The Guest Book

When I was a kid there was nothing I loved more in school than making books. I had a 3rd grade teacher who was really big on bookmaking and showed us all the tricks, always encouraging us to be as creative as we could -- my dog, my family, and trips to the moon were among some of my favorite writing topics. She even showed us how to make a cover out of cardboard and wallpaper scraps, and then would get volunteer moms to come in and sew the pages and cover together, just like a REAL BOOK! Oh man, I loved that feeling of getting my book back and flipping through it, all professional and polished looking!

My love of bookmaking didn't stop there. I found myself, as an art major in college, drawn to bookmaking, incorporating it into my final projects whenever I could. Even better if I could give it pockets and flaps and secret nooky places to hide messages. My most recent book project was a one year anniversary gift for Dan, complete with pictures, emails and little mementos, all telling the Story of Us. And of course it had pockets and flaps and little secret nooks :)

SO...all that to say...when I read this post I was absolutely beside myself with excitement and delight! A GUEST BOOK with POCKETS where guests can slip in their little NOTES! Oh. my. gosh. How did I not know about this or think of it myself?!


{1. source, 2. source}

And I love her idea of using photographs as well, which is something I was considering anyway as a way of incorporating our engagement photos. It is probably a lofty goal to try and actually *make* the book myself, binding and all, but I am thinking a nice large photo album with a hand-made feel...something like this:


{source}

or this:


{source}

...with blank pages where I can add the little envelopes, and then affix the photographs, perhaps with photo tabs which would give it a clean, elegant look.

I love the thought of Dan and I sitting next to each other in 50 years, holding in our laps this beautiful, artistic, chunky guest book full of pockets and pictures and little hidden cards with words from our friends and family from our special day. That thought makes me happy :)

Are there any other guest book ideas out there?