5 Easy Steps to a GREAT Holiday Gift

Want a quick and easy holiday gift (perfect stocking stuffer) in 5 easy steps? Well then, this is the post for YOU! Keep in mind that you can click on any photo in this post to see it larger and in more detail. Excuse the glare on the photos. I did my best to get rid of it but it was hard with the plastic cover, pages, etc. You get the idea anyway, right?

As you know, my son, Tannon is on a LDS Church mission to Malaga, Spain and we won't be seeing him for 2 years (and vice-versa. ha. ha.). I was trying to think of fun things I could put in a stocking to send him that would be meaningful and came up with this VERY easy and fun idea.

Here are the 5 steps:

1. Go to your local Walmart, Target or similar store and find one of their uber-cheap-o photo albums. You know which ones I mean, the ones that hold about twenty-five 4" x 6" photos and have the ugliest cardstock fronts and backs ever that slide in and out. They are usually about $1.97. Buy one (or two, or three).

2. Go home and slide out the front and back 'ugly covers' that are provided by the manufacturer and make covers of your own to replace them. Slide in your beautiful covers in their place.

3. Print out whatever photos you want to include. For Tannon's mini-album I wanted to include photos of him with his family; photos that would make him laugh and bring back wonderful memories of home whenever he needed a pick-me-up or wanted to show photos of his family to someone on his mission. Print them 4" x 6" size, but if you want to make the book a little bit more special, crop them to 3 3/4" x 5 3/4". Then go to step 4. If you want to be even more simple, you can leave your photos 4" x 6" and skip step 4.

Below: the inside front cover and the first photo in the little book:

Below: the top photo is one of my 3 boys about 10 years ago. They used to stuff themselves with pillows and then play football in the yard. It was the only way we could think of to keep them from killing each other. We called it "Sumo Football." The bottom photo is a photo of Easton, Tannon and their friend, Trevor at a Southern Utah University football game this year. Easton was injured, Tannon was there watching as a recruit, and Trevor was also injured. So, the three of them watched from the sidelines. How cool is it that after his mission, Tannon will be playing college football with his brother, Easton at SUU?
Below: Both photos are of my 3 boys last May. We were getting family photos taken and while we were waiting for the photographer to take some photos of my sister's family, I started snapping some photos of my boys goofing off. I might like these better than the professional ones!

4. Cut photo mats out of cardstock in 4" x 6" size to match whatever colors you used on your covers. I cut mats in Colonial White, Pacifica, Chocolate, Sky, and Lagoon (all Close To My Heart colors). These are the colors in the covers that I made using the papers from the oh-so-gorgeous Magnifique kit. Mat all of your photos. Embellish if you'd like. I just left them plain.

5. Slide your photos in the sleeves in whatever order you would like, add a personal message in the inside cover, and maybe a poem or something fun in the inside back cover (The poem I put in the inside back cover is below. I got this great poem from a book that the Close To My Heart art department made my friend, Linda once.). And VOILA! It's a quick and very easy scrapbook that says , "I Love You" with hardly any time and expense. I made Tannon's little album, including printing my photos (I have my own photo printer) in less than 2 hours.

A Family of Friends

You'll find there's a family of friends living here
a small group of minds, and hearts;
With some of us clever and some of us not
At times you can't tell us apart.

There's one who is cranky, and one who is shy
and one who is really uncouth;
And just when you think you have discovered who's who,
You'll really uncover the truth.

The truth that we're all just a little of each,
A group of imperfects are we
And sometimes I might criticize them to you,
But don't ever knock them to me.

'Cause the one thing that ties us together for life--
No matter how far we're apart,
Is love for each other, a family of friends,
A small group of minds, and of hearts.

Close To My Heart products used: Magnifique Level 2 Paper Pack (X7127B), Sky Cardstock (X5761...all other cardstocks I used came in the Magnifique kit), Designer Ribbon Rounds-Chocolate Collection (Z1127). Remember, you can shop on my website for these and other items, 24/7. Click here to see this month's specials.