Sixty Years of Memories Scrapbook Project

I interrupt my normal blog posting of desserts and all things yummy, to share with you this creative gift idea and how to make it!  I never thought of myself as “crafty” until several years ago.  However, it is something I still struggle with and I definitely have to be in a “creative mood” to do anything crafty.  So maybe you aren’t crafty, but are looking for a unique present for someone to celebrate a special occasion??  A milestone birthday, a golden anniversary, a retirement and more…this idea is perfect for any of those and so easy to make…read on to find out!

Growing up, my mom was super crafty and could make anything!  Mom used to make our clothes when Wendy and I were little, and would even make clothes for our Barbies!  But when I was younger, if I had to make any craft (like alllllllll the time in Girl Scouts), I would get frustrated and quit.  Fast forward to my adult years and I discovered scrapbooking.  For some reason I could scrapbook and be creative, and I loved it.  Now I have a three bedroom house: my bedroom, an extra bedroom and craft room.  Yup.  Addicted to crafts (almost as much as baking).

Scrapbooking morphed into making wreaths, blankets and all different kinds of random projects I have found on Pinterest.  Me and my glue gun mean business!  So with my mommas sixtieth birthday coming up, I knew I needed to create something awesome and sentimental for her.  My mom is the QUEEN of scrapbooking.  Like I think people would pay her to scrapbook their memories because she is that good.  Whenever I ask mom what she wants for her birthday, Mother’s Day, etc, Mom will always say, “Just make me a scrapbook page.”  But just one scrapbook page was not going to cut it, to celebrate this milestone birthday!

So what would I make??  I went to the black hole of time (Pinterest) to see if I could gain some inspiration for a project.  I found a project someone had put together, which included letters that friends and family wrote sharing memories about the person they were celebrating.  The person collected all the letters and wrapped them with a bow for the person to open up.

I took a spin off that idea, to include pictures and notes from family and friends, displaying them in a scrapbook for mom, so it would be easier for her to go back and read time and time again.  So a month or so before moms birthday, I hijacked my moms Facebook account and invited all her FB friends to mail me personal, hand written letters (and a picture if they had one), sharing a story or memory they had of mom, to include in the scrapbook.  I thought the handwritten note part would be a sweet, personal touch, rather than just typing it.  I also had all the grandkids draw mom a picture to be included in the scrapbook.  The week before moms birthday, I did throw out one more FB blast inviting people to email their memories to me because I was hoping to get some more people to share memories.  The more the better, and typing a quick email is way easier.  I just re-typed those responses out on my laptop, so the typed responses were all in the same style and font (yes I am OCD).

I bought this Ready Made scrapbook from Hobby Lobby.  The colors and theme fit my project perfectly.  I don’t scrapbook much anymore and have given a lot of my scrapbook supplies away to make room for the other crafts I make.  So this Ready Made scrapbook is perfect for anyone making this project that does’t scrapbook!  Just add your pictures and notes!

All the Ready Made pages are different, but all the pages compliment each other.  To give the letters and pictures a cohesive and old style look, I used a paper punch to round the corners and then used black paint around the edges of all the letters and pictures.  I think the paint around the edges made a huge difference in the appearance!

Once I was ready to put the scrapbook together, I removed all of the Ready Made pages from the scrapbook and laid them all out across my living room floor.  I matched up what letters and pictures went well with the Ready Made pages.  Glue everything down and now you have an amazing present for that special person in your life!  I also added some hearts and ribbon bows to dress the pages up and to add to the cohesiveness of all the pages!

I think this is an awesome birthday idea for a milestone birthday, or could even be geared towards a wedding anniversary celebrating the couple!  Possibilities are endless!!

My mom loved her scrapbook and texted me later to tell me how much it meant to her.  I think it was her favorite birthday present 😉  I hope you guys enjoyed the break from the recipes…let me know what you think of this scrapbook idea!

XOXO,

Kelly

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PS-

I have linked up this recipe to the following link parties: What’s Cooking Wednesday, Weekend Potluck, Pretty Pintastic Party, Sugar and Spice, Pin Junkie, Friday Frenzy, Meal Plan Monday.  Click on the links top check out all the fun parties (recipes and crafts galore)!!