The Other One

Sam's Bar Mitzvah is fast approaching, which means he is getting a lot of press in my scrapbook, blog, and Instagram world. I find that that happens a lot. There will be periods where every layout seems to be about one of my children, and not the other. I used to worry about this, but have come to accept it as the natural ebb and flow of life.

Before the mad Bar Mitzvah rush, though, Max had a big event of his own- performing in his high school musical. He performed last year too, though this time he had a larger role, which required him to work even harder at the singing and the dancing. Any time my children work hard at something, and they get to enjoy the rewards of their labor, I am a happy camper.

We all enjoyed the performance of 13 The Musical, and we have been listening and singing to the music ever since. It's pretty catchy.

Clique Kits January Kit; Tailor Made

I am on vacation now, which means it is scrapbooking and blogging catch-up time.

So let's get's started.

I have two layouts to share with this month's Clique Kit.

I love this kit to pieces. Amy Tangerine's papers, those large scripted words, lovely stickers that remind me of colorforms of the days of yore, and more acetate script words from Chic Tags. I've been whipping out layouts like...like a thing that makes lots of layouts.

Here is numero uno, in which I document my love for coffee mugs, and the cozy images they create.

And, on a more momentous note,  next is the layout where I capture Sam's first day of wearing Tefillin. This is a big deal for a boy (and his family) about to become a Bar Mitzvah. He will wear those Tefillin each morning suring morning prayers. Which also means, that he will now pray each morning. He seemed excited by this new part of his day, and I think he was pleasantly surprised that everyone at school seemed happy and excited for him too.

It also means, that the big Bar Mitzvah day is coming up soon:

A Thanksgiving Layout- Clique Kits challenge

At the beginning of December I had my parent-teacher conferences (me being the teacher part of that phrase), so the weeks before hand were not crafty weeks. And, we are 5 weeks away from Sam's Bar Mitzvah. So also, less crafting. 

I feel behind in all things scrapbooking, but sometimes that is just the way it goes. 

I will attempt to catch up here with a layout for the Clique Kits December challenge.  

The challenge, as it usually is, is anything goes with a twist. The twist (which is optional) being "something mini." I used some "mini" 6x6 papers from my Hanukkah Kit, and some Evalicious stickers from my stash and from the December add on.

While the rest of the world is all about Christmas right now, and a bit of Chanukah too, I am working on scrapbooking Thanksgiving.

This month's sponsor is Creative Retreat and they are giving away to our randomly selected winner their November Kit and coordinating digital journaling cards design by Danielle Young Designs.

There is lots more information and inspiration here!

I hope you join in and link up!

Clique Kits November Pep Rally

Hi everyone! And welcome to the November Pep Rally.

The challenge for this month's blog share is to use the November Mood Board.

I have to be honest. Though I often admire mood boards, I haven't ever gotten around to creating from them. Until today, that is. The subject of this layout was inspired by the photo of the watercolors. I had a photo that fit nicely; Each year, in my preschool class, we give the children liquid watercolors and eyedroppers, and they drop the paint into ice cube trays. The children love the physical process, and they love watching the colors mix together. I always find the results beautiful to look at.

At work, I spend a lot of my time over at the art table. I just love giving small children experience with different media and tools, teaching them how they are typically used, and then watching what they do. So I paired this photo with another photo from one of my favorite places at work, and I built the layout from there.

Here is the list of everyone participating in the blog share. Visit them all and leave 'em some love! (And if you would like to mosey on over to the right and follow me too, I would be much obliged.)

Clique Kits

Gia

Jody

Erica

Lacey

Marcia

Mariah

Rosann

Tyra

Charity

Allie

Kat

Aliza (C'est Moi!)

Nicole

Stephanie

Sarah.

Carolina

Danielle

Cassandra

Alisha

Donna

On Bravery, Continued

A little while ago, I shared this layout:

And I wrote a little more about it here.

When I shared this layout in some galleries, one of the responses I got was that there are more important things to be besides brave. Which is music to my ears. And then I wondered about what I am, if not brave. I came up with this list here:

I made this layout with the Clique Kits' November kit, Homecoming. I loved the pinks and the whites, and the touches of gold, and the textures, and everything else about this kit. If you like it too, you can get it for 50% off with your subscription to Clique Kits. Or, in November, you can order this kit, and anything else from the store  and receive 25% off, with the code CKNOV25.

Botanical Gardens Layout

As I mentioned in my last post, Dave and I spent a few glorious hours at the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Such a momentous occasion definitely deserved to be recorded for posterity, and so I did just that using the November Clique Kit, Homecoming. The Lemon Owl and Webster Pages papers were perfect for this woodsy layout.

Aside from the beauty of the Lemon Owl papers, the patterns were subtle enough that I could print my journaling directly onto my layout. I describe my step by step process (including where to insert prayers that I measured everything just right) for printing onto my layouts, over at the Clique Kits blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Botanical Gardens

This summer, I finally came up with a plan to blog somewhat regularly. At least more regularly than once a month. At the beginning of the month, I think up a list of topics and projects to share, and assign them to specific days on a calendar. The best part is, if I don't follow my calendar, it doesn't really matter all that much.

One item in particular has been on my list for some time now. In June, I went by myself (crazy!) to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and I had a grand ole' time. Everything was pretty, and I could take as long as I wanted to take lots of photos, because I went by myself (!).

I loved my photos from that solitary excursion. and I made myself a little mini album because I loved them so, and I wanted to see some of them in print. It was in the making of this album, that I discovered how to make mini albums that I really like. The key being, to add as little as possible. When I start to add more to my mini albums, they start to feel haphazard to me. Keeping it simple, helps the design feel more cohesive. At least to me.

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The reason I finally shared this album now, is that I recently went to the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, this time just with Dave, (crazy!) and again I ended up with lots of photos that I love. The moral of the story is, going places without children, frees you up to take a lot of photos. The only down side is, that they are not photos of my children. But, lovely photos, nonetheless: