A photobook to treasure...

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."
~The Wonder Years

 

As I posted back in March, we splurged on a professional newborn photo shoot by Erin Drago here at our house when Silas was just thirteen days old. I was so excited with how the images turned out, and as I mentioned in that post, I hoped to create a photo book of the pictures. However, this was the only thing on my maternity leave to-do list that just didn't get done before I went back to work full-time.

But I am finally checking it off the list! And, I could not be more thrilled with the book that I ordered from Artifact Uprising. I can't wait to show you!

 

Although usually I'm a Blurb girl for my travel books, I knew I wanted something of heirloom quality for this particular project. I read so many good reviews of Artifact Uprising and thought this would be just the project to start with.

While sometimes I design photo book pages in PhotoShop or InDesign before publishing, this time I wanted the photos alone to tell the story, so I decided to stick with the provided page layouts. Artifact Uprising's online book-making software makes it easy to upload photos in bulk, but I was simply overwhelmed with trying to pick the best image from the tiny thumbnails in the interface, while at the same time pick the best page layout. So needless to say, I started and stopped this project several times before completion.

 

A few weeks ago when I decided to give it another go (thank you once again, One Little Word project for encouraging to get things done!!), I tried a new approach. As I scrolled through the photos in iPhoto (where I had already given them a star rating and could easily magnify them to see them better), I chose the best photo from each "scene" along with up to four accompanying images. I then uploaded the photos in small batches to the online software, and chose a pair of page layouts accordingly.

 

I'm on the Artifact Uprising email list, so I waited a week or so until I happened to receive a coupon code for 10% off and then placed my order. The book arrived on my doorstep about a week later. 

It is gorgeous... with its matte paper pages and crisp colors. I absolutely love it and can't wait to flip through the pages with Silas as he grows older. A moment of newborn life captured in time...

 

 

Stay tuned because you may see that cover image again in the next post!

 

Everywhere Fun Fair wrapup, part 2

"Together, together, we're coming together. Celebrating the love of God in every way. It's the love, it's the joy, it's the faith that we share. Come On! It's an Everywhere Fun Fair!"
-Cokesbury's Everywhere Fun Fair theme song

In the last post I showed how we decorated for this year's VBS, the Everywhere Fun Fair. But decorations alone do not a Bible School make.

In recent years, my church has scheduled VBS from 5:45 to 8:00 pm on Monday through Thursday, with a finale performance and church-wide supper on Friday. However, the Cokesbury program is designed for five days, so we had to leave out one of the days [Day 3 in this case].

We divided the kids up into five groups, based on their grades. We had about 35 kids each night. After the opening group session in the sanctuary, the elementary groups rotated around four stations, each for about twenty minutes: Music, Story, Crafts, and Games/Snack. The preschoolers went to the Music station first, but then went to their own room to spread out and go at their own pace.

The theme, story, and country focus for each day were determined by the Cokesbury curriculum. Our wonderful kitchen leader, Michelle, organized the snack for each day, and I organized the craft project (although luckily found someone else to lead it!). Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to make a note of the games that were played in the recreation station... to be honest, it looked a bit like chaos all week, but I'm sure the kids had fun!

Here was our plan... 

Day 1 – Monday
Theme: Neighbors are Friendly!
Story: Sarah and Abraham
Country: Japan
Craft: Celebration Kites similar to the carp kites flown on Japan's Children's Day [following this tutorial]
Snack: Pretzels and edamame toothpick kebabs (similar to this) with soy sauce for dipping

Day 2 - Tuesday
Theme: Neighbors are Giving
Story: A Widow gives Cheerfully
Country: Zimbabwe
Craft: Decorating flowerpots with buttons and markers, and then planting a succulent to give to a "neighbor" (some groups focused on the flowerpots on Tuesday, and then planted on Thursday)
Snack: Sweet potato chips

Day 3 – Wednesday
Theme: Neighbors are Forgiving!
Story: Zaccheus
Country: Australia
Craft: Decorating totebags in the style of aboriginal dot paintings [using q-tips and fabric paints for the dots, following this tutorial]
Snack: Fairy bread

Day 4 – Mexico
Theme: Neighbors are Welcoming!
Story: God welcomes Everyone
Country: Mexico
Craft: Decorating foam door hangers with Everywhere Fun Fair-themed foam stickers to welcome "neighbors" [similar to this]
Snack: Tortilla chips and salsa with sopapillas

The preschoolers used Bingo markers to decorate their totebags. Here you can also see some of their decorated door hangers.

I printed each country's name/flag on a printable label. Before the closing program each night, the kids received the sticker from the country du jour to stick in their VBS passports. 

