August JBS Mercantile Guest: Kendra Mccracken

When I got married 15 years ago, photos were not something that wereimportant to me. I had my memory and that's all I really needed. Or soI thought. Since photos weren't important to me, nor to my husband, wedidn't have a photographer. It’s now one of my biggest regrets.

Fortunately, my mother knew photos would one day be important to me soshe brought along her camera to the reception. I have very few photosand they are very average for wedding photos. But I'm so grateful shethought to preserve the moments for me. It adds much to the story ofthe torrential all-day downpour at our outdoor reception when I can pullout the photos of the group of kayakers trekking 10 feet away from ourreception to the nearby river!

When our first son was born 2 years later, my husband dug his old 35 mmSLR camera out of a closet and said, “I want you to have this.” Thebig, bulky thing intimidated me at first and was frustrating to learn touse, but he continued to encourage me.

I now use a digital SLR and take it everywhere with us. My family hasdubbed it ‘The Baby’. Since The Baby is always with us, I take a lot ofphotos. I enjoy making up for the error of my ways in the past byrecording every special moment possible in my scrapbooks. And I enjoysharing my scrapbook layouts with others, hoping to inspire them to record all those special moments, too.

You can read more of Kendra's delightful escapades on her blog, Traveling at the Speed of Life, and find more of her lovely creations at Fiskars.

Meanwhile, she has created this adorable block set with the August Project Kit and stay tuned as we will be sharing more of her work soon!

When I saw this adorable image on the book page included in the kit, I knew I had to find a fun way to use it. Luckily, it fit perfectly on the stack of Creative Imagination blocks so I was able to use it to make a simple puzzle on one side. I covered the reverse side with one of the gorgeous vintage wallpaper pieces. I intended to display this side in my craft room but after completing the project, I'm torn as to which side I like better!