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Hello Hello

Oh my goodness-the last day of summer-where has it gone?

Actually everyone around here is okay with it, the older one is ready to see her friends again and the younger one can't hardly wait to start preschool so...

For today I wanted to share a quick mini book that I did right at the beginning of summer break just to document where my oldest is at, at this point in her life. I seldom get any good, by good I mean in focus and with her actually not sticking her tongue out at me, candid shots of her so these photos although they represent her they span about a year and a half rather than just a 6 month period as I was aiming for. But oh well, it still captures a time in her young life which is the whole point.

What I started with is the mini book, I used chipboard for the covers and black card stock for the inside pages then bound it using my bind-it-all; then I printed the Instagram photos that went along with the random facts that I wanted to remember about her right now. Once I had all the photos in I printed this journal card from Ali Edwards that I purchased from Designer Digitals to the size that I needed it and adhered one to the back of each page and then wrote in what it was specifically about that detail that I wanted to remember. 

Along with the picture I added in a tab to the right hand side to give a bit of a foreshadowing as to what the journaling will be about once you turn the page.

Now had I really given it some thought beforehand, I would have made sure that the journal entry went on the same page as the photo that I was documenting but it just didn't happen that way so this was the next best option at that point.

I do like that this whole book, even with a ton of photos and a ton of details about my oldest daughter, has remained quite small. There is something to only documenting with words and photos which Ali Edwards is so passionate about, fitting that I used her product for this particular project.

Anyways just a quick reminder that it doesn't have to be super elegant, over loaded with embellishments, or 100 pages long. It can be as simple as 10 pages or 6...with a single photo (that has not been edited) and a few words that tell a little bit more of the hidden truth.

I think that for years to come this will not only be a favorite of mine but a favorite of hers as well, and I have plans to do one exactly this same way for my youngest daughter too because it is way to soon that 'normal' changes and then you just can't quite seem to remember 'the way it use to be'.

So my challenge for you this week or possibly over the weekend is to make just a super simple mini book: use an empty cereal box and paint it or cover it with some interesting papers (magazines, newspapers, etc.) cut it to the size you want it to be (my book is 3 x 3), cut to the same size as your covers however many pages you want to fit inside them then print off some random photos...once you've added them to your pages use a separate sheet of paper and cut to size some journal spots and adhere those to the page opposite of the photo and then jot  down some details about the photo, last but not least take a hole punch and punch two holes along the left hand side and then use an old shoe string or an old hair and/or clothing ribbon and tie the pages together with a cover on the top and a cover on the bottom. 

I'll tell ya you will love it in the end and if you're worried about having the right photos...don't. The way to fix this is to grab your camera whichever one you feel more comfortable with and then start snapping some pictures, 'things' are the best to start. Ask yourself 'what are they in to right now?' take a picture of it-it might be: clothes, a book series they are reading, an app on their iPod or phone, toys they love, games they like to play, things they like to do outside, then maybe start including some of their friends or hobbies. There are so many cool ways of getting just a bit of information that will help you bring this person's individuality into perspective and then spot-light it just for them. I'll have a hard time believing that they won't appreciate it as some point...so...give it a go!

Thanks so much for stoppin' in and have fun getting your Insta stories told.

just B