At the finale performance on Friday night, as the kids "graduated" from VBS 2013, they received their personalized totebag full of VBS goodies, including the rest of their crafts, their nametag, their passport, their photobooth photo as a magnet, a certificate of completion, a handout describing all of the things they learned this week, copies of some related workbook pages, and a brochure about the children's activities available at church throughout the year.

We ended the fun-filled week with a hot dog supper, homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert, and a slideshow of photos from the week.

I'm so glad that I was able to help plan VBS this year. Everyone agreed it once again was a great success!! But, I have to admit, I'm glad that it comes around only once a year!

Everywhere Fun Fair wrapup, part 1

"He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'""
-Luke 10:27

One of the reasons I haven't been around the blog much lately is that I volunteered to help plan Vacation Bible School at my church. [Yes, I'm the crazy person that volunteers without even having children!] Planning and decorating has occupied much of my brain for the last few weeks, culminating this past Friday after our week-long celebration.

Our theme this year was the Everywhere Fun Fair from Cokesbury. We blended the ideas of a carnival and our neighbors in different countries to create a world's fair. I searched Pinterest and blogs for related crafts and decoration ideas and wanted to make sure that I pay it forward for those planning VBS events later in the summer!

First I want to show you how we decorated for the Everywhere Fun Fair. While everyone praised my creativity, I could not put on this spectacle by myself. I'm so thankful for my two partners-in-crime (and as a result of this adventure, really good friends), Marie and Alison.

Each night of VBS started and ended in the sanctuary. We decorated with pennants, bunting-like fans made from tissue paper, and lots of balloons. We used the PVC puppet stage from our Puppet Ministry [similar to this] as our backdrop. Godwin Merifeather, the puppet emcee for the festivities, was supposed live in a ticket booth, so we used red foam core to build his home.

Each night focused on a different country, so we also switched out the cultural images each day. We printed out clipart from each country [mostly found here] and mounted them on foam core. I painted the country maps/flags on foamcore and mounted them on these weighted coffee cans/pvc stands that we found in the supply closets [by the way, I absolutely love rummaging through the closets of churches... you always find the neatest stuff], and they turned out so neat!

Most of the evening activities took place off of the main hallway in the Family Life Center. We wanted to make sure that this area had a big impact as the kids walked in the first time. We taped the red-and-white-striped tablecloth fabric to the ceiling in waves. And, at each crease we strung a row of balloons (I used a needle and fishing line to "sew" through the ends of the tied-off balloons, as seen here). We added some twisted crepe paper streamers (the wide fringed ones were inspired by Oh Happy Day) to the walls, just for more pizzazz!

We divided the gym into three areas, one each for crafts, snacks, and games. We used two sets of mobile bleachers as a room divider. This was the biggest headache because nothing would stick to the metal bleachers, and there was a gust of wind from the A/C that kept blowing things away. But after lots of finagling, our draped fabric, pennants, and posters lasted almost all week (when we walked in on the last night to find that the tablecloths had slid off, we finally gave up).

Our pride and joy was the choir room where the children went for music each night. With what felt like 500 straight pins, we pinned up plastic tablecloths from the dollar store to create a circus tent. We finished it off with a cluster of balloons and curling ribbon in the center. It stayed up all week with no corners falling down!!

Using the leftover tablecloths, pennants, and streamers, we covered a small puppet stage set-up that was donated to the cause to serve as the backdrop for our photobooth. We took each child's picture and gave it to them at the end of the week.

And, my personal favorite was the Bible story area. We bought the paper mural from Cokesbury; however, we were having quite a time figuring out how to hang it. We had to rethink how we were going to lay out the room but found that the wooden trim around the room had a bit of a lip that we could clip to. We rolled over the portable bulletin board to post the daily Bible verse and story illustration and pulled a couple of trees from the stage to extend the scene into 3-D. The children's director also added some blankets and baskets from her own collection to complete the scene.

Up next, Everywhere Fun Fair crafts and activities... you won't want to miss it!

Valentine's Day 2013...

"It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together… and I knew it."
-Tom Hanks, Sleepless In Seattle

Last year I was so good with my Valentine's Day craft week. But, this year between work and more work, I wasn't quite feeling it. However, I couldn't just let the day slip away without any craftiness at all.

Despite my silence here on the blog lately, I've still been "pinning" away and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to actually make something out of all of that inspiration.

Last weekend, I whipped up some Heart-Shaped Soft Pretzels, inspired by those posted over at Say Yes to Hoboken. Rob was thrilled with the idea of homemade pretzels. When he saw them, he exclaimed, "Hey, look! They kind of look like hearts!" I just had to grin... that was sort of the point!



