Simple prayer journals

Two of my cousins will be celebrating their First Communion at the end of this month, and I wanted to give them a small gift in addition to a check and card. After tossing around a few ideas, I settled on a very simple prayer journal/notebook with a bookmark.

Supplies:
Blank notebooks (Ikea), alphabet stickers (unknown), fabric washi tape and felt rickrack stickers (Target), jumbo clips (unknown), Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!), Pop-Up Posies designer kit (Stampin' Up!), jumbo brads (Stampin' Up!), 2" circle and scallop circle punches (Stampin' Up!), 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue (Beacon), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Originally I was going to cover the journals with patterned paper and then embellish them. But I decided to take a more practical route for the two eight-year-olds, who aren't terribly interested in "fancy" things. (And the notebooks themselves aren't very heavy duty, so I don't expect them to have a very long life anyway.) I dug through my collection of alphabet stickers, pulled out a few sheets, and personalized each notebook. To embellish them I used felt rickrack stickers for Will's and fabric washi tape and a die-cut flower with a brad center for Elizabeth's.

With the journals done, I made coordinating bookmark clips. For Will's I used a simple circle base with the leftover rickrack strips from the journal. For Elizabeth's bookmark I used a scallop circle base and added a die-cut flower like the one on the journal.

To assemble the bookmarks, I punched out two bases from Basic Black card stock for each one. I placed one base on the table, face down, and applied a line of 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue in the shape of the end of the paper clip. I placed the clip in the glue and let it dry. Then I placed a few Dimensionals on the card stock around the clip. I added more glue on the clip and then attached the other base. For Will's bookmark I embellished the circles before I glued everything together, but I added the flower on Elizabeth's after the bases were glued to the clip.

I still have to finish the cards that will accompany the gifts, so I hope to be able to share those soon.
Thanks for stopping by!