Happy Birthday, Maw-Maw!

I was asked recently to submit several layouts to an online kit club called The ScrapRoom. I was pretty excited that I'd been recommended by my sweet friend Aphra, and that the owner had viewed my blog and liked my work. I received a box of product in the mail along with instructions for each layout. The idea is to create samples to give customers an idea of what they can do with the kit contents. Here are a couple of the pages I created.

The next two go side by side.

I've designed for design teams and companies like this one from time to time. It forces me to work outside of my comfort zone because these layouts aren't for me. I don't choose the supplies, and sometimes I don't even choose the subjects. It's pretty cool, though, and I definitely feel like I'm a better designer because of it. This assignment was a lot of fun!

Last Sunday, my family celebrated my grandmother's 99th birthday. 99! Her name is Margaret Fournet Bienvenu. Her friends call her Mag. I call her Maw-Maw. She's a mother of four, with two sons and two daughters, just like me. I have such happy memories of sleepovers at her house with my siblings and cousins when we were little. She and my grandfather used to speak French (their first language) when they didn't want us to know what they were talking about. This last year was really hard on her. She had bronchitis, flu, and two surgeries to remove blood clots in her legs. Up until last November, she was able to live on her own, in the house she shared with my Paw-Paw. She's doing well at the moment, thank goodness. My Maw-Maw is incredible. Her mind is still very sharp. It's pretty amazing to witness!

Here she is at her birthday party with Anna, Jack, and Matt. Caroline was there too, but didn't make it into this shot.

Here she is with her beautiful cake.

Notice that her hair is done, she's wearing earrings and has on a pretty dress. She is a stylish lady and she loves to look her best. She even had her nails done for her party!

I thank God every day for allowing me so many years with my grandmother. I'm especially grateful that my children have had time to know her and love her. I'll be sure to share more pictures next year when we celebrate her 100th!

As 2013 draws ever closer to its end, I'm working hard to make sure that my Project Life album is up to date and perfect. I can't express in words how much I love this project! I almost wish that I could approach random strangers and encourage them to participate. Since I don't want to appear any crazier than I already do, I will limit myself to raving about it here on the blog. Here are pics of Week 37, which turned out to be a really busy one for the Pellerins.

Last Friday, Caroline and many of her classmates received their letterman jackets. She lettered in both soccer and track. I had so much fun taking pictures of her and her friends that I included two insert pages for the week. Here they are!

Speaking of Project Life, I'm already gearing up for 2014. If you follow Kristina Proffitt's blog, you might have noticed the calendar she uses to jot down little bits of info to include in her PL album. I loved that it was personalized with her photos. It just called to me, so I ordered one for myself. Check it out!

I realize that posting six photos of my calendar is a bit obsessive, but I love it so much that I want to share! You can design your own calendar, journal, photo book or keepsake box at www.papercoterie.com. The one I chose is here.

I hope that everyone has a relaxing, stress-free weekend. Thanks for stopping by!