Gifting creativly

So as a follow up to my last post there is this: We make a set of these sketch books every year for Christmas and they are a perennial favorite! The gold stencilled version is what all our girls will receive and the titled version is what our young nephews will get this year as we are all going to be together for New Year.

These really could not be easier. I buy cheap A4 hard back sketch books this time of year. Last year I got nice ones for £1.99 each. This year I've had to fork out £2.50 each. The titled version is lettered by hand in pencil and then painted over (also by hand) but you could very easily use letter stencils to put words on your books. The stencilled version is new this year as I felt I'd worn out the titled ones for our girls over the last few Christmases. If anything the stencil is easier. You just need a piece of lace paper. A paper doily would work nicely but I've used some scrapbook paper that was not cheap at £1.80 for the sheet but it was so sturdy I've done three books and it could stand up to a lot more use still. Good quality acrylic paint works a treat but don’t be tempted to try the kid’s paints (poster or otherwise) on them as it flakes off over time and you will find yourself one day covered in chipped paint and the book looking rather less spectacular. I placed a letter cut out of the child’s initial under my lacy card and used a sponge to stipple gold paint all over the front of the book then the card and initial removed and voila! The spine was painted gold and when dry about an hour later I wrote in in black Sharpie each child’s name so that when being pulled off a shelf it would be immediately recognizable whose sketch book is whose. I haven’t painted the back as I think it’s easier for younger children to recognize front from back with a plain back cover- but I could imagine how much more glamorous a whole gold painted book could look!