Maine Girl

Project Life 2012 - Week Three

As I began pulling all my images for Project Life - Week Four I remembered that I was going to post Week Three yesterday.  However, yesterday I got into a HUGE reorganization of our room and T's room.  Basically it was time to put his cradle away ((((cry)))) which was filled with newborn - three month baby clothes, blankets, etc. and clean out a basket in his room that I had been shoving all of his outgrown items into.  Can I say...where the heck does time go???  You will see this quote printed in my Project Life - Week Four spread "The days are long, but the years are short." - Gretchen Rubin  Monday morning after teaching a Yin Yoga class I was chatting with a woman who told me that quote when we were chatting about our littles.  Later that day I sat down to do a post and voila there it was again on my typepad feed a post from The Happiness Project, I knew it had to be printed and put into my spread for the week because it truly meant something.  For those of you who have not read or listened to The Happiness Project I suggest you do.  It is wonderful.

Ok...enough of my ramblings.  Here is my Week Three spread for your viewing pleasure:

Week Three spread has an insert that is dedicated to G and his huge accomplishment of receiving his Purple Belt.  

We had a birthday visit with my Nana that week so it was just awesome to capture some images of she and her great grandson (she loves him to pieces.)  

The back of the insert includes just pictures.  I am thinking I will add some sort of divider tab to it.

The second page of the spread includes some images of T in the Baby Bjorn helping Papa mount his Buck racks, I love the one of T grabbing the rack.  It made Papa proud.  I also included a little note about a super cool new group that was co-formed by the ultra cool Alewives Girl called S.E.A.M Sewing Enthusiasts and Artists of Maine.  I am super psyched to have a group that falls under my umbrella of crafting.  I also included a clipping of the AWESOME Echino fabric I bought that night to make a pair of pants for T.  I like the idea of adding clippings of the fabric I work with into these spreads...it is so much a part of who I am and what I do.

I have to get better at photographing these spreads!  

Project Life 2012 - Week Two

Yesterday was a crazy day.  T needed me all day and didn't want to nap, so I got absolutely nothing done.  So here is Week Two of Project Life for your viewing pleasure.  Week two is a one page spread and I love it.  I love that the week two was quiet which was much needed after the pre- holiday, holiday and post holiday craziness.  

As you see not so many pictures this week.  I love the one of Tripp crossing his feet while lounging in bed with Mama.  A couple pictures of all the neighborhood kids enjoying their first snow day of the winter season.   I also included a receipt from Morning Glory Natural Foods, a list of my Saturday errands and a coffee sleeve from Starbucks with my newest addiction hand printed on it.  

My favorite picture has a close up below.  It is of M and G reading to Tripp and a note I included about how much I love that they love him and love playing with him.  

So that's a wrap of week two.  I love it's simplicity!  Coming up tomorrow Week Three spread.

Project Life 2012 - Week One

Here we are Project Life - Week One.

Week One was a pretty full week so it is a 3 page spread, this is totally ok with me.  As I stated in my Title Page post I am not going to worry about what weeks have more and what weeks have less.  I am going to go with the flow (I feel if I continue to chant this it will become a mantra that I actually listen to.)

Week One includes  A's Grampa's 90th Birthday party, this was pretty special as the whole family and some close friends gathered to celebrate.  Lots of awesome images were captured from A's Uncle Bob who was kind enough to put them on a thumb drive before we left Camden.  That in itself made Week One easy to complete.  

Page two of the three page spread included journaling on one of the super cool journaling cards from the Clementine Core Kit (have I said how in love with this kit I am) about our trip and some images cut to 3x4.  

Here are some close ups of the Page Three spread which included two journal cards sharing the happenings of the week.  

With my bonus kids with us only every other week, there will be some weeks that have just T in them.  It is my goal to be sure to super document the weeks that they are with us.  I so love watching the bond grow between T and his siblings.   

Tomorrow Week Two...

