Handmade :: Part 4 of 4

Here we are. The last two gifts that I made for Christmas this year. I'll get right to it.

For my mother-in-law:

My MIL has been seriously practicing yoga for the last few years. That is one of the first things that came to my mind when I was thinking of a gift for her. I didn't have the time or the means to knit her a yoga bag, plus we had already given her one last year. A subscription to a yoga magazine was outside of our budget. It was then that I remembered this idea on Marta's blog and thought that I could use it as the inspiration for a personal yoga journal.

Basically, I bought a nice sketch book at the craft store and filled it with inspiring pictures and quotes about yoga. I found most of the pictures in yoga magazines that I checked out from the library and then made N8tr0n scan to my computer. I included as much white space in the book as possible to allow for journaling. I was really pleased with the results. I'm hoping it will help her to expand her practice.

For my husband:

I had a really hard time coming up with a present for Nate. Especially after I found out what he was getting me. (I'll tell you all about it later; it is so totally cool) I knew I wouldn't be able to come up with anything as big and DIY-esque so I decided to go the sentimental route.

I made him a scrapbook of the 10 Things that I love about him right now.

{1. You only cut your hair twice a year.}

I had a few guidelines for myself while I was making this book:

I wanted the 10 things to be specific; no "you are nice," or "you are tall."

{2. You want to clean up the Earth}

{3. I love how much you love the ocean.}

I wanted to book to be dated and trendy. I wanted it to very much reflect my tastes and interests in 2009. I want my kids to pick this book up 20 years from now and say, "wow, colored masking tape, that's SO late aughts"

{4. You always shovel the driveway when it snows.}

I wanted the layouts to be simple and I wanted the book to come together quickly. This may or may not have been because I was making the book two days before we were leaving for Christmas vacation.

{5. You look really good in sunglasses.}

I think I was successful in all respects.

{6. You don't let difficult things get to you.}

I was practically giddy as I worked.

{7. You taught Z-cakes how to talk like a pirate.}

I have honestly never finished a scrapbook in such a short amount of time; nor have I ever been more pleased with the results.

{8. You are fun to take trips with.}

I didn't allow myself too much time to stew and worry about where the elements were placed. The first thing that I thought of is what I did and the ideas just kept rolling in. The above layout is my absolute favorite in case you were wondering.

{9. You wear cool t-shirts.}

I used a couple of techniques to keep things quick and cohesive. The playing card page protectors I used made for speedy pages and visual interest. I used my own handwriting whenever possible, and if I cut up a 12 x 12 piece of paper for one page I was sure to use the scraps on another page later in the book. The only thing I had to buy for this project was the page protectors. Everything else came from my scrapbook stash which--don't be fooled--is substantial to be sure.

{10. You are a patient father full of love.}

I really loved this gift. I'm hoping that this project will help me get back into the habit of scrapbooking and help me leave behind my habit of overthinking pages and trying to construct perfection.

So that's it y'all! I hope you didn't mind waiting a while for this last post. Now I'm off to start on Z-cakes' handmade birthday presents (eyes search the heavens).

Missed out on some of the handmade holiday posts? You can find them here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3