How Time Does Fly.....

Last I checked, it was summer....and now here we are well in to September!  What happened?  Where did the summer go?  No longer am I just the mother of a three-and-a-half year old (not just a three-year-old, it is imperative that everyone know he is three and a HALF!),  but of a pre-schooler.  Yep, my boy started pre-school this week.  The photo above is our September calendar layout, and the photo on the right shows him all ready on the very first day.  His very first first day of school.  Ever.  I took a lot of pictures, yes I did, before we left the house, and before the teachers told us moms to say good-bye and skedaddle.  And yes, he loves it already.  And no, I didn't cry. 

September is historically a very busy month.  I don't recall too many Septembers in my life that haven't been busy and this one is certainly no exception.  As a teenager, I was busy with football games and dances and cheerleading practice and homecoming and all that vitally important stuff that took precedence over sleep.  Now, I'm busy with craft shows and a garage sale and a Day Out With Thomas, and oh yes, keeping up with Project Life!  I've done so well documenting our year that I am determined not to let that get lost in the shuffle despite the fact that I will be busy, busy, busy from now until Christmas.  I have managed to fill my schedule with at least one event every week, and sometimes two, or three, or....

So, my September calendar, when I finally got around to making it (I held off a few days so I could use a first day of preschool photo) was put together in under five minutes.  The striped paper is an old design from BoBunny and this was my last sheet.  Plain red cardstock, and that awesome "THIS" stamp is one I ordered from elisejoy.com earlier this year.  Elise Blaha Cripe is well-known in blogland and I read her blog regularly for inspiration.  She's a multi-talented gal; find her at www.eliseblaha.typepad.com.  Here's a closer look at that stamp (I'm not sure if these are still available, I know she has new stamps soon to be released!):

I've been using this stamp quite a bit in my Project Life layouts (which I may or may not share by the end of the year).  I love it because it is so versatile.  There are millions of rubber stamps available but since I am running out of storage (hence the garage sale this weekend!) I try to buy stamps that I know I can use for lots of different projects.  "THIS" stamp is definitely one of those. 

For now, back to work.  If you're out and about in Des Moines, Iowa this fall, you can find me around town at East Village Sunday Bazaar (Sundays from noon to 4 on East 5th Street) and of course at the next Market Day, coming up on October 6.  Next Saturday I am headed to Cedar Falls for The Pear Fair, a new event for me:  you can get more info on this event, which is put on by Mohair Pear (2209 College Street in C.F.) by liking this event on facebook, of course!  Just search for The Pear Fair D.I.Y. Craft & Design event.

Happy September to you.....

Firsts

Getting ready for Art in the Garden tomorrow....this is my first time at this show and I'm looking forward to it.  You can find it at Ted Lare Design Center, 2701 Cumming Ave. near Cumming.  There's more info via their website at: www.tedsgardens.com, just click on the events tab.  There will be a variety of art and artists at this show. 

I've brought a lot (and I do mean a lot, like upwards of 400 or so) old books into the house, courtesy of some very generous folks (big thanks to Mindy, Beth, Susan, and Kathy!) who rescued these treasures and passed them along to me.  I'm having a great time going through them and discovering some that I haven't come across before, like this one:

 I was totally delighted to find this book, because I love Lucy (many years ago I named my dear cats Lucy and Ricky, after all.)  And I have never seen a Lucy book before.  This is from 1963, a takeoff on "the popular television series featuring Lucille Ball." 

There was also an adorable Wonder Book in the boxes.  This poor old book was literally falling apart, so it was ready to be turned into a journal.  This is the first Wonder Book journal I've done:

The illustrations are absolutely adorable, so I took the time to carefully cut each page of the book individually in order to include it.  The pages are pretty brittle, but I think they'll hold up okay.  This would make a great summer mini-book or garden journal or scrapbook.  Or just a book to write or draw in too. 

These are a couple of things I'll have in my booth at Art in the Garden tomorrow, should you want to drop by and say hello.  Lots of other new stuff as well.  The show goes from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Hope to see you there! 

Also, if anyone is looking for a scrapbook or guest book for a graduating senior....there's still time if you want something a little bit different.  Get in touch if I can help you out with that. 

Happy Friday, everyone.