I love to read. If I could pick my favorite thing to do with a few quiet moments to myself, I would tell you there is nothing better to me than a cup of hot tea, a comfy spot and a book. Okay -- well, maybe it would be a toss-up between crafts and reading.
My love for a good book started very young. In fact, I was just reminiscing with Allie about how our idea of a good time at the beginning of Middle School was a trip to the Mall (which was a treat given the fact that we lived in The Plains) and enough pocket money to buy the next book in our favorite series so we could share. If we had enough left over? A bookmark!! Yes, a bookmark.
Through the years, I have built a collection of bookmarks. Swirly, girly, funky, funny, you name it, I love it. I love to pick up my book, open it up and that amazing book smell floods your senses (think about the scene in Sex and the City when Carrie asks Mr. Big to smell her library book "Love Letters of Great Men" -- which by the way did not exist during filming but apparently does now). Then there's that fun bookmark holding your place for you, just waiting for you to hold it while you forge forward into the story.
So imagine my surprise when in November 2007, my amazingly sweet husband surprises me with this new fangled piece of technology called the Kindle. We were one of the first shipments sent out from Amazon. He was so proud of himself -- he could not wait to give me the gift. Kept telling me that he had outdone himself, he had the PERFECT gift for me. I think I upset him a little when I said, "I don't think I'll use this." He gave me the lowdown on this Kindle....I could surely see its' functionality and amazing pros when it came to travel and getting my hands on a new book. But.....I love to go to the bookstore, I love to see the colorful covers of a book, I love the smell of a book either new or old, I love to turn the pages and what about my bookmarks???????
Ok, so I agreed to try it for a week and if I didn't love it, he would keep it for himself. A week into having my Kindle, I was sold. I had a paperback book on my nightstand that I had to finish and when I went back to it after having read two books on my Kindle, I was shocked that I didn't like the awkwardness of holding a book open with one hand while trying to drink my tea with the other. My kindle in it's sweet little green case slipped nicely into my handbag so it was with me wherever I went....doctor appts, carpools, etc. And don't even get me started on how convenient it was to travel with!
I have never given up my love for looking for a great book in the aisles of Target or Barnes & Noble, I just have adapted. I find the books that pique my interest and write them in a list in my handy dandy IPhone and then when I need a book I access that list. Cheaper than a hardback, too!
Several newer editions of Kindle came out after my first one -- as much as I wanted to trade the old girl in for the latest and greatest, I didn't. Then a reward check came in from our Amazon Visa -- I started looking at the DX (the larger Kindle) since I am so blind, I thought the larger version would be so much better for me. This happened to be in May, and just as I was ready to hit send to order the DX, my husband walks in and sees what I'm doing. BRAKES!!! Why would I do that? Blah, blah, blah. I explained my reasoning and he said no way on earth would I be getting the Kindle DX. Why didn't I get the IPad? I said, no way. I didn't need all that. He started the sales pitch again. I saw his point but still said no. Yes it was only $50 difference at that point, but I really just needed it to be my book reader. He invited me to lunch and we managed to end up at the Reston Town Center at the Apple Store. He showed me the IPad....opened up IBooks and there it was........TWO PAGES displayed on the screen. Sold!!!! AND I downloaded the Kindle App and can still access my Kindle Library. I bounce back and forth between IBooks and the Kindle App depending on which is cheaper. Bargain Book Shopping! I love my IPad and my Kindle has been adopted and loved by one of my besties, Teresa. We share a love of chick lit and the trashier the better :)
So fast forward to about six weeks ago, I was racking my brain for a gift for a friend of mine that loves to read. I had already purchased my two favorite books to give her. Then I get an update on one of the crafty blogs that I follow in which she referenced an issue of Somerset Life from Nov 2009 in which Vintagey Velvet Bookmarks were showcased. I had read that magazine and thought it was such a great idea -- but filed it away. Here it was -- front and center -- I happened to open my jewelry/bead bin and found two ribbon end clamps and some old velvet ribbon. Hence the gift was complete and so was the brain racking!
I ended up doing the same thing for my friend Teresa two weeks ago: my two favorite books and two velvet bookmarks. I definitely have bookmark envy over these, especially when they were so pretty in the books. So, I made up a bunch of them with old ribbon and findings which I will pair with my favorite book for Teacher Gifts, Love Gifts and Hostess Gifts for the upcoming holiday season. So easy, so beautiful, so thoughtful tucked in the pages of your favorite book to pass along.
So, find some old ribbon, earrings, charms, pendants put them together and let me see what you come up with!
Until the next craft,
Angie
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