I also fell in love with these Date Idea Arrows over at Sugar & Cloth. It was a bit of a challenge to think up ten different easy, unique, creative date ideas that we would both enjoy.

If you need hints on date ideas, here's are some of mine:

• At-home spa night
• Read a book together*
• Hike at a local state park
• Go out just for dessert
• Visit the local planetarium show
• Go on a downtown walking tour
• Order Chinese takeout
• Watch a TV show marathon on Netflix
• Take a picnic to the park
• Spend the day at the lake

*I was afraid Rob might think this was a corny idea, but I loved it, so I went with it anyway. What do you know... after he read each one to himself, he said, "I really like the idea of reading a book together."



Rob and I tried to think back and reminisce about all of our past Valentine's Days. We did pretty well, but for the future days when our memories are not so swift... here's a record of this year's festivities:

After work, we changed clothes and went to dinner at Red Bowl (a new Asian restaurant in town). I had "Beef a la Szechaun," while Rob enjoyed a "Sesame Chicken Bento Box."

Then, we walked the mall to kill time before the 9pm USC-Upsate/Mercer basketball game. [It was way past our bedtime, so we yawned through the game.] The Spartans lost the game, but it wasn't a total loss because Rob and I made the "kiss cam" during one of the timeouts!

Painting party...

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
-Henry Ward Beecher

My new job has not only brought about new responsibilities and a new schedule, but a new set of friends. I have fit right in with my colleagues and was thrilled to join a group of ladies from work for a Girls' Night Out at the Art Lounge this past Thursday.

Local artist Monta Anthony led our group with her spunky personality and artistic expertise. We each opted to choose a different beach-themed subject. After a few glasses of wine and several hours of painting and chatting, we each took home a masterpiece.

Can't wait to see where we hang out next!

DIY Hiking first aid kit

"Precaution is better than cure."
-Edward Coke

One of my goals for the summer (especially before our trip to Denver in August that we just booked!) was to put together a comprehensive first aid kit for our day hike adventures. I married Mr. SafetyMan, so we've always carried a little bag along. But, after our "adventure" in Yosemite last summer when we needed several of our supplies at the top of the mountain, we will NEVER AGAIN go on a hike without a full first aid kit!

And, with Rob's birthday right around the corner, it was a perfect excuse to pull this together. 

I printed this first aid checklist from REI as a guide and headed towards Walgreen's to pick up the couple of things that we didn't already have on hand.

FYI: Right now Walgreen's has a promotion for a free zippered first aid bag, if you purchase two products from participating brands. And, it's hard to build a first aid kit without purchasing Band-Aid, Neosporin, or Cortaid, so it's win-win! However, I wish I had reached inside the bag and pulled out the coupons first!

I can't wait for Rob to see our new and improved first aid kit. And, more importantly, I can't wait until we throw it in our daypack as we trudge up a fourteener in Colorado. Although my fingers are crossed that we won't need it!

Project 52 Weeks: Pages 13, 14, & 15

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” 
-Carl Bard 

Week 13: Moving Weekend

Supplies used: Orange Lot No. stickers collected from our many moving boxes, green satin ribbon, lined paper, staples, date stamp.

Journalling reads: The moving trucks came and went, leaving behind a wake of chaos. Boxes and furniture filled every nook and cranny. We have so much stuff! It is going to be a long couple of weeks of unpacking and sorting.

Week 14: 8:30 to 5:30

Supplies used: solid yellow paper, date stamp, thread and sewing machine, my first paystub from work in the pocket, arrow designed by me.

Journalling reads: After going back and forth for months with B2B, they finally offered me a part-time position. I will go into Greenville on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to work in their Art Department as a graphic artist. My job will be to help prepare files for printing. Most projects will be advertising wraps for vehicles, but occasionally there is an environmental graphics job as well. I'm learning so much about Adobe Photoshop!! More than I already knew!!

I didn't think through where to go after walking in the door. No one was at the front desk, and I didn't know where the offices were. -- I spent an hour online with the IT people trying to set up my accounts. -- We went outside to look at a monster truck that the owner wants wrapped. We chatted about design opportunities. -- Nat (my boss) took me on a tour of the office to meet everyone. He explained the "Orders Checklist" which will be one of my responsibilities. -- President of the company came by to announce a new $750,000 project we got from AT&T.

Week 15: Fully, completely, utterly engrossed

Supplies used: Gray papers from my stash, date stamp, text and asterisk designs by me. 

