Books and Photos

I love digital photography. I love that it's quick, easy and instant.

But . . . so many of our photos never make it out of the computer and into real life.

So I decided to change that.

I made a book. Of 2012. The photos I love . . . and want to remember . . . and share.

I'm really pleased with this book. It's linen covered and a little bit special. It was fun to put together and arrived on our doorstep in next to no time. This is a Bespoke Book from MILK Books (I used the Memories Landscape template). I'm already thinking about making the next one . . .

And I also decided a little while ago to have a book printed of my blog. I'd seen the Blog2Print books being talked about on a couple of other blogs and thought I'd check them out.

I'm really happy with this book, too. It's pretty cool to have this reminder of my blog to look back on (without having to sit in front of a computer). As our family historian, I record other peoples' stories, so it's good to have my story (or at least part of it) recorded for posterity too. After all, aren't all of our stories important?

Birthday Season

Well this girl certainly makes the most of her birthday . . . with Birthday Season. And why not celebrate someone so lovely before, during and after the actual day?

This year, in addition to our usual Fridge Photos and "Happy Birthday" banner, I was inspired by Pinterest to make this "Party Hat" banner.

So I converted some photos to black & white and printed them onto cardstock (I used regular paper first, but it was a bit too flimsy). Then I added some scrapbooking paper to make up the party hats. I punched some holes and added vintage ribbon from my stash to hang the banner.

It was a big hit with the birthday girl!! And we all enjoyed reminiscing over the various ages and stages of her life so far . . .

And what birthday party is complete without a cake?

The timing was just perfect for Dawn from As Sweet As Cinnamon to post a link to Lea's Paleo Chocolate Birthday Cake . . . .

Our household is predominantly gluten-free these days, so it's great to find recipes for delicious culinary treats. And this one is certainly on the "make again" list!

Happy Birthday Dear Kelly, Happy Birthday to YOU xoxoxo

Organic Cotton Face Cloths - Crocheted, Not Knitted!

Well I did start out to knit a whole bunch of these . . . and I did actually knit one.

But I just knit too slowly!

So I got out the crochet hook.

The first one I did was the green-y one. It's just plain, but I quite like it. It used the whole ball of cotton.

Then I came across this pattern and decided to give it a try using the mauve yarn. I liked the scallop-y edge that you end up with. And it worked up really quite quickly.  It also used almost the whole ball of cotton. I really enjoyed working with the cotton . . .  and it feels so lovely when it's done.

I could see this pattern in a much chunkier yarn as a throw rug. Or maybe cushions. A little project for Winter perhaps???


Pattern: Dish Cloth
Designer: Crochet 'N' More
Publication: http://www.crochetnmore.com/dishcloth.htm
Yarn: Heirloom 8 ply Organically Grown Cotton
Hook: G (4.0mm) 
Finished size: 24cm x 24cm

Happy 2013 . . .