Easy Peasy!

Handmade gifts don't have to be hard.  They don't have to be time consuming.  They don't have to be expensive.  For just a little cash and a little time, you can provide a loved one with a special gift that they will ooh and aah over!

Here's a great example!  This is a simple chipboard book that a friend and I created for one of our coworkers.  Our only cost comes from the paper and the pictures.

Every year, at benefits renewal, I get packages of brochures and posters advertising our health, dental, and vision benefits.  Each packet comes with a piece of chipboard to provide support.  I use to toss the chipboard along with the plastic covering until a coworker pointed out it would be great for scrapbooking.

I took several of the 8.5x11 sheets of chipboard and cut them in half to make the pages for the book.  We then used a cute paper pack to cover each page.  I picked the paper pack up at JoAnns for just $9.99, and I have a TON of it left.  It was perfect for our retiring coworker who is a nature lover.

One sheet covered the front and the back.  Everything except "Happy Retirement" was printed on the paper, and the Cricut made cutting the title quick and easy.  Once everything was put together with the binder rings, we tied pieces of ribbon on the rings for added cuteness! 

For the inner pages, all we did was cover the chipboard with the cardstock, mat the pictures, and add titles.

We were probably done in under 2 hours, and she LOVED it!