Josiah's First {Shutterfly} Photo Book :)

This finally arrived on my doorstep... :) And once I opened it, I could not help but get all teary eyed. Something about seeing your work and designs printed and reading the heartfelt words that I poured out on these pages, really resonates this sweet, fulfilling joy deep within... Especially when you see your son reading them with such enthusiasm and happiness that I created them about him and for him... Shutterfly does such a great job with these and I loved the look and feel of the photo pages overall. I also plan to make one for my youngest soon because I know he is anxious to have one of his own. Anyways, here's a few photos to share....

Front Cover

Some of my very first layouts dating back in 2007

Some of my recent layouts using my own ORIGINAL designs...

Josiah so happy with his first photo book

His eyes just melts my heart... I know he is thankful for it...

Josiah pointing at his favorite photo of him and one of his buddies at school....

*Sigh*.... I can't even express how much I love my boys and how much I cherish every single day with them. In just a few weeks, Josiah will be graduating from Kindergarten and going into the 1st grade while Lucas will be starting Kindergarten as well. Such an exciting and fun age they are in and I love, love, love being a part of their lives. So many memories and stories to share with them when their older, but photo books are so wonderful to have because I never know whether or not I'll be able to, just keeping it real... 

xoxo.

First 5 Years....

Hey y'all! Happy Wednesday!!!

Several months ago, I took advantage of a Groupon deal for Shutterfly--8x8 Photo Book for only $10-- and created my very first photo book of our first trip to Seattle as a family. The results were wonderful and my family enjoyed remembering our trip as we cherished these memories. So the next time Groupon posted this deal, I jumped on it immediately! Then just the other day I was going through my Groupons that I purchased, to make sure that I didn't forget to use them before they expired. So glad I did because I totally forgot about the Shutterfly deal which was going to expire in a week! I had not worked on it at all and felt really pressured to hurry and take advantage of it. 

Although, I wanted to make a cohesive album with a theme and color palette that coordinated together, I knew that time would not be on my side to create one. So, I realized that I still had all these digital scrapbook layouts that have not been printed (gasp!) and put in albums. Yes, I know... I am one of those! LOL! But, I finally did it today, by putting together all of my eldest son's scrapbook layouts that I've created over the years. It's definitely been a journey and I'm so glad I was able to document some of his special moments :) 

It's called---Josiah Robert Co | FIRST FIVE YEARS.....

Thanks for looking!!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Safari Baby Shower

Credits: Animal Crackers by Lisa Sisneros

Tomorrow, I am hosting my sister's baby shower and wanted to share the invitations and favors that I designed for her and my brother-in-law. When they asked me to design their invites, I already knew they were expecting a boy, but still didn't know exactly what theme I was going to go with, which they gave me full permission to get creative. So what I did, was look up their baby registry items and saw that most of the gifts that they requested had this jungle safari theme. I copied an image from the site that had these cute baby animals and a color swatch that I can pull from and went from there.

I knew that although I could have illustrated my own little animals (which maybe I could do one day), I just didn't have the time. Illustrations are something you don't want to rush creating and knowing me, I would probably take forever. So in cases like this, sometimes I find it more convenient to search around for other high-quality designs that I can use. Of course, whenever you do that you have to read the designer's terms of use and make sure that it's perfectly okay for S4H (scrap-for-hire) or personal use. If you plan to resell your derivative works, you would need to purchase designs that are offered for 'commercial/professional use' for a fee that is either offered directly or you may have to contact the designer for permission and their policy details. Anyways, that's another different topic that we won't get into right now:)

That being said, I used Lisa Sisnero's 'Animal Crackers' kit from her shop at Little Dreamer Designs. It contained exactly what I needed and it was so much fun to work with. I absolutely love her animal doodles :) Aren't they adorable???

Check them out!

If you're curious to know, I got these printed by Persnickety Prints, who do fabulous prints by the way. They're actually having a Super Bowl sale starting Sunday, so if you're wanting to catch on printing your digital scrapbook pages, now is the time to do it and save a little extra money! For more details, visit their blog.

The favors are basically your typical Hershey's chocolate bar which I bought from bulk at Costco. I designed the wrapper, cut it to size, score the appropriate areas to fold, then used glue dots to stick it all together. On the back, it says "Thank you for joining us"... Easy peasy and oh so cute!