 

 

Project Life 2012 - Title Page

I am so excited to have begun Project Life 2012!  For those of you who don't know about Project Life it is the brain child of  Becky Higgins.  I embarked on this project a couple years ago when it was called Project 365,  I began it in March and pretty much instantly lost steam, leaving the project behind.  I like that it is now called Project Life opposed to Project 365 which sounds a bit intimidating (I felt as though I had to document EVERY single day) with Project Life I feel that I can have a week with not a whole lot or a week with a ton of stuff.  This has already happened with Week 1 being FULL of pictures and journaling a Week 2 not so much.  The link above for Project Life leads you to a host of total awesomness...tons of inspiration.  

Here is a view of my title page:

The super cute "bailey project life" came from Cathy Zielske and it is free on her blog.  I fell in love with it straight away!

The pictures of our family are l. (the whole crew) for those of you that don't know I am a bonus Mama and the two oldest in the pic are Madison and Gavin my bonus kids) r. (Aaron, myself & Tripp on Adoption Day.)  The Our Life 2012 are chipboard letters sewn on to the "first page card" from the Clementine Core Kit.  The "b" I made from a piece of canvas and sewed it on to a first page card from the core kit.  The upper cards are also from the core kit.  The right hand card says Our Life 2012 documented by: Jessica wife, Mama, Bonus Mama and memory keeper.  I did a mix of hand writing and typewriting using my super cool vintage Smith Corona Skyriter typewriter.  

There are so many reasons why I am in love with this project.  It is going to be a fun, easy, simple way to document US the Baileys!

 

 

 

December Daily 2011...It's the most Wonderful time of the Year

Let the fun begin.  I finished my December Daily foundation this past Sunday just in the "nick" of time...

I am so thrilled to be doing this project for many reasons:

a.) it is T's first Christmas and it must be fully documented for him to enjoy later in life

b.) it is fun, I know this because I started 2 years ago and never finished.  I lacked inspiration because we only have my bonus kids every other week.

c. ummm...it's the MOST WONDERFUL TIME of the YEAR!!!

So here is my foundation.  Super Super Simple with plenty room for stories, keepsakes, little pictures and big pictures.  As you will see I did not get the super cool Studio Calico December Daily 2011 kit because yes you guessed it the same excuse that will be used until we fully pay off our adoption...we are on a super tight budget.  So I used my imagination, inspiration from the fabulous Ali Edwards past and current December Daily (for those of you unfamiliar with this project it is the super brain child of this cool chick),  leftover items I had from years past, saved items, vintage items and a few NEW things.  The NEW things I purchased were some more baseball card  and 5x7 protectors from Staples and some must haves from Banana Fish Studio.

Cover

Inspired by Ali's cover mine has a chipboard base with 25 cut out of Bazzil Cardstock Orange Peel and modge podge'd.

Day 1

Simple Baseball Card Protector cut down to 4 , the Capturing December Moments and the "25" are both from Ali

Day 2

Confetti pages turned Confetti pocket as inspired by Ali who was inspired by another.  The Number 2 from a couple years ago by Little Yellow Bicycle.

Day 3:

The 3 is from Little Yellow Bicycle and the little green buttons were from American Crafts a few years back, I have no idea who the candy cane button is from.

Day 4

A shout out to Tim Holtz for the cool "believe" charm I think it's from his Idealogy line.  The No. 4 and "magic" card are from Banana Fish Studio.

Day 5

The Craft Tag is a Medium one from Joann's the number 5 is a glitter sticker from American Crafts a few years ago the sewn star is all me.  Once again, inspired by Ali.  

Day 6

B is for Bailey :)  with a little snow and a number 6 from Little Yellow Bicycle.

Day 7

The canvas star is something I made.  They sell them, Ali used them and I had to have some... but again we are on a budget.  

Day 8

Confetti pocket and Little Yellow Bicycle

Day 9

 

Snow ticket is from Banana fish Studio

Day 10

 More Confetti (as you can see I loved this idea) and a fun little journaling circle from Little Yellow Bicycle.

Day 11

Day 12

Vintage buttons I had with red and white twine.

Day 13

 Stars from my stash...

Day 14

G is for Gavin, M is for Madison and T is for Tripp...a spread about the littles.
Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

A is for Aaron, J is for Jessica, T is for Tripp --this is a day we don't have my bonus kids :(  so I was thinking of doing something about us 3 now.

