This is 40 – Documented

Like every other person on this planet born from March onward, I celebrated a very Covid Birthday in 2020! I never have grand plans for my birthday, but I did want to make a spectacle out of turning 40. Ha ha ha ha. The difference between the plan in my head and the reality on the ground was night and day, but y’all I had a great birthday.

And in true Lisa fashion, I made a mini book to document it.

(BIRTHDAY) LOGISTICS

Here are some tips that worked for me that might work for you!

• Only invite people that I absolutely adore and who know each other
• Be outside as much as possible!
• Make everyone bring their own food! (this is a COVID thing that I would love to see become a regular thing)
• Get reassurance from a pal that my idea made sense
• Lower my expectations, then lower them farther

If you know me in person, from my blog, or from my social media, you won’t be surprised to hear that I have FEELINGS about my birthday. My past two birthdays were so hard, for so many reasons. I was ready for this one to be the same. But it wasn’t. A lot has changed over the past year. I’ve changed. And this birthday was wonderful. What a relief to my heart.

BOOK TALK

I haven’t scrapbooked a full book like this in awhile, so it was nice to flex this muscle. This book is made up of all old stuff I have in my crafting stash. I had a blast searching through all the bins in my “scrapbook studio” (HA!), and selecting a bunch of fun items to include. It measures about 5” x 7”, which is my favourite size for mini books for two reasons. One, you can print 5×7 photos to fill entire pages, and two, because one 12×12 sheet of scrapbook paper turns into four 5×7 papers! It’s just good math.

The cover is “mixed media” I guess. A combination of sprays, alcohol ink, embossing powders, and interfacing.

For this page (below) I made a pocket using some embossed vellum. Inside are printouts of the kind messages – emails, texts, DMs – I received.

My go-to scrapbooking style is a combination between telling the story, great images, and fun embellishments. I use full pages of text to tell the story, or I write directly on the photos. The photo on the left (below) was planned so I could add some text once printed.

FURTHER READING

For more reading about the Elk Island Camping portion of this birthday, click here.

This is 38 – Birthday Post & Birthday Scrapbook by Lisa (Not Ladylike Blogspot)

This is 39 by Lisa (Not Ladylike Blogspot)

If you are looking for a TRULY GREAT local scrapbook store, I wholeheartedly recommend my pals over at Treasured Memories. I got 90% of the stuff you see here from them. They are my forever fave.

My beautiful cake is from local baker Sugared & Spiced.

I encourage everyone who is traveling to national or provincial parks, to at the very least learn the names of the Indigenous folks who were pushed off that land in the name of “conservation” and “preservation of wildness” to create green tourist spaces for white settlers. This is my favourite website for learning: Native Land. Elk Island National Park is located on land traditionally occupied by the Nehiyaw-Askiy (Plains Cree), Niitsitpiis-stahkoii (Blackfoot), Michif Piyii (Metis), and is historically a gathering place for many other Indigenous Peoples.