Legacy Journals

This past Fall, I was flooded with orders for personalized journals. It was great fun to be so involved in so many people's gift-giving for 2009! I got a great email from a woman I'd never met before. Her name is Peggy and she wrote: "My children are grown and married [...] for Christmas I want to give them a book that on the first page I will write a message/prayer to them. Then in the following pages my hope is that the couple would write love notes/prayers back and forth for each other. My thought is that this would be such a beautiful keepsake for them and for their children and grandchildren one day. [...]  I know I could go to Mardels and get a “journal book” but I think something more personal would be so much more special."

I loved Peggy's idea and immediately contacted her to accept the project. Peggy wanted to include the names or initials of each couple and wanted two soft-bound and two hard-bound books. She gave me some pointers on each couple's favorite colors/style, and I set to work collecting supplies. Below is the final result.

AARON and LAUREN Aaron and Lauren are engaged to be married and love the color blue. I started with a sapphire blue suede cover.

cover

The inside paste pages were made from scrapbook paper resembling burlap. A black satin ribbon bookmark was added so Aaron and Lauren could mark the page where they left off.

inside

Slide-on alphas spelled out their names on the cover. Silver star brads helped keep the ribbon secure.

sliders

BRANDON and JODI For their book cover, I used a flat black cotton cloth and alpha brads bearing their initials.

b&j

I carved grooves into the book boards before binding to give the plain black cover a little punch.

cover

The inside paste pages were zebra stripes, Jodi's favorite:

zebra

The ETHRIDGES For the Ethridges, I used a vibrant red suede cover and circular alpha brads in an alternating pattern of black and clear.

ethridge

I used a funky retro circles paper on the inside and added a brown satin ribbon bookmark.

insides

TOMMY and HEATHER For Tommy and Heather's book, I covered the boards in my blue-gold bookbinding cloth. The inside paste pages were a cube/column pattern reminiscent of 1980s video games.

insides

I added a brown satin ribbon bookmark as well as heart brads on the spine.

spine

On the cover, I included their initials and a mesh heart brad.

tnh

Peggy, thank you for allowing me to bring your wonderful idea to life! I'd love to hear how these books bless your family for generations to come! I know I'd enjoy reading love letters that my parents or grandparents had written each other. God bless!

This would be a wonderful wedding or anniversary gift! If you are interested in having a Legacy Journal made for your significant other or for loved ones in your life, contact me. Let's preserve those memories!

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