Monday, April 28, 2008

The "I Hope" Carousel...

...turned out better than I had hoped...At my daughter's First Communion party, I set this sign out, along with a bunch of cards for people to write their own statements for her...
The carousel, the sign and the blank stack of I Hope cards along with writing utensils were next to her cake on display...

And to my delight, many people filled out cards and left them for her.
I also passed these cards out to her grandparents, her godparents, and close relatives. Some included them in their cards to her, and a few even elaborated and elected to write full letters. It really was something, and I was thrilled.

I took the liberty of adding more "formal" statements to give people ideas (the original "I Hope" statements--about a dozen of them). I added over 100 photos, 10 plastic sleeves (which will house the letters and such) and it turned out like this:




I'd highly recommend getting photos printed out in matte rather than glossy if you attempt this project. Since the photos are handled a lot, matte holds up better and you can't see the fingerprints from handling. Also, I used several 5x7 photos as well as 4x6--it worked well! I like the staggered look to it.




It belongs to her now. I plan on adding a few photos from the party this weekend, and it will be in a special place on the desk in her bedroom. I love that she looks at it all the time, and keeps re-reading the sentiments that were written specifically for her. Total sap, just like her mama...

Have a wonderful evening!

26 comments:

Damaris said...

Oh my gosh Trish...what a beautiful gift. I knew that was going to be an amazing gift. I am outright stealing that idea for my daughter. Thanks for sharing my friend. So happy your Jami, loved her party!!!
HUGS

Molly said...

O
M
Gosh!!!
Trish, that is incredible! WOW!

Rita said...

That is absolutely beautiful!! I would have love to get something like that when I was a young girl. Thanks for sharing!! Rita

Anilú Magloire said...

This is CRAZY BEAUTIFUL!!!!! She is gonna treasure this for ever.
I literally gasped out loud with those pics of it :)

Heather said...

Oh my word Trish! This turned out just lovely! What a special gift for Jamie to treasure for years to come!

Valerie said...

COPYING YOU....AGAIN!

Unknown said...

This is so beautiful and a great way to cherish the friendships and look forward as well.

thank you

Laina Lamb said...

Beautiful. Just beautiful in every way.

jamie said...

your carousel is absolutely beautiful. lovely, lovely. you are very inspiring.
i wanted to add that i just posted my rendition of the mother chipboard book on my blog. it was such a great project and it made me so happy to have the kit and be able to make this gift for my mom. thanks for your inspiration!

Vanessa, Florida, USA said...

WOW!!! This is beautiful! What a sweet, inspiring, creative, thoughtful and meaningful gift! She will treasure it always :-) HUGS!!!

Ryzmomplus2 said...

I just love this! So copying this idea for Chels graduation...

Gina said...

OMGosh - another WONDERFUL idea from you Trish! This is such an amazing keepsake. Simply stunning!

Jana Eubank said...

INCREDIBLE! When do you sleep, woman?! ;)How cute will this be on her dresser! LOVE IT!

Lan said...

Wow, what a beautiful great project! I'll have to do something like this for my sister's baby shower "hopes" for the baby.

Jewel said...

This is just incredible. What an priceless gift. Thanks for sharing your amazing talent with us!

borcherding said...

O-M-G!!!!!!! That is simply STUNNING!! I freakin' LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!! A little question for you: does the carousel come with a little punch to add more stuff?? Thanks Trish! That project is so BEAUTIFUL!!!

Libby said...

Such a beautiful keepsake for your daughter! I'm certain it will inspore her for years to come. Where did you find the carousel? I'm new to your blog and have to admit...your very talented! Kudos!

emily anderson said...

this turned out amazing! what a wonderful gift!!

pickmepam said...

absolutely beautiful, just like always! love your stuff!

Ady said...

OMG, Trish this is amazingly beautiful gift for your daughter. It's gorgeous and the colors are so bright and uplifting. Great job. Thanks for so much inspiration.

Janet said...

This is one of the most beautiful projects I have ever seen. What a treasure!!!

mom2ee said...

absolutely beautiful

Anonymous said...

Trish,
Thank you so much, I love the I hope series. A few years ago, 5 or 6, I made a similar book like this for my daughter who was turning 17.
It was a surprise and EVERYONE cried when I gave it to her. She's 22 years old now and let's just say we've been through some hard times...kids are like that:>)
Anyway, thanks for the reminder,they all deserve a little HoPe!!

Unknown said...

You are an inspiration to me. I was stuck with no creative ideas for my sons Confirmation coming up. You've opened a new area to consider. Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU!

Wenni Donna said...

You did a wonderful job here Trish and I am very happy to find this idea here; as I am going to steal it for my daughter’s upcoming party at San Francisco venues. She just love such personalized and I am sure she will love this one too.

ahmed said...

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