Oldie, But Goodie

I'm posting this blast from the past for 2 reasons:

a. It's one of the few spreads I didn't scraplift or rely on "external inspiration" in any way. It's a Cori original (rare).

b. I have one follower, and I'm pretty sure it's my husband, so Ricardo...I wanted to upload something just for you.

The spread is from 2003, the birth of our first precious bundle, Lexi Blair. We tried for so long to have her, that it really was a dream come true. (Then bam, bam! Two more and no more time for dreamin'!) I still love the mosaic look, but that was when I had 2 days to spend on a page. Enjoy.

Mom's Book

Okay, so this 8x8 album is her Mother's Day 2009 gift, and I'm still not done with it. However, in my defense, we didn't go to Disney World until the end of May, soooo it might turn into a partial Christmas present. We'll see...

First page: Probably our favorite park, Magic Kingdom. I used the Mickey font on the Cricut, some sparkly confetti string and the map of the park as background. Yes, that's my 6' 4", 300 lb. husband in the teacup with the girls...(he'll love me saying that.)

Page 2: Our favorite character meal was Chef Mickey's at the Polynesian Resort. Who doesn't love a breakfast buffet in the middle of the day? Madeline wasn't much into the characters, but loved the napkin dance. Advice: take your kids on their birthday- they get all kinds of attention. My mom also managed to piss off Donald by telling him Mickey was a great cook. Only she can create drama with fictional characters.

Page 3: Pixie Hollow- we got to meet Tinkerbell, Irridessa, and Rosetta. It was a bit lost on the girls because they hadn't seen the movie, but it was cool watching it later. It was like seeing old friends in a movie. I was impressed at the lengths Tinkerbell went to to uphold the true nature of her character- a bit impatient, stamping her foot, etc. Cute. I had no idea a 21 year-old "woman" could wear a 4T...

Page 4: Forgot to take pics of both pages, oh well. Eat your heart out, ladies! I cut out the genie lamp by hand (and won't mention that it's draft #44.) Aladdin might have been my favorite character because he looked SO much like the original, which I might add I had a huge crush on in junior high. Jasmine was just as beautiful, but whatever. Being the first characters we met, my kids were shy and speechless. Savannah just giggled a lot.

Page 5: Hollywood Studios (previously MGM). One of Madeline's new words is Einsteins. She shrieked it repeatedly the last day we were there, which is when she decided to warm up to the characters. Our favorite ride was at Hollywood- the Toy Story Midway Mania ride, even Savannah could play this interactive game. (And for the record, mommy had the high score.)

Card box

Anything in my house with a flat, blank or ugly surface has the potential of being embellished or redone. Here is a box I covered to serve as my card box...you know, to keep all the cards I make for birthdays, babies, etc. As it turns out, it's just a pretty box because I make 'em as I need 'em. Maybe I'll use it to keep the cards I receive and intend to copy. Hmmm....

Tip #2

Another Smelly Tip:

They say your sense of smell is the sense most closely related to memory. Before you go on your next big vacation, buy a perfume you've never worn before and wear it the duration of your stay. Every time you wear it thereafter, you'll be reminded of your getaway. For me, I'll always equate Lancome's Miracle with Europe (and being 50 lbs. heavier, so maybe not such a good thing...)

Honor the Queen

My creativity guru is my sister, Mandy, the Queen of Craft. Her magic wand is her sewing machine, although her repertoire is hardly limited. So I made this "scrapbook in a day" for her at my favorite scrapbook store, Recollections in Sterling. The store was bought and closed, fodder for another post.

So here we go... Christmas sweaters from Grandma Gladys and Girl Scouts circa 1984. Note the French braids that I swore I would never curse my children with. I lied. At least they don't get screamin' red yarn bows longer than the braids.Left: Making a sisterly totem pole with other sis, Julia.

Right: Julia's high school graduation party including our brother, Matt. Somehow we have very few pictures of the four of us.

Dinosaurland before it took a turn for the worse and softball uniforms. Wearing the hat to the side was my Salt-n-Peppa look. I also had an eyes half closed pouty Madonna look.

Believe it or not, my mom refuses to let go of the scarf-neck 70s look. And I'm still a bit bitter about the East bonnet flying saucer hats. We look like the preacher in Poltergeist II.

Gotta love kilts! Another Grandma Gladys special. I included this pic to honor Mandy's favorite movie line from Dances With Wolves, "There ain't no one here, Lieutenant. They done all run off and got themselves KILT!" Beginning my love affair with the ocean and doing our Charlie's Angels thing.


Skate World (left) in Lynchburg is probably my Happy Place- so many memories took place there...birthday parties, being the first of my friends to learn to skate backwards and my first kiss.

Mandy was always cuter than me. I'm good with that. On the right is one of my favorite pictures of us ever- dandelion hunting on the Evans farm. (Again with the Easter bonnets!)

And finally, playing pirate dress-up with mom. That's her on the left. "Mom, make a gnarly pirate face!" This is what we got...because she knew there was a camera present.

Tip #1

Tip #1: When car fresheners start to die, put them in your purse!

I was convinced that my daughter's recent asthma flair-up had to do with my Yankee candle burning and car air-freshener. I didn't have anywhere to put the freshener, so I stuck it in my purse until we got home. Of course I forgot about it, so now every time I'm rooting for something, I get a fresh burst of coconut-y paradise. Ahh!

Princess Dragon-Slayer

Who needs a knight when the princess is perfectly capable? For Savannah's 3rd birthday, she wanted a Princess party. We went over-the-top, of course, and her favorite part was slaying the dragon. And she didn't just slay it, she severed its head in two. You may be thinking this a bit macabre, but if you really knew my family...To this day, whenever we go to a birthday party, she always asks if there's going to be a dragon cake.

We practiced this cake (that we stole out of Family Fun, seriously, I haven't had an original idea since 1991), but then Savannah decided she wanted a girl dragon like Shrek. We made it pink with pretty toenails and eyelashes.

...And every princess needs a throne...glitter glue is the best thing ever. Especially Stickles. I look around my house sometimes wondering what I can stickle next....

Guests arrived in full princess attire where there were greeted by big sister Lexi and given a quick "pedicure." (Don't know why the pic is vertical.) Then they decorated pink sparkly wands.

I read the girls the book The Princess and the Pea which ends with everyone realizing she's a REAL princess because she felt the pea under all those mattresses. We played a game to decide if each of the girls was a real princess. They took turns sitting on 2 different pillows too see if they could feel which one had the green golf ball under it. (And we just made sure they were all real princesses.) I continued the story after the game with Savannah as the main character who slays the dragon (the cake) and defeats an evil witch. Thank goodness another big girl sibling was willing to dress as a witch, run around the yard, and let all the princesses chuck tie-dyed water balloons (swirling magic juice) at her. It was a lot of fun, and I had one very grateful Tinkerbell, fairy, magic, mermaid, princess.