Here are a bunch of old layouts from months ago and even though now it
seems like I’ve already changed my style. But I love the photos and I
love the journaling in many of them so here goes nothing.
After you woke up form your nap, you were groggy and grouchy, but then
you found the little Halloween bag where you’d stashed all your Easter
candy. You took your little bag and ran out to the backyard, so you
could enjoy your treats in peace. I knew this would be a good
opportunity, so I grabbed my camera and followed you. Each time I got
close, you moved to another corner. So finally, I just stepped back, and
shot from a distance so you could enjoy the last bits of your wonderful
Easter day.
Journaling Reads:
Every mom thinks her kid is perfect. He sits up the first. He has
perfect manners. He learns quickly. He never hits. He’s an angel.
Well, my little boy, you’re no angel. You throw six tantrums before
lunch. You hate eating veggies and won’t swallow one unless I mush them
and mix them with yogurt. When you don’t get your way, you lie flat on
the floor and make your whole body go limp so I cannot make you get back
on your feet. You find a way to get your hands on every one of our
things no matter where we hide them and how safe we think they are from
you. When we call for you from one side of the house to the other, all
we hear is a resounding “No!” coming from the room where you’re wreaking
havoc. You still can’t put two words together to form a sentence (except
for “No Way!” which you’ve mastered.) You hate having your hair washed
and will run out of the bathtub at the sight of the shampoo bottle. You
hate circle time and refuse to be a part of it. You’re impatient and
won’t wait for your turn in line, instead you will scream like your arm
is being chopped off until some mom takes mercy on me and lets you cut
in line.
Yes, my son, you’re not perfect.
But, you’re sweet and kind. You are an equal opportunity hug giver. If
you hug me, you run around the house until you can find Daddy so you can
hug him, too. If you eat something you like, after you take a bite, you
reach over and give me a bite as well. With a paper and pen, you can
play by yourself for hours. You will not hurt, push, or shove another
kid. Ever. You say hi to everyone and give them one of your magical
smiles. In case they didn’t hear you well, you say ten more hi’s, louder
and with more enthusiasm each time until they can’t help but laugh. You
get very excited by dogs, birds, cats, and bugs, but you won’t ever hurt
them. You crouch slowly and watch them from a distance. When you eat
something you like, you go “Mmmmmm,” persistently until I reciprocate.
You let me tickle you even when you’re mad. You love running around the
house with me chasing you. You giggle loudly as you run and you look
back every few seconds just to make sure I’m still there. When I leave
for work in the mornings, you come to the door and wave “bye.” When I
put you down at night, you blow me big, loud kisses and then say “shhh”
and “bye” before you lie down. You are so full of love that it pours out
of your eyes.
I love that you’re not perfect, David. I love that you’re a little human
being and like all of us, you have your bad moments and your good ones.
I love that we get to celebrate every day together. I love that you’re
in my life. You are my life. – march 2007
And let’s top off the evening with a recent layout.
Journaling Reads:
David, my favorite memories of the last few weeks are from the fifteen
minutes we spend every week trying to capture photos of you and me.
A few weeks ago, I complained to Daddy that there weren’t enough photos
of the two of us, since I am the official family photographer. So we
started these weekly sessions and you have quickly learned not to
cooperate.
When we go out in the yard, you think we’re going out to play, so when I
tell you to sit down, you quickly get annoyed with me. You completely
ignore me and walk in the opposite direction. You find a random toy and
act like I am not calling out to you. This is when I start to improvise:
I bribe, I tickle, I beg, I do whatever it takes for you to give me a hug.
Each time we do these sessions, Daddy and I give up after ten minutes,
admitting that you just will not play along. So imagine my surprise when
I download the photos and find some of the most precious photos I’ve
ever seen.
When I look at them, I can’t help but smile. Daddy did a perfect job of
capturing the joy of loving you and the laughter that you have brought
into my life. I am so thankful for each and every day we get to spend
together.
Photos from one of the mommy-David sessions.
Didn’t journal for this one because I thought the photos said all I
could ever think to say.
Bleh, not my favorite layout. Just didn’t have the creativity flowing
tonight. Oh well, still love the memory.
Journaling Reads:
One dollar. One single dollar. That’s how much we paid for the cash
register that you’ve been playing with night and day for the last two
weeks. You love it so much, you carry it around with you everywhere you
go. Daddy’s taught you how to put a coin at the top and see it come out
on the side. That’s your favorite game.
