Kwanzaa Family History Book

Use green and red paper to celebrate Kwaanza -- and your family's history.

• 8-1/2x11-inch sheets of black, red, and green construction paper
• Crafts knife, metal ruler
• White crafts glue
• Paper punch
• 3/4 yard narrow cord
• Decorative-edge scissors (optional)
• Photos and photo corners

1. Draw a 1-1/4-inch border around the edges of a piece of black paper. Using a metal ruler and a crafts knife, cut vertical slits 1/2 inch apart inside the border.

2. Cut green and red paper into 1/2-x8-1/2-inch strips. Weave the strips through the slits in the black paper, alternating colors. Trim the ends into points.

3. Glue the woven cover to a backing made from a second sheet of black paper. Cut a label from red paper and write the family name on it. Glue the label to the front cover. Make a back cover by gluing together two pieces of black paper.

4. To make opening the book easier, use a dull table knife to score lines 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch in from the left side of the cover.

5. Using regular or decorative-edge scissors, cut overlays and trims for each page. Glue the trims in place. Secure photographs on the pages with mounting corners and add captions.

6. Punch small holes between the score lines on the front cover 2, 5-1/2, and 9 inches from the top edge. Mark and punch matching holes in each page and the back cover.

7. To bind the book, align all the pages and both covers. Thread the cord down through the center hole, up through the top hole, down through the bottom hole, and back up through the center hole. Tie the ends around the long top cord and trim the ends.