Today's Projects...

I woke up this morning and picked these from the garden. Whoever told me about Limelite hydrangeas last year--THANK YOU. The white ones are Annebelle. And the picture doesn't do it justice. That jar is a huge ball mason--not the normal sized...I have three birthdays for two year olds coming up, and so I whipped up three 8x8 ABC albums today. I kept it really simple...

Here are my supplies (you'll need a ton of stickers...but you'll use up your stash for sure...)
Now, most of you know I was a teacher for 13 years. I taught special education, and I worked with a speech therapist who told me about this idea. It totally works--and I used it for my two older children (and their ABC books happen to be their all-time favorite things.)

So the concept is this...

White background. Two strips of 1/2" red cardstock, and a punched star (or a circle, square--whatever.) Every letter of the alphabet has one page. I use the letter (upper and lower case) in the upper left corner of the left pages, and the lower right hand corner of the right pages. See examples...
Then in the border areas, simply use stickers or die cuts from your stash that start with that letter. I got a TON of stickers at garage sales with my kids (and my older two kids helped me find stickers for this project today by looking through their stashes...) Simple enough?
The inside of the main area will contain photographs that pertain to the child. For example, on the "C" page, photos of the child's cousins could go there. A friend named "Cassidy" or a photo of the child pointing to their chin...you get the idea?
This particular book is for a boy, but you could easily make it girly if you wanted as well...

It is perfect for a child around the age of two, when they are still just learning speech. It is a great little learning tool, and kids love seeing photos of themselves in their books!

And as a bonus, on the last page of the albums, I use up all my extra letter stickers and have them search for letters (like where's waldo) and they love that too...

Okay...in other scrappy news...

Jennifer Bueck and I will be teaching a very basic photography workshop at my home on Sunday, August 17th from 10am-4pm. Cost of the workshop will be $30, and it will include lunch. You can see the class description here. This class is geared towards people who have a DSLR camera and want to learn more about taking better pictures. You will need to bring your camera, battery charger and your manual to class. You can register at Turay413@gmail.com. We are limiting the number of participants in this class in an attempt to give you more hands-on attention, so if you are interested, please keep that in mind.

I am teaching my first ever online class over at Debbie Hodge's website, and I couldn't be more thrilled! "Back to Class" will start on August 25 and end on September 14th (three weeks long). For those of you who are interested in creating a school album from beginning (pre-school) to end (12th grade), this class is for you! I have taught this class locally for 3 years now and now it is available to you online! The cost of this class is $20--and you can see more information here. Registration opens on August 1st. Hope to see you there!

Have a wonderful Thursday!!