The countdown

I'm counting down to two events: one, my stores closing; and two, our Massachusetts trip. All of my products are marked down to clearance prices, and they'll be removed from the shelves for good on July 31st. On Sunday, we're leaving for Camp Kinderland in Tolland, MA. Dan has been asked to do some of the traditional camp games that his father used to do when he was alive. It will be nice to have the son continuing in the father's footsteps, although emotional I'm sure. I'll be doing some paper crafts with the campers, including an "explosion" origami greeting card and a mini scrapbook album. I've spent the past three days mocking up samples and buying supplies. I still have to do all the laundry and start packing, but I'm feeling pretty prepared. In acknowledgment of the fact that I'll be computerless for a week, I did three layouts in the past couple of days. One is a 12x24 spread and I think it will be too large for my blog's column set up, but here are the other two. I created this layout for this week's Spin-A-Lift challenge at Sweet Shoppe Designs. I spun and lifted Emily Merritt's layout called "Pirates Cove". Journaling: "The Clearwater Festival began in 1969 when Pete Seeger and many of his activist friends built a sloop and sailed it down the Hudson River, entertaining and raising awareness of the damage pollution was causing to the river habitat. This year we attended the Clearwater Festival where we got to hear fantastic music, dance, learn about the river and its inhabitants (Rebecca held a horseshoe crab, but Ben was not interested), and feel a part of a caring community. " Papers and elements: Urban Vintage by Traci Reed at Scrapbook Graphics Glitter edge: Ronee Parsons, Oscraps Banner: from Jessica Bolton's Road Trip CD at Scrapbook Graphics Font: Ghostwriter We were thrilled that the kids got along so well together on our recent trip to visit family in North Carolina. Although he played a lot more with his younger cousin, Ben also adored his big cousin Taylor. I caught this photo on July 4th at a family party. Kit: Courage & Strength, Mindy Terasawa, Sweet Shoppe Designs Template: by Julie Billingsley, based on the layout "Look! A Flower" by Melissa Lewis at Sweet Shoppe Designs Alpha & Tape: Teeny Tag Alpha, Jessica Bolton's Road Trip CD, Scrapbook Graphics Journal Stack: Cindy Simon, no longer available for purchase