Whiteley Creek Homestead

It's about the journey, not the destination. That's why I choose to make the lists in my life as pretty to look at as they are functional. My craft today evolved from templates that my daughter Heather created to record things to do and to get, the two most common type of lists that can clutter our home unless we contain them . I decided to make an accordion book cover to house the lists. Here's how I did it.

1) Cut an 8 1/2" x 11" piece from a grocery bag, taking advantage of the bag's natural fold. Insert it into your printer's paper tray then copy the "notes" cover template from Heather's organization printable kit in her you make do™ shop's organization category onto the grocery bag. Note: If necessary, you can use a dry iron (without steam) to flatten the bag prior to sending it through your printer. 2) Cut the cover in half along the dotted center line. From a scrap of grocery bag, cut a piece 3" wide x 8 1/2" long that will be used for the cover's binding. Mark 1/2" increments along the top and bottom edges.

3) Fold center marking first, then back and forth accordion-style on each side of the center. With a glue stick, attach front and back of cover to accordion binding. Trim top, bottom, and right side of cover leaving a 1/4" border around imprint on front.

4) Make copies of the to do and to get lists template from Heather's organization printable kit in her you make do™ shop's organization category. Trim the top, bottom, and right sides of each of the lists to 1/4" outside their border. Trim the left side of each list to 1/2". Punch two holes in cover approximately 2 1/4" from top and bottom edges. Punch two holes in page inserts.

5) Loop ribbon, string, yarn, or a torn strip of fabric through cover and page inserts then secure with a knot. If you don't snug up the ribbon too tightly, the book's pages will turn with ease. Tie a knot near the end of each ribbon and trim ends. As items are purchased and tasks completed, check off the colorful circles to the left of each line and say, "Oh, yeah. I am so good." Replenishing pages is easy peasy by simply untying then retying the ribbon. I used ribbon that I had purchased at Parcel, a fun little shop in Montclair New Jersey. Since I made two identical book covers – one to hold my to do lists and another for my to get lists, I added a blue bead to one of them for identification purposes. One of my daughters made the soft, spongey bead during her childhood. It just seemed fitting that I use it. To bridge the time gap. In Heather's words… "Even as far apart as we live, we can still make things together just like we did when I was little!"