| |

School Is (Still) Out

I have been meaning to create a digital scrapbooking page recording the last day of school before the summer break, but did not have the perfect kit until Lara at Dustybear created this lovely doodley-style school kit School Spirit. Yet again I must thank Lara for once again choosing to create a school-themed kit using the colours in our school uniform.

For the first time ever, I found the last day of the school year very emotional. Usually it is just a time to celebrate the end of school runs, making lunches and washing school uniforms. This year however, and number of children our family knows well were leaving primary school for the last time. If that was not emotional /scary enough, the realisation dawned that this time next year it will be MY ELDEST who will be leaving!

My daughter is beginning Primary 7 in September, and in November she will take part in the Transfer Test (also known as the 11 plus). I am not sure how many countries still have academic selection for their 10/11 year olds, but it is still here (just about) in Northern Ireland. For many years there has been talk of replacing it, but there is still lots of discussion and very few clear answers about what will replace it. For this year, at least, we still have it. I don’t plan to discuss the tests much here on the blog, but I would appreciate thoughts and prayers for the children, teachers and parents at this very stressful time.

‘Nuff said!

School is still out, but with just 3 more weeks before they return, we have already purchased the new school sweatshirts, including a nursery school jumper for my youngest. He is so excited about wearing it and going to “Big School” as he calls it. Let’s hope his enthusiasm lasts until at least September.

I was delighted to receive so many visitors and comments to my last post about my love of vintage postcards. Continuing on a vintage theme for this week, I would also like to share my love of vintage family photos. I have got quite a collection, and the majority of them I have names/details on the back to help identify who they are, and how they are related to me.

One of my favourite old family photos is this one of my Grandmother as a teenager (before teenagers were invented!). So my show and tell for this week is my collection of old photos, and an example of how I use digital scrapbooking to preserve both the images and the memories for future generations.

The frame I used for this layout came from a wonderful elements pack by GinaMarie Huff at Weeds & Wildflowers called, appropriately, Vintage Bling. (link to follow!)

As the saying goes

“Blessed are the children of scrapbookers, for they shall inherit the albums!”

For more Show and Tell visit There’s No Place Like Home
post signature

Similar Posts

29 Comments

  1. These pages are amazing! I would love to be one of your children to inherit one of your books! They would be such a treasure!

  2. Well that is another way to watch TV-guestbook! I just posted somthing on my grandmother too. You did a great work in scrapboking her picture!

  3. what a great collection to have. Love the layout you didof your grandmother.

    We have 3 more weeks until school starts as well….although that means I also have to go back, LOL.

    Good luck to your daughter with here tests.

  4. Wow…very impressive collection!!!! Your grandmother’s is so very special!!!

    Stop by my antique show n tell if you can. [you’ll need to scroll down a bit since I added the Tropical Storm update of the damage done in Houston where my son lives on the top of my blog this morning! —]

    Happy weekend.

  5. great collection! And your layout is gorgeous.

    We start school here soon and I haven’t even started the back-to-school shopping! Guess I’d better get my act together!

  6. Love your pages. We started school wednesday here and I am sure glad. I love old photographs, my grandmother has alzheimers and my mother has got all these old ones from ww1 and we have more fun looking at them.

  7. Very nice page! I like the fact that it’s almost September before you all start school. I think we start way too early here (next week). Have a great weekend!

  8. Wow! You have a fantastic collection of vintage photographs!
    They are all gorgeous, especially the one of your grandmother. It’s just wonderful that you have so many vintage family photographs!
    Lovely post…
    Kathy@ Mimi’s Garden

  9. I love your scrapbook page! Every time we go somewhere and I see old family pictures on the wall-I’m just drawn in. How wonderful you have the info of the people and who they are to you. When I see the ones at stores or resturants-I can’t help but wonder where their living family is. What a treasure to have.

  10. I love your scrapbooking. It is beautiful. I have little patience for photoshopping. Hince at least a couple of thousand of photos that need post processing. I do customers work and give my own work a lick and a promise… Too much like dark room work and since becoming a mom… have not had the luxury of time to spend there. Though I have to say, digital is much easier.

    But your scrapbook pages are really nice. Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

    Thanks for stopping by my place earlier!

  11. I do a lot of scrapbooking, but haven’t really ventured on the digital scrapping. Your’s is beautiful…I will have to give it a try!

  12. I love old photos, too. I just inherited some from my mom — so sweet to see her as a young woman. And my mil just moved here and has several boxes of old pictures, too, that I’d like to put into albums for her.

    That layout at the bottom is just gorgeous.

  13. We just went through a bunch of old photos – without names written on the back. I now know the value of recording that information, as we have NO CLUE who most of those people are. *pouty face*
    Your layouts are lovely, as usual!

  14. I love old photos too. I have quite a few of them. I am old enough that some of the pictures of me when I was young are quite old.
    I love the digital scrapbook idea. The page you showed is beautiful.

  15. What gorgeous scrapbooking pages! I have oodles of scrapbooking materials that aren’t getting used because I haven’t had time to select and print my photos yet, so maybe this digital scrapbooking thing would actually work for me.

  16. Thanks for coming all the over from Ireland to visit me today – I love having new visitors!

    Your creativity is wonderful – I have retired and have so many pictures to do something with – I wish I had the energy and whatever it takes to do scrap books.

  17. I love that scrapbook page of your Grandmother. What a lovely story you wrote. It will be a keepsake for years to come! Perfect for Show and Tell Friday!
    Love, Ann

  18. These are beautiful pages. Thanks for visiting my Sunday scrappin’ post. Nice to meet you!

  19. It looks like you have a wonderful collection of photos. And the scrapbook page you did with your grandmother’s photo is absolutely beautiful!

  20. Thank you for your visit and nice comment on my blog.
    It is great that you have so many family photos and that they are captioned as well.
    I don’t know much about digital scrapbooking, but your work is very special.

  21. I love old photos. For my Grandma’s 90th birthday, we scanned in all of her photos, and made a digital scrapbook album book with the photos. She cried, it was so touching to her.

    Thanks for visiting my Show and Tell. I enjoyed reading about yours! 🙂

  22. Hi JanMary –

    Sweet layout – do you LIKE the children having uniforms? I’ve always thought they were a good and wise idea! Wish we would have had them when I was in school.

    It IS hard reaching these milestones in your children’s lives. All of a sudden it hits, with bittersweet realness. I’ll be praying for your request.

    Ohhh – and the vintage photos – I don’t have hardly any of my own family, and so one time I suggested to Miles it would be fun to buy some from an antique store, then I could create my own ‘virtual family’ from them… just thought it would be fun. Perhaps will even do that one day, even though he had a look on his face like I’d smacked him with a wet sardine – he thinks its a VERY strange idea. I’m a strange girl tho. haha!

    Your teen/vintage/grandmother one is AMAZING. I’m in awe. Have you ever considered fixing your hair in the same manner as hers, (or your dd who would be closer to the age of grandmother in her photo) and dressing similar, then taking a photo, and ‘matching’ the color the same to compare? You could even put you there too and do a ‘past generation’ family portrait. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do this. I can help alter the photos if you ever need!

    Your strange Canadian friend,
    Barb

    ps: thanks for sharing!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *