Friendship album

My dear friend Sylvia and her husband have been good friends for many years now.  They have accompanied us on many fun trips through the years ... we've been all across the country, literally, several times with them and have loved every minute.  The first really long trip together was driving to Dallas, TX, and we all decided then that when we arrived back in South Carolina still good friends and still enjoying one another's company that was the sign that our friendship was here to stay!

We are not able to travel together much any more but our friendship remains not only intact, but as solid as a rock, you might say.  She is such a cherished friend that I decided this week to make a small album for her honoring our almost-30-year-old friendship.  It took me several days to complete but here it is:

 The base of the book is from a small cardboard box I had emptied a couple of weeks ago, so the album itself is 2 1/2 inches x 4 in. x 1 1/2 in.  I covered the spine with deep purple suede paper, which added some elegance to the cover, I think.  The book did not want to stay closed because of all the thick pages inside so I attached some purple ribbon to the front and back with heart-shaped brads.

On the inside of the front cover I put this dedication notation. 

I made two pages with small pockets holding special tags of friendship messages, and some of the pages were fold out such as you see below when the "Friends" side opens up:

Another fold open page with a pocket message:

All in all, I was pleased to be able to make this album totally "from scratch", i.e., with no instructions to follow.  I am slowing catching on to the basic principles and look forward to trying my hand at this mini album making again!