Daisy Girl Scout Memories

Every child's activity comes with memorabilia, and scouting is no exception.

So when my daughter joined Daisy Scouts this fall, I knew this scrapbooker was in trouble. After all, I'm behind on my photos, can't justify buying large album after album and can't always spring for supplies.

And then I found my answer lying on my ledge. There, in my stack of things that should have been put away, was a small 6-inch green polka-dot photo album that I have no idea how it made its way into my home.

It was pretty drab, to be honest:

But add in a few Daisy Girl Scout stickers from a package my mom had bought and drab turned into fab:

After each Girl Scout activity, my daughter can complete a page and include pictures, drawings or other memorabilia from an event. Her first page included a cut-out trefoil that had the Girl Scout promise on it, which they made at the first official meeting, as well as a humorous drawing of her and a friend - where she's twice the poor girl's height. (I'd post, but my computer keeps crashing as I'm trying to photoshop out names.)

Is it the kind of scrapbooking I would do? No. But then, I'm also not 5.

The best part? We would have never used the items if doing traditional scrapbooking, where I'd likely cram a year's worth of things into one page.

Papa's present

A kid-friendly Father's Day idea!



A few weeks ago, I went to an open house for work, and as usual giveaways are thrust in your hands as you churn through the building. I suppose I could have said no, but being tired (and usually on the hunt for something similar for other activities), I picked up the items proffered.


And at the day, I looked at my loot. In there was a glass candy jar. Not exactly practical in my desperately-needing-a-diet world.

But Father's Day was coming up rather quickly. And the kids wanted to do something for their Papa, who was visiting last weekend.

Sneak into the scrapbook supplies (mom assisting this time, of course), and we had our solution. My daughter happily stamped blue flowers on a small band of paper. We took a scrap of yellow paper and mounted it on a random piece of chipboard that I've yet to use for years. Stamped the phrase "Papa's Treats" on it. My daughter wanted to add the dot stamps - which happily covered over the fact the cheap stamps had borders that were appearing randomly on the paper. Adhered on with glue dots, filled with peppermints and 10 minutes later, done! A fast project, proud gift-giver and, most of all, appreciative grandpa.

Homemade Holidays Bonus Project: Gingerbread house ornaments

Christmas gifts from the children are those that come most from the heart.

Granted, perhaps not as much "from the heart" as my husband's cousin's son was a few years ago. Inspired by a diamond commercial, he insisted his father let him buy his mom diamonds because mom was the woman he loved most. It's hard to argue with an eight year old's logic.

For those with a little tighter of a budget - and for those who desperately need an activity for kids this Thanksgiving weekend, consider letting them make homemade presents. Cookie tins or ornaments are two easy solutions that can keep your kids out of trouble and make them feel the holidy spirit.

I found these cute gingerbread cards online at Kaboose.com and decided it might be fun to adapt to homemade ornaments. The "recipe" for the cards state that they are for ages 3 and older, though that may depend on your child's ability. It does require parental help.

Here's what I did:

1. Downloaded the template and cut out the house part only out of cardboard that was included in a bag from a scrapbook store to keep papers from bending.
2. Let my 3 year old go wild! First step: Painted "frosting" with leftover acryclic paint from a long-ago project.
3. Glued on buttons and slide mounts, long-ago acquired and unused for scrapbooking projects.
4. I punched holes and inserted eyelets in the top of each ornament so the holes wouldn't rip.
5. Threaded each ornament.

Total out-of-pocket expenditures: $0. (Not including the eventual replacement of the tablecloth, which suffered a few holes from my Silent Setter.)

The great thing is, the project allowed me to use up scrapbook supplies that I hadn't used in years but was hesitant to just throw out.

A bonus: My 3 year old was happily occupied for an hour and a half! And she's eager to share her creations with everyone she knows.

A little altered art

Green gifts for 7 year olds are not exactly an easy thing to find. Somehow High School Musical and Hannah Montana don't exactly mesh with an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

I didn't set out specifically to give green this year for my niece's birthday, but economics played a role in my creation of altered art. Actually, a small scrapbook.

"Altered books" was a trend that seemed to peak in the scapbooking world a few years ago. Essentially, you'd take a book and repurpose it (with craft supplies of your choice) to make various art projects. As an avid reader, the whole concept made me cringe: Destroying the printed word?

But then, if the book isn't being appreciated for the literary impact on your life, maybe it's time to give it a new home or a new life.

In this case, it wasn't literature but a small photo album that I'd received when my daughter was born. Branded with the information for a formula company, it was a small album that housed a few dozen 4x6 photos.

For three years, it's collected dust while I waited for someone else to dump it on. For about that long, I have had random stickers, including puffy ones that I'd somehow acquired, that have met a similar fate. The two made a great pairing, as the album received a fun facelift.

Throw in a few dozen photos of my kids and my niece, and you have a one-of-a-kind gift for the girl who dearly misses her little cousins many miles away.

Is it simple? Sure. Is it high art? Hardly. But sometimes you have to put a little heart in your art.

Happy birthday, Sam. We miss you.