Father's Day 2009 page

Most of the friends who are leaving comments seem to be digital scrapbookers.  Here's a digital page that I completed today:

It's not my favorite page, but it gets that album officially up to date!  I used an 8.5x11" template, so it was super speedy.  If you want more freedom with the printed books (from Shutterfly, etc.) you have the option of digiscrapping the pics using your own papers and templates, and them uploading them to Shutterfly as if they were full page photos.  Have fun playing! 

Album Organization

I'm happy to say that the Christmas album is up to date!  I got the chance to scrapbook at church on Saturday and made a ton of progress!  All the ladies were working on different aspects (sorting and organizing photos, cropping, journaling, etc.) and it got me thinking about my process.

Here's how I normally assemble an album:
1st: Take great pictures.  If the picture isn't great, alter it and print a new one.  For example, if the colors are horrible and clash, make it black and white (or sepia).
2nd:  Choose which pics I want to scrapbook and put them in page protectors in the appropriate album.
3rd: Put a post-it note on the page protector with the date and any info I don't want to forget to journal.
4th:  Go through and choose a background paper that enhances the photos.  Slip that into the page protector with the pics.
5th: Sometimes I'll go through and put specific matching embellishments (or a coordinating paper) in the page protector. 
Finally, I put the pages together. 

How do you organize your efforts?

Flying Solo

My husband is off at another training, so I am single-parenting again this week.  The last training gave birth to the posts about cleaning cracked eggs, etc.  One night, I put them to bed, went to take a quick shower, and got out to find them playing in the fireplace!

Monday and Tuesday went as well as could be expected.  I showered before picking them up from school to avoid a repeat of the soot episode.  Yesterday, I even scored a ton of free boxes and packing materials! 

This morning, however, I have a sick 4 year old home from school.  Today's tip: frozen blackberries are a great way to cool down hot oatmeal.

Silver Bells....

I've been polishing the silver, and am reminded how little I enjoy that.  I've also been worried about its fate while in storage. 

They sell storage bags made from silver cloth for $15 each at Bed Bath & Beyond.  I'd have to buy 4 of those plus a big one for the tray, etc.

Instead, I bought some silver cloth (available at JoAnn) and made my own!  It's not difficult at all.

For the trays: Sew a pouch with extra length for a front flap.  Attach ribbon to the front of the pouch and to the flap to secure.

For the hollowware (teapots, etc.):  Make into drawstring bags, sized to fit. 

You only need to be able to sew a straight line.  Make the channel of the pouch first, then sew the side and bottom.  I attached a diaper pin to the end of some satin ribbon to make threading it through the channel easier. 

Voila!

Burned

I recently got a 2nd degree burn on my index finger.  (Tip #1- Don't grab a hot burner.)  Here's a tip for how to treat a minor burn:

First, hold a frozen cold pack to it (the kind you put in packed lunches).  Make sure you don't go numb, as that could indicate frostbite.  This will stop further injury and ease the swelling and pain. 

Treat with Butt Paste:

The name is awful, but this stuff is magic!  I slathered it on and covered with a super-cool Hello Kitty Band-Aid to keep it on overnight.  It helped immensely!  The burn didn't even blister (and I know it wanted to- I could see it coming). 

My husband and I road-tested this stuff on our children.  Surprisingly, it works better than the competitors that have more active ingredients in them.  It works magic on terrible diaper rash, and can help grown-up healing, too. 

Sensitive Little Ears

We attend the "contemporary" service at our church.  The band is amazing, but it's too loud for my son. 
He would beg to stay in the nursery with my daughter, but that meant he missed the children's message.  (He's the kid who always "says the darndest things" and we'd hate to miss out on that.)  So we tried having him stay with us, but he'd end up hiding under the pews holding his ears, or begging to go back to the "cry room". 

We tried regular headphones.  They looked adorable, but didn't help the sound levels.  I considered earmuffs.  Then I came across these:

"Sound isolation headphones" meant for kids who play instruments (like the drums).  They reduce the noise level by 22 decibels.  They weren't as expensive as the adult versions you see in in-flight catalogs, either.  They were around $30, including shipping. 

They've already arrived, so I'll let you know how it goes!