He is Eleven Now

Well, he's actually closer to 12 now, but this is the layout I did a few months ago about his eleventh birthday. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he is going to be 12 pretty soon, that he is coming into his teen years, and that he starts Jr. High next week. Honestly, seeing him reach these milestones is hitting me harder than sending him off to kindergarten did. I'm sure I'll survive. It helps that he is super excited for it all! 

In contrast 11 was easy. He was at complete ease in a great situation in his 5th grade class with wonderful teachers, he loved moving into Boy Scouts,  he was having fun with his extracurricular activities, and life seems easy and good.  All he really wanted for his birthday was a camera and some Legos....which he got. He's such an easy going kid :)

The papers here are by Bella Blvd from their very fun "Birthday Boy" line. The buttons and Washi tape are by Queen and Company, letters by Heidi Swapp and Echo Park. I drew the red star in inkscape, then converted it to an SVG file and cut it out on my Silhouette Portrait. I thinned a little red paint with some water and then poured it into a spray bottle for the paint splashes.

The journaling reads: It’s hard to believe it but you really are 11 years old now Ty! We had a good time celebrating your birthday together with your siblings and your grandparents. I think you were most excited by your new Legos and your new camera as well as knowing that you now move up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. You were also excited to have your favorite kind of cake, cheesecake, which also happens to be my favorite kind of cake too! November 2012"

Enjoy your Wednesday!

He is her Number 1 Fan

I have one of the kindest and sweetest 11 years old there ever was. He is a tender hearted soul with with a maturity and love for others that you just don't see much at his age. He especially adores his little sister, and she adores him right back. This began long before she was born. Ty was so unbelievable excited when he found out that we were having a surprise baby. Despite being at the age where boys are normally rather anti- girl, he wanted the baby to be a girl from the beginning. When we found out it was indeed a girl he was again super excited and he started saving up his money to buy her a doll.

After she was born he started calling her "Precious Claire," and he still calls her that now. He loves to carry her around and give her rides up on his shoulders. He can always make her laugh and smile--even when she won't do it for me. The closeness of their connection must have started before this life, it's the only way I can explain the sweet and tender connection they seem to share.

Anyhow, this layout is about the first time Ty held her. My parents brought all of the boys up to the hospital to meet Claire after she was born and I was able to take this photo of him smiling down at her. It was sweet brotherly love at first sight!

The journaling reads: "Ty, I picked you to be the first of your brothers to hold Claire. I picked you not because you are the oldest but because you were the most excited about Claire before she was born. You were super excited from the very beginning! Then when we found out the baby was going to be a girl you were “over the moon” with happiness! You have never once been anxious, worried, or jealous like I thought you might be. You have always been full of enthusiasm and joy for this moment, when you first got to see and hold your new sister. I just know you are going to be a wonderful big brother to her!"

Again, this is the Bundle of Joy Girl line from Echo Park. I mixed in a couple of older chipboard pieces from Pebbles, some Queen and Co baker's twine and pearls, and more stamping with my rotary phrase stamps from American crafts and K and Co. The title was done with my Silhouette Portrait.

These larger Chevrons running down the side were made using my EK Success corner punch. If you look close you can see this is just a whole bunch of corner punches stacked together.

I added a few accordion flowers for interest plus some smaller "chevrons" made with my Zig-Zag Border punch by Fiskars.

Thanks for vising and have a great weekend!

They love Lego Hero Factory

With my boys it seems just about every toy they play with is Lego related. Lego Ninjago and Lego Hero Factory are among their top favorite lines with Lego Harry Potter and Lego Star Wars coming in close as well. Creating their own designs currently trumps recreating what they made with the instructions, so lately we have had a plethora of "original" designs coming through. Each time they finish a new one they ask me to take a photo of it so that they can still remember what they made after they take it apart again. This time Ty wanted to remember this new villain he created:

Once again, this is the fun All About A Boy line from Echo Park. The fun gears are all stickers from this line and I thought they were perfect for a Lego layout. The twine, washi tape, and rhinestones are from Queen and Company, and there are a few random stamped stars from some old Chatterbox stamps I have. The border and the title were cut using my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot 2.0. The weathered font I used for the word "Lego" is one of my new favorite alphabets. It comes from Kerri Bradford Studio. I love this alphabet and I'm sure you will see more of it in the future!

The journaling reads: "Ty, you just love to build new things with your Legos! Lately you have been having lots of fun building new characters with your hero Factory Legos. -Fall 2012"

Have a great weekend!