Color Chart Reference Mini Book

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope you are having a blessed day!

Today I have a fun little project to share with you that was not only fun to make, but had me thinking outside the box on materials and final use.

I recently came across these awesome vinyl ID badges from EID Badges.  I've used these before in jobs I have had for their traditional usage -- to hold your corporate ID badge and/or key card.  These are super nice quality, top loading holders.  They have holes at the top for a chain and a slot to attach a lanyard or key fob.

As I was looking at these, I realized they would make nice "pages" for a mini album/brag book/photo album.  However, I'm not a big scrap booker, and most of my pictures that I carry with me are on my phone.

And then it hit me.  These would be perfect to hold color swatches of all the mediums I use in my arts and crafts projects and would be easily portable in my purse.  That would give me a quick and easy reference when I'm out and about and have that 40% coupon burning a hole in pocket or stumble across a great sale.  So I set out to make my mini color reference charts.  This is going to be so much easier to carry with me instead of all the bigger charts and books I currently have going in my studio.

These particular badge holders hold a maximum insert size of 3 x 4".  I cut some Neenah solar white card stock and water color paper to 2 3/4" x 4".

Then I got busy making color charts.  I made reference charts for my Copic markers, Tombow brush markers, Inktense blocks and pencils, Stampin Up ink pads, Distress ink pads, Color Bloom sprays, Dylusions Sprays, Gelatos and my new Neocolor II wax pastels/crayons.

For the covers of my book, I doubled up some chip board and covered it with some sturdy and super pretty printed card stock.  I used some scrap pieces for the inside covers.  Since this booklet is for me and is just going to get thrown in my purse, I just used my ATG gun and tape as my adhesive.  Normally when making an album for someone else or to list in my Etsy shop, I would use a combination of wet glue and Scor Tape for extra security and staying power.  For my binding method, I chose to go simple and sturdy with eyelets and book rings.

Since this booklet is going to live in my purse and got jostled about, I knew I needed to keep the decorations and embellishments to a minimum.  I would normally use lots of pretty ribbon and lace and paper flowers on my covers, but those would obviously not stand up to the rigors of living in my purse!  Instead, I selected some pretty buttons from my stash and stacked and hot glued them to the cover for a little extra interest.

The real "beauty" of this project and binding system is that at any time, I can add bigger book rings, more pages, and additional charts as needed.  Plus, the charts can be easily updated since they slide in and out of the badge holders easy peasy.

For a closure to the booklet, I simply used a pretty pink (and sturdy) hair elastic.  How's that for repurposing??  :)

I hope you enjoyed this project and it encourages you to think outside the box on both the materials you use and the final use for something.  I did film a flip through and explanation of this project as well.  Please click on the image below to view the video. 

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Crafting!