Family Name Book.

I must admit I had a great time on Sunday. The ladies (and gentleman) who turned up for my class were a joy to work with and we had a really fun time. I have had a lot of feedback saying how much they enjoyed themselves so that is good enough for me!

The class was really all about using your Cricut machine but I managed to get them all to go home with their own variation of this cute name book.



These are all the rage at the moment and you can often buy a chipboard version for many different words. However these can be a bit pricey and I think Bazzill cardstock is perfect for this job. Since the class a couple of people have asked about making them so hopefully you will understand the instructions.

My letters were cut with Platin Schoolbook font on the Expression at 31/4 size. I then cut exactly the same in a shadow font. If you have the smaller Cricut then you can use George and cut out at size 31/2 and again cut out the same in a shadow. Match the letters up and adhere them together.

If you don't have a Cricut then find a font on your computer which is suitable. There are so many to choose from. :) Print the word out in the colour you wish to use and then glue to card stock. (You could also print the letter out in black and use it as a template.) Cut round the letter leaving no edge. Adhere the cut letter on to a co-ordinating coloured piece of card stock and cut it out again leaving a small border all the way round. This has the same effect as the shadow font.

Cut out strips of card stock slightly taller than your letters and 12" long. Cut as many strips as you have letters. Adhere each of the letters to the right hand end of a strip and then cut the end shape of your letter out. However much you cut off is up to you. Just do whatever you think looks good.

Start to stack your letters on top of one another making sure that the one underneath is slightly farther out than the next one. (Think of them as steps.) The important thing to remember at this point if that the letter at the bottom will be on the longest strip. So your top (first) letter must be further in to the left than the left hand edge of the bottom strip. Once you play with them you will see what I mean. When you have them all laid out as you want it cut off the excess card, trim the top and bottom of the strips so they are all even. Don't cut right up to the letters, leave a little edge showing. Fix the left hand edge of the book with a bind it all, book rings or ribbons.

To make these books slightly firmer back each page with another sheet of card stock. This gives them loads more strength and you don't have to worry about cutting through chipboard.

Hope this all makes sense but feel free to drop me a line if you need any help. But most of all have fun!