Copper, Wool, Brass, and Desk Sets

Matt and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last week on August 17th.  Each year, I research the traditional gift ideas and attempt to make something that fits.  For our 1st anniversary (paper) I made him a calendar with photos on each month.  The 2nd year (cotton), I made him a quilt.  Sometimes I follow the traditional gift ideas, and other times I go with the modern ideas.
This year seemed pretty monumental in my mind, so it was important to me that I spend a few of my beloved free moments creating a gift for Matt.  So, copper, wool, brass, and desk sets?  Hmmm.
I had a fabulous vision (which is precisely how all of my projects begin-with a vision of something so beautifully crafted that it can only exist in my mind) of a leather notebook with a wool tweed spine.  Some friends of mine were just discussing the art of journaling, so I had handmade journals on the brain.
I combed through pages of google searches until I was satisfied with my knowledge in making a journal.  Next I took a trip to my local Tandy Leather Company with toddler in tow.  I made the mistake of telling her that we were buying daddy a present, and I was sure that would ruin the surprise.  Luck for me, she still occasionally exhibits the memory of a goldfish.
I dug through baskets of leather scraps until I found a few pieces that I liked.  I also bought some snaps, waxed thread and leather needles.  And as usual, I asked a boatload of questions.
I didn't end up finding the right tweed for the spine of the book, so I compromised and added some felted wool to the flap closure.  I also used engineering paper for the pages, because I have such fond memories of studying in college while Matt wrote one complicated equation after another on his funny green graph paper.  I'm pretty happy with how the journal turned out, and Matt seemed to appreciate the gift :)
(I haven't received my gift yet, but he ordered a customized copper necklace for me off of Etsy.  I am excited to see it-he is keeping the customized words a secret!)

That funny green paper.

Opps, I forgot to buy a card ;)  I had a lot of fun creating the card, and I'm thinking of making a handful of different cards for this event.

I had enough fun with Matt's journal that I made another for a friend's birthday.  I used a purple leather and added some hand embroidery and a tab closure.