Altered Journal

Being a mom of 2 boys, I'm always curious what girls these days really wants for a gift. I have 9 nieces between the ages of 16 and 2 and they all live too far away for me to keep up with the things they really like. When it comes time to sending gifts for birthdays or Christmas, I often times take the easy way out and give gift cards for a store I've heard their moms talking about--with a handmade card, of course!

Well, my oldest niece, Emmy, had her 16th birthday yesterday. I can't believe she's really 16! Feeling a bit ambitious, I decided to make her a gift... an altered journal. Although we don't see each other very often, one thing I do know about Emmy is that she's not your "typical" girly girl... so I figured anything pink was out. The Spring Break designer series papers seemed pretty cool, so I went with that. It's retired from our last catalog. What do you think?

As you can see, I also made a coordinating card that will be tucked in the pocket on the inside of the back cover of the journal. (Yes, this is a late gift for Emmy...) Inside the card, there will be "a little something" extra. ;) I hope she likes it!

Aside from the cardstock and designer series papers, I used the Big Shot Diecut Machine, Serif Alphabet "E" die, Pretties kit, eyelets, Frames with a Flourish stamp set, and All Holidays stamp set.

Happy Stampin!