Sunday, July 8, 2007

Super-Quick Photo Turnaround--Tons of Summer Fun!


Last week I had company--my mother, sister, brother-in-law and three little nieces.

My sister, Margaret, teaches art to grade-schoolers at the Lighthouse Elementary School in Jupiter, Florida. She’s the person who originally taught me about scrapbooking. Her daughters are all very crafty, and I really love “playing” with them. They are game to try just about anything “Aunt Jonie” throws their way.

Since I’d had such fun with my “garbage” album (see my June 18, 2007 post), I prepared five fronts and backs before they came. I used cereal boxes and paper bags from the grocery store. With the covers pre-made, all the girls needed was paper to make interior pages (and boy, oh, boy do I have paper) and photos. I figured we’d find something cool to do—something that would yield terrific snapshots.

And of course, we did. Did you know that St. Louis has a museum devoted to dogs? The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog, known locally as the Dog Museum, commemorates man’s centuries-old relationship with the dog with a collection of artwork including dog paintings, bronze sculptures and etchings. The museum is housed in the historic Jarville House, an 1853 Greek Revival house in Queeny Park. The park was the estate of Edgar Monsanto Queeny, president of chemical giant Monsanto, Inc., from 1928-1960. It’s a lovely place, perfect for any dog-lover. The girls and Nana liked it a lot.

Margaret and I both took photos of our outing. That night I downloaded her memory card and mine. Next I sent our photos to Snapfish (http://www1.snapfish.com/). We selected the pictures we wanted. We chose the sizes and quantities—allowing enough for the girls as well as making copies for Nana--and added a narrow, irregular white border to each image. Then I sent the digital images to the Walgreens right around the corner. The next day at 10 a.m., we picked up our pictures—all 70 of them. The cost? Around $13. (No, that’s not a typo.)

The girls were able to put the photos of what we’d done the day BEFORE in their albums. As you can imagine, it was loads of fun watching them making their own very personalized creations.

3 comments:

Camille Minichino said...

I LOVE the bonding that comes with doing projects together, and it sounds like a wonderful experience for you and your family, Joanna.
I learn more about my nieces' lives and problems while working together than in any "direct" conversation.
And, at the end we have some beautiful creation.

How old is the little girl in the photo?
Camille

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

She's six. That's Grace,and she was born on my birthday. Isn't that the best gift ever?

Her sisters are 7 and 12.

I'm delighted to have my wonderful son, and the time with my nieces is particularly great because that's when I get my girly time.

Camille Minichino said...

Crafters in the making. I love it.
What a gift you're giving Grace!

Camille