Blog Archives October 2006

Recently, I was hired to work on the coolest project ever.  I was asked to create a shadowbox for a 90th birthday party.  How amazing to create a historical representation of one person’s life and be a part of such a big celebration!  I want to give a big thank you to the family for placing your faith in me and my Web site…I hope I did you proud. The original intent was to maybe showcase a photo or 2 and some war memorabilia.  Once I saw all of the photos and trinkets I realized there was no way all of this stuff could be displayed in a traditional shadowbox.  But everything deserved a prominent place in this display!  I had to get creative and find a way to showcase the significance of the photos and display all of the memorabilia in a very special way.  Just by looking at the photos, you can tell how much love there is in this man’s life.

I came up with the idea to use a wooden window pane as a way to display all of the memories.  Each pane has a specific meaning and represents a special time in this man’s life.  One pane devoted to his late wife, one to his daughter, one to his grandchildren and his great grandchildren, one for his time served in the army…

This project was such a labor of love and the end result was amazing!  I was honored to be asked to create such a special memento for such a special person!  Take a look at the photos of the finished project.  This is a custom order on Watermelon Rind Designs and the pricing is based on our scrapbook pricing.  Take a look at our scrapbook page and place an order on our order form.  Contact us with questions, or fill in all the details in the order form.  We take great pride in our work and the utmost care will be given to each project.  When placing your order, please keep in mind that there aremany ways to display your memories and we will work to come up with the best solution for you!

Place your orders soon so you have a finished masterpiece in time for the holidays or your special occasion!  Thanks for looking and have a great night.

Wow!  Where has the time gone?  How is it almost November?  As the holiday season heats up and we all succumb to the season of giving…I just wanted to remind you of a few things.  Watermelon Rind Designs is a great place to shop for the holidays.  We have an assortment of gifts that would be perfect for the love of your life (think scrapbook), neighbors and teachers (think coasters and trivets), friends (a custom blanket or hand painted sign), or hard-to-shop-for relatives (shadowboxes).  Get your orders in quickly – custom orders will take additional time.  Scrapbooks and shadowboxes are classified as custom orders.  Please try to place your order and have your photos in the mail by mid-November.  Due to the highly time-consuming and personalized nature of these orders, we cannot guarantee holiday delivery on any orders placed after Thanksgiving.

We appreciate your business and are looking forward to filling your orders!

My sister is on my mind today.  My younger sister, my only sister.  My incredibly artistic, independent, funny, beautiful sister.  My sister with whom I have had a somewhat tumultuous, occasionally painful, yet always loving, relationship with for the past 15 years.  She moved to California this month to pursue her dreams.  Dreams of living on the West coast.  Dreams of photography.  Dreams of driving across country once again – taking pictures and cruising on roads less traveled.

I miss her.  My kids miss her.  Which sounds kind of funny because even though she was only an hour away, we rarely saw her.  Relationships are funny like that and life sometimes gets in the way. So, technically, I shouldn’t miss her yet (I most likely wouldn’t have seen her this month anyways).  But I do.  Probably because I know she is not 40 miles away anymore.  Probably because my kids are asking about her all the time and it is hard to explain to a 2 year old where California is and why she can’t come to babysit tomorrow.

The last time we got together, as kind of a ‘bon-voyage’ gathering, we had so much fun.  Insanely silly fun.  We met at the school my husband works at and let the kids run amok on the turf field.  We had bagels and juice.  We took pictures.  We played hide and seek.  We did cartwheels and had races and laughed like we hadn’t laughed in a long time.  It was like we were 10 years old again – all that was missing was Dr. Scholl’s and hopscotch.  And it was good.  And bittersweet.  And such a perfect memory for her to depart with.  And part of me wishes that there could have been more times like that over the past few years. I wish that having a difference of opinion didn’t become an impediment to spending time together.  I wish that she could have enjoyed my children more and shared in all the joys that they bring. I wish that we weren’t all so busy and overscheduled and overworked and overtired.

So, today, I just wanted to say “Go get ‘em, Lisa!”  We love you very much.  Kick butt out there in California – you are so very talented and we have all the faith in the world in you.  We admire you so much for taking such a huge step, for stepping out of the comfort zone and taking control of your path in life.  Send pictures.  And call when you get homesick.  We’ll be thinking of you on Halloween since we know it is your favorite holiday. Thanks to the Internet, you aren’t really that far away at all!! Love and Hugs from the Gang!

Everyone has a list of things that make them tick. The list varies from person to person, and quite often from week to week or from season to season.  Some of these things can be emotional or material or physical – but they all make us who we are.  As I was sipping my venti caramel apple cider from Starbucks this morning (one of my current favorite things), I got to thinking about what makes me “me” right this second.  If you had asked me 2 months ago what my favorite things were, I would have told you beach days and BBQ’s and flip flops and watching the kids play in my neighbor’s pool and venti shaken iced tea lemonade.  But today, my list has changed.  The beach has been replaced by trips to the park.  Black boots have replaced my flip flops. And, now the kids play football instead of diving in the pool.  Sure, I still like (even love) those other things, but they would not be in my top 10 for today.  I am still very much me…but it is a different season and my routine is different.

So, for today, here is a list of my current favorite things (minus the caramel apple cider, because I already told you about that).

1. watching my oldest daughter put my youngest daughter to bed (complete with the reading of stories, the covering of her tootsies and a bedtime song); they finish by saying “I love you” and “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
2. snuggling with my husband under our awesome, toasty comforter
3. Grey’s Anatomy, LOST, CSI, The Office
4. the spectacular autumn foliage
5. getting to the gym…my alone time
6. the smell of leaves and fireplaces burning
7. My Jenni Bowlin Studio scrapbooking kit that comes once a month
8. the old family photos given to me by my mom and my in-laws
9. seeing my mom so happy in her new townhouse
10. being home on Wednesdays and getting to walk home from school with my oldest daughter

And, my challenge for you is to jot down your own.  Whether you keep a journal, a scrapbook or a blog – make sure you take the time to reflect on who you are and what makes you tick.  Update your list from time to time…I am sure you will notice some differences. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! TGIF!

The holidays will be here before you know it.  That means a couple things for Watermelon Rind Designs…you will see more holiday merchandise up on the site AND we will be participating in a couple local craft fairs.  If you are within driving distance, please visit our table at the Franklin Elks on Sunday, October 22 from 11-3.  We have quite an assortment of things this year and it’s a great opportunity to snap up some wonderful one-of-a-kind holiday items for your loved ones.  We will also be accepting orders for custom shadowboxes and scrapbooks. Get your photos together and place your order for these items soon – you’ll be so glad that you did!

If you need directions to the Elks, please call 508-533-2136 or Mapquest directions for 1077 Pond Street in Franklin, MA.  See you Sunday!!