This week Tuesday Tutorials welcomes Wilna Furstenberg with a very, very cute coffee-cup inspired minibook. Wilna has put together a fantastic pacakage including three tutorial downloads for completing the project (available at the bottom of this post), a video on binding, and a Flickr gallery featuring other artist's versions of this project.
Here's Wilna:
Three things that are my favorites: My Husband Jaco, coffee and drinking coffee with Jaco. So, one day I thought about making an album of these 3 things. Recycling has never been this much fun. I am just excited to be able to share this with you!
We will be making a little album from a tall size Starbucks cup. I designed 6 pages for you that you can download and print (see bottom of this post). Of course, you can use your own creativity too! This is so much fun to make. And if you are not a coffee drinker, customize it to your favorite drink!
We will be adhering these pages back to back to make 3 double sided pages. To bind them is a bit tricky so I made a video to show you how. As English is my second language, and I can’t always explain myself so well, i thought to rather show you. Don’t make fun of my accent behind my back 
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1. Download the PDF file called Watercolor. Print out the 6 pages. I printed mine on Kodak Matte photo paper. Make sure the settings of your printer is on Matte paper. Choose the highest quality your printer can print. You can also burn the PDF file on a CD and have it printed at your favorite print store. Each page is 11×8.5.
Cut out the 6 pages and now we are ready to begin!
2. I used Photoshop Elements and cropped a few pictures and printed them out on one page. You need 8 pictures (this is flexible of course). An easier method is to use 6×4 pictures and just cut them smaller! I have included some specific measurements for the pictures – it’s in the class notes (one of the last pages): Download Class Notes.
3. I added my pictures to the pages by cutting into the Watercolor pages with a craft knife and adhering the pictures from the back. If you look at the picture here, you will see I even stitched with my sewing machine on the picture. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can add the stitches with your hand…or not!
4. Important to note:
Finish each page completely with pictures and embellishments and journaling before we adhere and bind them. This will make it much easier in the end…(ask me how i know). Once you have added pictures and your choice of embellishments to every page, it’s time to adhere them together. This can be a little tricky, so make sure you read the instructions carefully!
5. Important to note: Now you will choose a “friend” for each page and we will adhere them back to back. First, fold each page in half. One page will fold with the blank part inside and one will fold with the blank part to the outside. Now, glue (or double sided tape) the one half of the page (like in the picture) then adhere the other page to the one with the glue. I used Scotch quick dry adhesive. However, I think double sided tape will work better.
6. Now add glue to the other half and adhere the second half. By using this technique to adhere the 2 pages, you will find that they fold better. You might have to trim some bits of white paper on the edges.
7. After you have adhered the 6 pages back to back, you now have 3 double sided pages. You will have to trim a little border here and there…(i did too). You can add some pages by just tracing one of these pages on some double sided patterned paper and embellishing it!
8. Find a tall Starbucks cup. Roll up the rim and punch out the bottom till your cup looks like this (I used the blunt side of a pencil to punch it out). If you can’t find a Starbucks cup, I have one that I scanned for you. You can download & print the PDF and cut it out (Download Templates)! Print the inside template (also shown in the picture).
9. Tear out the bottom with your hands. Start by making a small hole with your scissors to give you a head start. If you want it neater, you can cut it out. Next you want to fold it flat and cut open the right side.
10. As you can see, the cup is still curling up. That’s why we are making insides for it out of cardboard to stretch it out and make it flat. You will find a PDF with a template for the insides of the cup. Print and cut it out and use it as a template to trace on a piece of cardboard (not too thick). You need 2 for each side and one little piece for the spine.
11. As you can see here, I covered the cardboard with some Making Memories Patterned paper. You can use any paper you want. Then the next thing to note is that I used a glue gun to adhere the cardboard to the cup. This worked really well as the cup’s insides are glossy and not any adhesive will stick to it. If you are using glue, make sure you press it under a heavy book for an hour or two. ALSO note: The middle of our cardboard spine should align with the middle of the cup’s fold.
12. In this picture you can see how I folded the front and back cover around the spine. I folded each side and used a bone-folder to flatten the fold.
13. I used my machine and stitched around the edges of the cover. You can do this by hand too. I suggest you make little holes first with a paper piercer to have a little mercy on your hands. : ) The stitches will prevent the insides of the cover curling over.
14. To finish the cover, I used some watercolors and painted the outside. There is really no right or wrong here. Just keep a kleenex ready to dab away what you don’t like. I first painted with blue and then added some green while the blue was still wet to get that blended look.
15. Here is what I did to add the finishing touches to the cover: I used Staedtler watercolor pencils (blue and green) and colored around the Starbucks Logo. The I adhered a Making Memories Vintage findings label holder and some string + the little lag. I used a hot glue gun to adhere the string to the front of the cover just so it will stay put. I also covered the text on the cup with paint.
lass="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451bb3569e20120a5f6efe6970b " src="http://aliedwards.com/wp-content/typepad_archives/_a_/6a00d83451bb3569e20120a5f6efe6970b.jpg" style="width: 475px;" />16. I made a little video explaining how to bind the album:
Binding the little Album. from Wilna Furstenberg on Vimeo.
Now we will bind the 3 double sided pages together. Take one of the pages and adhere a strip of book tape (I used Scotch Book Tape) on the fold, like you can see in the picture.
17. As you can see in this picture, the next step is to line up the second page so that they align perfectly. Now, simply fold the tape over and trim the edges. NOTE: you will find that in the middle of your new booklet, there will be a sticky bit (see the arrow) where the tape used at the back will show. Simply cut another strip of tape the length of the pages and adhere it on the inside to cover the sticky bit and to make the binding a bit stronger.
