First, let me explain why I created this scrapbook. I have a friend who has been dreaming of being a mom all her life but it has taken quite a while for that dream to be fulfilled and it has been quite a journey. She is now, along with her husband, a very proud parent to Eli.
Of course, we (a collective group of us) were eager to celebrate, so we threw a shower for them and this scrapbook was the gift that I couldn't wait to give them!
I said I was proud of this project on 2 levels. The first is obvious, it's a scrapbook, there is not a better gift that I can give someone and I enjoy it immensely. The second reason I am proud of this project is because I also took the pictures in the book (-1)! My friends did not know I was going to use these pictures to make a scrapbook...they just thought I was taking pictures!
So here is the 'directors cut' of the scrapbook, in that I'm outlining what I did and why. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge and see the detail.
Theme: What I wanted to capture in the scrapbook was that even though this was a long, sometimes arduous journey, in the end, it is a story of hope fulfilled and a future of promise.
Cover & Page 1: The cover didn't scan to well because of the 3 dimensional objects. I wanted the first picture to be one that Eli's dad took, so this is the one I didn't take. I included the 'Believe' charm just to reiterate that you have to believe all things are possible!
Page 2 & 3: I wanted to note Eli's birthdate and stats and I didn't know how much I liked this picture until I really studied it later. I was trying to focus on Eli's feet but what I like is how you can see the rest of his body in the background. Of course, I loved how the family picture turned out with Eli holding his hand up.
Page 4 & 5: This was just a series of pictures of Eli crying and mom comforting him with just a simple statement that captures an unspoken and deep joy...."My Baby".
Page 5 & 6: For scrapbookers out there, 7 Gypsies makes these paper clips you can customize with sticker letters... 7 Gypsies is one of my top 5 favorite product lines. I thought this quote was so appropriate to our friends story, "Every step of the journey is the journey". I wanted to emphasize the word 'is' so I attached black letter beads with glue dots on top of the original print.
Page 7 & 8: Every book I make, I end up with a 'favorite' and 'not favorite' page. This is my favorite. First, I loved how the pictures turned out and second, I love how the tag turned out. I started the tag with "My Son," and then I cut out these 7 gypsies phrases. I imagined these are the things you say as a parent as you go through life teaching your child life lessons "have faith, listen to you heart, do what you love, cherish family, never give up, think big, count your blessings, don't take the easy way, make difference..."
Page 9&10: It seemed like I was getting all these really great shots with Dad but not as many with Mom making me a little nervous, I finally got this shot of her peering out the window with Eli on her shoulder. Again, I just added a simple phrase from Mom to baby, "I love you". Oh the heart clip? You guessed it, 7 Gypsies!
Page 11&12: Eli looking up at his parents in this picture was priceless! And I couldn't resist adding the ribbon bracket that says "Together" because this family is finally together!
Page 12 &13: I obviously have a foot fetish, I took pictures of Nathan's feet too. But honestly, I couldn't believe how cool these shots came out - I got lucky. I wanted to send a little message to my new friend, Eli. It's something I hope he is told often and by many, the fact that he is pure potential and there is nothing he cannot achieve!
Page 13 & 14: This was another great picture with Dad but the opposite page ended up being a happy accident. I originally put the quote sticker on the polka dot paper but it was to hard to read, so I gently pulled it up, hoping the paper wouldn't come up with it, well... a small section of the paper came up. I felt strongly about using this quote so I slapped it on white paper, inked the edges and used it anyway! It works.
Page 15 & 16: Earlier I mentioned that I have a 'not favorite' page in every book I make.
This is it...I don't know why...I just don't care for it.
Last Page: I wanted the last page to match the opening page and to just be a picture of the new family. It took about 7 nights to complete the book and that's it!
Shameless plug: I'm a scrapbooker for hire, if you need a special gift for any type of occasion, a personal, customized scrapbook is the perfect gift! www.sparetimescrapbooks.blogspot.com