My New Toy

Sleek.  Beautiful.  Mine!  

I have been wanting one of these little beauties for some time now.  And I finally scrapped together enough spare change to get it.  It was kind of a Happy Anniversary present to me (a month later than my anniversary, cause I was still hmmming and hawwwing about the cost).  But I am happy to say that it worth EVERY bit of my spare change.  I LOVE it. 

My very first project.  Just for fun and just to see if I could make it all work.  But I think it is pretty dang-on cute. 

My second project..... sorry for the blown out picture.  My camera was having issues.  Anyway, I wanted to see how hard a 3-D item would be to put together.  The answer is NOT HARD at all.  Super-duper easy.  The hardest part is not glueing your fingers together. 

I still haven't mastered the Cameo - yet.  Mainly because I really haven't had a chance to really play with it.  This always seems to be a super busy time of year for me.  Helping out at the school and making costumes for the kiddos.  Baking for the bake sales and attending the various functions that come up at this time of year.... takes away from my play time.  But, next week, after Halloween, I am gonna have a jammie day in my scrap room.  Just me and my Cameo.  LOL!!!

Have a good one, 

T. 

Baby Book

Remember the baby shower I threw a few weeks ago.... well, baby Harlee arrived last week.  She is adorable!  It is so much fun to go over and have a cuddle with a new born.  To be reminded of how small and precious my children once were is such a gift.   

So I wanted to give my friend a precious gift to house her memories of this precious time.  Time that will go by all to quickly. 

And this is what I made her.  She is not a scrapbooker.  The concept of gathering our thoughts and pictures together and marrying them on a page has not been something she has been interested in doing.  But, after I gave her this little book, she may become a convert.  Seriously though, I truly believe that moments need to be captured and savored and saved for those times when you want to be reminded or revisit how you felt at a specific time.  And there is no better way to do that than scrapbooking.  

I did a little stash diving and found this notebook that came in a class kit from Great American Scrapbooking convention almost 3 years ago.  It was the perfect book to alter to make a baby book.  I then sorted through my papers and embellies and came up with a color scheme that would work.  It helped that I had a 6x6 paper pad that I used as my foundation for theme and color.  

(sorry about all the sideways pictures.... the angle I shot the pictures did not look good when I turned the photo.....didn't think of that at the time.)

Inside the front cover I adhered a vellum envelope with a few small plastic baggies stashed inside.  My thought is that she could put baby's first hair cut in there along with any other keepsakes that she may want to hold onto. 

The title page of the album.... the "Adore" is just there to hide her face, not sure momma would want her in my blog.... 

The notebook I used was from a Tattered Angels class on technique, so it came with the dividers and the paper inside.  I used my die cutter to make new tabs and a stamp set from Close To My Heart, Notice the Details, to embellish the tabs. 

(sideways pictures starting now - oops!)

On the pages themselves I kept it really simple with 2 pattern  papers, a photo spot and a few embellishments. 

I repeated patterns throughout the book 

keeping the color scheme fairly tight

but hopefully not boring.

On the back of each page I drew in some lines in hopes that my friend will write down the things that are most important at the time.....like the date of Harlee's first smile, her first giggle, her first steps....  because as a mom to 4, I know that you forget.  At the time it seems unforgettable, but life is filled with these unforgettable little moments and as hard as you try, you will not remember the details.  You will remember the big picture, but the details, they get lost.  Write it down!   Okay, enough soap box talk... moving on....

The completed book turned out really well.  I was fairly proud to present it to her.  To share with her something I believe in with all my heart..... keeping my family treasures in scrapbooks, so I can share them with my family and friends years from now.  For her part, she was so thankful, grateful.  She kept repeating "It's so beautiful!" over and over again.... I told her that what will really make it beautiful will be when it is filled with her pictures and her stories.  That's where the beauty is. 

Hope all are well. 

Wishing you a beauty filled day. 

T. 

Journal

My oldest son is working on a project for English class.  They have just finished reading and discussing The Great Gatsby.  For his project he has come up with the idea of creating a personal journal of one of the characters from the book which was kept during WWI.  My son is a creative thinker.  He is also a history buff.  When he came to me with this awesome idea I thought it was fabulous.  Then he asked if I could create the journal for him to write in using the voice of the character from the book.  He really wanted authenticity.    

He desired a leather cover.  Hand bound pages. This journal was a gift to his character from his mother before he left for the war.  

Hmmmm,  suuure?.?  Well, this is the best I could come up with.  And really I am pretty chuffed with it.  I started with plain old chipboard. The think kind that comes in paper packs.  

I embossed it.  I inked it.  I distressed it.  I did everything in my power to give it an aged, leather look.  

I even hand stitched the pages together.  Devotion. 

And wrote in my practiced script a dedication from a fake mother to her fake son.  

My boy is adding entries into this diary using information he has gathered from the time period and using the voice of the character from the book.  He will doing an oral presentation of the journal tomorrow.  I have my fingers crossed for an A (for the authenticity of the journal, of course.)

Have a good one, 

T. 

1st Day of School

Back to school.  The summer was just so short.  I guess it helps when you are traveling for a month and a half.  Huh?  

Have you met the McKids?  These are my sweet babies.  They are a lot of fun to hang out with. 

They can be goofy, serious, sweet and silly. All my favorite things.  

This school year is going to go by so quickly.  We already are holding on for dear life.  This will be there last year at the the little private school they are attending.  We know we are in rotation to move next summer.  So, the plan is to make the most of this school year.  

Love the little wooden cutouts.  Boy, boy, girl, boy.  Makes me smile. 

The date..... cause I'll forget.  I forget everything these days. 

Wishing you all a super fantastic day! 

T. 

Fashion Accessory

This is my baby girl. My Princess. My one and only daughter.  She is wonderful.  

This picture was taken at 7:00a.m. on the very first day of school.  

This is a picture of my daughter at 1:00p.m. on the very first day of school.  What I love about my girl is that she is adaptable.  She is an individual that cares greatly for others, but doesn't care what other's think of her.  She is kind.  She is thoughtful. She is a very serious student.  She is self motivated.  All of these things are amazing qualities.  She is also 12.  Hair and fashion and her nails are all important to her now.  And my girl decided that getting braces on was going to be the best fashion accessory of all.  So on her very first day of being a brace face, she chose to have turquoise bands put on her braces.  When she smiled they lit up her face.  How does she do that.... it's all in a positive carefree attitude.  She owns those braces.  And I couldn't be a prouder momma. 

To my darling baby girl - I love you.