THE Scrapbook

   Roughly four years ago, I was out shopping for a very special gift; a baby book for my soon to be born, first ever, niece. I flipped through stacks of pages of books with family trees, registers of gifts, lists of people who visited and places to list all of her 'firsts'. But then the pages stopped and it seemed like there was just so much missing from those pages. I never found a book that gave audience to the stories: how my name was chosen, what my parents said when they first met me, what my favorite foods, toys, and stories were growing up, what was on my Christmas wish list. They missed what made a baby a unique person. 

   So, being a paper hoarder and very inexperienced paper-crafter at the time, I thought, why not make my own baby book. It won't be hard! I'll come up with a few scrapbook pages and buy an album and give that as my gift. I'll leave spaces for journaling those stories and matted areas for adding pictures and trinkets and ephemera from her day one on, well past the first days and first steps and exhausting lists of shower gifts. Then my imagination took over and my brainstorming got out of hand, and I found myself frantically gluing and cutting and vowing to not rise from my chair for hours at a time so I could finish 36 perfect and unique 12 x 12 pages that I couldn't live without having in the book that must be in a shabby chic style before she was born...and then I gave it to her a month after she was born...and then I realized that if she were to have a sister, I was in big trouble. 

   Her sister was born January 13th...I finished her book on November 24th...

...did I mention I am also a procrastinator? 

    If you're anything like me, you probably can't wait to show what you've made to everyone around you and since it's just you and your husband, he's plenty tired of seeing all the things you made that started out as, "Just plain white paper, honey! Honest!". He smiles and nods and mumbles a few things but he's just being nice and that's OK. You may be flabbergasted that you were able to make a vintage looking viewfinder out of glossy card stock and the packaging from your thickers but he really has no idea what alcohol ink is or a steel rule die, so it's a futile effort...and that's where you all come in! I've photographed all 36 pages of my second niece's book which I will, 'God willing and the creek don't rise', give to my niece tomorrow at Thanksgiving and over the next who knows how long, share here on my blog! 

   So, without further rambling here's page one! 

   

   I wanted to start the book at the beginning. Shocker, right?! I love vintage looking anythings so I picked this paper because of the style of the announcement section. It also already had a completed area for a newborn picture. Of course, we can't just leave well enough alone, so I added butterflies covered in glossy accents and clear rock candy distress glitter, some ribbon, buttons, pearls, and two small paper word bands. This page should have taken ten minutes...it did not. But, I'm happy with it and its simplicity. This was probably where the simplicity stopped, however, which you'll see on the next pages that I will begin sharing later this week because tomorrow is Turkey Day and deliver the book day!!! (of which I am so very thankful!)
Rachel