Several years ago, fortunately before my Dad died, I decided to make a mini 6" X 6" 8 page fold-out for my parents from their 3 children and their grandchildren, including their great grandchildren. As Thanksgiving was approaching I thought how appropriate it would be to tell Mom & Dad why we were thankful for them.
Just so you understand why this idea came about, my family is scattered. My sister and her 2 daughters are in NY, my brother and one of his sons live in NC, the other son and daughter live in FL, my parents in NC and I'm in TX. Sunday dinners with the grandparents (like in my childhood) were not possible.
I decided to gather pictures and a paragraph thanking Mom/Grandma and Dad/Grandpa from each family through email. This did take awhile and several encouraging emails :-). I loved being able to size and print the pictures to fit into a 6 x 6 layout and copy the provided text to print on some background paper. I added layers of cardstock to frame either pictures or text. Then, of course, embellishments (my personal downfall-where my motto is "too much is not enough") were added for fun and accent. In the end, I had no idea how much this meant to my parents. Each time I called for many, many months Mom would say "your Dad is looking at your book". They loved it and I loved making it for them.
I decided to gather pictures and a paragraph thanking Mom/Grandma and Dad/Grandpa from each family through email. This did take awhile and several encouraging emails :-). I loved being able to size and print the pictures to fit into a 6 x 6 layout and copy the provided text to print on some background paper. I added layers of cardstock to frame either pictures or text. Then, of course, embellishments (my personal downfall-where my motto is "too much is not enough") were added for fun and accent. In the end, I had no idea how much this meant to my parents. Each time I called for many, many months Mom would say "your Dad is looking at your book". They loved it and I loved making it for them.
Here is an overview photo:
Here is the first page, last page and my family's page just so you get the idea:
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| The picture is Mom and we 3 kids vintage 1956 or 57. |
The background papers are no longer available but, depending on your pictures, Close To My Heart has many papers and cardstocks that would look great. The pages could be put together with rings, ribbons or Washi tape (page 172-173 of the Annual Inspiration Close To My Heart catalog).
What I love best about this little book is it is a gift that keeps on giving rather than another thing to dust! Any elderly or not so elderly person in your family would love it.
I hope this might give you a little inspiration for DIY gifts. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner!!
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