Hi there everyone! Kelly here (in the middle of the photo, pink shirt), with a flashback from 1989. I was in seventh grade, and I had a wild mane of red hair, complete with fluffy bangs. I wore my t-shirts big and rolled up the sleeves, cut off my jeans to make shorts, and tried to act grown up.
I was recently reminded of this awesome period of time when I un-earthed an old, white photo album with magnetic sticky pages full of photos I had taken. Most of them were of a 10-day science trip I got to go on with my earth science teacher and a bunch of other kids from my school. We were lucky enough to be chosen for an after-school science club, and we were promised that if we worked hard and helped earn money, we could go on a trip at the end of the year. We visited places like Mesa Verde (in Colorado), Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks (Utah), Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), Four Corners, and a lot of other scenic science stops along the way. Did I mention it was 10 days on a yellow school bus, camping along the way? It was AMAZING. I'm not sure the chaperones felt the same way, but the students had the time of our lives. It was the longest I'd been away from home. I don't remember if I called home, but I sent some pretty cheeky postcards, and took lots of photos. Not all great. But enough for a mini album, which is what I decided to make with them.
I got to these photos just in time - the edges were starting to adhere to the pages! Since these were not the most precious photos I own, I decided to put the best of them into a mini I made using cardstock as a base (no page protectors, in other words). I cut sheets of heavy kraft paper in half, and then sewed them together into a book (with my sewing machine). You could use another method of binding, but I was lazy. My machine was right there. I didn't even bother changing the thread color!
Then I went to work, weeding out the really bad photos, and keeping just the ones that told the story of this crazy experience of my twelfth year. Some of the photos made me laugh out loud, because I remember feeling so grown up to have a camera at my disposal. And I can still feel the anticipation of waiting for my photos to be returned to me in the mail after I sent them to be developed (can you imagine?!). I also learned a great lesson on this trip: look behind you before backing up to take a picture. There might be a giant petrified log behind you that you will trip over and get scraped up on. Good lesson.
I grabbed some random supplies from my stash, including a sheet of travel-themed stickers from Making Memories, and a pad of paper from K&Company. I wanted to make my photos fit the time period, so I rounded the corners (because that, for me, is very 80s - isn't it?). By the way, I think I have taken that same photo of Balanced Rock at Arches almost every time I have been there (which is quite a few times!). But it always makes for a great shot.
I used a fine-tip Sharpie for all my journaling, because I wanted to keep the look very casual. I found that I wrote more about how looking at these photos now makes me feel. It's interesting that most of the people I hung around with on that trip were my friends all through high school (and even beyond). A few of the pages:
I included the postcards that I sent home (smart of me to save them!), because they are really hilarious to read. I sewed this one into the center binding, so I could see both sides of it.
Here's a shot of the back cover:
I love making minis like this one, because they tell a very specific story. This one is different for me, because I have gained perspective since I was twelve that adds another element to the story. I wish I knew where Mr. Tuley is now, so I could tell him how much fun I had on that trip, and how much fun I had re-living it this week as I made my mini. I think I'm going to go curl my bangs under and find a t-shirt clip!
