52 Things I Love About You

Wow, my first and only post was made almost 2 months ago! Thank goodness "Keep up with blog" is on my New Year's Resolution's list, clearly I need the reminder! I've got a folder on my computer of things to blog and pictures to post.. Because I fell behind, many of them are Christmas ideas! Would it be silly to blog Christmas crafts in February?? Most of me says, YES. A tiny Christmas loving part of me says, Nooooo! DO IT!

For now, I thought I'd share a gift I made for my wonderful husband for Valentine's Day. We agreed on a minimalistic approach this year in regards to gifts. I made him a little book filled with 52 things I love about him using a deck of cards.

There are tons of variations on this particular idea. I was inspired by the one posted here on the blog "Peppermint Creative" and then this one from "From Kristen With Love".

For this, I used:

• A deck of cards (Dollar Store)
• A hole punch (Dollar Store)
• Scissors
• Ribbon (Dollar Store)
• Packing tape (Dollar Store)
• Paper and my printer

I started by creating a template on my computer. Of course, you could just cut squares of scrapbook paper and write on them (which is what I wanted to do, but my scrapbooking box is in the crawl space..), or you can even purchase a template. I made my template by making a white rectangle with a maroon rounded border on Paint. I tried to add a pretty border on PhotoScape, but it cropped out in the next step. :( Oh well! Feel free to save this image and use it, if you want to.

I went to Picnik.com and created a collage. I selected the 4 rectangles and adjusted the ROWS to 4,  COLUMNS to 5, ROUNDNESS to 4 and PROPORTIONS to 38:62. I adjusted the spacing to create the size of rectangles I wanted. This made the page size in the bottom right hand corner "810x1024" (As long as it's under 850 and 1100 I think it's ok, don't quote me on that though!). I uploaded my white and red rectangle, and dropped it into each space. This is now a template and can be saved.

So then you go into "EDIT" with your finished template. It's pretty simple from here on out. (You can also print the plain template like this and just write everything yourself). You add your numbers to each area using separate Text boxes per square. It takes 3 sheets to do 52 numbers and a little cover square. After your first sheet is full (1 through 20), print it (don't save). After it's printed and you're happy with it, go back to EDIT and simply edit each text box with the next numbers (21 through 40). Do the same thing a third time with numbers 41 through 52, then use one of the extra blank rectangles to do your "book cover" and whatever else you want. My cover consisted of a few different fonts and I love how it turned out. :)

Once you have your templates printed, start writing! After you've filled in all 52, cut out all of those rectangles. Take each rectangle and just start attaching them to cards. I used a strip of packing tape per card as I liked the laminated feel. You can use glue or a tape runner as well.

Once all the cards have their "things", organize them from 1 to 52. Punch your holes in your"cover" and use this as a guideline for the rest. I did 2 cards at a time (with the cover card on top to determine hole placement), any more didn't work with my hole punch. Once your holes are punched and your cards are organized and stacked, you can thread your ribbon through and finish with a tight double knot and bow. :)

Give it to your loved one and see their eyes light up as they read through your 52 favorite things. I had way more than 52 things, so I'll be making more of these in the future. My husband loves little things like this. Enjoy!