Project Life - Aquarium

I took a million pictures when my Dad and brother where here visiting.  Most of my pictures were from our outings, but I did include a few instagrams and random stories here and there.  Not every story gets told, but that's okay.  I used lots of One Story Down printables and thickers mostly. 

This is my full spread.  I usually forget to take a picture of this every week.  Will try to go back and add some in.  

 Love this arrow stamp to frame tiny instagram prints (top left). I stamped 'next to you is my favorite destination' as well.  Love that phrase, so fitting in so many ways here. I used one more Everyday Eclectic card with these really cute surf blue thickers. I think it matches the haze of this cell phone pic well.  I did use 'cross process' to warm it up a little.
One more random story was our trip to the Disney store.  I take them to the mall play area every once in a while (they play, I drink Starbucks, it's win-win), but something about the new Disney store just really excited all of us.  They both loved the little princess castle with 'magic' mirrors.  I don't think we put anything too girly-girl on Nandini, but all on her own, she loved it.  I used some Amy Tangerine orange grid paper, pink label sticker with white foam thickers.  The font just seemed Disney-ish to me.

 I stamped and embossed lovely on this printable journaling card. Love the bright green with aqua.

I made a digital collage of some OSD papers and elements.  With Nandini's hair and dress counted, there are three bows on this one pocket.  I keep random stamped and embossed sentiments in my stash.  This seemed to fit.

I found some old-ish glitter thickers.  They are dear lizzy, from a few years back.  My Dad elected to just watch us on the carousel.  I love all the lights on this old style carousel.  There isn't much story here, just a fun ride (times five!).  I am going to be scrapping these carousel pictures a lot too I think.

 Page two.  More green, blue and little bit of red. I really do love that bottom right photo. The faces are a bit fuzzy, but everybody looks so natural and happy. I added a camera veneer (misted in gold), naturally.

 I paired the surf thickers with one more pippa's card from OSD. I like the rainbow effect and mix of fonts.

I typed out this long, funny quote from Avi.  It's a little tough to read, but you can make it out better in real life.  Avi is trying to convince Nana to swing him around in the sheet, I love how he uses flattery to get what he wants.  The quote reads "Nana, you the best. You learned so many things.  I gonna tell you something, first make an X, then a little circle, then a big circle, then do this and then me and Nandini going to sleep." HA! The flair is new Ormolu. 

What else? Just lots of little bits like colored paperclips (Target), random wooden ruler, glitter thickers, letter stickers etc.  As always, let me know if you have any questions.  Linked up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.  The PL kit I am using is the Clementine kit. Thank you so much to everyone in this wonderful community. I love all the feedback and looking at everything people do each week. It definitely keeps me motivated. Also, feel free to include a link to your projects in the comments so we can check them out too!

Back to School.

Avinash went back to school (again) today for his second year of pre-school.  He is in the "three's" and will start pre-K next year.  He has been so excited about his new class.

We had a few days of excitement leading up to the first day.  Sunday was a play date.  It was rained out and we relocated to Chocolate Bar and ice cream.  Oh, the stickiness that ensued.  Avinash tried to carry cups of water for all his friends, so sweet.   Then they all played ring around the rosie in the middle of the store.  Love it.

Monday was meet the teacher, followed by an ice cream social.  Even though Ryan was out of town, it was nice that my Dad could come and see Avi's school with him.   Avinash was so proud to show him everything and eat ice cream together.

I think everyone just about died when Nandini sat herself down at one of the tables, grabbed a pencil and started writing.

She spends so much of the day napping that school doesn't seem to make sense for her, but man, does she look all grown up here.

Of course, they all loved the ice cream.  And, I was the awkward mom tearing up about her baby in the middle of all this.  It's not like we didn't do this all last year or anything.

We both cried the next morning because Nana was leaving.  He had just enough time to snap a few pictures with Avinash before we headed out at least. 

