Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Cool Gifts for the Book Worm, Writer, or Teacher in Your Life

My first born turns 12 next Saturday. I can't believe how fast the time has gone and I am blown away by the beautiful young woman she's becoming. She is incredibly giving and never asks for anything for herself...even if she's truly in need. It's a beautiful quality...until it's time to buy her a gift. When asked what she might like to have she just shrugs her shoulders and replies, "I don't know." That's helpful. However, I'm always up for a good challenge so I started brainstorming (and googling). Like her mama, Cassidy's an avid reader and a writer at heart who dreams of one day being a published author. So in preparation for this year's birthday celebrations, I took the reader/writer theme and ran wild with it!

Here's the results of my search...fun stuff for book worms and aspiring writers! These would also make great teacher gifts...it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas! 😉


These adorable hand stamped earrings from Beads & Books (michellemach) were my first find. Simple, understated, and themed with two of her favorite pastimes, there were a must-have birthday gift. This set also comes in copper. Click on the photo to visit the seller's Etsy page and see more of her hand stamped jewelry!

Some other unique earrings I found:
(Click the picture to visit the seller's website.)


This Etsy seller (Artful Sunshine) has a book earring selection that ranges from Dr. Seuss to Pride & Prejudice to Comic Books. She had a couple of sets from The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games that I was eyeing, but they are no longer listed on the site. Hoping I can get her to make me a set for Christmas!

Next on the list...some inspiration for her bedroom!


An inspirational quote for writers printed on an actual page from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. What could be better??? TicketyBooPrints was so wonderful to work with during the ordering process. I wanted a smaller size than was offered and she took the time to cut and mat the page for me so that it fit into a 5x7 frame. She did a fabulous job...it's absolutely beautiful. And since I made sure that Cassidy was bitten by the musical theater bug at a young age, this print will have a double meaning for her as it graces her school desk.

I had the hardest time choosing a print...there are so many cool ones out there. Here were others that made the short list:
(Click on the picture to visit the seller's website.)





Finally, the BIG gift. Not necessarily in terms of cost, but in significance and meaning for Cassidy. For those of you that are Facebook friends, you may have seen my posts referencing Cassidy's novels. After spending last summer lost in the worlds of The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Divergent, Cassidy embarked on her own journey of writing her first trilogy. She has completed two of the novels and currently spends most of her free time working on the manuscript for the final book. Usually reserved and quiet, Cassidy comes to life any time someone asks about her books or comments after reading one. It is obvious that they are precious to her and that she takes great pride in her work.

I was watching the kids at swim practice one evening over the summer when I it occurred to me...perhaps the greatest birthday gift I could give her would be to have one of her books printed and bound. With a cool cover...her name emblazoned on the front. Like a real, published author. But how the heck was I going to do that? I threw up an SOS on Facebook and several friends immediately came to my aid with suggestions. Amazon and a couple other business names were tossed around as places where you could publish just one copy of a book. So I started researching the sites...and my head started to spin. Do you have this special number who's name I can't remember for your book or do you need us to provide you one for a fee? Your cover has to meet all these graphic standards that someone who makes their graphics in PowerPoint will never understand, but here's a template.

After a couple of days of being confused, I was ready to throw my hands up in defeat. But then I remembered something. I know how to use Shutterfly. And you can put text all over their little photo albums. So I logged into my account, chose a simple 8x8 photo album template, and went to work. And it WAS work. I won't bore you with the details, but there was a lot of copying, pasting, and reformatting involved. It took some time, but at least I knew what I was doing and in the end the result was amazing!

 How cool does this look??? I am so excited for her to see it!
(NOTE: I actually designed her first two novels at the same time (she'll get the second one at Christmas), waited for a 40% off photo books sale, and then ordered them both at the same time...cashing in on free shipping over $39. Each book ended up being about $25...and to my girl, it will be priceless!)

 I fell to pieces the first time I read her book and found this dedication at the end. 

 Formatting these chapters was a labor of love, but it was completely worth it!

I even included an About the Author page at the end of the book...an attempt to add one more authentic touch. 😄

You could create so many different kinds of books this way. Poetry books. A collection of short stories. Picture books. Scan the hand drawn illustrations as images, load them onto the Shutterfly pages, and then type the text for the story underneath each one. Do you know a budding artist? Scan their artwork, load one image onto each page of the book, and you've got a cool coffee table art book. These gifts could be given to the writer/artist OR would make awesome gifts for grandparents and other relatives. So many possibilities and such a cool way to show your love and appreciation!

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...