PROJECT LIFE | Boys' October 2013 pages

A quick post tonight to share the boys' monthly page.

As you may know, I have a family album where I have all the photos for the family, and then each month, the boys have a single page in their album where I include photos, stories and quotes pertaining to them.

So, back to the boys' individual albums. This is where I include photos of their drawings from school, or a screen shot of their favourite computer game, or their favourite food or toy.

Here's the page for my eldest.

I have used the Jade kit and the Favourite Mini Stamp Set from Kellie Stamps was perfect for this page. I can see this set being well used in the boys' individual pages.

I like being able to include the screen shot of my son's Club Penguin character in his album. It's a good memory to capture because it is one of his favourite games right now.

Here's a few close up photos.

Kellie Stamps: Favourite Mini

Kellie Stamps: Favourite Mini, Monday-Friday

This calendar card from Paislee Press features in every monthly page for the boys so far. I love it. However, I have altered it again by replacing the "O" with the OCT stamp from the Monday-Friday stamp set.

That's it from me this evening. And that completes my October 2013 pages! 

I am working backwards from the end of 2013 and am now half way through August so I really feel like I am getting somewhere! 

Enjoy the rest of your week. We have a short working week so only 2 more days until the long weekend! xx

ON MY MIND | Bad Day?

Having a bad day? Bad week? Could a different perspective and change of attitude help put new light on a situation? 

What started me thinking about this was when I had a few set backs that were seemingly out of my control over the past few weeks. And then a few more set backs rolled in. And I got a little bit cranky lol...but I wasn't that keen to put it down to just bad luck.  

Let's face it. Sh*t happens. Illness, financial difficulties, grief, disappointment, career challenges, unrequited love....you know what I'm talking about. 

I want to share a little about how my little boys react when they think their entire world is crashing down. And as adults, we react similarly, but in a more grown up way of course!

As an example, my youngest comes to me, stomps his feet with tears welling in those big brown eyes and says "Mummy, today is the worst day ever! It really really is!!" 

I tell him, "Today is not the worst day ever. Today ***insert a 6 year old's idea of disaster here*** happened. Anything happen today that was really really good?"

My little man had just experienced disappointment. Someone or something has built a wall between him and his dream. 

When he comes to me in utter devastation, I ask him:

- do you have mummy and daddy for cuddles?
- do you have food to eat? 

- do you have a house to live in?

- do you have a bed to sleep in?

- do you have toys to play with and books to read?

- are you healthy and well?

- do you have clothes to wear?

- so...is it really that bad?

I do my best to put things into perspective for him and highlight the things he has to be grateful for. More often than not, he snaps out of it quickly. 

When someone or something stands between us and our dreams, or stops us from our ideal way of living or being, it is a normal reaction to blame it on that mysterious thing known as "bad luck". But isn't it disempowering to leave our happiness up to chance?

We have a choice. Every single time. We have the CHOICE to accept a situation and be at peace with it, OR we have the CHOICE to look for ways to change the situation. And sometimes, we need to do both. How awesome to be in control of our own happiness again!?!

My eldest son took a different approach when he was younger. 

He would throw monster tantrums. I'm not talking about "terrible two's" tantrums. These were major 5 year old tantrums. In between tears and screaming, he would say, "Arghhhh! It's all your fault! You made me **insert any of the following: angry...smudge my drawing...break my toy...drop my apple..etc etc**!!!"

Not good, right? We wanted him to learn not to give his power away so easily. What I mean is, when he says it's our fault he is angry, he has given away his ability to control his own emotions to someone else...to us. 

Not only that, he renounced responsibility for his own actions and feelings i.e. blame.

When we take responsibility for our lives, we reclaim the power to make our lives what we want it to be. We reclaim the power to make dreams into reality. We reclaim the power to be at peace and happy!   

From an outsiders point of view, other people's lives may "appear" better or easier than our own. But what we don't know is the people whom we work with, walk with, wait with, may have just lost a loved one, is fighting for wellness, is desperate to conceive a child, left an abusive relationship, or has just been turned down for yet another job.

We all have our own unique story and our future is yet to be written. We cannot compare hardships. Nor can we compare successes. 

Perhaps the way we perceive a situation, our attitude towards it, and how we choose to react and feel is the key to how much we enjoy the life we have been gifted with. 

Here are two of my favourite quotes that I have made into 3x4 printables, free for you to download. Enjoy. xx

Download.

Download.

Download.

