One down and seven to go...

My first journal cover is finished. Not that it was such a big job, it was more a matter of finding the time (not to hard) and actually sitting down to do it (much harder). Now that I have made the first one, I expect the next 7 will come together just like that...
At least I know some areas where I might go wrong, so I can improve on my design. The feature that made me want to try my hand at this in the first place, was the built-in pencil case. Especially if you were to use it as a sketchbook, the possibility of having lots of pencils or crayons at hand would come in handy, I thought. As I mentioned before, I got the idea from a store bought journal cover a friend of mine had, but I have made so many changes from the original that I have made it my own.
On the next one I'll even put the zipper in the right direction, so that it opens from the top. I noticed what I had done when I first stitched it in, ripped it out and restitched, only to find later that I had done the same mistake twice! Never mind, I'll make sure next time. I'm thinking that the pencil case would be even better if it were lined, but I'll have to think a bit about how to do that. A button or snap on the pocket flap might also come in handy, but the flap is so stiff that I don't really think it is necessary.
So what do you think? A handy gift for budding artists and good friends?