December Daily | Day 17 the Best Time of the Year

 
Today is the story a Monday around the house and running errands.  We took the kids to school and Ryan to work. We stopped by Lakshman's school for  a bit.  I have tons more teacher gifts to prepare and I am still working on it.  14 more!

While I work on my December Daily and Cocoa Daisy projects at home, Lakshman putters around the room with his toys.  And I find my daily story. 

I have this bright and colored numbered tree advent calendar which you fill yourself.  It is turning into a family tradition at this point and the kids eagerly awaited it again this year.  I fill it with sweets or little toys, erasers or marbles. Anything small enough to be a choking hazard next year basically. 

I slightly enlarged the canvas of this close up toy shot to include space for my journaling.  I printed the picture slightly smaller than 6x8 so I could back the page with patterned paper.  This paper is from the Cocoa Daisy kit, Pen and Ink. 

I also included some older number and star stickers.  

Lakshman posed for a picture with his animals and I had to include that too.  I actually made a pretty neat slide out photo.  You simply grasp the tab and pull.  I lined the area under the larger photo with a glassine bag so the photo could glide easily. 

I still ended up with part of the photo sticking out from underneath even when it was pushed all the way in so I put a strip of gold washi along the edge. 

A quick video of my photo slide in action. I love the real pop up book feel of this.  It makes me want to try some real pop up stuff next.  

Have you ever tried something like that in your December Daily? 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your holidays are filled with love and magic! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

Some of the supplies I am using:

American Crafts Hole Reinforcer Punch

6-Hole Paper Punch

DD Main Kit

Great Gift Giving Guide for the Kid who has Everything

December Daily | Day 8 Gingerbread Houses

This is another Austin activity that is turning into a yearly tradition for our family.  I love going out to make Gingerbread houses.  They buy all the candy and no icing is dripped all over the floor at home. 

The houses do all break on the way home though.  Can't win them all. 

But, how cute is that gingerbread man? I haven't shown it to Lakshman yet because I am afraid he will appropriate it. 

 I find it really easy to type up journaling on a 4x6 piece of photo paper and then attach it to my photos.  I have lots of templates from years past of December Daily, but skipping them is that much simpler.

I do like to leave a little space around the edges for embellishments.  I added a gold foil number and stamped a sentiment on top.  Love the mix of fonts.

We also saw Santa that day, the sticker is from a different Kelly Purkey kit.

I have a ton of these printed transparencies, and I decided to add one here in between pages. 

I added an extra photo enlargement of me and Nandini.  The patterned paper is from the Kelly Purkey TN kit.  I was never really planning on doing a TN this month, but the other kit I wanted was sold out.  And, I really love these papers and the quality so it was worth it for me.

 The full picture. The stickers are from a SC paislee press kit. 

Someone asked me for a tutorial on making tags, so I put together a little video I had taken a few days ago.  These tags are made out of photos, but you can make them from patterned paper too just as easily. 

This is the hole reinforcer punch that I use, and I love it! 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your holidays are filled with magic and joy! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

Great Gift Giving Guide for the Kid who has Everything

Week In The Life | May 2018

I am always up for a memory keeping challenge, so playing along with Ali Edward's Week in the Life this year again was a no brainer.  

I have been struggling to finish projects that I start lately.  I seem to need a little bit more than the slightly more than one hour off that Lakshman school hours lately have been giving me to really have the space to create.  

I am lucky to get help from my parents some days and I jump on it whenever I get the chance.  And, I think I am a better mother for it.  Today was one of those days, my mother watched all the kids for most of the day. I created this title page and created a lot in my art journal.  

Nandini's original art work. 

Monday morning.  Our getting ready routine is relatively calm now.  We almost always manage to get out the door by 8, which gives us just enough time to not be tardy.  The kids get their own clothes on and they come downstairs to brush teeth in my room.  Lakshman is very sleepy this morning and I get a good snuggle in while they do that. 

After drop off, Ryan and I get coffee at Radio.  The lady at the food truck offers to make us omelettes even though they are no longer on the menu.  She is always super nice.  She also makes Lakshman's crispy egg perfectly the way he likes it. I find some scrap paper and doodle with Lakshman while we eat.  He makes a lot of words and then draws the animals around them, just like in Word World.

"Are you a sleepy bear?"

"No, I'm a lollipop bear! We forgot to check on my popcorn plant!"

"Then you will be a popcorn bear."

"No, they are the same thing because they both have pop in it."

"I can't get comfy."

I have him climb in my lap and he watches the Hungry Caterpillar. 

Then we go to Nandini's school.  I was volunteered to be the photographer for the Ocean Presentations going on this month.  

Lakshman is a lot less interested than I would have thought, but then he shocks me by naming the tibula shell correctly.  PBS is such a great teacher. 

I don't have a plan for lunch, but I get another cappuccino on the way home.  I grab a gluten-free muffin too.  Surprisingly good. 

