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Christmas Present Idea: A How-To Book
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For some reason, this year I'm so excited for the holiday season. It might be because everyday has been consistently too warm for my liking and I'm desperately waiting for December in hopes that it actually rains for once.
I've been hoping to do the DIY Sharpie Mugs that I've been seeing everywhere on Pinterest and I'll post something about that closer to Christmas time.
But since this project is going to take significantly longer time, I had decided to start it now.
B e g i n n i n g N o t e s :
My How-To book is on how to draw Anime or Manga characters (in a very 'Audrey-like way'). So for this purpose, I bought a sketch book.
Your How-To book can be on anything. You don't have to buy a sketch book, you can create your own book, use a notebook, or just bind a few sheets of copy paper together.
I bought my sketch books from Barnes and Noble. Their sketch books are cute and are usually under 15 bucks.
I've been hoping to do the DIY Sharpie Mugs that I've been seeing everywhere on Pinterest and I'll post something about that closer to Christmas time.
But since this project is going to take significantly longer time, I had decided to start it now.
B e g i n n i n g N o t e s :
My How-To book is on how to draw Anime or Manga characters (in a very 'Audrey-like way'). So for this purpose, I bought a sketch book.
Your How-To book can be on anything. You don't have to buy a sketch book, you can create your own book, use a notebook, or just bind a few sheets of copy paper together.
I bought my sketch books from Barnes and Noble. Their sketch books are cute and are usually under 15 bucks.
M A T E R I A L S :
For this project I used these colorful gel pens, a standard black pen, a pencil and an eraser.
The reason why I'm using a wooden pencil is that it usually writes lighter, so it erases better. It also produces thicker lines, which I think would be helpful for the reader to see and understand.
The black pen is used to write paragraphs of information. Whereas the color pens I use to color code certain words, or just to make the page look brighter and more welcoming.
You also might want to throw in a ruler or straightedge if you can't write straight or you require one to work on your book.
What I did:
Since this is a very individualized, creative present, I can't exactly give you a set of steps to follow. Instead, I can offer you a list of tips.
Decorate The Front Cover: Make it fancy, colorful and inviting. Since my cover was originally black and white, I filled in some white space with some Sharpies.
An Intro Page and Table of Contents: Easy navigation is always a helpful thing. If you're out of ideas, you can use the ToC to take up some space. In the Intro, you can leave a small little note of happy holidays or give a reason to why you made the book.
Separate Sections with Tabs: Use colorful tabs to make a statement. I'm using neon colored paper tabs to color code certain areas. I couldn't find the exact one that I bought myself, but there is a similar more durable type here.
Quick DIY/Alternate Idea:
Buy colored post-it notes and cut them in thirds.
Have Sections and Sub-Sections: Organize your thoughts into categories, make large general sections and set smaller more detailed spaces
As sort of a little tid-bit:
My mother brought home some Beijing Yogurt, and they're one of the best things you'll try. They're sweet unlike the plain yogurt that you buy here. If you buy them in Beijing, they sell them with straws (I know it's kind of weird) but you actually 'drink' your yogurt.
I'll be posting within a few weeks on possibly more DIYs for Christmas presents!
XX, Audrey
