Creating Christmas day 7-Welcome to Michaela from Covered in Mod Podge!

Whew, we made it...SEVEN days of Christmas goodness!! I hope this week gave you a plethora of good ideas for decorating, gift ideas and creating Christmas memories! (remember to check The Girl Creative's blog for the other fun bloggers co-hosting this event to see what they've been posting all week too!)

Speaking of memories, I am SoOoOoO excited to share with you our very last Creating Christmas project for day 7 from Michaela at Covered in Mod Podge, who has a fantastic gift idea to hold those precious memories!! Take it away Michaela....

Hi! My name is Michaela, and I blog over at Covered in Mod Podge.

Thanks so much, Angela for letting me be apart of your Creating Christmas Series. It's such an honor!

I recently moved half way across the country. The cost of plane tickets alone are at least tripple our normal Christmas travel and gift budget. So, in order to still give meaningful gifts and stay in our very tinny budget, I'm handmaking nearly all of our gifts.

This little diddy is a Brag Book for my dad {who is a first time grandpa to my little miss}. My dad is always wanting pictures of the little miss to show off around the office. I nearly titled this sucker "My granddaughter is cuter than yours." I have a feeling that's what my dad is saying under his breath as he brags about his new little joy.

In order to create your own brag book, you'll need:

2 12x12 pieces of card stock

1/4 inch ribbon

Photo stickers

Photo corners

Embellishments

Scissors

A scoring tool

I don't have a scoring tool. I don't often work with paper {mainly because I can't cut a straight line to save my life}. So, I looked around and came up with this little pizza stone cleaner that came with our Pampered Chef pizza stone. If you don't have something, I say shop your house before you shop the store!

You're going to want to pick a paper that has two pretty sides. I started out by cutting off the paper selvedge. I wanted my album to be 4x6. I cut each of my 12x12 sheets in half.

Then, I used my super fancy scoring tool to fold each section into thirds.

In order to make a larger album, you have to adhere each of your four pieces of card stock together. I did this using photo squares. I added an extra square to the seam side because of the added stress. Then, you stick the two pieces together, making sure the folds continue to make the accordion.

Next, cut a 25 inch piece of ribbon. I cut mine on a diagonal so it looks all fancy. Use Fray Check. You'll want to glue the ribbon along the middle of the front of the book. Only glue it to the front or you won't be able to open your album all the way.

Then, put your embellishment cover piece down. I printed this awesome free chevron print {thanks Nat!} onto card stock and then cut it down to 4x4. Decorate to your heart's desire! {I'm a sucker for lime green and glitter, so these stickers were heaven!

I used clear photo corners to attach my photos. I also left the back side nearly empty. I'm going to send pictures and photo corners from time to time to my dad as the little miss grows. That way, this album will document more than the first six months of her life.

Tie the bow and you're set.

What grandparent wouldn't love a brag book!

Thanks again, Angela for having me. I hope you all will come visit me over at Covered in Mod Podge!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank YOU Michaela for finishing up our week of Creating Christmas with such a GREAT gift idea! I absolutely LOVE the idea of a brag book and Michaela made it the prefect size for an adoring grandparent to carry around and show off! I think my favorite part about it, is that nothing's permanent so you can change the pictures as they grow and don't have to make a whole new one-great idea!

And a BIG thank you to YOU for coming back everyday to share in all the fun!

**Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple necklace giveaway going on now!**