Liam's Birth

I'm finally getting around to srapping Liam's first year. I laugh when I look at these pictures because they are double exposed. I guess we were in such a rush to get to the hospital that we didn't even think to check if the film was used. Does that date these pictures or what!?! Real film.

Handy Tip:
-Include copies of your journal, diary, or personal correspondence. On this page, I included copies of my journal entry about Liam's birth because it adds so much to the story. However, it was a little personal for me so I opted to put the entry in a vellum envelope where it could be accessed but not immediately seen.

-Include mementos as part of your layout. This page includes my hospital bracelet.

Daddy's Little Boy

My two favorite boys in matching shirts no less.

Handy tip:
-Cut out elements from printed paper. For this page, I actually cut the tickets from a 12x12 sheet covered in printed tickets. To give them that perforated edge look, I used a stamp edged scissor.

-Try embroidering on your page. I used a backstitch to along the edge of the red strip to add a little more dimensionality.

Thank You Card

Another set of cards finished for the raffle!

Handy Tip:
- Clear stamps-I finally tried out the clear stamps I keep hearing about, and what can I say...I'm in love! I can see exactly where I'm stamping, and they store flat! Life is good!

- Sewing isn't just for fabric anymore. I used my sewing machine to stitch around the title and as a border on this card. I experimented with different stitches but decided to go with the straight stitch on this card because there was already so much going on.

- Try mixing sticker or die-cut letters with handwriting to keep that homemade feel.

June Layout

So I know it's a little early for a new layout, but I didn't really like the old one very much.

For my title, I took a picture of a frame I own and then used Photoshop to skew it so that the lines were all straight and scale it so that it was just the right size. The fonts are Bernhard for "This and That" and Zapfino for "Tabicat."

The graphic was created in Illustrator. I had fun using the border brush tool this time.

Mo Willems

I have long been a fan of children's literature and someday hope to write and illustrate one of my own picture books. In the meantime, I'll settle for enjoying the books of others.

One of the author/illustrators I've recently enjoyed is Mo Willems. (He's the author of the popular "Pigeon" books.) His illustrations are simple but strong. They have a retro feel and bring to mind the images of Syd Hoff. His stories are good, clean fun.

Most recently, I've read his Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct which was hilarious and wholesome in its morals. I also greatly enjoyed his Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale which reminded me so much of my own toddler.

To find out more about Mo Willems and see his doodles, visit his website: www.mowillems.com.

Trash to Treasure Armoir

A television cabinet with doors recently became a need in our house when Liam started to pull all the DVDs out of their cases and stuff them into the CD player. I checked online for a simple bookcase with doors and WOW even the cheaply made Walmart stuff was expensive! Well, out of my price range anyway. So, I moved all the DVDs on top of the mantle and sighed; I hate clutter.

Then, a week later as I was helping a friend move, she mentioned that she was leaving an armoir behind. It had gotten a little rickety and was showing signs of wear. I begged her to let me have it. A brace from scrap wood and a can of paint later and ta-dum a tithing blessing appeared! Okay, so I did have to prime it with a high adhesion primer first, but that was lying around from an old project. I also high-lighted the groves using left-over rust colored paint my sister-in-law used in her front room. Total Cost: $8

My Bedroom

I finished these pillows and paintings in March, but I wasn't a blogger then so I'm going to post them now. I suppose it's better this way because Mom visited in the meantime and bought me the cutest (and most greatly needed) bedside lamps and the most darling little suitcase.

The two brown fabrics were both purchased at Walmart for a dollar a yard. You have to wait a while, but you can find the cutest things in their bargain fabrics! Just keep checking.

New Baby Announcement

The friend I made the baby shower invitations for just had her baby, a sweet little girl named Breanne. What a little angel! She didn't cry the whole time I took pictures! (And I took a LOT.)

Here are the announcements I made as a gift using InDesign and Illustrator. The fonts I used were Zapfino for the name, and Bernhard Modern for the rest. (I expanded space between the characters in the Berhard font.)

Liam's Book of People He Loves

I made this little book for Liam to look at during church using InDesign. I got the idea from a mini album about a little girl's toys featured in Simple Scrapbooks Magazine.

New Card

For this year's family reunion raffle, I'm making a set of cards like this. Just a generic "thank you" card.

Scrapbooking Tip:
Blue Tab-To make the blue tab on this card, I cut out a small rectangle and then used a rounded corner punch on two of the corners.

Another New Layout

I had web design fever after finishing the last layout so I created this layout for our family blog, willandtabi.blogspot.com. I wanted this page to be masculine enough for Will (even though, I'm really the one that keeps it up) so I decided on a very bold, graphic design. I used both Photoshop and InDesign.

Photoshop Tip:
Colorizing a Photo - To create the orange-tinted pictures on this layout, I first desaturated my pictures and then used Image>Adjustments>Levels to change the levels so that the darks were darker and the lights were lighter. You can also increase the contrast, but that can mess up your midtones.

I then created a new layer and filled it with an orange color. Next, I changed the orange layer's mode on the layers palette from "normal" to "multiply." This allows the picture to shine through the orange. By just changing the opacity of the orange layer, you end up with a kind of orange haze losing the crisp black color in the photo, using multiply allows you to keep that sharpness.

New Month, New Layout

It was about time for a new look. I created the graphic in InDesign, converted it to a .jpg in Photoshop, and then altered the html to match. The font is "giddyup" from freemacfonts.com.

More Cupcakes

I opted to do cupcakes instead of an actual birthday cake because I ran out of time. It turns out they're easier for kids to eat anyway. (Unless you're Liam and just eat the frosting.) To create the waves, I just used zig-zag motions and various star tips. The fish is just a Pepperidge Farm goldfish cracker stuck on top.

Birthday Invitations

Going with the fish theme, I made these cards as invitations to Liam's Birthday party. The construction was very similar to the baby shower invitations I posted on April 21st, 2008, except there are three blocks about 1.5 inches square. The hook and bubbles were drawn using a sparkly silver gel pen. I drew the fish using the Pepperidge Farm fish crackers as a guide, but it would be easy enough just to trace an actual cracker. The information was printed on orange paper and just taped inside so the card could be used again. It said something like "Let's hook up at Liam's party."

Liam's Birthday Party

Because he's the fifth and his birthday is close to Cinco de Mayo, it has become a tradition to make a pinata for Liam's birthday. This year's pinata was a fish because Liam got his first pet from his Aunt Sarah and cousin Maddie, a little goldfish named "Sethy-poo." (Named for my brother.) Built for looks and not for strength, this pinata fell off the rope before anyone even got a swing in, so we ended up tying it upside-down by its tail. It worked great and the kids loved it.

Cupcake Bouquet

I made these cupcakes to serve as both the centerpiece and dessert at a baby shower this week. I created the "blossom" look by using various star decorating tips and basically squeezing a blob of frosting out then slowly releasing pressure and lifting up the icing bag at the same time. So simple. The roses are just spirals using a large star tip. The variegated color comes from first adding pink frosting and then white to the icing bag. Easy and pretty, can life get any better!?!