Super Crafty Art Book (:

A Gift-Book I Made for a Friend
It started with a card to go with a gift... Then slowly evolved into a book that WAS the gift (:

MATERIALS:
- Book making kit
- Paper cutter (or scissors but this is easier for straight lines)
- Excess amounts of scrap booking paper/ Cardstock
- Ribbons and Trims
- Embellishments; plastic charms, photo slides, rub on letters, folders/ tabs, glitter, beads, brads, cut outs, tags, bubbles, pictures, etc.

I bought the book-making kit from Scrapbook Territory on clearance so it wasn't too much but they can get a little pricey - you can make your own book covers with sturdy cardboard and use card stock for the pages. (I only used the kit because it was super convenient and they even come in different shapes!)

I held mine together with one inch binder rings but if your book ends up thinner or you just want a different look you can use ribbon or string. Be creative, anything goes. I've seen really neat little flip books with just one hole punch and a binder ring.

Searching for the decorations was really fun so don't limit yourself. I found almost all of my charms and embellishments at a local craft store where people bring in unwanted supplies so all in all they only cost about $5.00 but you can do some searching at your local craft stores, thrift stores, and scrap booking shops (which is where I found my papers and brads.) Also don't forget to search around your house for buttons, pins, ribbons, papers, toys - anything goes because you will probably end up basing pages around what you find (it can be hard doing it the other way around.)

Then devote some time (mine took about 8 hours of work split over four days plus drying in between work each night) and put your book together. I used the card stock pages from my book kit to make templates on the scrap book papers and worked on those before gluing them (one at a time letting the glue dry in between) front and back to the card stock (that way the pages were super sturdy.)

Since the gift I was giving was for a birthday I went with that theme - decide what you're doing it for and make it somewhat cohesive. The other pages were just about our friendship - a school page since I've known him my entire life, postcards since he lives far away, and pages based around song lyrics that we like.

Also pay attention to the little details; if you read the stamps on the Post Card page they read "Love Always" and the BINGO page has a piece that says B15 (for his 15th birthday.)

Most of all have fun and make it a thoughtful gift. My friend was so excited to have it and it was supper fun to make (: