molly irwin

tiny 'click' collection

  

Ever since I started carrying 'the present' micro book in my purse last fall, the kids have asked to look through it when we're in the car. Something about its chunky proportions and flip format appeals to their playful sensibilities. So when Marty received a camera for his fourth birthday I knew that format would work well to collect some of his very first photos. It would also work really well to keep photos of extended family in front of your little one. Finished size is 2.5" square.

This is a 'no-excuses' type of project. One that you can accomplish start-to-finish in under an hour. Once you've collected the supplies this type of book comes together effortlessly. Here's how it's done:

Step 1)  Gather all tools and materials. If you don't have to find something you can just power through these steps and get it done. You will need the following:

tools

• a heavy-duty hole punch to go through thin cardboard (I used the industrial office-style punch upper left in photo)
• exacto or box knife
• a metal ruler
• cutting matt
• spray mount adhesive (I used 3M Super 77)
• newsprint for surface coverage
• sandpaper and a sanding block
• glue stick
• fine point sharpie

materials

• a sheet of lightweight cardboard or a cereal box
• 1 inkjet canvas sheet (similar product here) with all 12 photos printed
• assorted patterned papers (I chose greens --Marty's favorite color-- by Scenic Route, Basic Grey, and a recycled file folder from Target )
• stamps (shown here: Karen Neuberger Tailored Tins (discontinued?) and Autumn Leaves)
• acrylic paints (I used two colors by Making Memories: meadow and manilla)
• paper labels and a key tag from the hardware store (similar product, here)
• a length of leather cord or ribbon  

Step 2)  Layout and print all twelve photos on single inkjet canvas sheet.

Canvas is great for durability, but if you don't have it a matt finish photo paper would certainly work. Finished size of each page is 2.5", allowing the entire 12-page project to fit on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet. I used Microsoft Publisher for the layout. InDesign, PhotoShop or Elements would work equally well. Since Marty's photos are from a 1 mega pixel toy camera these images don't enlarge well anyway. The exception being the cover shot, taken by my nephew Matt on his sweet new 60D.

Step 3)  Stamp labels with acrylic paint. A thin layer applied with a foam brush creates nice effect and takes very little time to dry. Stamp a key tag with an alphabet stamp if you choose.

step 4) Adhere photo sheet to cardboard backing. Cut photos apart into smaller groups of two, then adhere the other side to a variety of patterned papers. When both sides of cardboard are covered, neatly cut each square to its finished size.

step 5) Lightly sand all edges. You now have a tidy stack of cardboard pages. Almost there ...

step 6) Apply a thin layer of paint to each edge for a finished look and to better seal all parts (photo, cardboard, patterned paper) together. I used my finger tip dipped in the smallest amount of paint. It provides better control than a foam brush. When dry you are ready to assemble the book.

Step 7) Adhere a label with glue stick to each patterned paper page. Write captions.

Step 8)  Punch holes. Get a visual on where you want the hole to go. Feed each card into the hole punch in the same direction. I messed up on the second one. told myself not to worry because he is 4 and will love it anyway.

Step 9) Feed through your cord or ribbon. Add the monogram tag, tie a knot, and you're done.

Marty's pretty happy to be taking pictures and now he has a tiny portable album of some favorite people through his mind's eye. His very own visual memories! You can click on the above image to see his fine camera work.

On the back page I wrote: See it. Frame it. Snap it.

 

I've said it before, these tiny textural books just feel good in the hands. I do love making something that's useful. This one is already tucked into his backpack ready to pull out while waiting for sisters in the afterschool pick-up line.

farewell beach

I love the way the vegetation changes as you near the shore. How it becomes lush, and dense and deep mixed with sandy soil, you just know your destination is right around the bend. Whether it's the scrub oak of Nantucket, the tall grassy mounds of Martha's Vineyard, or the Loblolly pines of the Chesapeake Bay, that visual marker makes my heart beat a little faster; makes me hold each breath slightly longer.

We had to visit the beach one last time before summer ends. The glow of the blazing sun, the sound of someone playing Bob Marley nearby, the scent of a charcoal grill, and a horizon dashed with stripey umbrellas -- you don't get that experience in other seasons.

The kids have grown in this place. Finding sharks teeth and spotting jelly fish of all sizes brought them closer to understanding marine life than any trip to the Aquarium ever did. A boy who, in June, was afraid to near the water, now (with the aid of his thrifted excavator) is able to cool himself, letting the tide lap over his legs with mixed reservation and delight. Remarkable how introducing a bit of molded plastic made everyone's days happier.

A stop on the small, and surprisingly already quiet boardwalk for a double scoop of strawberry at The Dairy Freeze was in order. "I bet it's vewy code in where." said Marty, and he was surprised to learn that, in fact, it wasn't like walking into a freezer. Hilarious!

I actually spoke the words "farewell beach." As we drove away.  I don't think it sunk in with the kids until that moment that this was it for these day trips. "Couldn't we come in the evening's after school?" they requested. But I know it's just far enough and we're just busy enough those days for that to be realistic. I feel good. Satisfied. Now that I've said my goodbyes. I'm ready. Ready for all that's ahead.

slow roasted

If you haven't made Pomodori al Forno, I highly recommend that you get yourself a big bunch of ripe red tomatoes before they are gone for the season and give this recipe a go. Hands down my favorite way to enjoy tomatoes. This is super easy, and believe me you will want to make two large trays full: one to eat now and one for tomorrow. I've stored some in the freezer as well. No more jars of cardboard-like sun-dried tomatoes for me.

The recipe is here, from Molly Wizenburg at Bon Appetit.

oh summer sweet

Summer is nearing an end. I can feel it in my heart; a tugging of pending separation from the footfalls and voices both happy and loud all around me. The warm weather will continue, but it won't be the same. Schedules replace late starts of Sponge Bob and Golden Grahams. Absence instead of scooters and bikes on the driveway. Planning and tasks rather than moments of observation and guidance.

  

School begins a week from today and I'm just not ready to say goodbye each morning. Our summer, which lacked any grand vacation trip (sometimes it's like that, you know), had plenty of highlights, but there were also many sweet, simple times at home: elaborate "set-ups" of building blocks, dollhouses, Playmobile, Littlest Pet Shops, and matchbox cars. Afternoons scouting thrift finds. Dinner tables of pesto, or salsa, and lettuce brought in from the garden. Evening walks with ice cream cones. What we had in the most abundance these last few months was time; relaxed time just being together. That is what I will love and treasure the most from this summer -- the summer of 2009.

--------------------

It will be the last page of my summer book.

abundance

The garden is at its peak. Every day we twist sweet, soft tomatoes from their vines, gather bright firm peppers, cut something back, like the dried cilantro gone to seed. The harvest is here.

Even though our cucumbers were subject to disease, we managed to get a lot of picklers before the vines eventually shriveled and dried. The same has affected our squash and looks like the pumpkins and watermelon might be growing it as well, but we did get two small yellow spaghetti squash.

  

Peppers though, peppers are pretty easy. We just leave them alone and they flourish.

My hands have the prickly sting this morning from de-seeding, and mincing pounds of jalapenos. Seems the oils managed to either penetrate my gloves, or somewhere there was a small hole. As I write, the sound of rolling bubbles rises behind me from the kitchen where another batch of salsa is being sealed in the canning pot. From the first batch I made a delicious tortilla soup with the extra tomato/jalapeno infused cooking liquid as a base.

 

The weekend was full of food: the garden, the kitchen, at the movies and with a new read. Saturday I saw with the inspirational Julie & Julia with it's emotive saturated hues in the 50's Parisian scenes, and enjoyed good talk over a glass of pino grigio with a friend. Trolled around Borders and finally picked up a copy of A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenburg. I thought a good food memoir might help give me the extra motivation to carry on through what seems to be an unending supply of produce we are presently reaping.

 

It's good fortune that our garden has been so abundant. I know it is and I'm thankful. I hope it's okay though that I need to remind myself, because these two hands will wash, slice, season, and set by this summer bounty to enjoy throughout the winter. Canning, freezing, slow roasting (then freezing) ... now is the time --like a squirrel hoarding acorns-- of preparation.

fair day

  

[ click to enlarge any page ]

The County Fair is a big part of our annual summer tradition. It was a happy, busy weekend of family and fun. These pages are still in progress; a couple of them will get some small addition after printing. This next page will get a detail of some type above the text on the right side.

   

Right now I'm focused on getting the photos the way I want them. Everthing else can follow. On this next layout I scaled in a yellow strip to allow for an open space. I'll be stapling in one of the wrist bands we wore that day in that spot.

 

In response to questions about what kind of camera I use ... all photos in this book, with the exception of this county fair series, were taken with the Samsung NV10. It's a powerful tool for its compact size and we've been very happy with it. I also have a Cannon Powershot SX100IS in need of repair that I love. Both produce high quality photos and offer a range of fun manual features to play around with. I would recommend either, but you should go and hold a camera to see how it feels in your hands before buying.

The photos on these three layouts were taken with a Kodak disposable, 800 speed film, from the convenience store. I was so happy with the results (colors, old-fashioned grain, and light) that I'm definitly going to use one again in this type of high camera risk situation. Forgetting to pack the camera turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

wish I'd thought of this

 

To be clear -- not my idea, or project -- just something wonderful I found this morning. If I were expecting a child this is something that seems completely worthwhile, though it's never too late to begin.

summer book inspiration

 

I know I mentioned that my summer book layout is inspired by the clean look of magazines and catalogs. My goal is to highlight some favorite photos in a sort of timeless fashion. Today I'm sharing a few images from those sources and a new page in progress.

[ spread from Maine Cottage, summer 08 ]

I'm creating my own feature story using enlargements as they do ...

 

[ spread from Travel and Leisure ]

... and in some instances I want the flexibility of many photos on the page.

 

[ spread from Donna Hay]

Oh magazines ... how I love you! Too much perhaps.

I've used mosaic maker to create multi photo spreads in the past, but in this case (sample page below) I scaled each photo to the size I wanted and allowed room for the narrative to the left.

 

[ text looks corrupted only because this is a temp. file. It will be clear in the final ]

It's not an exact take-off on any of these designs in particular, but an adaptation that works for me. The story on this page is making me quite happy right now. Still deciding on which food images I want to include from the many I've taken, so a couple of those will change.

I'm not concerned in the least if the photos overlap the fold (or page break, as the case may be) I rather like it that way. Current thinking is that I'll print the pages at home, and slide them into smaller sized page protectors, (super easy) with the binder getting some pretty treatment.

This weekend is a big annual family trip so I should return with more story to be told.

Enjoy your summer weekend!

thrifty Thursdays :: board games

 

That's right ... classic Parcheesi for .98. (Whatever happened to the sad little cents symbol?) This same day I picked up Battleship, Rush Hour, and some chunky chess men for the board we already have. Just a wipedown with windex, lots of windex, and they are good as new.

Call me nostalgic, but I prefer the simple graphics on the old boxes to the new versions. It made me want to re-create a 1970s style game night complete with root beer floats and popcorn. As you can see, some of us liked the game more than others. Maybe in time.

wip :: summer 09 album progress

 

After reading and contemplating Nicki's question about page size, I've decided to scale the book down to a size of 5.5" x 8.5" The reason is largely cost-related for processing the many pages. Still using full page photos, but have added a couple other page formats to keep it interesting.

 

I've been really inspired by the beautiful polariods I see on flickr, and I think their nostalgic look lends the right feeling to this album. To create a polaroid-type image from a digital photo I used poladriod; a free software upload, then added a drop shadow in photoshop. These are inserted onto my page at the correct polariod size (3.5 x 4.5) to look authentic. Try it. It's fun!

I think I'll be adding a little paperclip-type craft tag to a couple of these simple pages to add details like dates and such. 

 

These images look a little fuzzy, but it's just because they're a temporary file.

On several pages I'm using the 'everyday twill' element (by Ali) which I have had for a while and I love, and could see myself using on so many projects. Also used Ali's 'Hello Summer" words in spots throughout. 

 

I'm still noodling around with the whole thing. (I tend to do that.) But I'm happy with the way it's coming together. My goal is to be up to date with the story portion before this coming weekend when we attend one of our big annual summer events: the County Fair. We always get tons of photos then.

As far as number of items right now, looks like somewhere near thirty five. Sounds like it could be a challenge to reach 100, but I'm breaking it down into small things, such as 'cotton candy' and 'ferris wheel', so 100 is reasonable. I need to include more pictures of myself.

Still to come: the book/binder enclosure mechanism. Maybe in two weeks.

Are you documenting your summer? If so, please share.