Embossing folder container. How I converted an old photo holder into an embossing folder holder

 

Hello everyone,

every now and then I disappear, even if I don't write I keep on to create, to be true I have few time to edit videos and to stay at pc, for this project I didn't made a video, not yet, I don't know if I will, one thing is certain. 

The idea was to make a video about this project, but when I argued with Madame Sewing Machine, I gave up for a moment. Now I'll tell you everything.

Premise: When at the beginning I bought from Sizzix at sales I took some rando

m embossing folders, I have always used them very little in scrap projects, but now that I mostly create Journals and in any case I also try to create something mixed media, I started to use them more and they increased in number. I purchased some from Shein recently. I also love to embossing some die cuts made with handmade paper (few posts ago)

I had created a sort of box with a cardboard lid and also got the measurement wrong. Let me explain better: they were vertical and therefore you had to search for them, and I should add a tab or something like that  to be able to find them easily. As I told you I made a mistake and I made lid too low so they were almost lying down inside the container because the tab clearly touched the lid.

When they increased, the box I had made broke (detached),  hot glue on certain materials is beautiful, but on cardboard isn't the best solution, I tried to make one out of fabric, but the attempt failed, so I got a photo holder but it had a small plug and couldn't fit more than 6 of them.

I'm trying to declutter in my stash, because some techniques I left and I keep store stuff here in my craft room, so I started to organize the various shelves and bookcases and this photo holder was among the various things that I didn't know whether to keep or throw away. It once contained photos of Michael Jackson, when I was young I bought the photos they sold at fairs in those stalls that also sold t-shirts, bandanas and flags... I still  have them, but now they are in a box.

 these kind of albums have pages with a black plastic background and a film and it tears practically by itself.

3 spaces per side makes 6 folders per page, "wow" I said to myself, but what to do if it already couldn't hold the photos?

You can see on black page some round stickers with a number, it was the one of the photo that was inside of this photo album, because we used to share and swap our photoes with other MJ's fans all over the world, once I had a lot of penfriends and we made photocopy in black and white with number of photo than everyone said I miss number... and photographer made a copy for me and I included in next letter and the same my friends

I did a test and the embossing folders actually fit but their thickness made it difficult to insert the other three on the other side. And how do I do this?

And how do I remove the transparent plastic? The black one isn't good neither, it is not strong enought to support embossing folder. So I decided to make brand new ones

I had and have a lot of sheets from Lidl card kits that a friend of mine defines as "unwatchable", I define as "difficult to use". You can see one on the right in the photo. I don't know how many I still have, but I'll tell you that I'm using them to organize the material.

I made some folders with bellows in which I keep small stamps and various writings and words; with the plotter I cut some shapes to wrap the lace, and I still have some of these "difficult" paper sheets

Why not use these "difficult" sheets to make this project?

As I said before, the embossing folders fit perfectly on one side and struggled on the other, so I used the entire height of these sheets (35 cm) and used the page in the photo above to create the paper pattern for the pages.

I cut paper 1 cm less than black one, so I can be able to get embossing folder easier, I marked holes and I punched them, I got a thinner page and taller (a centimeter plus)

this is the page without plastic film on it, I needed vinyl but I hadn't so I thought to use documents trasparent bags, but problem was highness, pages are 33 cms high and bags are 30cms x 21cms so I cut side with holes and bottom of the bag I got a 42 x 30 cms plastic film so I had some cms more in the hight and a bit less length, I can take embossing folder easier. 

I wrapped sheet of cardstock in this plastic bag, so closed on holes side and open from other side. My sewing machine was not so happy to sew on 2 plastic layers so this is the reason of the missing video about this project, I could sew them with a zig zag stitch but I have another machine, I don't know name in english, Google says "serger" it's a machine that make a stitch and cut edge of fabric, because this cannot fray, I have this machine, I worked at this machine when I worked (we sewed clothers)

this is machine I said 

see the edge how look like?

So I got a big double pocket, I divided in 2 or 3 pockets because of embossing folder sizes, someone is little someonelse are bigger, Sizzix one are larger than other, someone I bought from Shein are big so slowly I tried to sew with my machine, I have another sewing machine the same kind we used at work, and in a video in my YouTube channel, you can see it, is big and has a different voltage.

 I tried to sew these pages dividing for each size of the folders and I could store them at the best. I'm happy about the result, I should take another one because they are too much in this album, but they are surely stored better than before. I hope this my idea can be useful to someone. Sending you hugs and kisses, to soon. 

Betty.