Velcro in Scrapbooking? You Bet!

We all know that velcro is a wonderful invention with tons of uses. But in scrapping? Sure! You have to attached everything in your album with something - and since "interaction" and "activity" pages are kind of the "rage" nowdays, what better way to combine the two!

Buy velcro with the adhesive already on the back. I bought a package with 2 yards at a craft store for 99¢. That will last a long time since you just need a very small square. (99¢ - VERY inexpensive,long lasting and saves you money!) You just then need to cut off the length you want! The adhesive is pretty strong, at least in my experience, so no other addition is needed. Just make sure of your exact positioning as once down, you can't reposition it. Here is a photo of a 2 page layout (5x4 size) using the velcro...

Envelopes are my current favorite thing to put in my albums. They hold all kinds of stuff! At the moment, I am just using them for holding additional pictures and a cardstock square for journaling. But give me time - I will think of more!!

Just take an envelope you have laying around or of a particular size you want, tear it open (gently!) at the construction of it and there is your template! How quick and easy is that! For another example......

Trace it onto the BACK of the paper you want to use for the envelope then cut out. Assemble the envelope. Now for the closure - VELCRO!! Cut a tiny bit off that 2 yard length (see what I mean about it lasting a LONG time!) take the cover off one side of the velcro. I usually put the fuzzy side on the envelope and the pointy side on the flap. Just seems to be the best "appearence" way to do it.

Now it is a good idea to make that flap a bit stronger. I always line the inside area of the flap with a contrasting paper. If the envelope is solid, i use a print and visa versa. This adds strength to the flap for pulling it open. All you have to do is turn the envelope over with flap open, and trace the flap and down only as far as you need to go into the envelope so that that area is covered. It doesn't have to be totally inside the envelope.

Now make sure you are SURE of where you want the velcro closure as once down, it sticks really well, Most likely you won't be able to reposition it. Remove the adhesive covering from the pointy side of the velcor. Adhere the velcor to the UNDERSIDE of the FLAP. Now, take the cover off the other side of the velcor and close the flap. Press on the top of the velcro and you are done!

Now just create a "pull" to open the envelope if you want and just glue the envelope onto your layout! You could also, instead of a "pull", just wrap ribbon or fibers around the envelope. Adhere them to the back of the envelope but leave them loose to the front, that way you can just tie the ribbons to "close" the envelope.

© 2006 Scrapbook Layout Ideas