How to Make a Heartfelt Address Book

C'mon, admit it: You never use that George Foreman Grill, you don't even know what that gizmo from last year's sticking stuffer does, and you're really sick of store-bought cards with generic (read: lame) messages that are supposed to be "from the heart."

So step out of the box and make your own creation. This article features a do-it-yourself address book that beats the common grocery store fodder. Get your creative cap on and gear up to give a gift that actually means something.

What You Will Need:

Heavy-duty scissors or an exacto knife

Cardboard from an art supply store - up to 1/8" thick

Craft store paper or wallpaper

Craft Glue

At least 15 sheets of cool paper (something different - maybe with a metallic sheen)

Needle and Thread (of bookbinding quality)

Binding tape or other strong tape

How to Do It:

You will need to decide how big you want your address book to be and cut your cardboard and papers out to that size. An easy way to determine this is to cut an 81/2 by 11" paper in half lengthwise. Cut the cardboard pieces slightly bigger than this - you should have to pieces roughly 41/2 inches wide and 6 inches in length.

Next, you will gather those fifteen sheets of paper and sew them down the middle as if you are making a book. For the cover - glue some special craft paper (they have some neat ones with dries flowers embedded) and glue it over the cardboard. Make sure it covers about a quarter inch over the space so you can glue those onto the other side for strength.

Make sure you let this dry, and that you have smoothed down the wallpaper or craft paper. Failure to do this will result in a goopy mess at best - with air bubbles creeping out of your new cardboard covering.

Now, you will leave about ¾" between two pieces of the covered cardboard and, using some strong tape or binding tape, adhere these together. You will want that extra space so that the book closes properly.

The next step is to glue down each side of the booklet you sewed up onto the insides of the cardboard book covers. Again, smooth these down carefully to avoid air bubbles.

Wait for it to set, and then you can add the entire alphabet to the tops of each page. Voila! A homemade address book with some authentic heart felt sentiments.