memory lane ensemble

i've been working on a few projects simultaneously.  one in particular since last year, is an ensemble of my childhood days. it's an album which housed several other albums within.

when the fly a kite collection came out, i was ready to build the album.  just then i saw the sneak of modern homemaker.  i knew i had to wait.  then the campfire.  don't i love october afternoon!

let me walk you though my halfway done childhood story....

i call it memory lane using a travel scrabble tiles.  you know...memory lane as in stepping back in time and memory lane as in wisteria lane as a friend said.  now, need i be so literal.

i stuck a postcard for the old street address and stamp date.  i haven't done it obviously.  there will be family member pictures popping out the window and some details.  stuck with a spring, i love my wobbly mom; although i doubt she'd ever worn an apron for real.  :)  the woolies and fabric blooms are basic grey's hello luscious and the fences are embelliscrap.  i hand-cut the chipboard trees (well with the help of my help), covers them with wood rind and age them a little. also the clouds and kite, and covers them with felt and hand-sewn them.  you can only half imagine the work for this ensemble and i haven't even started.

the ensemble opens up to some of my fond memories.  the idea is of course not to build a literal life on this ensemble, but to keep the impression of my childhood memory.  late 70s early 80s...you know, the pre-computerized days.  when we play a lot of physical and role playing games indoor and outdoor.  actually everything was about playing then and so here.

the right panel will have little collage pictures, journaling and stuff using little frames from melissa frances and of course stickers from various october afternoon's collections.   that's my indoor wall.  i still need to gather the pictures.

can't remember where those wooden letters came from; they're in similar shape of the fly a kite's boy and girl.  i covered them with golf grass and my painter friend helped me paint them.  he wanted to and he's a better painter than me.  my other brother is still missing, but he's joining soon.  you see joe is holding a kite spool?  if you read the kite runner, then you have an idea how the boys played the kite then.

i should have taken more detailed pictures.  the grass flaps opens up to two side by side albums, perfectly rest to the side wall by the power of invisible magnets.  i'm pretty proud of that inkling because otherwise i would have to use velcro...yikes.  more stories and photos on the panel, but again they're not there yet so nothing much to see for now.

these are the two mini albums.  third try and i gave the previous 2 to the friends who were also doing this project with me.  they're identical to this, but very minor issue with which sides should be the cover side by side was a big deal for me.

lots of things going on here, each strand was a memory or will be by the time i'm done.  these are the spines which rest perfectly to the sidebar wall.

indoor album

the albums are pretty much done, just need photos and journalings.

outdoor album

actually i fashioned another album—enchanted garden for a class last weekend. 

the main frame has a few full 12 x 12 pages.  more stories will come here; camping on the yard, hide and seek, friends, hoping in and out the neighborhood.  those days after school, we played indoor, then outdoor since it's always summer.  some days are just longer...weekends and school breaks.

other page has of course a full 12 x 12 picture and a monopoly board (indoor games right) from report card collection.

even mini-er storybooks.

and of course my wooden barn!  the construction was like building a real one.  it was supposed to be a storage room.  since the first one looked like a cabinet instead, so a barn it is then.  i will storage some memorabilia.  i adore this barn and it plays the tune of the sound of music.  who didn't watch it at least 127 times then.  actually part of the reason why this project is never done, because every time i pass by it, i tend to just wind the music box instead of working on it. 

it's not so easy working with old photos so i will dedicate a couple days sometime next week and prep them so i can finish the whole thing soon.