Craft a Coffee Filter Mini Album | Tutorial

This page shows you step by step how to make an Asian themed mini album using coffee filters. The tutorial includes a video as well as pictures and text instructions.

Are you an artsy-craftsy- sort of person who enjoys making clever, artistic projects from household items?

Then here's something for you to try. Find yourself a package of coffee filters, the kind that have three straight sides and one curved side. Bind a few of them together, using any binding method you like, and make a book or mini-album. Then decorate your album any way you want.

I belong to a mixed media swap group called Art for the Creative Mind. A recent swap project was to make an Asian themed book using these coffee filters.

This is mine.

What brings you to this page? (I am glad you're here, of course!)

This is a picture of the coffee filters that I used. Any coffee filter that is flat would work for this.

Each filter represents a page, so use as many filters as you want pages. I used seven pages.

Each filter has a pocket in it, which you can fill with goodies if you wish. Alternatively, you could glue the pockets shut.

For covers, I used light book board and cut two pieces of book board using the same shape as the coffee filter.

If book board is not available, you can use chipboard or cardboard cut from cereal boxes or pizza boxes.

To make this book, I followed these steps:

1. I traced and cut out two covers using the coffee filters as a template and using light weight book board for the covers.

2. I coated the edges of the covers with Inka Gold.

3. I used the coffee filters as templates to cut out scrapbook paper that I used to cover both sides of the filters.

4. I glued the scrapbook papers in place, covering both filters and book board covers.

5. I left one filter uncovered. I stamped one side of it with green ink and a bamboo stamp. I ran this through the Xyron to apply adhesive to the unstamped side. I laid dried bamboo shoots on the adhesive and then covered with acetate cut from a page protector.

6. I decorated the pages and the covers using an array of items. See the photos below for images of each page.

7. I arranged the pages in the preferred order, then bound the book using string and chopsticks. Refer to the section on binding that appears below.

8. I added finishing touches and assembled a collection of items that I will tuck in the "page pockets" before sending this book to the swap recipient.

Please refer to the links on the right side. These links take you to demonstrations, tutorials and product overviews that you may find helpful in constructing your book.

By binding as I did, using string and chopsticks, you can fan your book open. It resembles a real fan.

You will need:

1. household string
2. wooden chopsticks
3. a hole puncher
4. Optionally, you may want a large needle to manage the string.

Align the covers and the pages. Make a small pencil mark where you want each hole to be. Refer to picture above for positioning.

When your holes are marked, use a hole puncher, and make holes through each page and cover. The holes should be large enough to allow you to thread the string through each hole a couple of times.

Wind the string through the holes a few times to bind. Position the chopsticks along the spine. Place one chopstick pointing down and the other pointing up. Wind the string around the chopsticks a few times, run it back through the punched holes and tie it off.

This list gives you the basic supplies, plus tools, that you will need to make an Asian themed book. You can use a different theme, of course.

Supplies

• Flat coffee filters, one for each page you want to use.
• Book board, chipboard or lightweight cardboard for covers
• Glue or adhesives
• Scissors
• Craft knife or X-acto knife for cutting the covers
• Tool for hole punching
• Household string
• Wooden chopsticks
• Asian themed scrapbook papers or other papers
• Asian themed embellishments as desired
• Optional: Asian themed stamps and inks
• Optional: Asian themed charms or beads
• Optional: Asian themed items to tuck into the pockets
• Optional: Ribbon or fibres

You are limited only by your imagination, but here are a few suggestions for Asian themed images and items.

Suggestions

• Bamboo skewers, chopsticks or other similar items
• Dried or pressed bamboo shoots or leaves
• Cherry blossoms -- images, paper flowers, ribbon flowers, photographs or dried or pressed blossoms
• Kimonos -- stamped, origami, Washi paper quilting, hand drawn, clip art
• Chinese lettering or words
• Images of panda bears
• Samurai warriors and swords
• Martial artists
• Pagodas
• Fans
• Miscellaneous Asian themed papers, envelopes, etc.
• Asian themed charms
• Lanterns
• Fortune cookie images or shapes
• Asian menu images
• Images of scenery from Asian countries
• Rickshaws
• Peonies
• Dragons
• Rice
• Parasols
• Chinese calendar
• Yin-Yang symbol
• Bonsai
• Haiku

The tutorial on this page shows you the Asian themed, coffee filter book as I made it. Please use, alter or modify the design to fit your own tastes and purposes.