Yes, yes…this is the third post regarding this project. And I still can’t figure out what to call it. The Schoolwork Notebook? The School Project Book?
If you want to give me some input on how to refer to it, please leave a suggestion!
This project generated questions that I didn’t anticipate, so I’ll answer them here. If you have more questions, ask them in a comment and I’ll add them to this entry with my answers.
Q & A
Did you just start with a file folder?
Yes, I just started with a regular file folder and covered it.
How did you make the inner pages that you then layered all the stuff on?
I used 8.5 x 11 cardstock, punched three holes in it and the file folder, and used ribbon to tie it all together.
Except for Trinity’s little books in the back section, all of the pages are cardstock. All of the dividers are leftover pieces of transparency.
How big is the entire book?
The overall book is the size of that original file folder but it is pretty thick. It’s probably almost an inch thick.
Did you fold the cardstock in half and the holes are in the middle of the 8.5×11 page? As in the holes are at 5.5″ down the page, right? So is it a regular size file folder? I’m not seeing that. Or are the holes on the far left side of a piece of cardstock?
I looked back at the original photo and realized that because my vase in the background is oversized (it’s huge), the book looks deceivingly small.
The file folder is a standard size folder;the kind you get at Office Max and put in a file cabinet. So the cardstock is actually 8 1/2 x 11. I didn’t fold it. I kept it true to size and punched three holes with a standard three-hold puncher on the far left side. So the book isn’t really a “mini.” It is the size of a magazine.
I love your Kindergarten folder! I am ready to work on my daughters huge pile of stuff. Do you mind sharing what font you used on the cover?
I used four different sets of letter stickers for the cover. The large stickers that say, “Kindergarten,” are Making Memories Velvet Alphabet Stickers, in Chocolate.
The black letters that say, “Trinity” and “Schoolwork” are from Creative Memories.
In the top left corner are the years, 2006 and 2007. On the tab of the original file folder (the right side on the back of the cover) is the word, “School.” Both these sets of block letters/numbers are from EK Success.
Do you have a tutorial on this project? I like step by step instructions and supply lists!
The most detailed description I have right now is in the first link at the bottom of this post, called “Overall Description of Book And Assembly.” It isn’t a step-by-step instruction, though.
Because of the interest in this project, I think I’ll make it Paperclipping’s first online class. I’d love some input on this, so I plan to post some of the ideas I am brainstorming and see what you think.
How do you decide what to keep – do you go through the school year stuff with each child?
Personally, I went through Trinity’s year of schoolwork by myself first. I picked out which academic papers showed what I wanted, such as her first time writing her name at school compared with her name at the end of the year.
When it came to artwork, I weeded just a few things out on my own, and then I had her come help me pick out her favorites. That is such a hard thing to do. I remind my kids that if we keep absolutely everything, we’ll be swimming in school work. They seem to understand that. And we did keep some things that just didn’t make it into the book.
What do you do with work that is bigger than 8-1/2 x 11 or 3D (stuff that can’t be cropped down to size)?
I do a few different things with projects like this. Once in a while my kids bring home massive poster-size stuff that I know will never make it past a few months because it’s too flimsy. We pin those up on the wall of their rooms until they fall apart, at which point we wish them a ceremonial-type “goodbye,” and send it to the trash. (Sob).
I have also set aside some extra-special large pieces to frame and put on the walls for longer term. My daughter has one gorgeous three-dimensional piece that I plan to frame without the glass.
Last, I want to buy a large box for each of my kids to hold their other large or three-dimensional things long-term. Growing up, I had what we called a “Baby Box” and it held our locks of hair, the many “books” we wrote, memorabilia from when we were babies, etc. Periodically, my mother let us get out our boxes and we dug through the treasures. It felt so special. I felt so special.
Links to the first two entries on this project:
Overall Description Of Book And Assembly
Page by Page Photos
