There are just five Mondays left before Christmas Day and we plan to make the most of them! Every week we'll revisit a craft idea from an early edition of Selvedge and give you the chance to rustle up a handmade gift. Christian Strutt, founder of Cabbages and Roses, starts us off with pretty and practical notebooks... enjoy! As a child, nothing pleased me quite as much as new stationery products. A clean notebook, I suppose, was the origin of the saying ‘turn over a new leaf ’. Something that, for an extremely naughty child, a fresh opportunity, a new chance to please the poor nuns who patiently tried to teach me. Even now the thought of a clean new notebook is the most inspiring part of beginning a new collection. Covering books is incredibly simple and can be personalised depending on the recipient – they are uni-sex, uni-age and uni-affordable! Another plus is that they don’t need to be wrapped, but can be tied together with twine and decorated with dried lemons and a cinnamon stick to add a festive feel. First, find good quality books with hard covers, I always use Seawhite books as the paper is sturdy and textured enough for painting on. Secondly lay the open book on a piece of fabric - leaving a border of about three centimetres - cut out the fabric. At each corner make a diagonal cut to about 2mm from the corner of the book, and at the spine make two straight cuts so the fabric can be pushed into the open spine. I use Spray Mount to stick the fabric to the book, as it makes a neater finish. Fold over the edges of the fabric and smooth out to get rid of any creases. Spray Mount the first page to the cover to hide the edges. That's one gift to tick off your list – next week Decorated Coat Hangers from Ros Badger. www.cabbagesandroses.com