A Special Treat For Grim

Hello again friends,



I was a little stumped for Christmas gift ideas for my dear hubby. I had bought a few CDs, DVDs etc but wanted to give him a really nice pressie that meant something special.

I decided to make a little "voucher" book for him so that he could have more personalised pressies to remember.

I started off by using Word and typing out the special "treats" that would be included in the book. I printed off the titles and then the actual "gift" idea so it was neater than my scruffy handwriting!! :O))

I struck upon the idea of using mini cards and envelopes to hold the details of the treats and using a little template I made envelopes to match in with the colour scheme of the book.

I used a mixture of DaisyD and Rustic Gem papers, stamps by the usual Catslife Press, Tim Holtz, PaperArtsy and then used Distress Inks in brown tones to blend everything together.

Treat Number 1




For this page, I used some Rustic Gem paper and stamped the Tim Holtz tree image onto the paper. I coloured the card with Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then stamped the Tim Holtz Flourish onto the card. The mini envelope is made using Rustic Gem paper too, I made the card from plain cardstock and coloured with the same Distress Inks. I cut the printed words and distressed these too. I added a piece of Grungeboard to the corner of the page, I had used my gold Krylon to colour this and then stuck it with Glossy Accents. As with all the other envelopes, I used a small piece of sticky velcro to make sure the envelope stayed closed in the book.

Treat Number 2




More Rustic Gem paper for this page, using the Lion (one of my fave stamps) from the Tim Holtz Collection and also the Splatter stamp. The envelope is made in the same way as previously and again, a small piece of Grungeboard coloured with Krylon is stuck to the card.

Treat Number 3




I have used DaisyD paper for this page. I used a small leafy stamp that I have (not sure of the origin of it) and I inked it with my Goss Boss and then clear embossed the images. Once these had cooled down, I coloured the card with Distress Inks in Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain. I spritzed the inked part and then used a paper towel to wipe off excess water. This also removed the ink from the embossed images giving a lovely "resist" look to the page.

Treat Number 4




Daisy D papers again and this time I used the Flourish stamp directly onto the paper. I have distressed the edges of the pages using a paper distresser and then smudged gold Krylon over the edges of the pages. The Look stamp and the Magnifying Glass are by Catslife Press.

Treat Number 5





The final "treat" is the really special pressie...and the one that he likes the most too! I used my Tim Holtz Paisley stamp on the card itself, inking using the same Distress colours as before.



On the back of each page



I printed the slip for the back of each page so once the treat has been used, I can make a note of it, so it can be "cancelled" without ruining the look of the book.

Grim has agreed that I can show you all this book - but he said that he would like the actual descriptions of the treats kept secret ;O))

Thanks for looking

Hels x