Family Camp Photo Book

 This was a photo book I never intended to make.  This spring I finally got around to doing something with our wedding photos and decided on a photo book from Kolo, it just so happened that at the same time they were running a promotion for a free 5.5" x 8" photo book with another photo book purchase.  I ended up deciding to make one of our trips to my husband's family camp in Northern Maine and I'm so glad I did, it is one of my favorite memory keeping projects to date.

I used the same template with two pictures a page throughout the album, with the exception of the first page of each trip which acts as a title page of sorts, listing the month and year of the visit.  I also did a full page picture of our family photos on the steps of the camp, a picture we take every year.  I chose not to include every single picture we took on the trips, but chose the ones that I felt told the story of that years trip the best.

I plan to put a label from Paper Source on the inside of the front cover with the name and location of the camp as well as the year it was built.  The great thing about these albums is each year after we go I can just simply print more pages and insert them into my album.  I think this would be a great album for any family trip (or event....family reunions would be very cool...) that is repeated year after year...its so neat to see the growth and change your family goes through year after year.

(This post was in no way sponsored by Kolo and links are not affiliate, just wanted to share a project (and product) that I love.)

{this moment}

linking with Amanda Soule this week for:

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Getting Started with Copperplate Calligraphy

I have always wanted to learn calligraphy and this winter I decided to give it a go.  I bought the book Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy as my guide and then bought some copperplate nibs, a nib pen, ink, and a pad of layout paper (this paper is super useful because ink doesn't bleed on it and it's transparent enough that you can lay a guide page underneath it to help you with your letter formation).  Shortly after I started I bought some fun colored ink made by Speedball at a craft store and was super disappointed, the quality was far inferior to the Winsor and Newton ink and my penmanship looked significantly worse with it.  Perhaps if you are more advanced at Copperplate it wouldn't be such an issue, but for me it made a huge difference.  I also use the free printable Copperplate guide from here...there are a bunch of others out there, but this was the one I liked best.

It is a fairly inexpensive hobby to try, all in all, I spent about $25, but it does require some devoted practice time.  For the first month I typically tried to write a page a day.  I would always start with some lines of warm up strokes at the beginning and then transition to practicing letters and eventually words.  I can't speak highly enough of the book Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy.  It really breaks everything down step by step, gives you letter variations, and practice words and sentences.  If for some reason something was hard to understand at first (like for me, the letter "o"), I would turn to YouTube.

I still have so far to go with my calligraphy, but even within the first month I saw significant improvement. The hardest part for me has been carving out the time to sit down and write.

(Please note all Amazon links are affiliate).

Beautiful Things for Boys: Quynn Hat

When I found out I was pregnant I spent countless hours dreaming of all of the wonderful things I could make and collect for our new baby.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't want our baby to have everything, I just wanted to make what our baby did have count and to have the things I made or our purchases well thought out.  When I found out that we were expecting a little boy I was super excited, but I quickly realized that almost all of the ideas I had were for a little girl...there aren't nearly as many cute boy *things* (clothes, toys, crafts) out there.

So, I've decided to put together a little blog series: Beautiful Things for Boys...its going to be a mixture of things to make and buy for all of the little men in our lives.  With everything I bring into my home, I try to make sure that the items are things I love (generally things that are "classic" and won't go out of style), they are well made (they can stand the test of time and are safe), and perform their function, these items will be no different.

My first item is a hat I made for my son last fall.  The pattern is Quynn by Wooly Wormhead with some modifications: I knit only four garter ridges plus the cast on edge before switching to stockinette, and I rounded the top of the hat instead of having it come to a point (more details on my version here).  I loved this hat.  It stayed on well, kept my son warm, and looked so cute on him.  I am definitely planning on making him another (longer) one this year!

Radio Silence

It has been over two years since I've posted in this space and since then I've done lots of things, but most importantly, 14 months ago I birthed a beautiful baby boy.  He is the center of our universe and the reason we do, well, anything.  I have so much less "free" time than I used to and so much more to accomplish in it when I get it, but my mind keeps wandering back to this place lately...I'm feeling like it still has something to offer me and I flatter myself to hope that I still have something to offer through it...we shall see...

ETA: I have changed the name of this blog once again, hopefully for the last time.  The name is a reference to my initials, my love of water, and how the strength of my interests change...and I suppose, to some degree it is a reference to the place this blog has had in my life.  Onward and upward.

Summering

Summer is here.  Finally and wonderfully.  My days are being spent outside in the garden, with the chickens, in the pool, river, and lake.  My nights are being spent knitting and working on the house.  It's glorious.

Today I'm headed up to see my favorite person in the world, my Great Grandma, and then to the lake.  I hope you too are finding joy in your summer!

Chickens at 4 Weeks