My birthday buddy loves to make (and eat) cupcakes so a perfect gift for her is a lunchbag picture book of how to make cupcakes starring her (she likes seeing photos of herself)!
Stack lunchbags and fold in half, hole punch and ribbon thread for binding.
Some pages will have openings (from the lunchbags) in which you can create pull-out pages, front and back.
This idea isn’t limited to making story books, it could be a photo/memory album, a quote or prayer book, a journal or anything you can think needs to be preserved and carried around!