Covering a photo album with Faux Leather

I love browsing in charity shops to find items to up-cycle with my Silhouette Cameo. Friends had treated me to a stay with them and I wanted to make them a thank you gift using photographs I had taken around their boat.

EQUIPMENT:
Silhouette Cameo or Portrait
Faux leather in brown and black
2 brass paper fasteners
Lace background file such as:
Snapdragon snippets Fourished lace #30671
or Lace pattern by Jamie Koay #4260
or Christmas background by Lori Stevens #23632
Tag file such as:
Mustache Gift tags by Sophie Gallo #18804
or Labels by BasicGrey # 56014


STEPS:

1. I bought a photo album very cheaply that had a garish cover which I removed.
2. I made some narrow rectangles, filled them with colour and printed them on thick copier paper for the inside of each cover.
3. I cut some brown Faux leather to cover the outside, cutting across the corners to mitre them neatly as shown.
4.  Before gluing them in place, I washed these two pieces in hot water and squeezed out the water to give it a crumpled look more like leather. Once they were dry I stuck these on the outside with Copydex glue, which smells terrible, but is strong enough to adhere carpet! I hand cut a slit for the ribbon to pass through.
5. Open the file for the filigree, lace background. Resize it if needed for your project. Cut it, and the tag shape at the correct settings for Silhouette Faux leather.
6. Carefully glue the "lace" neatly onto the front.
7. I added two brass fasteners to either side of the tag and then glued the tag along three of the sides, leaving the top open.
8. I cut a small piece of acetate as a clear, protective window, and printed out the name for the front of my album which were then slipped into place.

I should have taken a "before" picture, but I can tell you that the album looks really classy compared to the one I bought in the charity shop!

The faux leather cuts beautifully with the Cameo, and I hope you will be tempted to try it out.

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PRODUCTS USED:

Faux leather paper