This has been a year of firsts for our family! So many firsts for Lily, from her first full night's sleep, the first bite of food (yum avocado), first smile, first time at the aquarium and so many more. As parents, we are cherishing every first! Brennan just created a special first Mother's Day for me and I am thrilled to celebrate the best Father to Lily and partner I could ask for! With Father's Day right around the corner, I am excited to partner with Astrobrights to create a bright and colorful book of Lily's firsts for Brennan. Lily and I surprised Brennan at his office for the first time to give him the book!
Check out the video below for easy instructions and the surprised look on Brennan's face when he sees the book for the first time!
Materials:
- Astrobrights Text & Cardstock Paper
- Gravity Grape™
- Lift-Off Lemon™
- Plasma Pink™
- Martian Green™
- Celestial Blue ®
- Washi Tape
- Scissors
- Tape Roller
- Dual Tip Brush Pen
- Bookbinding Awl
- Wax Thread & Book Binding Needle
- Family Photos
Directions:
- Select your favorite colors of Astrobrights paper in both text and cardstock. With all the bright and vibrant colors available, Astrobrights makes it easy to create colorful fun projects.
- Cut out one large (for dad) and one small cacti (for your little one) from the Martian Green cardstock.
- Use the brush marker to draw spikes and faces on the cacti. I made Dad a cool cactus with sunglasses.
- Cut one large and one small pot from Plasma Pink and Gravity Grape cardstock.
- Cut a piece of Lift Off Lemon cardstock for the cover.
- Attach the cacti pieces and pots with the tape roller. Add a special message for dad with the brush marker!
- Add a piece of Gravity Grape cardstock to the back of the cover for added support.
- Fold sheets of text paper in a variety of formats to create the pages of the book. Get creative and make a few pages open to secret fold. Make the interior pages slightly smaller than the book cover.
- Add photos and decorate with washi tape. Be sure to write notes about the special moments in the photos.
- Cut a back cover to match the size of the front cover.
- Line up all the pages in between the covers. Secure with clips.
- Using an awl (booking binding tool) poke a holes along the side in the center and one about 1 inch from the top and one 1 inch from the bottom. Make sure the tool goes through all the pages.
- Thread a bookbinding needle with wax thread. I doubled my thread to get a thicker binding. Tie a knot at the end of the thread.
- Starting from the back cover thread the needle and wax thread through the hole at the bottom of the book. Pull the thread all the way through the stack and sew into the middle hole.
- Come back up through the bottom hole and stretch thread across the cover to the top hole and sew through.
- Bring the needle back through the middle hole and up to the top hole and sew through.
- Tie off the thread with a tight knot that goes flush against the back cover. Trim excess thread.
TADA!!!! You have the perfect gift for Dad!!!! Take a look at how special it was when Brennan got his book!! I loved surprising him early with a thoughtful gift!
xoxo- LL
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This post is also featured on Astrobrights site!
This post was sponsored as a collaboration with Astrobrights. All opinions, ideas, and photos are my own!