But sometimes the coin gets stuck. Then, you look at me and say, “Where
it go?” You pick up the register and shake it around. When you’re
satisfied with the amount of shaking you’ve done, you press the button
and scream with joy at the sight of the coin.
You play thins game hundreds of times a day. Your level of joy at
discovering the coin never dissipates. Your enthusiasm is catching and
soon Daddy and I are laughing, too. Who knew a toy we bought for a buck
would spread this much joy to our whole family?
Here’s another recent layout. This was for a transparency competition
over at AMM. Hard to see
the effect from a photo.
Journaling Reads:
I guess it’s only fair that a picky eater like me would get a picky
little boy. The list of foods you eat is teeny tiny. Thankfully, you
like a lot of fruits. But not much else. Here’s all you eat without a
fight:
Pear
Apple
Grapes
Bananas
Blueberries
Strawberries
Graham Crackers
Veggie Burgers
Meatballs
Cheese
Yogurt
Bread
Here’s a closeup of the inside of this layout:
Recently, I went on a book binge and bought a ton of scrapbooking books.
I’ve already written about Cathy’s
book which has to be my all-time favorite. But here are a few
others I have read and loved. First and foremost are the two Ali Edwards
books: A
Designer’s Eye for Scrapbooking and
Designer’s Eye- scrapbooking with patterned paper
Ali is an inspiration to thousands and I am no exception. I love her
style, her attitude, her creativity, and her generosity of spirit. One
day, I would love to meet her. Until then, I will have to do with the
layouts. I must say that the layouts in this book don’t even speak to me
the way Cathy’s do but there are little bits and pieces of inspiration
all over these books and I use both of them regularly for inspiration
and good ideas. I know Ali’s coming out with another book this fall and
I also know that I am going to have to buy it. If she’s doing it, I know
it will be worth the money and the time.
If Cathy isn’t your style, and you’re looking for the one and only one
book to buy, it would have to be Stacy Julian’s The
Big Picture… Scrapbook Your Life and a Whole Lot More. Stacy is
fantastic. She’s inspiring. She’s funny. She’s creative. She’s great at
simplifying. She’s great at organizing. She’s great for giving you
fantastic ideas. But mostly, she’s great at shifting the way you think
about scrapbooking. If you’re struggling with your scrapbooking, pick up
her book. It will change your life. At least your scrapbooking. That’s a
promise.
Here’s another one I’ve loved to bits: 101
Things You Can Do With Your Scrapbook Supplies was mostly an impulse
buy since on all the boards I read, everyone said it was fantastic. And
they weren’t lying. The book is great. Full of great, little ideas. I
dogeared a lot of the pages to make sure I’d remember to try them out.
There are some gems in this book, so if you’re looking for some
practical, useful ideas and not just looking for general, overall
inspiration, this is a great find.
I also own two Autumn Leaves books: Perfectly
Clear and The
Look Book. While I am a fan of all things Rhonna Farrer, I just
never got into these books. I liked the stamping one because it had some
interesting ideas and since I own too many stamps, it’s always good to
have a set of ideas to try. But these books just didn’t speak to me. Not
in the way that the others inspired me.
I still have a few more books from my spree and I’m sure I’ll be buying
some more real soon. Like Cathy’s first book….
Here’s another layout that didn’t make the SOY cut. Something is off
with this one. I think it’s the title. Too small. But it’s such a cute
story that I still wanted to keep it and love thinking of David running
around in Daddy’s helmet.
Journaling Reads: They say boys love their mommies and you sure
do love me, but the person you most like to imitate is Daddy. You love
wearing Daddy’s shoes all over the house. You love playing with the
books on his side of the bed. You love going into his office and raiding
his desk.
So it should have come to us as no surprise that you wanted to try
Daddy’s helmet when you saw it lying around. You picked it up and tried
it on, and then you walked over to Daddy and put it on him, and just to
make sure, you put it on me and then you decided it looked the best on
you so you put it back on your head and giggled.
You look like Daddy even when you’re not trying his stuff on, so when
you’re wearing his helmet and his shoes, it’s like mini-Daddy is running
around the house.
