs on the computer, printed on cardstock and then used a tab punch to cut them out.  They were adhered to white cardboard dividers.  The cardboard is the backing of 12 x 12 paper packages from SU! cut to 5 3/4" x 8 3/4"

Some CTMH journaling tags were adhered and some were bound into the book

There are a lot of different envelope sizes and types.  The one adhered on the left is from the 3 x 3 package shown.  The plastic envelope with the snap is a Close To My Heart stamp package container that was bound into the book.  This is on the thick side, so not as many regular pages could be included.  However, for the six year old, having a sturdy pocket like this seemed like a good idea. She loves to collect stuff!

Inside front cover has an envelope glued to it

Ribbon loop for the Smash Pen is adhered to inside back cover

Back cover is then covered with red vellum envelope
On the left is one of the calendar pages

I decided to use the school year calendar months because I'm hopeful that if the Smash Book is somewhat time sensitive, the girls will use them to record some of their daily life and events this year.

These were all bound with a Cinch using 1 1/4" wire coils.  It could be made with a BIA or binder rings, just as easily.  All inside pages are cardstock.  It's a great stash user.  This makes for a very sturdy book!    Regular weight paper can be used for inserts for most pages.

This cute video from EK Success shows their Smash Book being used in a variety of ways.  Enjoy the fun music.