Heat of late summer we would like sympathy.
The intense heat continues, how are you all doing?
I spent the Obon holidays relaxing, enjoying a bit of the local fireworks festival, going insect catching with a friend from high school and his family who I hadn't been able to see since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and catching small fish and shrimp in the stream - I was able to do some summer-like things.
Well, this time I would like to introduce the next page of memory keeping using stamps from "Day By Day". You can see the previous page from the link below.
◾️Memory Keeping with "Day By Day"
Following on from last week, this was also a slow week recovering from a sudden fever. It was my first time with a high fever, so I was worried and anxious, and each day felt very long. Especially at night! I will never forget the feeling of relief when I could see the light outside at dawn.
Because of the nature of the week, I didn't have much to record and struggled to fill space.
The first thing I put up was "HAVE NICE DREAM." It was part of a calendar by Fukuwake Hanko, who I'm working with on a collaborative stamp project. I received it a long time ago, and it was a calendar with a lovely design printed on paper that felt nice to the touch. I used it in the office for a year, and then put it away, thinking I'd use it if I had the chance.
"I hope you get better soon. I hope you sleep well and have sweet dreams."
As I gazed at my child's sleeping face, I was thinking about these things, so I thought, "This is a good opportunity!" and took the plunge and put scissors to the calendar.
No matter how much you love something, it's much better to have it as part of your memory that you look back on again and again than to let it sit dormant in a box where you store "important scraps that you want to use someday." That's what I thought again.
I'm going off topic, but since I'm here...
Actually, I learned this from my friend Amy, of Amy Tangerine, who is surely well known to anyone who does paper crafts.
A long time before I started Sakurala, I had the opportunity to attend Amy's workshop. At the time, it was a workshop on making scrapbooks and mini albums, which were still mainstream. At that time, she said,
Something like that.
At the time, I was buying things that were too cute to use and hoarding them, so this was a shocking story to me. It was as if a switch in my head was flipped, and from then on I started to use my favorite things without hesitation.
I also wrote about this in my old blog (in 2014!?). After hearing Amy's story, I used my favorite raffle paper that I couldn't use for a scrapbook. I opened the blog for the first time in 8 years!? and re-read a little bit, but I felt embarrassed and closed it immediately. I guess this is what it feels like to want to crawl into a hole. But it made me want to look back at the scrapbooks and travel albums I made a long time ago.
Then, sure enough, I realized that if I had left my favorite raffle paper unused and stored it away, it would never have seen the light of day, and I was happy to see it in the form of a scrapbook with all my wonderful memories.
I learned so, so much from the workshops and my coworkers, but Amy's story from that day left a lasting impression on me, as it was the first step towards where I am today.
*Some of the images were linked to websites that are no longer in use and are no longer available, but they may be of use for your reference. ( Blog: SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT /// FLOWER FLOWER )
The conversation has gone off track quite a bit...
Another place I put up was a big piece of Popeyes paper. To celebrate my grandson's recovery, my grandparents bought me a big cake and Popeyes chicken. At that time, I didn't really care about myself (especially my diet!), so it was really delicious.
I tore off the paper that was in the chicken box and secured it right away! Anything that might be useful for memory keeping is something I'll keep for now. (That's why I end up throwing things away.)
By sticking larger pieces in two places, it filled up a lot of the space.
I also wrote down the lyrics of my child's sleep talking and the first parody song that I want to remember. Even now, this parody song is a daily routine for us to sing before going to bed, so it has become a more familiar song in my house than the original version, but maybe I will have forgotten it in a few decades. With that in mind, I'm glad I recorded it like this.
" 365: How Are You? " was also useful, as I had hoped I would never have a chance to use it due to catching a cold or getting injured. The time has finally come to use the cute germ-kun stamps. I'm both happy and not happy...
Well, the next one will be on Friday, August 25th. Thank you for your continued support!
- February 365: February
- Sleeping face, speech bubble -365: Feeling Bubbles
- Background pattern -365: May , 365: Date + Time
- 6th | Earth and Hana-chan - 365: April
- 10th | Bunny, Snow - 365: Beautiful Days
- 11th | Thermometer, Bacteria, Bunny -365: How Are You?
- 12th | Hana-chan blows out the candles on the cake - 365: Happy Days
- Numbers - 365: Date + Time