Download.

The Liebster Award: And the nominees are...

In a recent post, I shared that I was very chuffed to be one of the 10 blogs nominated by Kellie from Give a Girl a Blog for a Liebster Award.

I was curious about how the Liebster Award began. From what I could find, in the early days of the Liebster Award, the idea was to nominate blogs with less than 3000 readers, and nominees would share 11 random facts about themselves, and then nominate 3-5 other blogs to do the same.

The Liebster Award is an Honorary Award which means it is symbolic and once nominated, you do not have to pass it on. It is completely up to you!

I love the idea of sharing 10 blogs I follow, so you can appreciate them as well.

Without further ado, here are the 10 blogs I am nominating..in no particular order. 

The Drawing Board - by Tanyalee 

Chantelle's Creative Space - by Chantelle

Through the Eyes of Moonie - by Lisa

atelier B - by Jina

Simply Bella - by Kylie

Tealily Photography - by Trish

Geekgalz - by Evelyn Py

Karyn's Crafting Obsession - by Karyn

A Place in my Dreams - by Agnus

This and That - by Annette

If you choose to play along, here's what to do:

1. Answer the 11 questions below
2. Nominate 10 bloggers with less than 200 bloglovin' followers, and provide them with a new set of 11 questions
3. Contact your nominees and let them of how it works

Here are my 11 questions to the bloggers I have nominated:

1. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

2. What is your favourite breakfast?

3. Describe your dream garden, if time, space, climate and money were not an issue.

4. Who is your dream celebrity to have dinner with? (past or present)

5. Name something you wished you had learnt but haven't yet.

6. Name one of your all-time favourite movies that you have watched so many times you know all the lines?

7. What is your favourite fruit?

8. If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

9. Lipstick, lip gloss or lip balm?

10. Describe what "you-time" means to you?

11. If you could choose 2 super powers, what would they be and why? (ie. invisibility, self healing, speed, strength etc)

Question #11 was "borrowed" from my boys. They are always asking us and vice versa. I love hearing their answers which change every time we play. 

Even if you choose not to nominate any further blogs, i would still love to read your answers to my questions!! xx

Discover new blogs with the Liebstar Award.

I am very honoured and happy to have been one of the 10 blogs nominated by Kellie from Give a Girl a Blog for The Liebster Award.

I was curious about where the Liebster Award originated from. I have learnt that "liebster" means dearest in German and the idea behind the award is to nominate blogs that you hold dear (i.e. love reading!) and give them with the recognition they deserve by links to them with your own readers.

Once nominated, the nominee may choose to play along by answering 11 questions provided by the nominating blogger, and then nominate and notify another 10 bloggers and provide them with a new set of questions to answer.

I loved Kellie's questions! The last one I found to be the trickiest. Here are my answers: 

1. Favourite flower/plant? Tulips and/or Lilies. 

Lilies from mum's garden. 

2. If you could have one thing, that you don't have right now, what would it be (can be person/object etc)? 

My Grandparents. My Grandma did not meet my boys and I know that she would have adored them. Grandma and Grandad are a package deal so I would like both of them.

3. Favourite day of the week? I have Fridays off work, so my favourite day is Thursday!

4. Something you cherish? My family and friends. I would be lost without them. 

5. A food you couldn't live without?

Rice! haha, sounds boring but I am gluten intolerant so i need something to fill my hungry belly! I went grain free last year but I was too hungry to stick with it. 

6. Song that gets you moving?

Right now, Happy by Pharrell Williams. My 6 year old LOOOOVES this song so we put it on repeat and we get to dance around like a couple of crazy kids.

7. When you are not blogging you are...? a crafting-snap-happy working mum and household "manager".

8. Drink of choice? I love a hot cup of tea, anytime of day. 

9. Reason you started your blog?

I started my blog after I joined Stampin' Up as a hobby demonstrator to showcase products in use. But I soon gave that up to focus on memory keeping and discovered the wonderful world of Project Life. Now I blog about that :) 

10. Favourite craft? Paper crafting. Specifically, pocket page scrapbooking. 

11. Person you most admire?

I admire different qualities in many people, including family, friends, my children, and friends I have never met in person.

If I had to choose only one, I would say my mother. She was a young single mother, abandoned by my father whilst pregnant with my brother, she sacrifices for us, and lives with an open heart and loves unconditionally. She's amazing.

Thanks Kellie for nominating my humble little blog.

