Have you wrote your letter for the week? This week I found myself writing a note to my daughter's school librarian. I wanted to share with her how much my 8 year old loves library and the impact she is having on her.
I also sent a birthday card out to my cousin and another one out to my aunt. It felt good to see these handwritten letters in my out box.
Stationary by: The Fox and The Teacup
I can breathe a sigh of relief and accomplishment. I managed to scrap all of our Valentines photos and incorporate them into our Valentines book. Just in time for the big day.
A couple years ago I decided to make a Christmas, Easter, Valentines, and Halloween album. I keep my layouts of these Holidays in their own album and pack them away with the Decorations. It's nice to bring them out with the rest of the Holiday decor and reminisce about years past.
One of the biggest challenges with the Holidays is what to do with cards and memorabilia. I decided to use one of Becky Higgins divided page protectors to slip in the sweet Valentines from my daughters classmates. I loved the end result: simple and accomplished.
Letting go and getting to the heart of the matter has been my focus as I scrapbook these last several months. In this layout, I had several years of classmate Valentines combined with some different years of photos. Instead of creating multiple pages, I created this two page spread to capture Valentines in pre-k. Why this is okay? Because Brooke is not going to care what year the Valentines were from. Because I recorded a time in her life that show tradition, routine, happiness, and her.
The layout below I love. I love the story behind the layout: Brooke writing out her Valentines. The photos are two different years but the same little girl who carefully picks the "right" Valentine for each classmate.
I love the old style Valentines that I was able to use. A couple years back I purchase a book of these from Borders (probably around Valentines) and have kept them in my stash. I love how this turned out and I love the Bella Blvd. Sticker letters. I also used some of the crate paper journaling/phrase stickers. I find myself incorporating these types of products more and more.
I hope you enjoyed these. I know I've enjoyed creating them and am happy to mark these off my to do list. Plus It's nice to have our Valentines Book on display to share with friends, family, and my girls (of course)!
Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tomorrow with this weeks letter of 52 letters. A letter to our school librarian with the most adorable stationary. :)
This week I have decided to have a Valentine marathon. What does that mean?
In an effort to get a lot of pages scrapped I often find it best to scrap in themes. Since we are so close to Valentines, I pulled out all my Valentines photos that needed to be scrapped, plus all my Valentines papers and corresponding embellishments. It's so nice to have everything I might use out and for several layouts. This process allows a lot of creation and less time searching for items.
I did this same thing around Halloween. So if you are behind on Holiday or Birthday pages this kind of marathon scrapbooking is something to consider. I was able to scrapbook several years within a weekend.
I apologies for the photos, I meant to take these earlier in the day but by the time I got around to it the lighting was horrible. :(
Above Page Supplies: Craft Cardstock, Elles Studio Calendar, Crate Paper Border Stickers, October Afternoon Mini-Market Stickers.
Page Supplies: K&Company Specialty Paper by Kelly Panacci, Bella Blvd. Number Stickers, and misc. heart ribbon.
Below: K&Company Specialty Paper by Kelly Panacci, JilliBean Soup Labels, some older stash supplies :)
I'll be back tomorrow with some more Valentines Layouts with better lighting. :)
Thanks for Stopping by.
Welcome to Project Life Week 3.
This week has been busy and fun in our household and I found myself having so many things to document. Looking back I think I would have did a bit more journaling, maybe a week in review 4x6 journaling card. But, I'm not going to change things now. I am happy enough to move forward but have made a mental note to branch out on occasion and journal in depth.
So here they are week 3:
I had so many photos this week I insert a 6x12 photo sleeve to capture some important photos that deserved their own little space.
Below is the left side. The first photo is without the 6x12 and then the next photo is with the 6x12 turned.
This is the right side with 6x12 on top. I added a cute little tag sticker from October Afternnon that reads "Memories".
The right side without 6x12.
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I used a lot of journaling stickers this week from October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup, Bella Blvd, Jenni Bowlin, and 7gypsies. I have a little bin on my desk that houses all of these things for easy availability.