Lakshman wants a snack too, also surprising, and gets fries and a milkshake.  I get him a cookie too which he eats half of at home.  

After I pick up the kids, we go back to Radio where I am meeting a friend.  I give them cash and they order their own tacos.  Lakshman is a sleepy bear this time and naps in his carrier. 

They stay with us for an hour waiting for Ryan to come get them.  I lose my patience with Avinash because he has a baggie full of pink liquid from school that is spilling everywhere, being combined with my tombow markers and more water.  I try to encourage him to make something real and to look at Celena's art.  He ends up learning about foreshortening from her and practicing drawing hands.  "I like Mommy's friend."  

Nandini is enthralled with the chance to use my markers as well, and makes a rainbow for me.  I talk to her about finishing her project and how her hard work is really paying off.  She has multiple art projects at school that have gone unfinished because she has been getting too anxious about the outcome.  At least, I know where she is coming from, but I wish she didn't share my problems. 

Art + collaboration + sun soaked patio + reflections on life = bliss.


Hoping to get a start on my album and will try to keep sharing every day!

Playing Holi | Tips and Advice for a Healthy and Happy Holiday

Holi is one of our family's favorite springtime traditions.  We go crazy with color and chasing after each other. 

It is a beautiful holiday.   

It is about renewal and faith in God.  It is about community.   It is about pure joy and love.  It is about family.

We played on actual Holi at home and at the temple Radha Madhav Dham in Austin on Saturday.  Lakshman has also been having a great time playing with the leftover Holi powder in the backyard whenever he can. Play Holi Everyday, right?

I wore this outfit both times.  The first day my mom washed it and it came out white.  The second day I washed it and the lace was stained orange even with bleach. Go figure. 

Some things to consider : 

📷: Spring Festival of Color

1. Clothing will likely stain no matter what.  If you keep them dry and oil/sweat free before washing you may have a better chance of getting things clean.  Also, shaking off excess powder before washing will make a big difference also.  Bleach is always an option but I usually do this only if clothes need a second wash.

2. Keep your mouth closed while playing.  A good idea to remind kids of this too.

3. Do not spray Holi in the face.  Another good rule to emphasize with kids.  This prevents inhaling it which can irritate your throat and lungs even if the powder is non-toxic/organic.

4. DO NOT USE YOUR DSLR.  I have ruined a camera and lens this way.  A few direct hits and the camera is totally done.  Organic powder seemed to be a worse offender because the grains were fine and made more of a mist, which created an uncleanable layer of dust on all surfaces, lens, mirrors, sensors, etc. Our iphones seem to be okay and we can get some great images with portrait mode now anyway.

5. We use small re-usable buckets from the dollar spot at Target to dole out manage-able amounts of Holi to the kids.

6. Playing at home can be a lot of fun. The powder can easily be washed off the patio with water and is fine for the lawn.

7. Use old sheets or towels to protect your car on the way home.  We used old crib sheets we were about to toss and they were the perfect size. This helps to minimize or completely avoid the need to vacuum your car after. Again, shake off as much of the excess powder as you can at the venue.

8. Be respectful.  This is ultimately a religious holiday.  Take a little time to honor the traditions it stems from.  Learning about it is a great way to do that. Nadya Agarwal's article on cultural appropriation and the Color Run offers a really good perspective on the issue.

9. The crowds at big events can be a little overwhelming.  If you have little ones, plan on staying off to one side to start.

It is so much fun!!

March Scrapbook Projects | 4 Projects and a Layout Process Video

I am always ready for spring time and am totally in love with all the butterflies, flowers and purple in this kit! 

All projects created using the Cocoa Daisy March Silver Lining 12x12 Memory Keeping and Pocket Memory Keeping kits. 

I know that purple gets a bad name in crafting circles and I am not sure why.  The same goes for brown but people change their tune as long as you call it kraft or woodgrain. I find both colors to be lovely and am all for it.  

My daughter's most recent Faerie Tea Party pictures were just perfect for this kit of course.  

I really wanted to create flight trails behind the butterflies.  I used simple machine stitching for it.  I just worked slowly and slightly rotated my paper as I went to make the curves. 

The best part was after making this page she asked to keep it and hung it up in her room.  I guess not every page has to be tucked away in an album! 

This is the video to see how I put this layout together step by step. 

And, how fabulous is this washi tape in this month's confidential kit.  It is like getting a blind bag every month and I love it! I have been biding my time to share this, but I finally can! 

This is a hybrid layout I put together.  Just a lovely little time capsule of the days recently. 

 And finally a few Project Life spreads to share.

Shipping tags + die cuts. I try to add some typed journaling to at least a few photos before printing. 

I stitched all these cut apart flags to make another rainbow card for the spread.  Lakshman spelling words with play-doh is my favorite. 

Adding a little black and white with all this colors helps balance it out for sure.

Thanks again for checking out my projects this month! Go to the Cocoa Daisy page to shop for the full kit and see the rest of the designs.  

You can see all of my Cocoa Daisy Projects here.