I forgot to share the gifts I made at Christmas for my twin sisters. We long ago decided not to exchange gifts at Christmas. Everyone usually shows up to the party with one wrapped gift and we all pick a gift and steal from others if so inclined.
I decided I wanted to do something extra for my sisters so I stole this picture of them from my moms photo album and made these little.....gee I don't know what to call them! I copied was inspired by Lori at my faerie window. She made the cutest gifts for a group of bloggers that came to Virginia last May. I used to small gift boxes from Macy's as the base.
I also used to gift boxes to make these ornaments for them.
This was A LOT more fun than searching through stores for the perfect gifts!
Last weekend I mentioned I was working on my journal for The Remains of the Day online class. It's so addicting creating this thing...I didn't even want to stop to eat. Therefore my Christmas Tree did not come down over New Years. I urge you to check out the blog for the class and consider doing it!
We have a box of PAPERS in our basement that we've had for TEN years....it's full of stuff from my husbands Grandfather, who passed away in the 60's. I guess they packed up his little apartment and these were all things that got thrown into a box. Little things that he kept...that my husbands family could never bear to throw away. I searched through that box and came up with a treasure trove of ephemera. I'm swimming in it.
I added a tag for journaling...you can see it slipped into the end of this very cool envelope.
the pipe cleaner pack above is also now a pocket....a tag can be slipped into it for journaling the days events. There's a business card at the top of a tobacco salesman, his grandfather was in the tobacco industry in North Carolina. On the right is a lift up page with another pocket.
old yellowed security envelopes....these are just the things that I needed for my journal.
I sewed this little heart on the page, and look what happened to the back side....
My family kept asking what in the world was I working on for all those days....I showed my daughter and she said "wait...I don't get it...what are you doing with this stuff?" so I explained it all to her....how cool it was that I was using all this ephemera from her GREAT GRANDFATHER and she had a blank stare on her face. She said "so you're making a book?" No.....I explained.....it will be a journal when I'm done, where I can write thoughts, quotes, record things....and she said "thats the part I don't get!" So maybe it is a little "out there" and I know MOST people don't get it...but I knew my friends in Blogarita Ville would appreciate it!
a few of these images are things I've found on the internet and stockpiled for my scrap stash. I think the image on the left is from The Graphics Fairy...she has fantastic graphics for FREE. I'm sure you all know about Karen already. She's so incredibly sweet to share her images.
So I'm knee deep in scraps and ephemera but loving every minute of it. At least it's finally being used or dealt with some way and not sitting in a box (although there is still tons of stuff in that box) I might set the stopwatch and take down my tree in record time this weekend so I can get over the guilt of it still being up and get on with my life!
One last little treasure I found in that box.....a Valentine my husband made when he was about 7 years old for his parents.....he even used a little doily! I brought it upstairs to show him and hung it on my white wreath. This is one of a very few things that his mom saved that he made. It must have meant the world to her to hold onto it all those years!
(we have no clue why he wrote "to the Mods"....my vote is that he was trying to tell his parents they were "cool" or "Mod"
Have a wonderful week!
Finding all those emphemera treassures in your own home, that is soooo cool and you're such a lucky girl! Love your journal pages and the cover below - omg, it's fab! I totally know what you mean about blank stares and not getting it from other people, it's a good thing we do it anyway and don't care that we are not undestood all the time, right? :-) Your journal rocks!
Posted by: iHanna | January 25, 2010 at 04:18 AM
I absolutely LOVE this journal Robin!! so wonderful. xo natalea
Posted by: natalea | January 23, 2010 at 06:47 AM
Your journal is just lovely!!! I'm going to have to pop on over and check out this class. I live in leesburg...are you a VA gal?
xoxo
Posted by: Cristina-Sweet Pea Ink | January 15, 2010 at 06:41 AM
Your journal is so alive with energy. Much more than anything you could buy in a store. I've started a journal in an old book but I wasn't feeling it. I much prefer the scrapbook style that you have made. So impressive.
Posted by: Selena | January 14, 2010 at 10:52 PM
The gifts that you made for your twin sisters are adorable. I'm sure they were thrilled to receive them. The little Valentine that your husband made is a sweet treasure and looks so cute in your wreath.
Posted by: kim | January 14, 2010 at 03:28 PM
Hi Robin,
The pieces you made for your sisters are just darling! Gotta love those pants!
The class your taking sounds awesome! I'm taking some classes right now too, mostly in digital design. It's so fun learning new techniques isn't it?!
Thanks for the mention, I wasn't expecting that! I just popped over to say hi, I feel like I've been neglecting everyone lately, there's just not enough hours in the day!!
Hugs,
Karen
Posted by: Karen - The Graphics Fairy | January 13, 2010 at 11:20 PM
Robin, the boxes you made for your sisters are SO cute!!! i hope that they loved them...i think handmade gifts are the best...the ornaments are adorable too!!!
Posted by: Lori | January 11, 2010 at 06:18 AM
The gifts that you made for your sisters are just beautiful. And far, far better than anything that you could have purchased.
I also love your journal. Beautifully done.
Posted by: Kim | January 10, 2010 at 10:51 PM
Your twins are a wonderful homage to Lori! And I've never heard the term Blogaritaville, but now it is my new fave!!
Posted by: Karla Nathan | January 10, 2010 at 01:24 PM
Such nice and thoughtful gifts for your sisters! I really like your journal. Hope you are having a good start to the New Yr!
Posted by: kana | January 09, 2010 at 07:16 PM
Always enjoy my visit with you. Everything is just precious! I love the "mod!" How 60s/70s! hahah. Gonna visit those sites, right now! Thx!
Posted by: Rosa | January 09, 2010 at 04:14 PM
Awww, I love the little ornaments and stand up paper dolls youmade for your sisters! Adorable! You lucky duck to have a big box of ephemera right in your basement, and full of family stuff so there is sentimental value. I love your journal, (and yes, I "get" it:>)
Posted by: Kathleen Grace | January 09, 2010 at 04:02 PM