Do you have a scrap paper drawer? One thing I remember being told in middle school is to not waste paper. Ever since, I've had a scrap paper drawer. Every ending school term, I review all school handouts and put sheets in my drawer that have one blank side. It's been really useful, for quick lists, book making, and more recently drawing quick sketches for class.

The last project I worked on, I took a few sheets of paper from my drawer for quick sketches. Sitting in class brainstorming some ideas, I flipped my page over and saw I was using a sheet from my twelfth grade English class. We had just finished reading Hamlet, and were told to write a letter to Hamlet. I call this "Maria Should Just Stick To Making Pretty Pictures".

Dear Hamlet,

I know you have been through a lot with many issues right now. Dealing with your father's death and the remarrying of your mother to your uncle may be tough. As your uncle has told you, everyone goes through the stages of life, and it was your father's time to go. It might be difficult to understand things like this now, but it is something everyone has to deal with sometime in life. Your mother remarrying your uncle may be something that you have to learn to live with because your mother is happy now and that's all that matters. It may be awkward, but you'll get used to this eventually. It is normal for your, now, stepfather to try to act like your real father and may sometimes go overboard trying to really act like that, but he just wants you to accept him. It is totally normal for new fathers to feel this way. His time will pass before you know it and you will take over that throne. It is also best at this time to stay at home, rather than attend school, and be there for your mother. It is all about family.

From,
Maria

With all this talk about family, I thought it was appropriate to post about this handmade book.
My friend's father has been dating this woman, Laura, for some time now. My friend took a while to warm up to Laura in the beginning, but as they slowly started bonding, they became close. Sometime last semester, my friend starting planning possible birthday gifts for Laura's upcoming birthday. She decided to make a scrapbook. I had so many handmade books for her to choose from, and she picked this floral one. She printed all these photos and quotes, and I provided magazines, coloring tools, etc. to decorate this book. It took us the whole night, a trip to TCBY for some froyo, and necessary TV watching to keep us sane. We managed to get it done and it came out pretty wonderful. To finish it up, I painted Laura's initials on the front with fabric paint.

Laura LOVED her present and I was happy to be a part of the scrapbooking process. I'll make any excuse to do crafty things and my friends and family know this.

And to think a lot of this stemmed from me starting that scrap paper drawer!