Hello Zutter friends, it's Amy here today, to share a "surprise box" and mini book I made for a very special little guy!
This book was a work of the heart for me, and took me on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. My mother-in-law, Kay, had asked me to make this for Carson's baby shower, a week before she passed away unexpectedly. She had found the idea of making a mini book out of a deck of playing cards, in an issue of Paper Crafts from a few years ago. She left everything organized for me, including the photos and cards, and a list of the order to put all 18 of the baby pictures of each of the members of the family.
I created a pocket that has a special note for Carson, about this book, and about how the family loves him so.
I "tested" punching the binding holes on a few of the extra cards. The cover is corrugated cardboard that has been gessoed and misted, and trimmed to just the right size, before distrezzing a bit, and binding with my bind-it-all. I thought the 1" white o wire was perfect with the black, white and red theme. It was a challenge for me to fit my embellishy style on such a small area, but I decided to just keep it simple.
The book is in chronological order from oldest member of the family (at the time, it was Kay, at age 72), to the youngest. This is a super way of memory keeping baby pictures of generations of those that have grown up and been added to a family. It gives a child perspective about what each of the members may have been like when they were their age (or younger, obviously).
Kay had left the instruction that her brother, Bill, and my husband, Ken should be on the joker cards....as they are the family jokesters.
As teary as this made us all when Lauren looked through it at the shower, it really made me feel so happy to know that Carson gets such a special, lasting gift.
When thinking about how I would wrap this little mini, I thought a plain box wouldn't work. So, I pulled out a cardboard box I'd found at Hobby Lobby a long time ago, and altered it to match the mini album theme
I had my daughter prep it for me with some gesso, and after it dried, I misted it with black and bright red mists by Clearsnap.
I didn't mind that it ran a bit, I thought it made a neat graffiti style look. I wrapped the box with a bit of seam binding, and then added some cool Washi Tape.
Adding some playing cards, punchinella, washi tape, a zipper trim, a grunge board swirl, and a crocheted flower made the top of the box look like it is fit for a King (of hearts, hehe).
(This is simply a gratuitous baby love photo, of the gift recipient and his beautiful Momma. hehe)
Maybe you have a deck of playing cards hanging around that is begging for a royal treatment? There are so many possibilities with just some cards and your bind-it-all...let your imagination run wild!
Have a lovely end to the week, friends! Until next time---lots of blessings to you!
Zutter products I used:
