Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Recycled Crafts Contributor, Anitra from the blog “Coffee Pot People”.

Years ago, when my husband and I were first married, we had a little verbal routine. I would say, “I love you,” and he would say, “Well, I sure don’t know why.”  And then I’d list several reasons I loved him.

One day, I decided to clear things up for him, once and for all. It took an afternoon, but the book I created that day still sits on his nightstand, and every now and then he goes through it again. It was undoubtedly the best Valentine I ever gave him.

Here’s how you can make your own “Book of Love”:

• Get one of those photo albums that holds just one photo per page in a clear sleeve.
• Gather a stack of magazines and other picture-rich papers, a pair of scissors, a pen or pencil, and something to write on. (I used a scrap of wallpaper that was printed with narrow blue and white stripes.)
• Look through your magazines to find pictures that illustrate things you love about your dear one, and cut them out, sliding each one into a sleeve of the album.
• Write a caption for each picture and put it in the corresponding sleeve.

My first picture, a favorite Mary Engelbreit card, I taped to the inside cover of the book, using packing tape that completely covered it.

The first sleeve held only this:

Then I started filling sleeves:

What was fun and interesting was that I often let a picture inspire me. I might not have thought of it otherwise, but I adore the way my sweetie looks in a tuxedo, something that came to me when I saw this:

A spur put me in mind of the way he “spurred me on” to try harder, do more, and believe in myself. People bouncing around at a dining table reminded me of his playfulness. There were a number of pages praising his physical attributes and romantic skills, including a few that made the book something I wouldn’t share with just anybody, but which certainly pleased him.

And there were occasional small jokes, like the way he’d follow a compliment about my cooking with, “but then, I was REALLY hungry!” (You’d have to be there. It really was funny, the way he said it.)

I didn’t decorate the outside at all. It never even occurred to me, but it was already pretty. Still that might be something you’d want to do.

The book, when it was finished, held 36 pictures and captions, and ended with a quote, “Loving you is knowing dreams can come true.”

Oh, and I left empty sleeves. It’s a lovely little surprise to add another reason to love.