 (And, some little monkey turned the ISO on my camera up to 3200 so everything looks a bit fuzzy.  Sigh, I did my best to clean it up.)

 He requested a picture will all of his Mickey Mouse dolls.  The Disney store had a sale on plush toys and I couldn't help myself.  Let's just call it a first day of school surprise present, shall we?

Once we got to school he was ready to go.  I was lucky to get a few shots of him out front.

After taking Nana to the airport, Nandini and I came to pick up Avinash. I dressed her in blue to match. Her dress is now a shirt and the pants are capris, heehee.

His teachers reported that he had a great first day.  It was wonderful to hear them say things like, "You raised a wonderful son, he is divine, we love him already." I almost cried again but held it together somehow. Because I'm a mom and I'm allowed to, I'm going to record what they said even though it sounds so braggy.  I really don't think I can take credit for how wonderful he is, but just thank god for him (and her).

I didn't get much out of him in terms of what he did today.  He briefly told me, I went in the sandbox and we thanked god, I mean we thanked my school, for giving us animal crackers.  I guess they are really animal cookies! He later spelled out POP on his Vtech, I asked if he learned that word at school.  NO! I didn't learn it, I just remember it from school.  Okay, okay, sheesh.  (By the way, the Vtech is so much worse than my old spell and say toy.)

He has grappled with the fact that his old teacher and some of his old friends are no longer in school with him.  He reminds me all the time of the friends who are just next to his class, as a way to reassure himself.  He came up with a very grand plan today to get his old teacher to switch to three's.  


When we got home, they played together for an entire hour. Mostly 'Nandini monster hide and seek'.  He hid under the couch cushions while she walked around the couch in circles and 'surprised' him each time she came around.  He would scream and she would giggle in delight. At the end, he declared, I'm not scared of Nandini anymore.

Avi's first day last year.  He hasn't changed much at all, just as cute as ever.

Project Life - Cherry on top

My Dad and brother were in town this past week so it was fun to share my album with them and see the varied reactions.  I showed them my die cut machine which my Dad likened to his engineer drafting software.  It was so nice to see his interest in the album and hear the pride in his voice as he looked through it. My brother wasn't that impressed. He suggested that I just get a 3-D printer instead so I can make my own wrench at home and stuff, ha!

I pulled out some old Sassafras for these Janmastami pictures.  Something about that brand that is very Indian, maybe all the mehndi motifs on the stickers.  I think this faded pink and yellow works well with any instagrams too. By the way, I totally had to use the letter stickers here because I messed writing on the photo in white and had to cover it up. No biggie.
The picture of Avi swinging in a tree is from a week or two ago, but I forgot all about it.  Quite memorable since he is usually more risk averse than daredevil.  A kraft label and Chaps sticker. Still love that line.  Continued the kraft on these carousel pictures since the rest of the page is pretty busy. The entire page is actually cell phone pictures.

I glued on a camera to both sides of this transparency, and it looks quite seemless. My Dad loved the way Nandini looked written out in seafoam thickers. No, I didn't make those, they are just regular pre-made stickers.  But I did ink the edges in teal chalk if that helps!

So happy with this page.  Just feels so airy and light, with just enough color. Those echo park journaling cards are. just. the. best.  They are subtle, but fun and crisp.  They let my photos stand out, but aren't too dull or boring.  Plus, it is just one sheet paper that costs way less than a whole PL kit, so I can convince myself it's okay to buy a few just in case, ha! For the top and bottom, I went with a SC kit paper, both the yellow hexagon and gray circle sides.  Instant coordination done.
You can also see two Kelly Purkey stamps here on either side of the middle row.  They are just so fun to use. Nice to do a card about myself for a change.

I punched this circle from a large Martha Stewart address label. Plus naked chipboard, an SC stamp, wood stars and airmail washi.

IT'S MY JAM. Could there be a more perfect place to use this stamp? Two cherry references next to each other here.  The October afternoon stickers are old, but a very good collection.  I have hoarded that stuff for far too long.