I'll be back soon to share my nominees for the Liebster Award, along with my 11 questions.

Our Wedding Album

Sam and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary today. I use the word "celebrate" loosely as we aren't doing anything special lol! 

We did wish eachother a happy anniversary, and continued our conversation about our non-existent celebrations with him in the study, me in the kitchen, and Minecraft blaring from the television as the boys continued their gaming banter.

I thought today would be a good day to give you a peek at our wedding album which I finished in December 2012, a few months before our 10th anniversary. Better late than never!

Before I get into the wedding album, a quick note to my lovely bloglovin' followers to let you know my last post did not appear on bloglovin'. So here's the link to my last Project Life page share if you would like to have a look.

Okay. The wedding album...

I used a post bound album as it was before I discovered pocket pages, and I have used only a few patterned papers throughout the album. I bought the oriental themed papers many many years ago because I loved the pattern even though I didn't have a specific project in mind. The white paper was purchased specifically for the wedding album. I love the subtle shimmery pin stripes.

This is the cover/title page of the album. Oh my goodness, we look like a couple of spring chickens in this photo!

This is the first LHS page of the album. I printed directly onto the white pin stripe paper and used the gold oriental paper as a border.

For each double spread, I alternated between the red and gold patterned paper for the strip on the bottom of each page. I matted each of the photos on black card stock.

I also included the card that we sent out to guests about the tea ceremony and the significance within Chinese culture. The symbol on the red envelope and the heart sticker means "double happiness" -- the theme for our wedding. 

And the last page of the album are our wedding vows which have also been printed on the pin stripe card stock.

So there it is. A quick peek into our wedding album. I am also very happy to say that Sam loves it too, makes it all worth the time and effort.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! xx

PROJECT LIFE | 6th Birthday layout

Life around here has been crazy. I find myself saying this often so maybe this is just my kind of normal. I really do love it.

Today, I'm sharing some details from a spread I did for my youngest for his 6th birthday last year. 

It's hard to believe my baby will be seven this year. On Friday night, he raced over to me bursting with excitement over his first wobbly tooth. This will be the last first wobbly tooth in this little household, and for that I feel a little sad. My baby is growing up fast.

I used the Jade and Midnight core kits.

I used my old Stampin' Up number die to make the "6" from one of the Jade edition filler cards. The wood veneer alphas and orange opaque gem are from Polka Dot Creative. 

I haven't used alphabets stickers for a while and an impulse purchase from The Stamp Spot has reminded me how much I love them. I used Basic Grey Micro Mini Alphas and they come in some amazing colours. 

The "favourite" stamp is from Kellie Stamps -- soon to be released mini stamp set that is a must-have. 

Kellie Stamps: Favourite

It has been a productive weekend. I had some crafting time, did a few loads of washing (*yawn*), baked a batch of muffins yesterday, homemade chicken soup simmering away on the stove right now, and hoping to squeeze an hour of Project Life in before the night time routine.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend so far, and wishing you an amazing week! xx

TUTORIAL | Use a cello bag to position your stamps

Oh dear me. 

I believe my last post was over a week ago... the night before the first day of the school year. 

I have not crafted for maybe two weeks, and I am going a little crazy because that's all I have been thinking about! All in good time.

With school starting, I'm getting used to the school and work routine, impromptu after school errands, and dinner/homework duties.

Who knew that it would be such a challenge to just get myself and the children to bed earlier. And to drink more water. And to eat three meals a day. And to stay cool and calm.

Enough of my ramblings. I'm just popping in to share a little trick I use when I'm feeling unsure how a stamp/s will look on a filler card or photo.

Many of you (if not all!) may do this already or have done so in the past. I tried it out one night when I was too scared to stamp directly on a photo without knowing what it would look like. I'm not great at "visualising" stuff like this.


GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES:
- a cello bag (sometimes called Polypropylene Bags)
- ink 
- stamp/s of your choice (i used stamps from Kellie Stamps)
- filler card or photo of your choice (whatever you want to stamp on!) 


STEP 1:
Open up your cello bag by tearing along the seams. You can use scissors, but i find it easy to just tear. Then you can cut down the middle to make it easier to work with.

STEP 2:
Position the cello sheet over your filler card or photo. 

Ink up and stamp your images onto the cello sheet. This will give you a good idea how the images will look on your filler card or photo without having to waste a filler card/photo whilst you decide stamp placement etc.