Day 22

The star was attached to my Converse "One Star" kicks I got this past fall, I saved it for a later use...I found it's later use.

Day 23

T is for Tripp...bet you can't guess what will fill the pages this day.

Day 24

Littel Yellow Bicycle Card and one of my hand crafted star pained gold with Tulip Fabric Paint

Day 25

 

So that is it...like I said super simple.  I plan to fill those pockets and use an overlay on a large photo daily from Ali Edwards for Designer Digitals a couple years back.  These will be slid into the 5x7 page protector which is behind each day.    

My Bonus Child Was Turning 7 and He Wanted A Star Wars Birthday Party...

Most of you know me and know that when G told me he wanted a Star Wars Birthday Party I couldn't just find some Star Wars paper cups, plates and napkins invite over a few friends and call it good.  It had to be way better than that.  I do have to say with baby T dominating so much of my time I did briefly think about grabbing the Star Wars paper trio and calling it a day. 

Because I like the act of (occasionally) patting myself on the back I will say I am pretty pleased with the end result.  The invitations were handmade but I forgot to take a picture of them so you will have to use your imagination.  A couple weeks before I ordered super cool black and white straws along with black and gray cupcake liners from Hey Yo Yo.  I had decided to go with the black and gray scheme because we didn't have any color ink, money is a little tight following baby T's adoption and color ink isn't a neccesity.  I made stickers for the cups with the guests Jedi names on them, super cool little cupcake  toppers and Star Wars themed food name tags. 

Ewok Sticks- carrots and celery with ranch dressing at the bottom of cup...


Death Stars- Rice Krispie balls with a little black food coloring mixed in and white chocolate drips

Yoda Juice- High Sugar Green Hawaiin Punch (my bonus kids NEVER get this so they were in love with it)

My husbands Mom S saved everything from A's childhood so I used a mixture of old and new Star Wars ships to hang with monafilament.  The coolest thing she saved was the ultra retro Star Wars used above the food table.

I made all of us costumes A- Anikan Skywalker Me- Padme Amidala M- Princess Lei G- Luke Skywalker (as you can see G was to hot to wear the pants and boots) Baby T was supposed to be an Ewok but we thought it would be mean to put him in a snowsuit on a random October 80 degree day. 

The young Jedi guests all got robes that I painted their names on with fabric paint.

They had Jedi Training to complete during the 2 hours.  The training included sack races (seen above), break the balloons by jumping on them, keep your balloon in the air with the light sabers that A made out of swimming noodles (another idea I got from a Star Wars themed Party seen on the web), many races around the house (to wear off the sugar) and stick the crater on the Death Star.

M made an amazing Princess Leia...I think I did the best work transforming her.  The hair was perfect!

The birthday boy with a Star Wars t-shirt he got as a present from his cousin!

The Jedi's got to take home their robes, light sabers, glow stick necklaces (which they got for completing a mission) and light sabers made from pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate.   

It was a super fun day and everyone had a great time.  I am super pleased at what we pulled off on a budget but I am wondering how I am going to make M's upcoming 11th birthday equally as cool.

 

Sneak Preview of Baby T's Nursery and...

 
I am dying to show off a sneak preview of T's Nursery... there is still a lot to do but it is getting there and I am excited!!!  I have made a fitted sheet for the crib, next up are the bumpers  then I must cover the cushions for the rocker oh yes and make curtains!  So much to do so little time!  I also want to share my special "Show Your Baby Bump"  post on Spearmint Baby today!  Head on over to Shari's blog and check it out, it is a super cool baby blog. 

 
 
As you learned in a previous post I love those trees, I did not however buy the decals I painted them myself.  I am so happy with the end result.  More to come on T's nursery so stay tuned!

Thank you to Alewives Girl, the Cosmo Bag gets noticed...

