Gifts From The Heart--"What I love about You!"

This is a sample of two pages taken from Brandon's book!



Last year at this time, I was pondering about Christmas and what I wanted to give my children for Christmas. I wanted less toys, less electronics, a more spiritual side of Christmas!

I decided I would make them a small scrapbook of What I love about them, what makes them special in my eyes! I was inspired by the fact that if anything ever happened to me, they would have this as a memento of my love for them!

I kept it very simple since I had 6 to make! Target has books where you just add photos. I like the 8X8 size! You can even buy 8X8 card stock paper to fit! It's best to do your own handwriting, because even your handwriting becomes a keepsake! I used stamps and found quotes that I liked and used a lot of words that best describes their personality on their pages. I have worried less about all the embellishments. The journaling and what is from your heart is far more important! If I have used embellishments, they are simple and fast!

My kids have loved them, even my older kids! It was fun to see them look at their books and see their smiles! It may seem over whelming at first, especially if you have a large family, so remember to keep it simple! This is how I got started! Scrapblog.com is a great resource if you choose to do it digital! You can print out your pages!

1. Write down the things that you love about your child, I included their strengths and accomplishments as well. I listed at least 8-10 things about each child.

2. I went through my pictures, and chose some of my favorite pictures that went best with how I felt about them, and the ones that best portrayed their personality and accomplishments!

3. On the first page, I started with a baby picture and expressed my feelings of gratitude and how blessed we are to have them in our family!

5. Put your pictures in the order of how you want them to appear in your book.

6. Have Fun! I found after making these books, I had a greater appreciation and a little more patience for my children!