City Sidewalks Family Holiday Book with Heidi Swapp's Chipboard Folder

Hi!  I was blessed with an early Christmas present:  The Cinch.  I have heard so many great things about this book binding tool but until I purchased it and played with it this past weekend, I didn't know what I was missing.  Wow.  This is some incredible piece of equipment and I have only bound one book.  It is like the gift giving world has opened up to me and I can see so many uses for this. 

I made one of my sisters a gratitude calendar out of a Heidi Swapp folder this past summer.  She emailed me this morning asking me if I could make three of them for her family members, her husband and her two grown kids (one girl and one guy).  I immediately thought I could use Heidi's mini chipboard folders for the outside and her free calendar printable to incorporate inside the book.  I think for both of the guys the book binding method will be perfect using some Tim Holtz paper, gears, clocks, etc.  I can't wait to start!  Back to the project at hand, though.

When I brought the Cinch home, I knew I wanted to make a family recipe/traditions book with lots of interactive pages.  I am going to ask my family members to email me their favorite holiday recipes and then I will insert them in the book.  I am then going to take photos of my family's special traditions and add those as well with some journaling.  What a neat gift to pass down from generation to generation. 

Using Heidi's chipboard file folder as the front and back cover is a must, in my opinion.  You can either use Color Shine or cover it with paper.  I chose paper this time because I love Pink Paislee's City Sidewalks line and wanted the book to have that as an overall theme.  I did add in some of Heidi's Vintage Chic papers in the form of mini-mini file folders that I cut from my Silhouette.  I also added some pages out of a "brag book" so that I can slip some photos in those sleeves.

It was when I completed the book that I decided I needed to share this idea with everyone and offer a great deal on a kit.  So, please see my previous post on the City Sidewalks Kit which retails for nearly $48.00 and I have on sale for $32.99.  Crazy, I know, but you will love it and I wanted it to be affordable during this time when we spend more money.

I would love your feedback on my first book.  Be honest, but be nice! :)  I had a blast making it (and stayed up until 5:00 a.m. the other morning just to finish the inside pages).  I can see so many more books in my future. I have watched all the episodes Heidi has on her My Craft Channel and have thought how nice those books would be.  Now, I have completely jumped on the bandwagon and away I go!  Thanks for stopping by and let me know when you make your book.