Lessons on Motherhood from my Mom

I read a bazillion scrapbook / artsy type blogs. And several weeks ago, I got this idea for a mother's day album and fell in love with it. I wish I could remember what blog I saw it on so that I could give props to the idea originator, but, like I said, I read a bazillion blogs and tried to re-find it, but gave up after ten minutes.

Anyhow, the idea was to show two pictures, on of your mom and you as a child, and the other picture of you and your child - doing a similar activity or at a similar event.

I was able to put together this album using 2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock, 2 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock, scraps from Owen's 5th Birthday layout, a couple of rings, and some lengths of different ribbon. Easy Peasy.

I love love love the way this album turned out.

Looking back on these photos, I realized a couple of things.

• My mom was a very pretty young mother.
• Owen looks SO much like me.
• I look SO much like my mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Challenge 11b - Belcher Babes

Today I was able to do ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 11b before I had to start my 20 hour shift at work!! And since there is a break in the action here at the office, I thought I'd post my creation. Can't wait to get home and start working on another challenge.

Belcher Babes:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

1. I love these ladies.
2. Patterned Paper, and Cardstock are from SU!
3. I used "pearls" instead of ribbon. I'm a pack rat. I save everything. These "pearls" are from a broken costume jewelry necklace that broke easily 13 years ago. Then I stored them away in my craft area, for forever, and "voila" today they ended up on my page. I strung them back together on some thread, and they became a border on my page.
4. I think I need to go back and somehow identify each sister in each picture. And also mention that Shirley is missing from my wedding photo because she couldn't make it (I don't want someone 50 years from now to think she wasn't at the wedding because she wasn't "around" anymore...if you catch my drift)
5. My layout is similar to the inspiration, but not exact. I did try to keep the heart motif by layering it under my vellum quote.
6. I miss my mom. She's been in Florida for almost a month and we don't talk on the phone much. We should.
7. I miss my aunts, too. Most specifically Aunt Mary and Aunt Margaret who both moved to Florida a couple of years ago. The only aunts that still live in Michigan are my Aunt Shirley, who I never saw much outside of holidays, and my Aunt Dee, who now lives in a retirement/assisted living facility in Grand Rapids and is suffering from Alzheimer's. My Aunt Betty has always lived in another state (out west somewhere, then Alaska, now California). But, I do miss them all. Maybe I miss their youth.
8. Doing this page made me realize how much I miss them and how much they all mean to me.
9. Re-reading through the journaling, I have spotted a glaring grammatical error. Do I go back and fix it, or let it be? Let it be.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 5b - This Lady

After working for the last week and some change on albums for my dad for his birthday and Kev for Valentine's Day, I took a break (I have 3 pages left to complete in each of their 20-page books - not bad!), anyway, I took a break to participate in the ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 5b.

This Lady:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

1. Patterned paper is from DCWV Rockstar Stack, because my mom IS a Rockstar.
2. The photo in the circle is overexposed to begin with, and a photo of this photo makes it worse. It's better in person, slightly. But I wanted to include a cap & gown photo of my mom and this was the best there was.
3. Yes, I scanned and reprinted the original photos before using them on this layout.
4. I almost went completely postal during this process because I can NOT get my printer to print on SU! card stock. I tried for about an hour and was pretty close to chucking my printer over the edge of the deck to see if I could make it to the lake (Kev said no way). I finally printed on a piece of yellow paper...NOT card stock. What the h-e-doublehockeysticks is the problem?
5. My mom is simply amazing. Such a role model.

Peace.