Ladder Hinge Book - Hinge and Signatures

I've got the hinges happening.

I went through a couple of iterations. I wasn't happy with the first set I cut. I cut a second set and glued them to the book boards. Because they were plastic (the back of a plastic folder) they unglued themselves when I tried to bend them. After a re-try, I gave up on the plastic idea and reinforced some lovely mould made purple paper with black cardboard, and made the hinges from that.

Here they are :-
They aren't actually connected yet. They will be connected when I poke the chopstick through them, which comes at the end.
I'm pleased.

The next stage of instructions is :-

ie make the signatures; and then a folded stiff paper thingy into a zigzag thingy that adheres to the book boards at each end, and has the signatures sewn onto it.

I should say that these instructions are from "Book Arts - Beautiful Bindings for Handmade Books" by Mary Kaye Seckler; Suzanne McNeill Design Originals.

I've been busy making and decorating signatures while I've been waiting for the glue on the hinges to dry.
Because it's meant to be a photo album for Sally, I wanted to put in photo corners, and decorate a lot of the pages.

I have something against scrapbooking as a concept, because it seems to me to be a huge new commercial industy where people (women) buy stuff to glue onto pages. Using personal and naturally found objects is different.
However, I'm betraying my principles, and 'scrapbooking' away to decorate the pages. Ribbons and paper, and odds and ends I got in the supplies I bought from Karen Ter Haar.

I've done 2 out of the 3 signatures so far. Each signature holds 6 photos (one per double spread). I didn't want the weight of the book to get too great, given it's a fairly simple construction.

I haven't scanned all of the ones done so far - I want to leave a few suprises for when Sally actually receives the finished book.