Preservation Arts

Forgotten Friday: Chinese Food, Embossing Charms, and Fun with Family

I took my two girls and my husband out for Chinese yesterday and it was a nice, calm, fun lunch hour. Our little local Chinese restaurant is actually pretty good and Hannah was able to run around and practice her walking skills.

It reminded me of another Chinese lunch hour about four years ago, when my son was about the same age that Hannah is now. He was such a little bundle of energy, a lot like his sister.

This page was a study in creating spots of texture. I used stencils embossed and colored with chalk. I embossed metal with texture sheets and Chinese coins, then painted over it to mute the effect. The page was created in June, 2004.

Forgotten Friday: Baby Blessing Page

Lately I’ve been seeing blog posts that focus on how you started scrapbooking, or what your first projects looked like. I’ve always been an advocate of being proud of your past work… after all, preserving your world is what scrapbooking is all about. It’s a great way to relive the memories that you intended to capture and it also serves as a snapshot into trends, lifestyle, and art from your past. Seeing one’s past evolution can be a bit haunting at times, but just like other parts of life, it’s important that we be at peace with our past and forgive ourselves for our mistakes, transgressions, and most importantly, bad taste!

So, each Friday I’ve decided to post a little something from my paper-crafting past. I cherish the gifts that my hobby has brought me and celebrate the chance to relive the memories. So, without further ado, this was my very first page. My mother gave me the beautiful embossed paper and stickers when she found out that I was going to start scrapbooking. The layout literally took me weeks to complete. It was done in June, 2003.

A Mother’s Day Card for Myself

So… last night I told my husband, “I’m going to go downstairs and work on some Mother’s Day cards. I can still send them to our mothers, even though they’d be late.” My smart-aleck husband said, “Oh good, make one for yourself too and I’ll put my name on the inside.”

…click here to read the full post with a card and video!