DIY Page Tabs

All right, before we get started, I need to throw out a little disclaimer. I did not create these tabs myself. An incredible artsy lady on etsy did.  Her shop is MissTiina, and it is really cool! All of her stuff is digital, so you can download it as soon as you buy it!  I have been eyeing the letters and months tabs for forever now, so I finally broke down and bought them.  You'll see why in a minute!

J and I have had this Erin Condren address book for forever.  We got it when we were trying to keep track of addresses for our Christmas cards (and now our wedding invitations!).  I love it, but to me, it is so hard to find what letter I want quickly - no tabs. (Insert hashtag firstworldproblems here!).  And THEN Erin Condren has to go out and release a *new* address book with tabs.... *Sigh* Talk about a bummer!  I adore this cover, but I can no longer find it amongst her new address book covers.  So I am stuck between a rock and a hard place - buy a new address book and combine the two by uncoiling, utilizing the cover I like, and recoiling OR make due with what I have and find a way to make it more what I want. Either way, it's a DIY project (and you know that means another blog post!).

PS - How cute is she?! Love EC products!

SO - I made up my mind and decided to stick with what I had. I had been eyeing some of the tabs in MissTiina's store and decided to take the plunge! I bought the months and alphabet tabs for $2! That's what I call a bargain! I printed them out on fairly heavy paper - not so thick it was cardstock, but not the cheapo printer/copier paper either.

My well-loved Erin Condren address book, and her new tabs!

Once I had them printed out, I hauled my paper cutter out of the office supplies stack, and proceeded to cut them into their individual pieces. Once that was done, I took a pair of scissors and did the fine-tuning trims.

Want your own handy-dandy paper cutter?
Check it out here on Amazon!

Once these were all trimmed and ready, I hauled out my packing tape (yes, you read that correctly - packing tape!).  I told you this was "DIY!"  I made sure to pull and cut a piece that would fit the tab inside of it (like this):  

Once I got it on the packing tape, I cut the packing tape so that it was even with the top and bottom of the tab.  I left a little bit of excess on either side where it would tape down to the address book page!  Once this process was complete, I would start sticking the tabs on the appropriate letters! I lined up the top of the tab with the top of the letter block on the edge of the page.  Once it was lined up *just* like I like it, I folded the tab over and stuck it down to the other side.  I made sure to rub on the packing tape just a bit on each side to make sure that it stuck down!

Repeat this process 13 times for these tabs, as they have 2 letters apiece.  I love how mine turned out! 

I did apply washi tape to the edges of all the pages at a prior date!

I am that much more excited to use it! I love how colorful the tabs are, which tie in perfectly with how colorful Erin Condren's products are! I hope you have as much fun as I did being crafty, handy, and making something your own!