Will be back with more photos of the shower! Have a great weekend!

6 Years Ago...

Our Story | Using Sweet Talk

...I gave birth to my first child, Josiah. In exactly one week, he will be turing 6 years old. Sometimes I don't realize how fast time goes by until moments like this where year after year, we celebrate another birthday... or when suddenly they reach a new milestone... or when they start pondering answers to questions such as "Mommy, were you happy to hold me when I was born?" The moment he said these words, I knew I had to scrap a page about it because it was one of those moments that made my heart ache with a realization that he wanted the assurance of my love for him and if his life was important to me... 


I know that it doesn't have to do with any lack of love or affection because there is not a day that goes by that we don't spend time together and express love for each other. But, I do recall a conversation we had previously about the physical pain that a mother goes through when giving birth to a child because he was asking so many questions about how a baby is born (Don't worry, no graphic details were shared, lol. Both my sisters are pregnant at the moment, so it sparked a little a lot of curiosity). When I told him that I felt like dying from the excruciating pain, he almost looked like he was heartbroken as his eyes slightly filled with tears and he just held on to me so tightly. I don't know what went on in his mind, but maybe he felt like his birth caused me so much pain that he must of thought he did something wrong. One thing he said was, "Mommy, I don't want anything bad to happen to you." , which I understand that out of his love for me, he was feeling a little remorseful of what I had gone through to give birth. Of course, I assured him that I can NEVER ever say that it wasn't worth it because he means EVERYTHING to me and though as painful as it was, he has brought me SO much joy to my life and a love that I never knew.


Everyday since then, I've thought about his question and it really touches my heart that we  were able to talk about it and hopefully he will always remember how happy I was that day he was born, that he will always be a gift to me, and that he is worth it all then, now, and always...

Pages of My Heart | Josiah Vol.1.1

Josiah | Vol.1.1

Recently, Paislee Press + One Little Bird, created this beautiful collaboration--Storyteller available at Oscraps. Because I do love telling stories and love making pages that reflect pieces of my heart, I could not resist getting a hold of this new release. It's soft, subtle, and very impressive with their unique elements and papers. It immediately sparked the idea of starting a baby book for my children, beginning with my oldest son, Josiah. Now, I've made a traditional baby album a very long time ago, but this one is going to be digitally designed where I can have it printed into a hardbound photo book and I also can make not just one copy, but multiple, which is one of the great advantages of digital scrapping. :)

So, this is going to be my debut post of my first layout for Josiah's Baby Book. Noticed I wrote it as Vol.1.1 = Page 1 of book 1, because hoping that I can create a collection of his life as he grows up and faces the different stages of his childhood up until he reaches complete independence. By then, it will be another chapter. I am going to also be doing one for my son, Lucas. If I can manage to do both at the same time, then I will have really accomplished more than I would have expected. In reality, it's going to take one day at a time + one photo at a time, a lifelong journey if you will, but one that is worth every second.

xoxo,
Dahlia

Follow Your Heart | CT withdrawals....

Credits:

Flights of Fancy by Paislee Press

Yes, I scrapped another layout :) I love the feeling and I've missed it somewhat a lot since I have not been on any creative teams for quite a long time. Being a designer has it's thrills and I love that, too. But, there's nothing like telling your story and bringing your memories to life. I am a storyteller at heart. I love stories. I especially love documenting the here and now, the has been, and the hopes and dreams of what I want my future to hold. I also, as you can see in my layout, love to share pieces of my heart....

I want need to scrap more... I can't afford not to. I'd be lost if I ever let that part of me disappear. So, I'm going to strive to get myself more in the mindset that scrapbooking, memory preserving, history making, heritage building, autobiography and photo journaling, is an essential part of my life and that my future family generations depend on it. But, how? Perhaps, joining a creative team will challenge me to do just that. Like I said, it's been a while, but I feel it's time I let my life shine and unleash this untapped creativity that is waiting to let loose and just flow ... 

So there are few CT calls out there that I'm going to jump on and I'd be so happy to join any one, hoping they see me fit for their team :) But, one team is all I am able to commit to at the moment... Here is the order in which I am applying since their deadlines are in consecutive order. So we'll see what happens! Wish me luck!

Paislee Press

Michelle Coleman

Christina Smith

xoxo,

Dahlia