May and June BEG for a grad gift solution that is both easy AND personal! After all, these are the kids your brood has grown up with, laughed with, cried with, argued with and sworn to never loose touch with!
And YOU, as the gift giver, want to somehow send a little wisdom with them into the big wide world to remind them of who they are, where they’ve come from and that they will always be loved no matter what crazy things they may do.
No doubt you have a few pictures from years gone by that would be choice reminders to send along to college or to tie a bow on this major coming of age event!
But really- there seem to be so many graduating, right?
I LOVE this sweet little gift solution. My daughter and this group of girls grew up together. This picture was taken at a good friend’s wedding who had been a mentor and friend to all of them- just before they all began going off to college and on to the next chapter of their young lives.
This picture really captures the group and each one who was a vital part of the sisterhood. Good girls, good times, good memories- and a good gift to all of them to remind them about each other!
Moments, Words & Memories About Really Matters
Moments and words are two of the
most precious and powerful treasures
that are in great supply and that we all have at our disposal.
The trick is
making the most of both of them
isn’t it?
I happen to think it is genius that
life has to be lived one moment at a time
and that we have to
communicate one word at a time
AND that in order to make the most of either of them,
breathing deeply and soaking them in is required!
Family Tree: Part 1
For the last little bit, I have been sorting through some great family pics of past generations and realizing that now that my grandparents have all stepped off the planet, some of the stories behind the photos with them have disappeared as well.
But what I am enjoying is pulling out my favorite photos from the boxes that were in my grandmother’s closet and learning some pretty amazing stories!
On the left is my husband’s grandparents’ wedding photo (below). When I commented to my mother-in-law about the look is Oma’s eyes, she told me that she was sad she didn’t have a wedding dress. Her suit is absolutely FAB, but her mother had broken her arm on the farm in Kansas and couldn’t sew her a wedding dress! Yes. She was definitely bummed.
My dad, in the middle- hated this picture, hated the hat that the photographer and his mom insisted he wear… yeah, at 12 years old, I have to admit it is a bit- odd? dorky?
My mom & the scotty dog, on the right- he wasn’t even her dog. He belonged to the neighbor but spent more time with her cuz she was so DARN CUTE!
No Graduation Scrapbook? No worries!
Are you THAT mom who never got around to putting a scrapbook together?
I WAS THAT MOM TOO!!! No worries, I’ve got you covered on this one!
I made myself feel better about that by creating a fun #StoryWall that showed a few of the key phases of our grads’ growing up years.
I started on the floor where I could rearrange all different configurations.
I had fun gathering cheap frames from our local “antique” store, slathering different colors of Folk Art paint on them and securing them to the wall with lots of poster putty!
Then I nailed Picture This! pieces onto the frames for a a nice dimensional look.
Test tubes or spice tubes filled with water and flowers really added a fun, fresh touch to the #StoryWall . I put a hose/band clamps from Home Depot around the test tube and secured it to the wall with a blob of poster putty behind the clamp.
Gosh, HGTV needs me and my poster putty! Actually, I love it because it doesn’t mark up your wall and it can actually help you level things without putting another nail in the wall!!!
Have fun creating your own #StoryWall and don’t sweat the scrapbook! Just scrapbook on your walls where everyone can enjoy your grad!
YOUR STORY starring YOUR PICTURES
A picture says a thousand words.
Why not let your story remind your heart of all that matters at the end of the day?
I happen to believe that we all need reminders about the things, read “the people”, that make our story so wonderfully rich!
How could this beautiful story not inspire you each day? Meet Valentine, her husband Matt and their sweet baby girl Amalie.