I find Stazon ink very good to minimise the risk of smudging the ink onto your fingers and then onto your cards or photos (done that many many times!)

Step 3:
Remove the cello sheet and stamp directly onto your card if you like how it looked when you did your test stamp. If not, repeat step 2 until you get the look you want!

Remember to keep the stamped cello sheets away from your good cards and photos, especially if you have used ink that is not quick drying or smudges to avoid unwanted ink marks.

So that's it! Love a bit of cello bag stamping when I'm feeling undecided and want to experiment. 

Hope to have some layouts to share with you very very soon xx

ON MY MIND | Making time for people we love.

Me (aged around 18mths+) and Mum.

Today's post is a little different from my layout shares and all things crafty. I am going to share a few little tidbits about myself...and what's on my mind right now. 

Not many of you will know this, but I developed a chronic health condition when I was 24. I will be 38 this year, and thankfully, I have experienced amazing physical healing in the past few years and I feel like a new person! 

This incredible journey I have been on has taught me so much. What stood out most was learning to live gently, intentionally and gratefully.

Being physically unwell and being a new mum was by far the biggest challenge I have ever faced. Physically, mentally and emotionally for both myself, and my husband. My condition worsened after childbirth.

During those years when the boys were just babies, I was consumed with my own physical discomfort, that I pushed everyone away. I was anxious, irritable, and basically a pain in the backside to be around. But through all this, my mum was always on stand by. Yes, mothers are a bit awesome like that.

I look back on those years and I remember mum ALWAYS doing things for me, yet never complaining or nagging. She would come over to help with the boys, and do things around the house when she finished work. She was just there for me, never showing her own heart ache as she watched me deal with my health. 

As a mother myself now, I truly appreciate what an amazingly strong woman mum is. She raised myself and my brother as a single parent for many years, having been abandoned by my biological father whilst she was pregnant with my brother. 

Which in a roundabout sort of way, brings me to what is currently on my mind. 

Towards the end of each year, I tend to do a bit of self reflection. Thinking about where I am heading, what I have achieved over the past year, what I would like to achieve in the coming year, what areas of my life I would like to make changes to, and what I want to make a priority.

With every passing year, as my babies (yes, they are 6 and 9!) grow up, I am getting older, and so is my mumma.

I am making it a priority this year to spend more time with my amazing mumma and to take the boys to visit her more often. She spoils them rotten, which is exactly the way it should be! The boys keep her young and make her very happy (and bring a little chaos too)

Mum is still working which I think is great! Not so much for the money, but so she can hang with her little crew and gossip no doubt. 

I have a habit of thinking about the future...a little too much. Sometimes, to my own detriment because it often morphs into worry.

I do not want to live with the regret of not having spent enough time with those I love. This is why it pains me to look back on those years of being unwell and feel the regret of not being present with the ones nearest and dearest to me. And this includes my babies -- which could well be the part that hurts the most. 

I want to take more photos OF mum, and photos WITH mum. It has occurred to me that I don't really have that many photos of mum and I. Not since I was quite young. Pfft! And I call myself a memory keeper!?! Things are about to change :)

I believe with all my heart, the most important thing is to tell those whom we love, that we love them. To never, EVER allow our love to be left unspoken or unknown.

Away with my lame excuses of being too busy, or having no time. I am going to MAKE time and make memories to treasure for a lifetime.   

TUTORIAL | Create 3x4 polaroid style 3x4 photo

Hi there! 

Just dropping in to share a quick tutorial on how to make a 3x4 polaroid style photo in Photoshop.

I have an older version of Photoshop so I am hoping the video still helps those of you with newer versions and also Photoshop Elements.

This is the first video tutorial I have created, so please be kind if you notice any awkward newbie-ness. I recommend viewing it in VIMEO via the link below instead of playing it within this page.


How to make polaroid style 3x4 photo from Sue Ko on Vimeo.


Would love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

Thanks again for dropping by! 

I will be back soon for another Project Life layout share. 

My Project Life Process right now.

I know, I know! It's January 2014 and I've only just completed November 2013. 

But don't get excited, because that's the only month I have completed for 2013!

Now moving onto September 2013...here's what it looks like so far.

I am happy to report my Project Life process has been reviewed, revised and refined...and repeat.

Today I'm sharing my process (read: strategy) to complete 2013 by the end of February. That's my aim. I will keep you posted on how it pans out.

