Right now my kids are young…in a few years they will be preteens…then teenagers…then young adults…and then they might be parents. I imagine our summers will change over the years, but there are some favorite things that will repeat year after year. I’ve always enjoyed the perspective that looking back provides. I don’t want to go back to the past, but I like being reminded of the good times. I don’t have time to journal like I did growing up, so I improvise. This summer I thought I’d start “Our Summer Box”. The box has categories pertaining to summer: Places, Recipes, Activities, Inside, Memories. I can add more as the years pass. As favorite things in each of those categories come to mind, I jot them down on an index card. Each summer it will be a box I can get out and record tidbits of our summers together…and see how things stay the same and change.
I found a old filing box at a flea market for $1.00, but you could use any type of box.
I wanted to give my box a summer feel without being too over the top, so I did simple beach stripes.
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Supplies:
Wood box (found at a flea market)
Painter’s Tape
White Paint, Indian Turquoise paint (Americana brand)
DecoArt Triple Thick Brilliant Gloss Glaze (this stuff is awesome, it is like a thick spray on poly coat)
Sanding block
Notecards, divider cards
My original box
Painters tape is an inch wide, so I did 1 inch stripes (go for the path of least resistance!). I measured back how far I wanted my stripes, then marked it with a strip of tape.
Next I sanded down the area to be painted and began painting the whole area white.
After a few coats of white, I taped off stripes. I used a small piece of tape to help me keep the stripes an inch apart. Then added a few coats of the turquoise. I did wiggle the box a bit to keep the paint from sealing it shut.
Finally I took off the tape and sprayed several coats of the thick glaze. I used a toothpick to keep it open while doing the topcoat.
The dividers in my box were super old…and the tops turned brown. I added some light coral masking tape over the top to cover the discoloration.
I’ve always got a little helper by my side.
The inside of my box. I’ve added a few things behind each tab and look forward to adding many more!
Yeah for summer!
by AshleyAnn
show hide 26 comments
Kina - What a great idea for those of us who would love to keep a journal but don’t have the time nor are disciplined enough!!
Joni - i have one of these exact boxes. my friend of mine gave it to me a few years ago. he originally had photos stored in it. it has been sitting around ever since and now i know what i can do with it.
Sarah Pratt - Awesome, simple project! I like it!
mandi@herbanhomestead - Oh this is a great idea! I think we’ll make one today!
Ruth - love this!
Cristy - I don’t understand how you do it? Deducing from your daughters “two years/ adorable dress” picture, she’s 6 mos older than my daughter. I can’t even load the dishwasher, let alone be crafty, with her by my side
She’s grabbing knives (of the butter variety) and trying to run off or pushing step stools over to kitchen stools in order to climb up on the counters. You get the idea. Never content to sit by and participate. Even in her brother’s room full of big kid super fun toys (like legos an light sabers) she wants to precariously stand on the edge of the bed, leaning over the bedside table and open the extremely pointy cornered drawer to get out some action figures. Standing on the floor in front of the drawer is not an option. Sigh, I know she won’t be a toddler for long and I’m enamored by her girly, little ways. Im so busy helicoptering around her, not much gets done.
And you have a weeks worth of handmade fun, plus you write posts everyday, have your own business… You know what you do, I don’t need to repeat it. Is there a secret to it???
Love your blog, I look forward to it every morning with coffee before the kiddos wake up:)
Anna Joy - love!
Sarah @ Handbags*N*Pigtails - What a good idea! I started blogging because Im terrible at scrapbooking and could never stick with keeping a journal. Whatever works for you, right?
natalie - This is beautiful Ashely Ann. I wanted to tell you that I made a little book for Father’s Day with photos from our year, mostly of my littles, with pages for them to answer questions about Daddy and draw on. It was a huge hit. Thank you so much. xo
Raquel M - Love this idea!!! On a mission to find me a cute box, and start making memories!!!
cailan - That’s the loveliest idea. You seem to be the best at seizing each day. I was wondering if sometime you could share how your schedule works? when/how do you plan out each day? You seem to do such an intentional job of making your family a priority, yet you fit in crafty time and daily posts (which I love Every Morning) and don’t you exercise too! I would so appreciate a couple tips. Thanks much, Cailan
Alice H - every time I see pictures of your helper all I can think is “what a wonderful mom you are to be letting her help and passing down your craftiness to her”.
I love this summer box.
heather - this is such a great idea and in such a cute little box.
now i know what my boy and i are doing this weekend.
Lori - so copying. I love it. The years do fly by…this is better than scrapbooking it’s 3-D!
Dawn Eshnaur - That sounds similar to something I did when my boys were growing up. We had a “jar” and I would put small pieces of colored paper in the jar when something happened we didn’t want to forget throughout the year. On New Year’s Eve, we would open up the jar and read all the notes of the year. Then I would put them in chronological order and put them in a little notebook labeled with the year. It has been a great way to remember things! I love it!
Sarah - Cute!!!
I do want to say though, as a former archivist… if your dividers are turning colors, they’re not acid free. You might want to grab some different ones to preserve your memories forever!
BeckyH - So funny that you posted this. I just got done reading my “I’m Bored” document that I have created and added to over the years.
After kids turn 12 years old, it gets REALLY hard.
Love the box!
Tina - LOVE this idea!!
Elle - Cool idea! You could even file away pictures! (At our house we have “The Great Photograph Debate” – DH maintains that digital records work, while I like having a physical photograph to admire and smudge.)
Margaret - What a great idea! I went to lowes today and bought chicken wire and paint and am setting my sights on making chicken wire frames to go in the nursery tonight! Thanks for all the inspiration!
Alba - ups, sorry for that. please, erase my previous comment
i was saying that i might copy the idea, it’s really interesting to keep our memories, but waht i really love it’s the helper and her face.
petonets, Alba
emily june - AHHHH! I love your blog, I want to follow it, but i cant find the button. gonna try and see if i can just add you to my google reader. thanks for sharing your stuff
Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft - Seriously.. that box rocks. YOU rock!
Kat - This is a great idea! I will have to keep this one in mind.
Oh, and Death Cab for Cutie has a new album out with a song called ‘Underneath the Sycamore’, it made me think of this blog
Krista Lund - love this! what a great keeper of all things summer!!
Sarah Baker - I love this idea! My mom made a box just like this for me, with little cut out pictures of my sister and I growing up, from all different holidays and than put a glaze on it. She made it as a recipe box, but I am totally stealing this idea for when I have kids, to keep an easy record of the little things I may forget to write down in an official journal. Love it!