four

Layout: July 26, 2008 {originally blogged about here}

Here I go again, trying to get some real scrapbooking done. This page was a little tricky because I had so many things I wanted to include on the layout. I finally decided to make a file folder (pocket) in the top left corner and put the cake photos on top of it and then tuck a little two-side "file" about the cake inside the file folder. I was able to put the actual letters from the cake on the "file". Being able to include a little memento from the day is pretty cool. There are even greasy frosting smudges on the corners of some of them. Oh, how authentic!

Some of the details I love about this layout don't show as well once it's scanned and reduced and put out on the web. I  added some "office supply" details like the file folder tabs, the notebook paper for the cake detail journaling and the paper clip. I think I might need to add some staples for some extra fanciness somewhere. Staples make everything better, right?

So this is one side of the "file" describing the cake details.

(click on image to enlarge and read the riveting journaling)

 

This is the other side of the "file" with the cake topper letters. I did have to remove the popsicle sticks from the bottom that I used to stick them into the cake. There just wasn't enough room for the letters and the sticks in this little file folder.

(click to enlarge and see the greasy frosting smudges)

 

Happy 35

Layout: July 2, 2009

Yes! I did this digital layout start to finish in only a couple hours today. Suh-weet! I tried out some new digital tricks that I've discovered recently so that perhaps I can actually remember and use the stuff I've learned.

Most of the elements on this page are from the Happy Go Lucky kit I found for FREE at the Shabby Princess, although I did alter some of the pieces like the background and the 'happy' word tag. Lots of other cool free kits available there, too. Just click on {downloads} at the top left. I really like the Too Soon alpha, Moody Blues kit and Shabby Fall.

Birthday Time

Photos: July 26, 2009

Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long post...there's a lot to tell about birthday number five. Starting with the fact that we actually had a "friends" party this year instead of just a family party. If you click on the invitation above, you will see that I had (what I thought was) a very clever idea to take the focus off of gifts and onto fun and celebrating the day. Once again I was wrong in thinking I was clever as only two families participated. {Way to go Dotys and G&G for taking photos. Thanks!!} We will be getting the photos back soon and can't wait to see what they are like.

Tony did a great job BBQing hamburgers and hotdogs on his birthday present. He did a great job despite wanting to just keel over from heat exhaustion. It was a pretty hot day, to say the least.

Hotdogs and juice boxes seemed to keep all the kids happy.

Jonas really wanted to take pictures so I let him take one with my camera.....

...and it turned out pretty good. Malachi is always ready with a stunning smile.

There were plenty of presents to be had. I didn't get too many good photos of the actual presents, but this one was from Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Frank. It was a helmet and knee pads to go with the kick scooter they got him. Boy is he going to have fun on that!

This one is from Grandma Rose and Grandpa Jim.

Ooooh, aaawwwe, it's a personalized pillow made by Grandma Rose. Suh-weeeet!!!

AND a quilt made by Grandma Rose, too!!! Jonas also got the book that this quilt fabric is inspired by "The Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it. It's an awesome book that Jonas loves and he was soooooo excited about his quilt and pillow.

Next up is something special in this cool camo bag from Auntie and Big Uncle.....Percy from Thomas and Friends, and a promise that Annie and Clarabel (passenger cars) are on their way soon!!!

That fantastic gift earned Big Uncle a running-jump-power-thank-you-hug from Jonas. He gave Auntie a big hug too, I just did get it on film.

There were many other fabulous gifts that I missed getting photos of such as: A Giant-Box-of-Every-Craft-Imaginable from Michelle, Travis, McKenzie and Jace; awesome squirt guns and frisbee/ball from Uncle Pat and Aunt Connie; and a sweet car from the Troutman family. Thanks to everyone from Jonas for your fun gifts. He really does love them all and has been giving equal playtime to everything.


Classic Big Uncle antics.
And finally, ice cream cones!!!! Oh, wait....how are these ice cream cones not melting in the 90+ degree heat? Wha??? Because they are really frosting and cupcakes that just look like ice cream. Wow, tricky. The kids thought they were fabulous. Especially when they got to the surprise in the bottom: candy!!! What a delightful sugar-bomb. {Parents: you are welcome.} The downside to the faux ice cream cones is that you can only get a single candle to stick in there. That was probably for the best since we could hardly keep that one candle lit long enough to sing Happy Birthday.
You can see Jonas inspecting his cone to see if he is down to the "surprise" part yet.
Pretty sure Jace has a man-crush on Jonas...or maybe he's just eyeballing that cone.Everyone loved the faux ice cream cones. It was totally worth all the extra effort.

For those of you who are oh-so impressed by the birthday dessert, here is a close-up of the cones while I was making them. I discovered this idea several months ago on a food blog and researched it for Jonas' party. There are lots of different ways to do it but I found one that seemed the easiest and looked to have the highest "tastiness" potential. After seeing this video, I made the big ice cream and then realized that it was waaaay too big and waaaaay too time consuming to make 20 cones. I improvised and made the little one with just two mini-cupcakes which, while not as realistically ice-cream-shaped, is much more do-able for a crowd. If you're interested in making some yourself, just Google "ice cream cone cupcakes" and you'll find tons of recipes.

Here's a one-page layout that I did in PSE to try out some of my free digital scrapbooking supplies. I love how it came out.

Finally Four

Photos: July 26, 2008

Four is a great age for Jonas. He's finally able to appreciate all the aspects of having a birthday. He loved knowing that his birthday was coming up and that he would be four years old. He loved finding out (the day before) that he was going to have a party. He was wildly impressed that I baked him a birthday cake even though it didn't come out of the pan right and had a big dent in one side. He was even more impressed that I frosted it and put his name on it (to hide the big dent.) He loved, loved, loved the balloons and the Happy Birthday banner that we decorated the yard with. He really enjoyed seeing all the grandparents and aunties and uncles all at the same time. Jonas was so into having a birthday party this year and that made all the extra effort of squeezing in a party on a super busy weekend all worth it.

We had lunch outside to build up our energy for a present-opening marathon.







And the marathon begins....

Oh, it's CANDYLAND!!!! (and later...Oh, it's ANOTHER CANDYLAND!!)


Tony was nice enough to read all the cute cards that people gave to Jonas.


I hope you can see in the photo below that Jonas is gasping with joy over the Thomas the Train item he's unwrapping. Thomas is one of his favorite characters and he was stoked about the numerous Thomas themed gifts.



This was Tony's favorite gift given to Jonas by Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Frank. Tony has many, many fond memories of riding his Big Wheel and terrorizing his neighborhood. He rode it so much and peeled out so many times that he wore holes in the plastic tires. Classic. I can only hope the same for Jonas...although he still can't pedal very well so I think the tires are safe for now.


And now for some candle action....