Holy Crudoli! It's a Christmas Surprise

Oh my goodness!  I was looking to remind myself what I had post today....and I forgot to post!  Can you believe that?  I forgot......  Well, let me rectify the situation and post, just a little later than normal.

I'm going to show you what I'm working on for Christmas.  It's a big surprise for everybody and I am literally bubbling over with excitement.  Don't think I'm giving away the surprise.  You'll have to wait until Christmas just like everybody else.  But I'll give you some sneak peaks (more than my kids are getting).

This gift will be given in multiple clues.  I thought it would be fun to have envelopes for each clue but couldn't  find enough for what I needed.  I would be putting the envelopes in a book so I wanted them just the right size.  I found one.  Yep-one.  Could be the fact that I was being picky.  Maybe.  So, being the brilliant genius that I am (we established in a past post, right?), I decided to make my own.  

I took that one envelope that worked... 

and pulled it apart.  Gasp!!!  Now I have no working envelopes.  No, just kidding.  I could glue it back together if I wanted (but I didn't want to).  I wanted to use it as a template for the rest of my envelopes.  I traced it onto the back side of the patterned papers that I wanted (this particular one is double-sided) to make envelopes from.

(Do you like the uncapped highliter I'm using to trace?  I'd already done all my tracing and couldn't find my pen but knew that I needed a picture.  Also take  note that I positioned the template where there would be the least amount of waste.)

My daughter wanted to help so I handed her some paper and scissors and got her to work.

She digs her robe.  I dig her fashion sense.

Next step is easy.  Cut out your patterns. 

Then fold all sides in towards the middle where the indents are.  This is what you get when you've done that.

I suggest pulling the top tab back up.  You will then glue the two side seams onto the bottom seam.  This picture shows the bottom seam on the top layer but I pulled my sides back out so I could glue on top of that bottom tab. 

With my envelopes done, I glued them in my book.

See the envelope is as it should be.  Look how wonderfully it fits in my book.  I left a couple pages inbetween each envelope blank so we could add our pictures to it.  In each envelope I will place some pictures on the internet that fit with my clues.  I can't believe how good I am being about not giving the surprise away.  I've hinted many times but have been somewhat careful about not giving too much information.  My husband thinks I'm funny but I can't help myself cause I'm SO STINKIN EXCITED!!!!!!

Oh, man!  I can't help myself.  I'll give you one clue.  Just ONE!  Here's the book's cover:

Okay.  No more clues for you.  You already know more than my kids do.  Oh, okay---one more clue.  My kids don't go back to school until January 10th.  Yep!  That's a lot of time to play with.  PLUS!  My husband teaches at the local college and doesn't go back until the following week.  This is when I think the life of a teacher/professor is grand.