The best things come in small packages

What do you get the man you love for his first Father's Day? This is a question I've been trying to answer for weeks now. Brie was able to get a few cool things for her daddy (on Etsy, of course! Many thanks to toybreaker and jduct for making such awesome stuff), but me... I've been struggling.

And so I decided to go the DIY route. This is usually difficult because, well, frankly, my husband doesn't like what I crochet (not for him, anyway, he likes my work), my silk paintings are already on our walls, and teal jewelry just isn't his cup of tea. I had to come up with something else. I finally came up with the idea for a brag book.

The idea came to me as I was filling out the cards I got from luckyduckdesigns. I was printing out pictures for Brie's great-grandmother, and I figured I could make a mini-brag book for Scott to carry with him. Something small enough to fit inside a pack of cigarettes. Literally.

I decided *not* to research how to make a book; I knew I'd feel compelled to go out and buy stuff I probably didn't need. Besides, I have a ton of scrapbooking supplies here; papers, adhesives, staples, cutters... so I figured I'd be good.

It was actually an incredibly difficult project. Tons of cutting and glueing and binding, but in the end, I created a small, 2.5" squared album with 16 pictures of our little angel. A Kastroll Kreation full of a Kastroll Kreation. How fitting. I can't say I had fun, but I'm sure he'll love it.

So, lessons learned:
1) Blogging about a gift before giving it may be risky (but he did see me fussing with paper and stuff, so maybe he already knows)
2) Glue is sticky and changes the color of cardstock if even the smallest hint of it touches the surface
3) Creating a flip book requires that you mount items right-side-up, upside-down, (repeat ad nauseum). I had to scrap a few pages and start over before I really learned that one
4) I am glad I'm not a paper crafter

You will not be seeing items like this in my store. Ever. I'm sure someone else makes them. But this was personal, and I enjoyed doing it if only because I know he will love it.