Making Grandma Smile

Giving my mom creative gifts makes me happy. I told you about As Our Own in this post for Mother's Day. To give you an update, over $26,000 was donated to help this organization rescue children from enslavement and exploitation. If you haven't already, check out their website, read, and pray for As Our Own. Much to my surprise, I received a hand-written thank you note from the organization. Now that takes diligence and sincere gratitude! I wonder how many thank you cards they wrote? With $26,000 given it must have been a lot.

For my mom's birthday, I wanted to give her something sentimental. I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided it would be perfect for her. She loves to read and I knew she would enjoy these unique bookmarks.

The first step was to take photos of my kids in funny poses. This is real life, friends. Green carpet, old worn out red sofas, and laundry. Always lots of laundry. 

See that beagle in the background? Does anyone want him? I'll ship him to you immediately. Just kidding. My kids would freak. If you research dog breeds on the internet, you should believe what it says. Beagles are, in fact, loud, stubborn, and sheddy. 

I took a few poses from varying distances, but these shots were the ones we chose to print.  Next, I cut them out as close to their cute little bodies as possible.  I like this because the green carpet, worn out red couches, laundry, and beagle have disappeared.  

I laminated them at Kinkos. I like Kinkos laminating because it is thicker so it holds up better which is perfect for bookmarks. Then I cut around the bodies closely, but not so close as to cause the lamination to separate from itself.  I want them to last a long time. 

They aren't even finished in this photo and they already look super cute! 

For the finishing touch, I poked a small hole in the hands and used a needle to pull thread through for the bookmark tassel. 

Aren't they so cute? They turned out even better than I expected. My mom loves them and, like any good grandma, is planning on making them with her other grandkids. 

Thoughtful, handmade gifts are the coolest. I always enjoy giving my mom stuff like this, and I'm pretty sure she loves it, too. 

Have you made anything "pinterest-ing" lately?