Journalling reads: Easter Sunday. After introducing Thomas and Jonathan to the Draw Something app, we sat around all afternoon, challenging each other to this high tech version of Pictionary. Then the boys turned on a movie while I made our meal plan and blogged.

Project 52 Weeks: Pages 16, 17, & 18

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” 
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Week 16: 10 on 10 [April]

Supplies used: SMASHbooks pocket, grid paper from SMASHbooks packaging, kraft paper, scalloped circle punch, date stamp, Instagram, "ten on ten" graphic designed by me.

Journalling reads: Daily fuel: oatmeal, bacon, and orange juice -- Corners are starting to fall into place -- Stuck in roadwork traffic -- Just another day at the office... Yay I'm at an office!! -- Best part of the day... Drinking my afternoon coke -- All day long... Waiting for files to save -- Picked up bike tools for Rob -- Fresh produce with dinner -- Salsa chicken from the crockpot with rice and roasted corn -- Making progress on organizing the boxes stored in the guest room.


Week 17: The Bunch Brothers

Supplies used: Paper from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection, royal blue paper from my stash, date stamp, tags designed by me.

Journalling reads: While the menfolk built a fence, Stephanie and I took the boys to Roper Mountain Science Center. Doesn't our backyard look awesome now?


Week 18: Just me...

Supplies used: filigree rub-ons, letter stickers, fabric flower, solid paper from stash, pages from vintage magazine, circle punch, grid paper cut from a vintage farm calendar, small brads, date stamp.

Journalling reads: I'm learning to balance part-time work with freelance work with housework with leisure time. It's a routine that I'm unaccustomed to as of yet. I feel pulled in so many directions and yet not mastering anything. My to do list is long, my Google Reader is exploding, but maybe this is how life is supposed to be!

Project 52 Weeks: Pages 10, 11, and 12

The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something. 
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Although it's been a while since I posted about my Project 52 Weeks progress, I promise that I'm not as far behind as you think. Moving, unpacking, and starting a new work routine sure took its toll for awhile, but I'm catching up.

Over the next couple of days, I'll be posting my newest pages.

Week 10: Create

Supplies used: Instagram, staples, mini brads, date stamp, adhesive chipboard shapes from Big Lots, flower and CREATE designs by me, striped paper from American Crafts' Bookshelf collection. 

Journalling reads: Creativity runs deep in my genes. For entertainment or out of necessity, my mom and grandmother inspired me to be a "maker." I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue creative careers, often focusing in the digital world. However, there's just something about markers and paint!

Week 11: DIY Construction Zone [10 on 10]

Supplies used: Instagram, date stamp, DIY and Home Sweet Home designs by me.

Journalling reads: Burger King breakfast * Changing batteries in smoke detector * Taping up the herringbone laundry room wall * Firehouse for lunch * Home ownership = lots of trips to Lowe's * Painting my fun wall * Our toilet's in the middle of the bathroom * It's more fun to watch them work * Overflowing trash can * DIY diva = that's me!

Week 12: Do It.

Supplies used: Yellow vellum, date stamp, DO IT journalling card from SMASHbooks, vintage Orangeade cap, transparent film, pennies roll.

Journalling reads: 1. Paint bathroom stall, 2. Epoxy coat garage floor, 3. Install fan in bedrooms, 4. Paint master bedroom, 5. Move out of apartment.

HOME minibook

“Home is the nicest word there is.”
-Laura Ingalls Wilder

This post is almost a year in the making... a year ago we were anticipating our move to South Carolina but dreading saying good-bye to our house in Georgia. [Of course after the headaches of actually selling it, we drove away in February with hardly a tear in our eye.] It was the house that made us homeowners, and we loved it dearly.

I dreamed of showing my someday children the first place we called "home," but it's not in a location that we'll just happen to drive past. I also didn't want to forget the many details that made it special to us. Inspired by Elise Blaha Cripe's "This is Home" minibook, I set out to document our house in a minibook of my own.

Before we moved, I snapped photos of each nook and cranny and wrote the story of each room. I wanted to record how we changed the house to make it ours as well as the mundane details of where we stored our everyday stuff.

I put the layouts together in InDesign last summer, but at the time couldn't justify spending money on printing photos. Now that I'm working somewhat consistently again, I figured I'd splurge to make my project come to life.

I had a carnation pink 6"x6" American Crafts D-ring album, but I had to order more page protectors to fit all 42 pages. And, of course, pink doesn't really match my decorating style, so I took to the cover with shimmery green paint and woodgrain paper from Hobby Lobby. I topped it off with a painted wood house and chipboard Thickers from Amy Tangerine.

Now I can take comfort knowing that our first house will live not only in my heart but on my bookshelf, too!