August Update

Sea Isle City, NJ 2012

I have been successful in updating my scrapbook. I made a spread for our family's annual beach vacation at Sea Isle City, NJ. It was definitely a blast to be able to spend time with everyone without needing to worry about work the next morning. The ladies of the family went on a shopping spree in Ocean City, NJ. We found a store called Mew to You. It is a thrift store and a cat adoption center. Proceeds of the thrift store are used to support the adoption center rescue, heal, and find new homes for the stray cats in the area. I think this is a great way to support a great cause.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park

After reviewing all of the great pictures from the beach, I realized there was not enough room for the photos of the Thomas Edison National Historical Park so I made two separate spreads. I found a quote that I really liked from Thomas Edison, "There are no rules here, we're trying to accomplish something". I got a little bit brave with these two spreads by adding stickers and quotes, but I think it came out alright.

Ticket Stub Spread 

This is my final spread and it focuses on some events I went to over the years including a Bruce Springsteen concert, a Doors concert (actually Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger but who is counting), and a Jo Dee Messina concert which was one of the first performances at the Maryville College Clayton Center for the Arts Building. There are non-musical events as well including a Devils v. Rangers game at the Prudential Center and a movie stub for Snow White and the Huntsmen. That movie was the start of a Girl's Night tradition!

Old pebbles from a fish tank

I also had another mini-project worth noting. I was tired of seeing that ugly tin holding all of my pens and pencils. I wanted something prettier. I went to the store and bought a small glass fishbowl, fake colorful flowers, and floral wrapping tape. I found some pebbles from an old fish tank I used to have and filled the bowl.

The cutest flower pens I have ever seen :)

Then I cut some of the flowers off of my fake flower plant with stems that are a little bit shorter than the length of a pen. I placed the flower next to the pen and wrapped it using the floral tape. Now the pen has become a thicker stem for my flowers! I "planted" my flowers in the pebbles and I think it looks adorable.

Scrapbooking

After the passing of a childhood friend, I am realizing the importance of photographs. Emily Michelle was an amazing person. She always had a smile on her face, and the things that came out of her mouth were hilarious. She made an impact on everyone that she met. Unfortunately, on June 20th, 2012 Emily lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a tree. She died before anyone had the chance to remove her from the car. We were getting ready to go to her viewing, and her family asked everyone to bring pictures of Emily. I ripped apart my room trying to find a good picture of the two of us. All I could find was 2 pictures of us at an NSYNC concert. TWO PICTURES!!! How is that even possible? I never want to look back at my life and my friends and realize all I have left is their memory.

I have attempted scrapbooking in the past, but the entire book is usually one event. I want to challenge myself a little bit more; each spread will be one month of my life. Each book will be one year of my life. No one will be forgotten or left behind. I am going to start full swing in January so that I can have a complete 2013 book, but for now, I will catch up on some memories that need to be cherished.

I went to a few big events over the past two years that I saved ticket stubs. The earliest was a Jo Dee Messina concert. This was one of the first concerts at the new Clayton Center for the Arts at Maryville College. It was built my senior year so I thought it was fitting to remember this time. A few months later I saw Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger from The Doors at the Starland Ballroom. Skip a year or two and I am at a NJ Devils vs. NY Rangers hockey game with my new best friend and my new boyfriend (although I don't know if we were official at this point (maybe a scrapbook would help with that answer) ha ha). Lastly, I went to another Bruce Springsteen concert. It was an amazing triple date with my parents, Tom and Jo, and Steve and myself. I think we were official at this point. Luckily, I have at least one picture of each of these events so I decided to make a spread dedicated to these events.

The family just got back from Sea Isle City, NJ a few weeks ago. We had our annual family vacation and it was just as good as always. We took a ton of pictures so there will be plenty of material for July 2012. Steve and I also went to the Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ. This was his largest laboratory, manufacturing site, and home. Very cool. When it is all finished, I will make sure to post a picture of these two spreads.