Guest Author - Sandy Laipply

Father’s Day is approaching and many of us are searching for the “” Perfect Gift”. If your father is hard to buy for, consider making him a special gift instead. Here are some ideas:

An accordion photo book – Gather photos of you and your father together. If you have siblings, include photos of Dad with them, too. Create the book with a 3” x 12” piece of cardstock. Fold the cardstock in half. Take one side and fold the edge back to meet the fold. Turn the cardstock over and repeat. You now have a “ book” with 4 pages. If you want additional pages, make another book and glue them together. Crop your photos to fit the spaces, adhere to the pages, and add some journaling. Cut a piece of patterned cardstock 3 ½” x 7” for the cover. Fold in half, and insert your book. Attach with staples or by sewing.

Coupon book – cut several tag shapes, or purchase some from a scrapbook of office supply store. Add a “ gift” service to each tag, such as

“ This coupon good for one free carwash”

Decorate the tags with pens or markers. Punch a hole in one end, and slip the tags on a metal ring. Need some ideas?

“ This coupon good for one free backrub”
“ This coupon good for one free lawn mowing”
“ This coupon good for one free piazza”
“ This coupon good for one free tank of gas”
“ This coupon good for one free trash removal, with no grumbling”
“ This coupon good for one fast food run”

Think about services that would please your special guy!

Write the letters for whatever you call your parent - Dad, Father, Pops, on index cards, one letter per card. On each card, write a word starting with that letter that makes you appreciate him. Example – “D” – Dream – Dad, you taught me the value of dreams, and how to work to make my dreams come true. Or describe him with the letters – Example-
“D” Dashing, debonair decent, dreamer, delightful, dependable, decisive, dandy, dancer, daring, darling, dazzling, dear, deep, delectable, deliberate, demonstrative, deserving, devilish, determined, devoted, dexterous, devout, - you get the idea. Get out the dictionary and see what you find. You can also use your father’s name, if that gives you better letters and words. Decorate the cards any way you like. Stack them up, and make a “band” to hold them together by cutting a piece of cardstock 1” wide and long enough to wrap around the stack. Adhere in the back, and your stack of cards is ready to wrap!

Believe me, Dad will appreciate the thought you put into this special gift!