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!