18. Open the inside pages where you can see through the Book Tape. Now position the insides on the spine of the cover. I used my Machine to stitch though the tape to adhere the insides to the cover. I have done it many times using needle and thread too… you don’t have to stitch through the whole length, a couple of inches in the middle will be sufficient.
And Viola! Your album is all done. Now you have permission to eat a cupcake.
To see some more examples of this album, I asked some awesome designers to make one too and this is what they came up with: FLICKR gallery. I was so inspired and I am sure you will be too.
Downloads:
Download Class Notes
Download Templates
Download Watercolor
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Love it!! Can’t wait to try it out! Might have to go to Starbucks this afternoon (any excuse to go there is great by me
)
Thank you!
Wow, fantastic, I will have to do this
This is amazing! I love these colors. Great idea!
Oh, I just love Wilna and her art! So glad to see her work (and tutorial) here…
=) Liz
Love Wilna’s work and this project is just the cutest. Thanks for sharing the whole project!
this is brillant! I LOVE it!
This is GREAT! My husband and I love to go to the bookstore to get our cup of Seattle’s Best and browse the books and magazines. It will be fun to do a mini-book. Thanks for providing this cute project.
ALI!!! OMGOSH! I cannot tell you how cute this is!!! I am addicted to it! I am making one this weekend!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you for sharing!!!!
This looks really cute! I’m going to try to make one for a Christmas gift. My best friend and I often hang out at Starbucks just chatting and catching up on the gossip of the week. Thanks Wilna and Ali!
Love!!!!Love!!!!!!
Thanks
Carmem – Brazil
love this!! those would be 3 of my favorite things too!! my husband, starbuck’s mochas & having mochas with my husband at barnes & noble… so i HAVE to make one of these mini books, just love it!!!!
thank you for sharing such creativity!!
Oh thank you so much! We don’t have Starbucks in Western Australia (one of the few things I miss since moving here) but last week I was in Melbourne and able to get my `grande skinny flat white with sugar free vanilla extra hot’ every day. I have Starbucks ceramic mugs at home but not the same of course without the real deal inside. I was thinking of scraping about Starbucks and now I know exactly what to do – and record my mini-break with my daughter in it. Thanks so much for your generous instructions, downloads and ideas, so grateful!
What a great idea – thank you! I will be making this for Mom for Christmas!
I love it! I feel so CREATIVE now,
Lina, Stockholm, Sweden
Awesome idea! I love it! Creative!
What a fun tutorial! Thanks Ali and Wilna!
that’s so adorable!
Yippee Wilna! Thanks for featuring Wilna on your blog Ali.
You are both inspiring and i really appreciate all your efforts.
Waving Hi from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (close to where Wilna lives!)
Whilst it is lovely, and Wilna obviously took so much time and love designing this, I was very surprised to see this posted here as this was part of a paying class over at SiSTv.
Hi! Normally I just read the emails and store them, for “future” projects, but this one, I just printed and started working right away!!!! Thanks for a great project!
Amalia
We are putting a Starbucks gift basket together for a clients fundraiser, I am going to make one and add it! What a fantastic idea, thank you!
this is very awesome. I’ll have to try with my caribou cup!
wow! I totally love this! Now at least i find a way to recycle the cups
This is really nice! I love recycled art!! thanks for posting
What a great idea -now I need to drive over to Starbucks!
So inspiring! thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you! I happened to get a rare cup of cocoa this morning, and used your template by snapshotting it into Publisher during my lunch hour,and just pasting in cropped pictures from my flickr site. I moved your template a quarter inch over so it would print front and back and printed it on regular office paper. I did use a glue stick to glue a patterned paper onto the shiny side of the coffee cup. Then I just folded it all in half and stapled it to bind it. It’s several steps less adorable than the one you made, but it’s something totally cute (thanks to your designs) that I can carry around in my bag, or give to my mom, without worrying about destroying an heirloom.
Loved this album! We don’t have Starbucks here in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, but I’ll certainly find another cover!
Fabulous tutorial…Thanks for sharing!!!
Blessings,
LORi BOYD
http://byloridesigns.blogspot.com
I think this is the best Tuesday tutorial ever! I don’t drink coffee but I really want to make this gorgeous album. The printouts are so cute.
Wilna is really a talented artist – thank you so much for this tutorial
Sandy
Fabulous tutorial!! Love that!
This is fab I can’t wait to have a go thanks everso.
loved this mini book thank you for pdf so we can share your idea
What a wonderful little album…so clever!
xo
jeanne
It’s quite appreciable that such information is being shared through a huge network. Keep it up.
Merci infiniment pour ce magnifique tutoriel. Il est superbe et surtout merveilleusement détaillé et bien expliqué.
Ai je le droit de l’utiliser dans mon association ?
Gros bisous
Girl .. you are so dayum talented LOVE it.
hey. This is so creative! I wanna make one for myself too, but i can’t download the watercolour.Is there anyway that i can download the templates?
Thank you, and looking forward for your reply.
I know I’m 100 years too late looking at this – but is there any chance I could get copies of the files that used to be attached? As a fellow Starbucks addict, I just Love THIS!
hi, im trying to get the printables of the coffee cup album craft, i cant find it. am i not doing something right?
I love all the crafts, you are very artistic. thank you for this idea, i have a sister that has breast cancer and she loves starbucks, i would love to make her an album like this.
thanks so much jeannie and family