Crazy Quilt Binder Cover

Another craft swap has been sent out. One item my partner, Crafterella (oohmybees on Craftster), requested was a Teesha Moore inspired Journal, or 3-ring binder, cover. She described the style she was looking for as "Goth-hippie". :)



I asked my mom to help out on this one since we had planned to try making one awhile now. I threw a pile of choice scraps in front of her and let her go to work. She didn't follow the thorough directions that TM has on youtube. Instead, she just winged it. I let her go at it until it was large enough to cover the binder. Then, I trimmed it down to fit and backed it with some polka-dot fabric.



We used a removable button-on strap closure to hold the book shut. It was a strap off of one of my mom's coats. Not sure why she removed it when she bought it, but it worked great on the cover.



I tried my hand at personalizing the cover with her name sewn with some of my pathetic freehand embroidery work. I must admire those with enough patience to embroider. I can only tolerate it in small doses. :)



Inside I added two pen/pencil holders and a zipper pocket for other tools/supplies. I thought she could put her hole punch in there if she liked. It also makes a nice place to store the strap when the binder is in use.



I decided that if it's going to have a pen holder, it needs a pen to go with it. So, I made one out of polymer clay according to a tutorial I found on youtube where you roll the clay over the plastic pen barrel. What I liked was that the inner pen part can be replaced if it runs out of ink. I used a Bic Stick Pen like the tute, which are pretty common and easy to find. After completed, I'm not certain about the durability of the pen. There were suggestions that different brands of clay are stronger, but I used the colored Sculpey that I had. It should be alright. **Knock on wood**

Up next, I'll be posting a little something my mom made.