Two years in the making...

After months (and years really) of crowing that I was 'gonna get this done, gonna get this done,' I FINALLY GOT IT DONE! Lexi' first year album is finally finished. Just in time to start taking pictures for my next book for baby boy!

I have to say it was easier to finish this project once I bought my own Cricut machine this summer. In the past, I would have to prepare my layouts in advance and go to my favourite scrapbook haunt and pay a small fee to borrow theirs. LOVE having my own (and it was worth waiting to buy it on sale!)

A Work in Progress

I hang my head in shame as I type this post, as although my dear darling daughter is now almost 14 months old, I have yet to finish her scrapbook that I started almost a year ago. I guess I had intended it to be a "Baby's First Year" book, but I found that I had so many great pictures of Lexi (hmm, can you tell I'm a first time parent?) I'd probably only be able to do up to 6 months. As any of you first time (or any time) parent out there can attest to, the amount of free time you have after you have kids plummets; therefore the book sits half (well maybe three fifths) completed on our miscellaneous craft/junk/games shelf.

This will be the 4th scrapbook I've done - my first was for my parents as a thank you gift for our wedding 4 years ago. After that came my masterpiece - our wedding album. Since we did not have a professional photographer at our wedding (although we did have 2 very awesome semi-pro family members with camera equipment more expensive than all our current household furniture combined), I put a lot of time and effort into it, and whip it out any chance I get when we have company over. My third was a bridal shower/bachelorette combo book, which was a lot of fun to do (and one Lexi won't be able to see until at least the age of 19).

Anyhow, I digress. I wanted to preview a few of the completed layouts from Lexi's book, and put here in writing that I WILL finish this one before I go back to work in September. I've just got to sneak away for a few baby free hours to Making Memories to use their Cricut machine.

Craftiness and Such

The glorious sunshine we have been enjoying for a while now disappeared today, forcing me to come up with some new and exciting indoor activities for Lexi. I decided to go check out my favourite scrapbook store Making Memories on Hastings, as they have recently expanded and redone their store. Unfortunately taking a baby shopping at a craft store was not a well thought out plan on my part (I should have brought the sling!). I did get to have a wistful look around, but no shopping for me today. I'll have to return to take advantage of my birthday discount when I am baby free. (FYI they will give you a 25% discount on your purchases during a visit in the month you were born).

As the rain continued this afternoon, I decided to borrow an idea from my friend Kim and make some homemade playdough for Lexi. After a quick trip to the Fairmarket to buy some cream of tartar (6 bucks for a little spice bottle, holy jeepers), we were home and cooking up a big ol' pot of playdough. Being the girly girl I am, I had to bring out the red food coloring to make it pink. Lexi wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first, but really got into it after a while. In total, it provided about 30 minutes of entertainment for us both (that's got to be a record in this house!)

Tomorrow I'm planning on heading down to Briers Home Decor to sell some of my latest card creations. It's always nice to bring in a bit of cash in the lean summer months when you're a teacher. Here's a peak at what I'm selling:

Mommy's Free Time

Now that Lexi takes a nap once in a while, I've got some free time to play with my scrapbooking stuff again. I started scrapbooking back in 2005 - I started with making our wedding thank you cards and favor boxes, and I was instantly hooked. I've always been fairly crafty - over the years I've done knitting (my Nana taught me when I was 8), cross stitch, crocheting, sewing and painting (OK, does paint by numbers count?) To date I've done several scrapbooks, including a beautiful wedding album, and I hope to finish a scrapbook of Lexi's first 6 months before I head back to work (gulp) in just over 3 months. It's even become some what of a side business for me, as I sell my cards to a friend who owns a housewares store in Kitsilano - Briers Home Decor on West 4th Avenue. I've done thank you cards for a couple of my girlfriends' bridal showers, baby thank you cards for myself, and several sets of bridal and baby shower invites.

Here's a sampling of what I've been working on recently.