Grandma's Brag Book

My mum lives mostly in Singapore, and has lots of friends there who have not seen Andrew. They've been asking her to bring some recent photos of him the next time she goes back, so I finally got my act together and printed some for her.
I went one step further and decided to make her a mini album...a 'brag book' of Andrew that she can whip out of her handbag and show off to her friends.
I wanted a size that could fit into her handbag easily, yet wasn't so small that everyone had to peer at the photos to make him out, so I settled for a 6x6 album, which meant I had minimal cropping to do, and I could keep the pages really simple.
She loves it, and now wants one for each of her other grandchildren. Well, at least I know what to get her for Christmas!

Making Gift Boxes

Christmas is just round the corner, and being in a particularly crafty mood this week, I thought I'd have a go at making my own gift boxes. Here are some of my creations, complete with matching tags to boot!
It wasn't as difficult as I had initially thought, and all I needed was some Christmas-themed paper I'd been hoarding (which is great cos I now have space for new papers!), some super cute stamps, and bits of ribbon. After a couple of botched attempts, I managed to make 2 different puffy boxes, and 2 styles of cube boxes. Not bad for a first-timer, don't you think?
The girls loved them so much, they want to make boxes for all their gifts this year. Well, we already make our cards ourselves, why not gift boxes as well? Now all we need is just another 30...

Blue Braces

Emily finally got her braces put in last weekend after waiting a year for all her milk teeth to fall out.
She has been very brave about the pain...well, after I gave her some paracetamol, that is. Her teeth are sore, though, and she's been finding it really difficult to chew, so she's resorted to eating mushy food like baby Andrew! She loves it so much that I even caught her sneaking off with a bottle of his apple puree.
The greatest thing is that she is not in the least bit self-conscious about them at all. She's happily showing off her teeth to her friends, and is it any surprise with the range of colours the bands come in nowadays??? She chose blue bands...actually blue and green...both her favourite colours ( they didn't have black ). Well, she's got to live with them for a couple of years, might as well enjoy them!

Storing Embellishments

I always find myself digging at the bottom of a box or drawer for that particular packet of brads/buttons/eyelets to go with a layout. It's particularly annoying as I'm fairly obsessive about being organised, and I hadn't yet found a way to keep track of all my small embellishments.
I was pondering whether it was time to send my growing collection of baby food jars to the recycling bin when it occurred to me that I could use them for storing my bits and pieces. The labels came off easily with a bit of soaking, and I was ready to get organised!
The jars are the perfect size for small bits like brads and buttons, and the clear glass means that I can spot what I want quickly. They are so colourful that I couldn't bear to be put them away in a cupboard, so they now have pride of place on my desk where they are within easy reach too!

Still Mummy's Little Girl

My 9 year old went on a 4 day school trip to Cameron Highlands this last week.
She was worried initially about lots of things...not being able to sleep without cuddles from mummy...missing home ( her baby brother most of all, I think)...sharing a room with 2 girls she didn't really know that well...and whatever else 9 year olds worry about.
That didn't stop her from being organised ( yes, she is obsessive about organisation, like me). Her bag was packed 2 weeks before the trip. She had a still-to-pack list for her day bag which she dutifully ticked off the day before the trip. She asked for a photograph of the family which she could look at whenever she felt homesick, and she even laid out her clothes the night before.
The only sign of her anxiety was that she crawled into my bed for cuddles every night for the week before they went.
How did it all go? She had a wonderful time! Their days were packed with activity, she had no trouble getting on with her room-mates, and even though she did feel homesick by the last night, she was a trouper and just held on to her photograph to keep her going.
So yes, she dealt with all her fears and showed a maturity beyond her years. But you know what? When we picked her up, there was just a hint of redness to her eyes when she got off the bus and ran to us, and the hug I received was the longest and tightest I've had from her in a long time...