Small, Spanish-style houses on a quiet street always made me think of fond memories about grandma.
Memories of stories about the olden days under the old mango tree that still proudly stood proudly in the neighborhood. I remember excaping from home late at night to go on a date and my grandma waiting for me and keeping the gate open.
Nowadays whenever I found myself feeling lonely, I would think of these moments and remember how she really cared about me; the memories would always flood my consciousness, bringing a smile to my face and not without a few tears.
My grandma was no longer able to go out much, like she used to when she was younger. She would play bridge with the neighborhood oldies and would always have a few coins for me to buy chips.
From around the corner, I would wait for her to come by… knowing that a smile on her face would mean she won a few rounds.
Often she would ask what’s for dinner then she would launch into a discussion about the current events of the day. Even at 80, she was a walking a crossword puzzle perfectly done, a trivia master who knew the answer to every question on games shows. Most of all, she always had a smile for me.
Nov 12, 2008 | Growing Up Stories, Sentimental Thoughts
Whether you are going for the sentimental scrap book that is “anything goes”, or the structured, almost-professional look, you have to decide which scraps will be worth putting in. Let’s say you bought all your scrapbooking tools (glue gun, cutter, colored paper for origami), set up a space and downloaded scrapbooking techniques. You’re ready to get started, but cannot decide which among your scraps or finds you should put in.
Layout – The first thing to consider is how big your page is and will the scraps be too bulky or too humongous to place there? It’s a good idea to have little pockets built in each page, for very small things that could get lost or damaged by gluing and too frequent pressing.
The Story – An ideal scrapbook tells a story … I saw one scrapbook with pages that contained only hand prints and photos of a child. Up until the child reached 18 years of age. This is a really sentimental way of keeping those precious “growing up memories”.
Your First Layout
There are two ways of finding some great layouts for your scrapbooks.
1. Online Scrapbooking Ideas – The internet exposes us to the lives of millions of people. Usually these people will have blogs, myspace pages and customizable web pages. The really creative ones will adorn their web pages with photos and knick-knacks. The idea is to observe how the pages were built and get ideas. Internet surfing can be very productive, as long as you keep your eyes open and your creative juices flowing.
Alternatively, you can look for sites that SELL scrapbooking pages, print out those that you purchased and use them as ages for your scrapbook. These aren’t expensive if you just buy a few for your scrapbook’s dividers, but if you plan on putting all of these quality and high resolution pages in your scrapbook, it could get very pricey for you.
2. Magazines and Books -Learn from professionals who make a living putting out layouts of magazines and catalogs. See the colorful sales brochures? Where is the text located? How big are the photos? The best resources are sometimes the design magazines and real estate. They take photos of their products at very unique angles.
You can learn a thing or two from these professional publishers.
Inspiration may also be found from a book that has nothing to do with crafts, or an old calendar.Note that the beautiful and scenic photos from calendars can be good materials for your backgrounds.
Maybe you can create your “best memories” scrapbook according to the lyrics of your favorite song, poem, or quotes.
Lastly, you can learn a lot from friends. Why not propose a get together with friends and family who may or may not be into scrapbooking? You can obtain briliant ideas from their handiwork, or they can give you tips on how to improve a layout you’re already working on.
Nov 06, 2008 | Growing Up Stories, Homemade Gift Ideas, Scrapbook, Sentimental Gift Ideas
There’s a name for “homemade bikini” now, it’s Tankini! I just saw one online and remembered my grandma again. Don’t I know this yet? Grandma is ALWAYS right!
As I was browsing a bikini website, I remembered an episode when it’s beach time with the homies and I didn’t have anything to wear. It was my grandma who suggested that I wear my nicest undie with a sleeveless top. I told her that the style she was pointing at existed only during the 60’s!
Now, however, I regret saying that because I just discovered a bikini style that fits grandma’s idea exactly: Tankinis! Sure, the material in commercially advertised ones is a bit different, but the style and the look is the same: like a sleeveless home blouse with a fancy undie.
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Oct 03, 2008 | Growing Up Stories, Sentimental Thoughts
