Notepad Book List

My son’s teacher just had a birthday and I was racking my brain to try to figure out what to give her. I know she loves to read, so I got her a gift card to Borders Book Store and made her a little notepad to keep a list of all of the book she might like to read someday. (That idea came from one of my all time heroes, Nichole Heady!)

Nichole sells note pads that are the perfect size for making cute little list pads, but I decided to try to make one on my own. I bought a pack of two notepads at Staples that were perfect. They were 5″x8″ eco-friendly writing pads. (To be honest, the main reason I bought them was because they had brown lines that I knew would match my project.) I cut them in half with an xacto blade and made a folder out of CTMH Bamboo cardstock. I followed Nichole’s example and made a rounded pocket on the inside where I put the gift card.
I used some Barn Red cardstock and a couple of pieces of patterned paper from CTMH’s Grace Collection to decorate the cover. I added a little Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon and piece of chipboard from CTMH’s Booksmart Dimensional Elements Collection. I LOVE CTMH’s chipboard because it is white so you can make it any color very quickly with just a little ink. I sponged some Bamboo and Chocolate ink onto it to give it a leathery-type feel and added a couple of Antique Copper Brads to the sides. Finally I adhered it to the cover with some Glue Dots. (I realize now that I should have filed the edges a bit more, but oh well…)
I stamped a few images from the Delightful Things stamp set on the inside. After making a matching card and gift bag, I wrapped it all up and gave it to her on Friday. She seemed to really like the handmade touch.