A few months ago, I applied to Creating Keepsakes Magazine’s Sccrapbooker
of the Year because I am crazy. I figured, “Why not take the chance
to push myself and create 20 layouts?” Anyhow, I ended up making a few
too many and this is one of the ones that didn’t make the cut. I’ll be
posting a few more of the ones that didn’t make the cut in the next few
minutes. Once the results are announced in 10 days, I’ll post all the
others too.
This is by far one of my least favorite layouts. I wanted to do
something interesting like use chalk combined with the stamping but I
never really liked the outcome. I could do it over again, but I try not
to do that, so I’ve left it alone. I love the memory behind the photos,
so I am keeping it and just smiling each time I remember this day.
Journaling Reads: On our way back from Los Angeles, we stopped at
Michael’s so I could buy some scrapbooking stuff. I couldn’t really find
anything I was looking for, but you found a box of sidewalk chalk and
life was suddenly such a wonderful place. You carried it out of the
store, held on to it all the way home and wouldn’t even let go while we
undressed you. You hugged the box of chalk all night and were thrilled
when we finally got to open it the next morning.
As we both wrote all over the backyard, you practiced your letters and
numbers, and learned all your colors. You even learned the word chalk.
Which has since become your favorite word. You ask for the chalk every
time we go outside and love drawing everywhere. Who knew a $2 present
would make you so happy?
Another layout inspired by the wonderful Cathy Zielske.
David’s one of the nicest humans I’ve ever met. Despite the fact that he
gets mad ten times a day now, he’s the sweetest little boy and while I’d
love to take the credit, I wanted him to know that it’s all him. We’re
so lucky.
Journaling Reads:
People who’ve never had kids have a tendency to think that parents
should have full control of their children at all times. When a kid
misbehaves, they think he or she has parents who don’t know how to raise
kids and when a kid is well behaved, they think the parents raised him well.
I think I was mostly a sad girl. I was shy and I cried a lot. Daddy, on
the other hand, was a happy little boy. I don’t think his parents did
anything too different than mine. So I was really nervous and I wanted
to make sure I did it all correctly with you to ensure you “turned out
well.”
As it turns out; you’re the world’s best boy, ever. You’re such a happy
boy that everyone loves you. You’re kind and don’t ever hit anyone. If
others attack you, you just walk away. You say hi to everyone and even
give them a hug. You’re cute and charming and know how to flirt. You are
self-reliant and can play with a toy for hours. You love to draw so when
we go out to restaurants, eating a full meal is rarely a problem for us.
You love us and you show it regularly. You’re never stingy with your
hugs and lately you’ve started giving us big kisses multiple times a
day. You love both your parents equally. You can get annoyed easily but
you recover quickly and never hold a grudge. It’s really easy to make
you laugh.
Of course you have your set of flaws, but overall you’re such a
pleasant, easy going, loveable boy that Daddy and I couldn’t have asked
for anything more. I’d love to take all the credit for “how well you
turned out,” but I know it has nothing to do with me. It even has
nothing to do with Daddy. While we love you very much and work hard to
be good parents, all the credit for your wonderful personality is yours.
It’s in the core of who you are, in your essence.
You just are the most amazing kid ever and we’re lucky to have the
privilege of being your parents.
This is the first layout that David and I are both featured on. I want
to make sure that when he looks back, there are photos of Mommy and
Daddy as well as all of his.
Journaling Reads:
Since I am the official family photographer, there are very few photos
of you and me. I didn’t want you to look back years from now and wonder
what your mom looked like back then, so I told Daddy that we’re going to
start a new tradition where he takes pictures of you and me once a week.
When it was time for our shoot, I got both of us ready and got the
camera all setup for Daddy. The thing with two-year-olds is that they
don’t always adhere to your plans, so even though I thought it was time
for us to have some photos together; you didn’t necessarily feel the
same way. You weren’t in the mood to have your picture taken; you were
in the mood to play with chalk and to eat cookies.
We decided to go ahead with the shoot anyway and, as expected, most of
the photos came out with you making a funny face or running away. But I
am still so glad we did it because I love looking at the photos,
remembering how much we laughed trying to get you to pose, and now I
have proof of the wonderful times we spend together.
I always tell my clients that posed photos are not special; it’s better
to have authentic family moment photos, those that are genuinely you and
couldn’t have been created by anyone else. And now we have a set of our
own. Here’s to creating more next week.
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projects for twenty twenty-six
projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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