What else? Just lots of little bits like colored paperclips (Target), random wooden ruler, glitter thickers, letter stickers etc.  As always, let me know if you have any questions.  Linked up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.  The PL kit I am using is the Clementine kit. Thank you so much to everyone in this wonderful community. I love all the feedback and looking at everything people do each week. It definitely keeps me motivated. Also, feel free to include a link to your projects in the comments so we can check them out too!

Scrappy Sunday

I'm participating in Scrappy Sunday over at Just me and 4 little chicks today.  I have been working on a few new pages this week and finally finished some of them up.  She had a challenge to stamp a tag, so I used that idea to make journaling spots for one of my pages.

This page has doilies, My Mind's Eye and a stamped tag.  Perfect for the crop I think.

I haven't kept up with monthly pages for Nandini, but I wanted to jot a few things about her right now at least.  I edged the rainbow chevron paper in chalk ink and stamped the tags with it for a subtle effect. I think that little sun on it's side looks like the Om symbol, so I used it. I added some stick notes and die cuts for more journaling areas.  I didn't even really get to say how she is so independent but wants to be more interactive and take part in everything I do with Avi.  I don't know, it is hard for me to describe where she is right now, but I love this phase a lot. 

 These little phrase stickers are so wonderful to use as little accents.

Supply List:  kraft doily paper, shabby tote chalk ink, sweetest thing stamps,wood button set, perfect tiny word stickers, one of a kind labels, and gold airmail washi.

I made this page on the back really quick.  Just a few strips of washi, one Ormolu journaling tag, MME chipboard stickers and thickers. Plus my new beautiful project life Studio Calico stamps.

The math equation washi tape may be my favorite washi tape ever.

More lovely MME paper for the base here, with some more Everyday Eclectic too. Just some simple layering on this on. Nandini's crazy expression is priceless.  She couldn't have been more excited and insistent about going in the waves.  Avi was the first kid in the water though. 

I edged these papers in chalk ink for a little extra depth on the page. Love these new Kelly Purkey stamps too.  Don't let my photo fool you. They stamp super crisp very easily with chalk or dye ink. I have been using them a lot on project life too. Will be back later to post that soon too.  I had a lot of fun on it and can't wait to start on this week's spread.

Also submitting this one for the No Rules Challenge at Simon Says.  No rules, indeed.

Supply List: Everyday Eclectic Stickers, Eclectic journaling card paper, camera paper, yellow foam thickers, shabby tote and teal chalk ink, and My Mind's Eye Lush paper.

Summer Lovin'

Avinash starts school on Tuesday and I can't help but feel a little sad that summer is ending.  Technically, we still have four more weeks of summer after that, but I have enjoyed having both of them home all day this summer.  We haven't done everything on the bucketlist, but we did play outside on the patio a lot.  It is hot here in Texas, so it is nice to be able to go outside without pushing the stroller through the heat.

They both like to draw with chalk now.  It is much easier to use if you wet it first.  Avi uses his toy mop to draw lines with water too. It is surprisingly less messy than you would think.  They do get a lot of chalk marks on their pants, but it comes right out in the wash.

 She turned the hose on herself. Baby knows how to keep cool, ha!

I keep a few plants outside.  Basil is most successful crop.  I hardly have enough use for all the basil out there and I make pizza or pasta a few times a week. I did have a lovely little pepper plant too, but it was eaten up by bugs.  My attempt to eradicate the bugs only killed my plant. Avi used to help me harvest the ripe peppers, and he still helps me water the plants all the time.

 It is also the perfect place to blow bubbles.  Add another word to Nandini's vocabulary.

We have a table set outside.  We eat dinner outside in the spring and fall when the weather is more temperate.  We sit outside and see who can count the most stars as they come out.

It rained a lot this summer so we found snails everywhere.  We also have lizards crawling around out there.  Avi loves finding them.

Our view may be obstructed by many medical office buildings, but the sunsets are beautiful too.