If you are in Mid-Coast Maine traveling  Rt 1 North you must, must pull off Business District Rt 18 (I think) in Damriscotta and head out to Damriscotta Mills where you will find the most fabulous fabric shop in Maine, Alewives Fabrics.  It is only a 10 minute detour (not counting the time you will spend pouring over all the lucious fabrics.)  I have been a regular customer there since October of 2009, I will never forget that day I begged A to stop there on the way home from his parents... from that day on my life with fabric would never be the same. 

This morning I had to go get some fabric for a couple order so I got ready to leave the house as soon as the children hopped on the bus.  I couldn't wait to get there because the Amy Butler Trunk Show is there through June 3rd.  Upon walking in my fabulous Cosmo Bag was noticed by the ultra cool shop manager Rhea, pictures were taken and I was featured on her blog!  Thank you Rhea, I think I feel a bit famous (((blushing))).  Check out her blog and the "inspiration" post here, but don't stop there poke around the whole blog...there is a ton of inspiration throughout!!!

Getting ready for my little guy's arrival...

So when you are adopting a baby, you nest, like any expectant Mom you nest, the one big difference is sometimes you don't have very long to nest.  For me there was 56 days to nest from when the call came that this was a "SURE" thing...(more on what "SURE" thing means and doesn't mean in a later post) ... I am now nesting like a mad woman, well actually I am nesting and directing (I really really enjoy directing.)  Following my inspiration post on the nursery I got to work.  A had already painted it it's lovely shale grey color so all I had to do was the mural.  Armed with the pic from my inpiration nursery I went to work (we are on a BUDGET due to adoption expenses or I may have bought the decals like cool chic at MODG Blog  did)  I have to say I did a DAMN good job, I mean DAMN GOOD!!!  I am pretty friggin impressed with my ability.  :)  Next up I must finish making the bumpers and crib blanket, the fitted sheet is done, then it's the light fixture!!!  I am hoping dear husband of mine will find it in his heart to paint the rocker this weekend.  I am hoping a post about the nursery will be up with pictures and everything by the end of next week but that may be pushing it a bit.   Also on my list of things to do is:  The Amy Butler Modern Diaper Bag here is a super cool post by another chic who made one.

Where do you find your inspiration???

I find my inspiration in many places...outside, other peoples homes, antique shops and most of all the internet.  Most recently I have been looking for inspiration for the baby's nursery.  For years I have been surfing www.ohedeedoh.com pretty much weekly keeping a file in my computer that held things I loved, ideas I loved and pictures that inspired me.   When it was time to make the babies nursery I started peeking around www.ohdeedoh.com a little more than usual.   I was also thinking of the kids new shared bedroom as well.  Two rooms jumped out and attacked me that very first day. 

 
The above pic is an unbelievably cool shared room idea with hanging beds.  Two weekends later two "hanging beds" were made and installed by A and his friend.  There will be a future post about this ultra cool shared room after I have chosen and put the finishing touches on it.  You can find the post about my inspiration room here.  You should totally check it out.

On to the nursery.  Up until recently we were making a gender neutral nursery and the only three things that I absolutely new was that I had been obsessed with this super duper fabulous fabric for so many years.  If you don't know Amy Butler you should...she and her fabrics are HOT!  For those of you that know me you know I have pretty much worked with all of them.  For the last several days I have been frantically trying to find just the fabric for my diaper bag.  Okay...moving on.

 
The number two thing I knew about the nursery was that it would be grey, I love grey, I used to think I would hate grey on a wall but I now know this is untrue.  I love grey on the walls.  The nursery has been painted and this is the color I ended up going with: 

 

and finally the third is trees, specifically birch trees. 

This picture combines every thing I love I am over the moon in love with this nursery and this chicks blogrocks!  I just found her blog when I found the nursery (which is now my complete inspiration nursery)  I have read all of her posts present and past over the past few weeks.  She is mad about her kid, mad about her husband, mad about cool stuff and quite apparently mad about shoes.  She is one cool chick who doesn't care what anyone thinks, definitely a chick I can relate to.  Anyhow here is one picture of the nursery...I don't plan to copy it...but my Mom did buy me that crib...I had had had to have it.  Funny thing is I don't even shop at Wal-Mart but....

 
Find the full nursery post here!