Thank You gift for Teacher and SUO Challenge 21

I saw an idea for recovering those small purse-size coil notebooks, and decided a full-size, hardcover notebook would make a fabulous teacher's gift! And I wanted to go ALL OUT! At first, I had grand visions in my head, including 3D flowers, glitter and tons of embellishments, but I realized it had to be able to lay flat when open, and stand up to being used and carried around, so I had to tone my vision down a notch... I think I managed to make it very textured and visually intense, without making it a useless decoration ;)

To re-cover the front, I used Very Vanilla Cardstock, and stamped the damask stamp from the Sale-A-Bration "Bliss" set over the whole page, alternating in Old Olive and Marina Mist. Then I turned it into faux linen with a gluestick and crumpled tissue paper. I used my Crop-a-Dile to align and punch the holes, and then snipped a slit at each hole, to be able to slide it through the rings. I didn't put it on or glue it down though, until the whole cover was finished.

Some close-ups...

I ran the Top Note die through my Big Shot, and then stamped this image from "Notably Ornate" in Versamark and Clear embossing powder. Once it was set, I sponged Old Olive over the whole diecut.

I used the First Edition DSP, and stamped these flowers from "Elements of Style" in black Staz-On ink. Then I used my Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pen to color them in, corner punched it, stuck a layer of Marina Mist behind it and distressed it. An Old Olive ribbon wrapped around it, with the bow glued down to keep things flat and portable, finished it off.

I did the "for you" with another stamp from "Elements of Style", the same way I did the one on the Top Note die, but I used Marina Mist ink for the sponging. Then I mounted it in some Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, dded two tags, stamped and punched with the Tiny Tags collection, and Glue Dot-ted them down.

This is just a close look at the faux linen effect... oh, and when I was done, I gave a few sprays of Smooch Spritz to the whole thing for a bit of glimmer. Also, I added a place saver on the same Old Olive ribbon... just a chunk of chipboard, punched with the Crop-a-Dile, and stamped with another stamp from "Notably Ornate", and then distressed the edges with a metal file from the Distressing Kit.

The inside...

Just some Very Vanilla CS and a stamp from last summer's "First Day" set on the left, and a stamp on the pocket, from the "Office Accoutrements" set.

And the back...

This is what the front cover used to look like. I didn't bother covering it, because it works well. I wish I could have put my copyright stamp directly on the brown, but I had to cover the Staples logo ;)

Edited: It was pointed out to me that I forgot to post all the details ;)

PS: All products used are Stampin' Up! except for the generic tissue paper, white thread and chipboard. I've also entered this into the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge, which is wedding stationary... I think this fits the bill :)