Giving books as gifts? Tuck photo bookmarks between the pages.

We seem to be giving a nice amount of books as holiday gifts this year. And although a book is a treasure in itself I thought it would be kinda fun to tuck a little extra something in between the pages of the books. That's when I came across this photo bookmark tutorial from Craft contributor Christine Koh.

The tutorial is cheap and simple requiring just a few key materials...the most important of which is a sweetie-pie picture. And because most of the books are being given by my kids to their grandparents I thought it would be extra sentimental if my kids did all the crafting. I modified the tutorial a bit because I really didn't feel like going out to the store. Instead of using cardstock I used an empty cracker box (did someone say recycle-y goodness?) and for the decorative paper I used some of the holiday paper we had on hand. I also decided to coat the bookmarks with a layer of Mod Podge to seal them up tight. My kids had a blast crafting their picture bookmarks and tucking them into the pages of the books. And although ours didn't turn out as beautiful as Christine's I'm extremely satisfied with the whole experience and with knowing that come Christmas Eve my kids will look on with pride as their beloved grandparents find their secret treasures.

(via One Pretty Thing)