Wednesday Extra - Covering Chipboard with Jules

I've had this Maya Road chipboard tag book for ages, but a combination of the gorgeous papers in the Fancy Pants 'Happy Together' collection and loads of snowy photos inspired me to turn it into a record of this Winter. I love using chipboard, and often cover it in patterned paper, but it's taken me ages to find a foolproof method so I thought I'd share it with you today :D

First, take a piece of patterned paper that's slightly bigger than the chipboard shape that you want to cover. Turn the paper over so the pattern that you want to use is face down, and cover the back in adhesive. I've tried all sorts of adhesives over the years, including double sided tape, glue sticks and adhesive sheets, but I haven't found anything better than Claudine Hellmuth's matte multi medium - it stays wet long enough to adjust your chipboard if you need to, but then it dries quickly, stays in place and gives a really neat finish. Put your chipboard shape face down on the adhesive covered paper, and hold in place for a few seconds. Then take a sharp craft knife and trim away the excess paper, including the hole at the top. Don't worry about being neat at this stage, because the next step is to use a file to neaten the edges. I use the Basic Grey precision file set - it's one of my go to tools and I wouldn't be without it! 

As the chipboard shapes I was using are only small (around 4"x 3") I decided to use a photo to cover the entire shape, rather than covering in paper and then adding the photo. On the reverse side of the shape you've just covered, ink the top in a coordinating colour - I used Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. Choose a photo that's slightly bigger than your chipboard shape and cover the back in adhesive. Stick your photo to the chipboard shape, taking care not to cover the hole at the top of the tag.

Use your craft knife to trim the excess and a file to neaten the edges. Then, using the same colour as before, ink the edges of the shape, taking care to apply an even amount on both sides.

And that's it, you're done! I only added photos to five of the six chipboard tags, keeping the first one as the front cover. I added a few embellishments and a title to the cover, and arranged the tags so that the photos were all face up. Some brief journaling printed on the computer and edged in the same distress ink completed the book. 

So there you are, a quick and easy way to cover chipboard. Fancy having a go? Make sure you link us up in the comments so we can come and have a nosy!