This week I included a copy of my husbands CPR card that he received for training. I also didn't have a big enough journaling tag for one of the photos so I decided to just write right on the picture. I love how it turned out. This works when you have enough white space in the photo.
I am still loving this project and happy that in week 3 I am just as excited as in week 1.
I love project life because I am capturing little details of our lives that would otherwise be forgotten. Heres looking to week 4.
I'll be back tomorrow with lots of Valentines layouts and how I pulled off scrapbooking 5 years of phots in a day.
Thanks for stopping by.
I have Valentines on the brain.
This week my blog schedule witll be M, W, TH Valentines Fun , Tuesday = Project Life, and Friday = 52 Letters.
Today I wanted to share with you our Valentines Family Tradition.
The night before Valentines I leave a trail of Hershey Kisses outside the girls door with a little pink bucket (I found these at the $1 Target bin a couple years ago). So each girl has their own trail that leads into our bedroom.
I know these aren't the greatest photos but you get the idea. For the girls it's about waking up to finding treats but I wake up to the tink, tink, tink sound of candy hitting their buckets. :)
Each year I get them each a Valentines book, stuffed animal, and a movie. I found those adorable bags at Wal-mart. They are made out of felt except the heart on the front is some type of vinyl which was great because I wrote their names on them.
I love family traditions, maintaining, tweaking, and starting new ones. Do you have a Valentines tradition with your family? I'd love to hear about it.
Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tomorrow with Project Life week 3.
I can hardly believe that 4 years ago, Olivia came into the world to join our family. We miss her lots and wish that we could be with her on her big "Hello Kitty" Birthday.
Sending lots of love, hugs, and kisses to you! Have a fun day!
Happy Birthday!
In case you are new to my blog 52 Letters is a weekly project to write 52 letters in a year. To recapture the written letter.
Week 3 of 52 Letters is A letter to my younger self:
Dear Stephanie,
Well you’re going through some rough times right now trying to figure out who you are in the world. At thirteen, it’s been difficult to find love. I see you wanting so much to bond with your dad but it’s hard when he’s away at sea. I know you need him now but what you really need is to dig deep within and stay true to yourself. I know theres that boy that seems to be interesting that gives you the attention you are seeking but he’s not good for you. What you think is love is only a fantasy of teenage lust and stupidity.
You are a beautiful young lady that has so much to offer. As the days get darker you won’t think theres a way out but there is. It’s hard to believe now but one day you will be surrounded by family, a husband that loves you intensely, and three beautiful daughters.
One day you will look back on this time and realize that these moments make you stronger and eventually your true spirit and person will come through and shine.
Remember to really receive love you have to give it and before you give it away you must first give it to yourself.
With Love,
Stephanie
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This idea came from the book(s) by Ellyn Spragins, What I know now, letter to My Younger Self and If I'd Known Then. These books are celebrity or famous people writing letters to their younger self.
Because I actually wanted to send something in the mail. I decided to drop a couple Thank you notes from Christmas in the mailbox today.
In 2009 I began an annual project to pick one cook book that has been neglected in our kitchen and try a recipe each month with my kiddos.
In 2009 it was the waffle.
In 2010 it was the cupcake (we only made it to March)
In 2011 it never happened.
In 2012 we are back with cake pops.
Now, you should know that I am by far not a cook or baker or decorator. I am simply a mom who likes to have fun with her kids and try new things. If you are an expert at any of these things, I admire you. One day I hope to have time to add cooking and baking to my list of things to really learn. In the meantime, a cake pop a month will have to suffice.
Why this project works for me? It only happens once a month. My kids are involved. It's a learning process. We are making them for ourselves and so trial and error is a great learning tool.
Now, let me bring you back to 2009 when I first found out about the "cakepop". I was intrigued when I stumbled upon Bakerella's blog. I had never heard of these cute little things called "cakepops." I couldn't believe the time and talent that went into the "cakepops".
To me a cakepop is cuteness rolled into a ball that you can eat.
Since I happened upon Bakerella's site, she has since come out with a cakepop book complete with recipes, ideas, and detailed instructions and also a cakepop kit (which I have not actually seen). This is the cookbook that I bought and am now dusting off to attempt to make a cakepop a month.
