Brag Book

Can you believe,  from empty toilet paper rolls to a Brag Book!

When I first heard about this I thought, crazy!  What will we think of next?  I'd forgotten all about this little book until I read one of the blogs I follow and she was asking about what we'd done in the last year we were proud of, and, I must admit, this is one of those things!

It was so, so easy to make.  Step one - use and save toilet paper rolls.  Hmm - that's easy!  Step two - smash rolls in half.   Also - very easy!  Ok - let's cut the steps, but this is so easy, I did it in no time at all, I mean - maybe a total time of 2 to 3 hours.  Really!!!  The most time consuming part is collecting the toilet paper rolls, depending on how many live in your home!  he he he!

I cut the paper to the size of the roll, ran it through the Xyron, (or use tape or paper glue) carefully wrap around and I put the seam down the middle of the back side.   Trim as needed, you do want this to look neat.  I made a total of five.  These end up being pockets. Then I used my Zutter Bind-It-All (or punch holes manually and use rings or ribbon to hold together) and finished this part.

Next comes filling the pockets and decorating the outside pages.  This was for a friend who was a first time Grandma.  She was so excited!  So, with all that excitement, I gathered all of the information to personalize this just for her!

10 Little Fingers

10 Little Toes, A Pretty Little Smile

A Cute Button Nose

This Adorable Baby Girl

Next came making the pocket cards.  I used a piece of card stock cut just a bit smaller than would fit in, AND this is because I adhered two additional pieces of paper to match the front and back of the pages and wanted room for the photos without them popping off every time she showed her off!   (I wanted everything to match - so when she pulled it out from either side it matches the pocket - just me - you get to decorate any way you like!)  I then punched a hole in each at 3/8" intervals so the ribbons were all easily shown off.

Ribbons on the binding, three little hearts and a pretty little bow - and how perfect was this paper to have Sweet Baby Girl printed right on it!  And, since I only used half a sheet for this pocket, I used the other half that conveniently matched the front of this perfectly for the box I made for this to be carried in!

I also enclosed a roll of double sided tape for her - and it didn't take long for her to fill it and begin her new life as Grandma!

I believe my most blessed part of life has been being a Grandma.  I love every moment.  I love every one of them.  They each hold a precious part of my heart.  I once was asked, "which one is your favorite?"  And not even a stutter, "each one is my favorite - my first born, my name sake, my grandson who will carry our family name, my first granddaughter, and my wee one - the one who will always be my baby as she is the last one!"  Just as each of my children hold that perfect place in my heart.  I love them all, each equally, each is different, each is loved dearly!

Tomorrow, November 1st, is All Saints Day on the Christian calendar.  My little wee one, Leila, was chosen from her class to represent Saint Anne, Patron Saint of Grandparents - how absolutely fitting to me!

Many blessings,
Donna