my weeny way : w edding g uest book

the ring pillow was so well approved by my friend :) and she'd asked me to make her a matching guestbook for her reception! :} i should have inclined to say no after all the roller coaster ride of making the pillow but then the new challenge was something (i think) that i can manage coz in a flash all i think about a guestbook was just a ring-binding stack of nice papers inside with a pretty nice cover! lol. and the binding is so easy to get done in a shop too! sounds so easy peasy right! but not when i was about to start! :/ i've been deceived by my simple minded again~ dork!

so, i'm cracking my head to "make this work" (so tim gunn) lol :) hmm. well, some sketching i did after i'd finished the guestbook. it has produced a very thrilling & satisfying result so i guess i share it here. my weeny-way of making a wedding guestbook (my first!) .

• decide the size of your guestbook. mine was 24 cm X 17 cm. the number in bracket is the seam of the front fabric that need to be glue to the inside to cover the guestbook. this [4] is the center opening to place the ring binding book inside. *the size depends on the size of the ring. measure the ring like below pic. i forgot to take pic during the process. you should have 0.5-1cm larger than the ring size. **all these numbers also indicated the size of your cut out fabric to cover.
  
  

• cut out a piece of thick interface of the size of your guestbook include the [a] space exclude the seams. glued 2 thick carboards on left and right. then cut out a thin-medium batting foam and glued on the front of your guestbook on top of the interface. refer sketch above & pics below.

(batting glued on top)

• covered the book with fabric that already decorates with embroideries .*** never secure the fabric in front with glue; this will leave visible ugly marks/stains. glued a strip from the same thick interface to fit the center space. **** roll it before you glue so that it give you a curve rounded corner when you close the guestbook.
  

a soft spongy feel on the front cover with the batting on top.

• now, you'll have a very neat covered guestbook on the outside. the inside job is so much easy. ring binded your pretty chosen papers in a stationary shop. it costs me just a dollar ;) *****make sure you have 2 thick sheets on the front and back. these 2 will be glued to the cardboards. my stacks were the size of a half A4. they were smaller than the guestbook but i like it that it gives a little dimension.

• make sure you have added the trims/ribbons for the front and whatever you like for the closure on the sides before you glued the ring book in.
  

everything that show in front of your guestbook is glued inside, on the cardboard. same with the ribbon i'd used to tie at the sides.

• last step, before you glued the ring binded book inside. make sure the holes are aligned with the carboard. you need to push the fabric cover to the center from both sides like the pic below . so that, you'll have a nice curve at the center when you open the book flat.
  
  
  
  

this is it! a complete simple wedding guestbook! i think this is a very meaningful wedding gift for a bride. it's easy to make one and all the material are inexpensive too :)