Funny thing, birthdays. They come once a year. On a specific day. Bringing with it a specific age. (For most, that is. Mine hasn't moved in a long while. Do you think I need to bump up to 35 this year instead of my usual 29? Nigel is going to be 14 which makes me think that 29n needs to become 35b. Oh, how that math is keeping me honest'ish!) Coming once a year means you can count on them (for better or worse), which makes birthdays prime candidates for pre-planned pages!!
This year, if all goes well, we will celebrate 5 in house birthdays. We sometimes travel to family for a birthday or two, but this week is about planning for scheduled events, which means I am going to ignore the potentials, and stick with the for certains.
Let's get starting planning our layouts.
COLOR
Each child in our family has a fabric birthday banner. A few years back I was inspired by Pottery Barn's fabric birthday banner, so I made one for each of my girls. Then Nigel asked for one, too, so he didn't feel like a second rate citizen (hahaha! hard to be 6 years older than a princess or two!). Their banners come out every year the night before their birthdays and then stay for the week. Poppy's is purple, Lavender's pink, and Nigel's blue, green, and grey.
Last year, we added a personalized poster for each child. It stood next to their gifts on the table, and now sits atop their shelf in their bedroom. Here are the girls' posters.
You can see that the colors match their banners, which means the color palette for their party decor is well set!
DESIGN
My littles still have parties, with 5ish friends that come help celebrate. They have already picked their themes and activities which will help me know what to expect for their layouts. Further, I usually try to get a horizontal group shot, and then vertical individuals of each of the party goers. I will see if I can fit everything on one page, but realize I may have to venture into the two page layout category.
Nigel hasn't done an official party for a couple of years. Instead, he opts to take a friend to the movies. And now that phones have cameras I can get a picture while we are there. (He is much less bothered by my snapping a phone pic than hauling out my big camera.) His layout will just need room for one phone photo which means it will be more square than usual.
Richard's party will be a family affair with dinner, presents, and cake. His photos will include a food shot, a cake shot, and then some present-opening photos. These are the highlights for his birthday. A few years ago, I realized that I wasn't very good at buying him presents, so I began a new tradition of thematic gifts. His presents are small, low-budget, and must fit within the theme. The first was "As Seen On TV." Others have included "Go Go Kitchen Gadgets," "Dinner & a Movie," and the least successful, "Welcome to Hollywood" (which was tooth whitening and sunglasses!). Knowing that the presents play a fun part of the day, I am going to plan for a five photo layout: four presents, and a kids n' dad photo. I will let the food/cake shots be their own layout.
I am not a big center of attention girl, so my party will be a family dinner of grilled steak and seasoned potatoes. With a gluten free brownie for dessert. (Oh, how I miss my baked goods... sigh... ) My gifts are homemade cards and a Yagoot gift card (my froyo of choice). There are only so many Yagoot layouts a girl can make, so my birthday layout will just need room for a picture of the meal and my family.
LAYOUTS
The Birthday Person
The first three layouts that I put together will incorporate the subway art and a vertical birthday photo. My kids each have their own books, so I went ahead and made them each the same. Even if they all went in one book, they would be separated by a month each, so that they are the same isn't too crazy, right? I left the layouts relatively plain as the subway art has lots to read and lots of different fonts.
The Birthday Celebrations
Now, we need some birthday celebration layouts! Remembering all the planning details, let's put together some layouts. In order of appearance on the calendar...
And with that, all our birthdays will be recorded on time and in cute ways!! Who knew I had it in me??
I hope that you have had a fantastic week. I have appreciated you comments and your input. Hopefully you have gained a new strategy for completing some of those pages that we know we can count on year after year.
Additionally, I have long understood that organization in my home frees my spirit. This week I learned that the same is true of my scrapbooks. Fear of event layouts has a way of weighing down my spirit and causing me to hide from my photos. But with all that we have accomplished this week, I feel fulfilled and ready for all those layouts that I love to make! Please tell me if your experience is the same.
I hope you have a wonderful autumn. Amy will be here tomorrow for some journaling love and Francine will be here Monday to start a new week!! Thank you, dear friends and readers, for stopping by!