In 2011, my sister and I made some cute little bears from the book for my daughters first grade class who was studying, Bears. Now mind you, my sister is a cake decorator so she has much more experience than I do. Of course, I can't find a photo of the finished product but I promise you we really did make them.
Fast forward to today. The idea is to start simple in January and move forward as we learn the tricks of making the cake pops.
JANUARY: Simple. Simple. Simple. Snowballs. In the Bakerella book she shows these as Menorah's to celebrate Hannakuh. Of course, they are turned around with a white candle in them. But when I saw them, I immediately thought of snowballs and snow.
We bought a boxed cake mix and made it according to the directions. I had purchased the babycakes cakepop maker (yes, there is such a thing) and to keep it simple we decided to start with that.
It was as simple as pouring a tablespoon of batter in each crevice, shutting the lid, and waiting for the light to shine ready. The key with the machine is not to overfill the cakebatter. After we removed the cakepops we dabbed our popsicle stick in melted chocolate and placed them in the cakepop and let them set-up for about 3 minutes.
Once that was done we covered the cakepops with melted chocolate. There is somewhat of an art to removing the excess chocolate. If you bang the cakepop off the side of a bowl/cup, it will fall off. I found that twirling or tapping while turning was the best method to this madness. :)
After dipping the cakepop in chocolate we immediately covered with white or blue sprinkles and placed in the cakepop rack that came with the cakepop machine. However, styrofoam would work well and is what Bakerella suggests. We placed the cakepops in the freezer for about 5 minutes to harden.
Now, Bakerella's method is totally different and we will be following that in February when we attempt to make heart shapes for Valentines. :) Did I mention that I try to base the baked item around the theme of the month.
So that's it. It was successful. There were some mishaps along the way but we did it. My 11 year old took them to school for a treat (because God knows we don't need 48 cakepops around the house) and they were edible and presentable and none came home.
Heres to next month.
Week 2 - I'm still trying to figure out the best way to photograph these pages. This week I shot straight down.
I am loving the weekly approach to this project as opposed to the daily approach. I feel like I am capturing so much more as some things are photos and some are journaling.
Emphera this week: Print out of our library books that we checked out and a cut out of the coffee box that my husband drinks every morning, the game sheet from HP Clue,
I dug into my stash and utilized some labels and letter stickers that I had on hand. I am loving this concept as well.
Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by.
We had a wonderful weekend and I'm sad to say that it is coming to an end.
1. Friday night was date night and I had a nice dinner out with my prince. I realized afterwards that I rambled throughout dinner about silly little things. Probably things that were of no interest to my husband but he was so kind to sit and listen.
2. Finally put the Christmas decorations away in the attic.
3. First Family Game Night of 2012. a.) American Girl 300 wishes b.) Harry Potter Clud c.) Disney Rumikub. If you know my kids it would be easy to tell who picked what game.
4. Watched Fast and Furious Five.
5. Started our winter puzzle. This is a favorite family winter activity. We have a table that we leave a puzzle out on (all through the winter) and anybody can put a piece in here or there. It's fun to see the puzzle come to life.
6. Organized all my 2011 photos on iphoto and sorted them by month. Deleted any duplicates or unwanted photos. This took quite a bit more time than I planned but I am thrilled that I can check it off my to-do list.
7. Cleaned my Studio. Or at least cleaned off the counter surfaces so I can work. :)
8. Took Autumn out to shoot her bow. I was so proud of her; she got her first bulls-eye.
9. Went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D and went for pizza after with family. The Tangled short before the movie was hilarious. I miss these little shorts and was happy to see it. Enjoyed listening to Bella laugh, giggle, and sing throughout Beauty and the Beast.
10. Updated my Project Life for week 2. Will post tomrrow.
11. Watched Hangover II.
12. Scrapbooked Autumn's Halloween 2010 & 2011.
Today..............
Finishing up Brooke & Bella Halloween pages
Making Cake-pops for January
Kids are home from school and having playdates
Bella and Mommy are starting letter B in our ABC project book.
I also hope to get some family story time in.
HAPPY MONDAY!
