Fabric Boards for Scrapbooking & Cardmaking

I’ve not seen this technique used by any scrapbook companies and it seems new to everyone that I teach it to. So this is a great opportunity to feature your photos in a unique and interesting way. Just make sure that you don’t use it on all your pages—as it does make your pages thicker—and your book will not close as well. Fabric Boards also work great for card-making and picture framing.

Here are the materials that we already gathered:

• Thin cardboard (Index cards work well)
• Glue Gun and Sticks
• Fat Quarters in your choice of colors
• Ribbon to match; 1/4 inch or less (Optional, but more cost effective to buy at Pacific than a scrapbook store)

Here are the steps:

Use the Fat Quarter of your choice (complement the color or theme to your photo if possible) and wrap it around the cardboard, securing it with hot glue. Pull so that the fabric is secure, but make sure that your fabric design is not stretched. Corners can be folded/finished if you desire.

Turn the fabric board right side up and embellish the edges as desired. For this one, I glued metal cats in two corners. I like the look of photos tucked under a ribbon so I also glued two ribbons diagonally at two of the corners (glue on the back only if you want to tuck pictures under them). In the past, I have also taken thick thread and made large stitches around the borders as an embellishment.

Glue your photo on the fabric board or use Easy Runner Acid-Free Adhesive to secure your picture.

Fabric boards can be layered with more than one (if different sizes) for a different or more elegant look. In addition, sometimes I string a tag on the ribbon or string to add a picture description.

Glue fabric boards with pictures intact to your scrapbook page or whatever craft that you are using it for. (A fun way to title your scrapbook page is by using your embroidery machine!)

Show it off and enjoy the reaction! Trust me, your friends will be asking, "How did you do that"?

P.S. All the Pacific Fabrics & Crafts stores have some scrapbooking supplies and embellishments. But the Everett store has a FULL scrapbooking department if you are interested in decorating your fabric boards with more than fat quarters and ribbon. What are you waiting for?