happy birthday, Sara

I was so excited all those years ago when I was pregnant with Annie to find out that my wonderful friend Kim was going to have a girl, too. Turns out Annie and Sara are very, very different. Still, on the rare occasions that we're able to get together, the girls get along wonderfully. Each year, I try very hard to come up the perfect birthday gift for Sara...but finally, this year, I was stumped. Annie told me to get her gift cards. But I didn't think that was exciting enough. Annie assured me, "Gift cards are a preteen girl's best friend! Trust me, Mom, she love them!" So, I decided to trust her, but I still wanted to jazz them up a bit, so I made this special holder for them. I hope she likes it! Annie totally flipped over it, and made me promise to make her one for her birthday, so I hope that's a good sign.

The front cover:



















And this is what it's like opened up:















(click on photo for a closer look)

uninspired

Not sure why, but I just can't seem to get inspired while creating these "prizes" for Annie's contests. This is the super plain one that July's winner will receive.

a quick photo card

Nothing fancy. (And honestly not crooked in real life.)