Those of you who are regular visitors to my blog (thank you!!) will know I have been working on layouts of my boys as babies. That is still rolling along but my focus for Jan/Feb is completing 2013. And you may also know I primarily do monthly or event spreads.

So this is what I'm doing right now.

HOW I ORGANISE MY PHOTOS ON THE COMPUTER?

I have a folder for each month, and then sub-folders within those. The folders with day_month_year are from my camera, and then I have a folder for photos from my phone, and my husband's phone.


HOW I DECIDE WHAT LAYOUTS TO DO? 

Step 1: Events
Firstly, I will work on events from the month. For example, our afternoon at Bribie Island, or putting up the Christmas tree -- anything where I have taken a series of photos from the one day.

Step 2: Monthly Overview
Once the event/s for the month are accounted for, I move onto selecting the photos for my monthly spread/s. It could be 1 x double page layout, 2 x double page layouts, or just the one page. 

I prefer the flexibility of monthly spreads because I don't feel the pressure to have sufficient photos for every week, or to have a two page spread every single week.

Step 3: Individual page for the kiddies
Once I have completed the event and monthly overview pages, I work on the overprints and the "highly commended" photos.

The "overprints" are the photos that I have printed twice (mostly because the colour was out, or I forgot to print with a border). 

The "highly commended" photos are ones I really like of the boys which I was not able to include in the monthly overview spread. 

These handful of photos go into the boys' albums as a single page layout dedicated purely to them. Here I will include details of their school excursions, drawings they have done, quirky quotes and any other details I want to record.

Here's a look at what I've done for the pages in the boys' individual albums for the Nov 2013. 

The focus was on getting the photos into pockets and telling the story. 


Here's a close up of the journalling. 

STAMPS: Kellie Stamps (Photo Bomb). Dear Lizzy roller date stamp.

That's my process for now.  I'm happy to say it's proving productive, and I'm having fun -- no pressure, just keeping the documenting wheels in motion. 

What's your Project Life or memory keeping process right now? Would love to hear about it if you would like to leave a comment and share.

That's it from me today, thanks again for stopping by! xx

November 2013 layout

Here in sunny Queensland, Australia -- it is stinking HOT!

We are fortunate enough to have the air conditioner cranked, and another batch of the boys' favourite coconut mango ice-cream in the freezer (sorry, i know i go on about this, but it's really GOOOOD!).

I'm sharing my first completed monthly layout today. All my previous layouts have focussed on an event, so it was both fun and challenging to work with a bunch of photos that was a snapshot of our November 2013. 

Here's a look at the spread.

I used Amy Tangerine's Cut and Paste mini kit, Dear Lizzy's Polka Dot Party mini kit, and the Midnight Edition.

For my title card, I stamped "NOV" (Monday-Friday set, Kellie Stamps) on a 2013 Calendar Journaling Card (Paislee Press).

This "Love this moment" stamp is a rubber wood mount from Kellie Stamps. I think I will be using this one A LOT! 

Freckled Fawn wood veneer heart from The Stamp Spot on an Amy Tangerine Cut and Paste filler card in the next photo.

I love sweet potato gems! This is a bit of a treat in our household so the NOM NOM wood mount stamp (Kellie Stamps) was perfect for this photo.  I used Brilliance ink in Starlite Black and I am so impressed with how beautifully this ink stamps onto glossy photo paper.

A little bit blurry, but check out the Light Wood Veneer Flair (Kellie Stamps)! These flairs have really cute designs.



How crisp the above stamped image?! This was the first time I stamped onto glossy photo paper and I think it almost looks like it has been printed. 

I've use the quote stamp from the Best Friend's stamp set (currently on sale, Kellie Stamps) and the Brilliance Starlite Black ink again. Although the ink has "black" in the name, it's more of a shimmery dark charcoal colour which I love.

Finally, remember you still have time to win this awesome prize pack simply by commenting on all the blogs participating in the Kellie Stamps January Release blog hop. Competition closes midnight (AET) 5 January.

Good luck everyone, it's an awesome prize! And thanks for stopping by xx

ON MY MIND | What's the plan for 2014?

Hope you all had a lovely festive season! 

Our Christmas morning was a flurry of excitement with wrapping paper flying everywhere and a lot of woah's, cool and awesome's thrown around by two very happy little boys.

And then lunch and swim at my brother in law's place where hubby and his brothers competed to see who could fire the quickest and best sibling insult, and the boys and their cousins played and laughed. It made me realise how lucky I am to have such beautiful people in my life -- quick witted as well.

So there are only 5 more days until we see in 2014! 

I do not set goals specifically for a new year as I like the option to start them at anytime I am motivated to do so. (less pressure!)

Having said that, the closing of one year and the beginning of another always inspires me to assess where I am at, and where I would like to be heading.

Right now, my aim is quite simple. It is about making IMPROVEMENTS to the way I am currently doing things. 

This is what it comes down to:

1. Eat more regularly and stop skipping meals

2. Drink more water

3. Go to bed earlier

4. Be more present and patient with my little boys

5. Have more family time together

5. Visit my mum more often

6. Be more organised so that the boys are fed and get into bed earlier

There is nothing about work, money, holidays, Project Life or digital designing. That’s because the most important thing for now is to build good foundations and hopefully the rest will fall into place.

I most definitely have creative projects I have on the go, namely getting my boys’ photos into albums. But these are ongoing and I continue to chip away at it. And it’s something I love doing so I don’t need a reminder to get onto them!

I found this awesome quote on pinterest yesterday that I have added to a photo I took  last year at the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens. This quote resonates with me so much that I will be pinning it on my PHYSCIAL WALL in my craft room.

What is on your radar at the moment for change or improvement? Do you make New Year's resolutions?

My Christmas cards for 2013

I'm here with a quick post tonight to share the Christmas cards I made today.

I used the Christmas Tradition and Christmas 2013 stamp sets from Kellie Stamps.

My initial thought was to use Christmas patterned papers and a few stamps. Maybe even some embossing. Well...that didn't really happen. 

When I looked at Kellie's stamps, there were so many phrase stamps that I loved, and it was very hard to just use ONE greeting.

So this is what I came up with.

Here's a close up.

I am really happy with how quickly I could make these. I made these in under an hour which for me is fast in terms of my card making.

Don't you just love the JOY stamp? I love it so much. It makes me happy looking at it :-)

Hope your preparations for the festive season are coming together nicely and according to plan. 

As for my preparations... let's just say we are desperately trying to break the "tradition" of being up until 3am wrapping presents!

Christmas 2013 Photo Overlays

Ahhh....here they are!

From the moment I released my Summer Christmas Collections, I had been planning to design some photo overlays to complement them.

It has taken me this long to get them done! 

My excuse? Well...I went and found myself a job so it was a matter of juggling work, children, home and still finding time for the basic eating and sleeping. Unfortunately, the sleeping component has suffered somewhat, lol.   

These are available from my online shoppe as PNG files. 

These photo overlays have been designed for 4x6 photos, but I'm sure you could use them on 3x4s as well.

I am considering choosing a few photos and using them as Christmas cards this year too.

Anyways, I hope you like them because I have really enjoyed making them.

Enjoy the rest of your week xx

ON MY MIND | Our amazing school teachers

There are only two weeks of school left for the boys. Where has the year gone!?!

Little Jake has almost finished his Prep year. As I walked him to his classroom this morning, I held his little hand and could not believe that he is going into Grade 1 next year.   

I have huge respect for the teachers who are passionate about encouraging, teaching and nurturing our children to reach their fullest potential.

My big boy Isaac is going into Grade 4 next year. Yup, Grade 4. 

I had a chat to Isaac's teacher last week and I felt very grateful he was placed into her class this year. 

I am also a little bit sad Mrs C won't be teaching Isaac next year. She has been the most amazing teacher who was committed to giving him the push he needed to grow in confidence, yet being gentle enough to not overwhelm him. 

His marks have improved from last year, and I am 99.99% certain Mrs C was the catalyst.  

Check out this drawing that is currently pinned up on the whiteboard in Isaac's classroom. 

To put it into perspective, the RHS of the vase was blank. The LHS of the vase had the pattern outlined in black. His task was to copy the pattern onto the RHS, and then colour everything in. 

You will have to excuse my proud mummy moment. I just love the striking colour combination he has chosen, and his attention to detail.  

Teachers can have such a massive influence on our children. And the good ones, well...I feel forever in their debt for nurturing and guiding my boys.

Speaking of gratitude for awesome teachers, I made this mini album for Jake's kindy teachers last year as an end of year gift. 

I've shared this mini album before, so here's the link to to the original post (only requires one sheet of 12" x 12" card stock).

Maybe you might like to make a mini album for your children's teachers. Check out the tutorial, the possibilities are endless. 

Thanks for dropping by. Hope you have a fantastic week! xx