Ethnic Scrapbooking

Mommyhood

I'm coming to a huge milestone in "Mommyhood", in about a month.  MY youngest, Joseph will be off to pre-k this fall...there will be noboby home but me and Sierra (the Portuguese Water Dog).  I've been on this mommy track for 21 years...it seems like it will never end...but I know that one day the house will be empty...yeah right! shoot there's already the pitter patter of grandkid's feet!

The kids go back to school soon...the summer went by too fast...I didn't get to do nearly all of the things I wanted to do, but we got our annual vacation in, so that was a blessing.

Here's a rare photo of all of them together...I think this is the very first one.  Had to take this photo on the spur of the moment because a fellow scrapper at my house didn't realize that all the kids running around that day were all mine (yes... ages 21 to 4 plus 2 yr old grandson)...so I call this the Sound of Music line up.  Man I love these kids!

******EDITED 8/3/08******

This photo is an opportunity for me to use those Switzerland Stickers (Sound of Music lineup) that have been sitting in my stash for years...just another example of Ethnic Scrapbooking!!

Black Web Awards

Not sure who nominated me, but thanks.  Please vote for me for BEST LIFESTYLE BLOG and BEST SITE for CRAFT, DECOR & CREATIVE LIVING all the things that I am about!

Glimpses of my scrapbook studio

Click on over to my scrapbook.com gallery for a few snapshots of my studio, until I get my act together to post an album of images here on my blog.

Honoring Aunt Elsie

The last sibling of my great grandfather just passed away this week.  Aunt Elsie was 98 years old.  I didn't get to share my most recent geneaology find with her, that I found just 5 days before she passed.  Using Ancestry.com my Dad and I found her mother on the 1880 census records as a 4 year old child.  This spectacular find also enabled us to add one more generation on this particular branch of our family tree.

Here's the most recent photograph of Aunt Elsie.

Here she is as a child with my great grandfather, her brother. I have to look in my Dad's scrapbook to remember which one she is in this photo.

This post reminds me that I haven't scrapbooked this side of my family yet...I have over 70 albums completed, but I so many more that NEED to be completed.

Here's the LINK to a scrapbook page I created about her mother.  And here's the link to the book where I mention Aunt Elsie, she was a critical reason why I started scrapbooking.

Another Scrapbook Wall Canvas

Over the past ten years of “creative style” scrapbooking, I have learned hundreds of techniques, but I think my world really changes when I took a club scrap scrapbook canvas class.  The instructor wasn’t so great, but what she taught me is now my ABSOLUTE favorite technique.  Immediately after learning this technique I created four more canvases in a larger format from the 8x8 I did the first time around.  Now I’m in love with the larger format of 16 x 20. 

Here's the very first canvas I made.

Leah and I made this canvas for her BFF’s birthday.  Check back often, I plan to offer this workshop one more time before the end of the summer.

 

Recent Finds

Here's a photo of a Creating Keepsake Card set I fiddled with while on vacation.  This type of kit is great for the beginner or someone short on time, but wants to "get crafty" sometimes.  Everything comes in the kit ready for assembly, apply the adhesive and you are good to go.

Vote for my girl Kate B in the Embellished Idol contest.   just send an email
to mail@embellished.com.au   with your 5 picks in the subject line.

 I met this photographer today while I was out doing errands, you gotta go check out his website.  Seeing his Black & White works made me feel so proud of my ethnic heritage.

Michael Cunningham Photography

 

Check out this blog I recently found…http://www.tamekasbuzz.blogspot.com

Other Interesting sites:

Women Working Together to Make A Difference

The Seasoned Palate, Inc.

Too Much Time or Engaged Parenting

Recently, I had an early afternoon appointment in downtown Baltimore, MD.  Since my husband was off work that day I invited him and the kids to come along and wait for me to finish my meeting so we could visit Port Discovery (the beginning of our stacation adventures...stay tuned for more entries).

This whole opportunity for quality family time turned out to be a cultural learning experience.  While we were at the Baltimore Inner Harbor we saw the last Coast Guard cutter that survived Pearl Harbor.  After quizzing the kids on where Pearl Harbor was (Hawaii), Jonathan asked, “Who bombed us?” Well that lead me to tie in Japan and the story my Dad just told them the weekend before about his two-year military stay in Okinawa.  At Port Discovery we got a private tour of the Egyptian Exhibit where we learned even more about a culture in a faraway place. 

 

At a recent scrapbook convention, I used this story as an example of Ethnic Scrapbooking and one woman responded that I have too much time on my hands…is that really the case?  Absolutely not, dealing with four kids and their summer schedules too much time on my hands couldn’t be further from the truth, but being an engaged parent …Absolutely, that’s what I’m about…taking every opportunity to inspire my children to learn, embrace, and understand.

Scrapbook Wall Canvas

My favorite home decor to make are scrapbook wall canvases.  So, by popular demand, I'll be giving hands on instruction on how to make your very own this Sunday afternoon in my scrapbook studio.  I have room for five more people, shoot me an e-mail if you'd like to attend and I'll send you a supply list.

Memaw Makeover

Jerin and I watch "What Not to Wear" just about every Friday night.  We fantasize about being a mother/daughter makeover on the show.  Well Jerin got to makeover her Grandmother ("Memaw") during our vacation.  My mom picked out the clothes, but Jerin did everything else including scouting out the photo shoot location.  I think they both did a fabulous job.

Here's Jerin checking out her Memaw the day before the makeover.

Jerin did a fabulous job flat-ironing Memaw's super duper curly hair (her childhood nickname was curly).  It didn't last long though, the curls were right back the next morning.

Now the poses...that's all Memaw's doing.  But isn't Jerin's Photography fabulous!  Jerin really knows how to accesorize an outfit too!

Our Portuguese Water Dog, Sierra even got in on the action.  Fabulous photo shoot Jerin, you have real potential...now makeover ole' mom and dad too!

Country Living

While vacationing in Basye, VA near Bryce Resort, I had another opportunity to focus on another culture.  Although this one is not ethnically based, it’s definitely a community where the lifestyle is similar for those living here, so it’s a culture in and of itself.

Here’s a few quick observations that I’ve pointed out to the kids in the last few days:

• The post office closes for lunch every day from 11:30 – 12:30 pm, so you have to plan accordingly.
• Honesty reigns one gentleman left his truck running, went grocery shopping and came back to his truck still in the same spot.
• NO WIRELESS, there is barely phone reception, the only wireless router is at the local (3 room) library.
• It’s 15 miles to the nearest chain store.
• The locals usually make monthly trips to Wal*mart (unlike our three trips in 5 days)