A Homemade Book for my Valentine

  Two posts in one day? I know, I know. It's a bit out of the ordinary, but with Valentine's Day being tomorrow and me being a last minute kind of person, in between lesson planning I'm crafting my little heart out.
  This will be mine and Brandon's fourth Valentine's Day together and our first one as a married couple. I've more than excited to celebrate Valentine's with my sweet and handsome husband. The past two Valentine's Days I've made him a delicious chocolate dessert and a card, but I felt that this one being a little more special called for a more special gift (along with a chocolate dessert).
  I have enjoyed these almost 8 months of marriage more than I ever imagined I would. God has been so good to us and so good to me bringing Brandon into my life. I know it may sound cliche' but I am truly married to my best friend.
   For Brandon's heart day gift I chose 25 things (out of 100s) that I love about him and crafted him a little book.

 I've never made a "book" so this was a fun experiment. I started with this sketchpad I found at my parents' house from when I was in high school. I cannot sketch.

  I ripped out the pages and wrote one of my chosen 25 things on each page. I hadn't written in cursive in so long I ended up throwing away many mess-ups.

   I carefully trimmed the edge off each page.

For the front and back cover I used scrapbook paper I'd bought for decorating my Valentine's gift boxes. I cut out the cover a little bit bigger than the pages. I used an old, slightly jacked-up three hole punch to punch two holes in the front and back cover and pages.

I used ribbon to tie the whole thing together. I opted for brown instead of the pink I'd planned on using. Brandon's not a pink kinda guy and I've very thankful for that.

Word of wisdom: Before tying the ribbon into super tight double knots, make sure you didn't leave and pages out...

 I hope he likes it and that it gives him at least a hint of how very much I love and value him :o)