Reasons Why

Grandmas love grand babies.

Oh man, back to the grind of work -- vacation is over and I'm missing the sound of the waves crashing against the shore already.  I can't wait to get my photos back, though, so I can start working through my summery scrap supplies on amazing vacation photos.

To get me through the first day back at work, let's get nostalgic about Orli's birth.  That was a crazy day.  Giving birth is nuts and I can't believe we've been doing it since the begining of time.  I had a scheduled C section and I was totally panicked and calm at the same time (she has to come out.  OHMIGAWD SHE HAS TO COME OUT OF ME!)  the day was magical and horrifying all at the same time.  Totally surreal.

Anyway, this is a page about Grandma meeting Orli for the first time after she was born.  A lot of my pages from this timeframe are pretty jacked up because I was a little sleep deprived and in pain as I was making them, but this one is less jacked up than most.  I do need to buy a grey zig pen, though -- the hand drawn outline would have looked much more cohesive in grey.  You live, you learn, eh?

There is a lot of Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic, some Simple Stories Vintage Bliss, and even a MME title on this page.  I love it when a lot of stuff just all comes together and makes you feel like it just goes.

This is a companion page to a layout about Grandpa meeting Orli for the first time -- I'll share that one with you soon.  I also have some exciting news that's hush hush for now, but stay tuned because I can't wait to share it with y'all.

It's good to be back home, now, though.  I have two Citrus Twist Kits waiting for me at home (I got a June even though they were sold out through begging and Trina's kindness!  Score!) that I am dying to start cutting into.  My hands are trembling, for real.

What are you dying to cut into lately?  What are your CHA faves?  I'll be posting about mine soon!

Yam Tastic!

Hi All!  I've been on vacation this past week, so I've been busy making memories instead of scrapping them.  It's been a blast, though!  Tie Dye, Watermelon, fireworks on the beach, family family family -- so much to record and remember.  Today, though, I wanted to share something a little older -- a page about the food I'm feeding baby Orli.

We took some great photos as we offered her new solid foods, and this set of photos of her eating yams was special to be because it included a photo of my husband feeding her -- but I already did a page about her eating solids.  So I decided to do a page about how I make all of her baby food myself here at home.  (BTW, I highly recommend a Cuisinart Baby to anyone who's looking to make baby food at home -- that thing is fantastic!)

(Our TV is not usually on ever, much less during dinner.  We were having some severe storms, though, so I was watching for storm warnings.  I feel so lame that the TV is on in that photo!  Bah!)

I hand stitched a frame around the photos and also drew a border to make it pop a little.  Add a little washi tape, some brads (I'll never be over brads) and some glitter Thickers and we're good to go.  The paper is Sweet Notes by Allison Kreft for Webster's Pages.  I haven't used a lot of that collection yet, but I love it, so I'm sure more is sure to come.  Gotta use it up with all my summer photos!

I won't be at the beach much longer, so expect more regular updates soon.  Until then, enjoy some summer!

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Favorites and Free Printable

This week's printable PL card <3

Shabbat Shalom, friends!  Another week is behind us and now it's time to sit back and enjoy friends and family.  I'm going to spend a lot of this weekend getting ready for our departure next weekend for family vacation to the beach (and I mean A LOT of family -- about 60 close and distant). This year we have Orli to pack for, so I'll be doing a lot of list making and double checking and running out for last minute stuff.  I also need to make and freeze a few more batches of baby food to pack.  So, needless to say, I'll keep busy.  Of course, that's how I like to be.

But right now I'm getting ready to pull out the shabbat candles, set the table, and take a deep, quieting breath as I really take a moment to appreciate all the good, all the beauty, and all the wonder in my life.  All our lives are so filled with blessings; I encourage you to take a few minutes this weekend and tell those you love how very important they are to you.  I'll be back after Shabbat.  Enjoy your printable and have a wonderful Saturday.

Current Obsession

I am LOVING these Star Paper Clips! I admit it, I'm a paper clip addict.  It's so fun just to clip on a little  bit and have it jazz up a page.  And the mint green -- swoon!  I ordered the aqua freckled fawn arrow clips a while back and I can't get over them.  I just did a group buy on the Scrap N Yap board of shaped paper clips which I am stalking my mailbox for.  Scooter shaped paper clips, dolphin shaped, strawberries -- I am SO PUMPED, people.

I will say, though, the nice thing about the lawn fawn clips is that they are really meaty.  Much thicker than your normal, run of the mill clip, so they stand out nicely on a layout.  I have some shaped clips I got when my local Office Depot was going out of business, and they aren't anywhere as hearty as the arrows I ordred have.  So yeah, these are totally mine when my cart fills up enough to get free shipping.   So that's it, that's what I'm obsessing over right now.

Project Life Sunday

Week 10/11

This year's Project Life is Orli's baby album.  I did attempt to do two PLs, one Orli and one general life, but really Orli is pretty much life in it's entirety right now so Orli's book is all I'm doing now.  It feels lighter and easier that way.  I am working in one week spreads that overlap a bit since she was born on a Thursday, so we have week 10/11, 11/12, 12/13 etc corresponding with her age.  The weeks end sometime over the weekend, I'm not really particular about when.  Life is an ebb and flow, why shouldn't Project Life be, too?

This week I included a 6x12 insert to tell the story about getting pooed on (in the face).  It's a glamorous tale of motherhood that I'm sure to look back on one day and say, "Ah, what wonderful days those were, especially the ones that involved face-poo!"

These pages are pretty unadorned, as I was still in the early weeks and had just started back to work (Yes, I am actually on schedule with Orli's book, which mean's I'm currently on week 19 -- but I'm going to share weekly starting here on week 11) but I like their picture heavy look.  It's fun to look back on these pages, even though they were only two months ago.  Life has already changed so much.

Used in this layout:

Coming Soon

Sorry for the Radio Silence, folks -- working on making a bigger, better, more awesome website.   Back soon.

xoxo