More Manufacturer Spotlight Articles

In November, I shared the first three manufacturer spotlight articles I wrote for Scrapbook.com, which included We R Memory Keepers, Bo Bunny and Simple Stories.  Four more of my manufacturer spotlights are now live.  Check them out by clicking on each:
  

   

It's been so fun researching each brand, interviewing company representatives, and learning more about how each manufacturer got started and how their company has changed over time. These four truly could not be more different.  Enjoy!

Tutti Frutti

Trevor and I are obsessed with Tutti Frutti, a self-serve frozen yogurt chain.  Their yogurts are absolutely delicious.  Their topping selection is not as good as some other frozen yogurt stores in town, which is actually a good thing - instead of loading candy bar pieces, sugary cereals, cookies and other (admittedly delicious) junk on our yogurt like we (happily) do at other places, when we go to Tutti Frutti, we pretty much stick with nuts and fresh fruit toppings.  Those, of course, are also delicious.

In my mind, yogurt + fruit + nuts is a balanced meal and totally appropriate to take the place of lunch or dinner.  Steve prefers a 'proper' lunch or dinner, so whenever Steve goes out of town on business, Trevor and I have Tutti Frutti as one of our meals.  Delicious!  

Here's the layout I made about one of our Tutti Frutti dinners.

Most of the items on the layout are from Doodlebug, including the blue striped background paper with a 2002 copyright date on it.  Which means not only have I been holding on to this paper for 12 years, but I actually moved it to this house with me.  I'm glad it's found a place on this layout.

I should also mention the alphabet stickers.  My title has five T's, but with a son named Trevor, I don't often have extra T's lying around.  In fact, I had exactly zero T's on this particular sticker sheet.  Fortunately, it's really easy to substitute other letters for the missing ones.  T's in particular are really easy to make.  I cut apart two X's, two Z's, and an exclamation point to make the five T's.  After inking all the letters (they started out white) and adding Stickles, the T's blended right in seamlessly.

Belt Loop Display

Are you familiar with Cub Scout belt loops?  For those who aren't, a brief explanation: a belt loop is an award earned by a boy for completing three basic requirements in one subject area. Think about it like an extremely simplified Boy Scout Merit Badge.  There are three different types of belt loops: gold for academic subjects (astronomy, nutrition, pet care, etc.); silver for sports (baseball, hiking, ice skating, etc.); and bronze for the two sports that can only be earned on approved BSA shooting ranges (archery and BB gun shooting).  The award is a 1-inch square piece of metal that slides onto the boy's belt.

Photo Source

When a boy earns his first few belt loops, all is well.  They slide onto his belt well and he can proudly show them off any time he's in uniform.  However, after he's earned more than a handful, it takes longer and longer to get into uniform and the belt gets heavier and heavier. Unless you have a Cub Scout of extreme girth, he'll run out of space on his belt early in his Cub Scout career.  Trevor has a tiny waist and was out of space after his first year as a Cub.

Half the fun of earning belt loops is showing them off, so I didn't want Trevor's belt loops to sit in a drawer somewhere where no one would see them and he wouldn't be motivated to earn more of them. So I asked my dad, Woodworker Extraordinaire, to design a belt loop display that he could help Trevor make.  He came up with a brilliant design, a T-shaped wood piece that supports six acrylic arms onto which the belt loops can slide.  It will hold up to 60 belt loops (there are currently 53 offered).  I took Trevor to my parents' house for a long weekend and this is what they built:  

Trevor did 95% of the work himself with my dad's close guidance.  Once we got home, we hung it on the wall and Trevor started sliding his belt loops into place.   

He's arranged and rearranged his belt loops, which is exactly what I'd hoped would happen.  I used a pushpin to temporarily put the "C" patch holding his pins above it.   

In the time since I drafted this post and put it in the queue, I found out that BSA has announced that the program that includes belt loops will be discontinued as of May 2015.  It's disappointing, as the Academic & Sports program is strong and highly motivating to the Cubs.  Trevor will continue to work on completing as many belt loops and pins as he can through his Wolf year and into his Bear year before the program ends.  In the meantime, he now has a really cool display that shows off all the hard work he's done so far.

Trevor deRosier: Second Grader

I had so much fun scrapping the picture from Trevor's first day of second grade.  

I started with an alphabet background, then pulled small scraps of paper from different collections and tucked them behind the photo.  I stamped the title and the date (using a stamp set I've owned for at least 2 years but hadn't used yet - woo hoo!), punched a star, and glued the whole thing down.  So easy and I love it!

Be the Change

Each day after the Pledge of Allegiance, the students at Trevor's school recite their school pledge:

I am a Redhawk.  I reach higher and know that real learning takes effort and responsibility. I have a resilient mind, the heart of a champion, and big dreams. Every day is a new day in which I choose kindness, respect, gratitude, and happiness.  I will be the change I wish to see in the world.

They don't just recite this pledge - they incorporate it into everything they do.  It's awesome.

Last year (when Trevor was in first grade), all 740 students were invited to write an essay about what they do to be the change they wish to see in the world.  Along with the essay, they filled out a form listing the community service they do. Trevor worked really hard on his essay and form.  About a month after he turned it in, we got a letter in the mail telling us that Trevor was selected to be one of 20 students that would form the first Be the Change Student Summit.  We were invited to attend the ceremony where he and the others would be honored.

We didn't know what to expect, but it was clear from the moment we arrived at the school that morning that whatever would be happening was way beyond what we could have imagined.  The assembly was amazing: we heard what each honored child does to Be the Change, listened to dignitaries including the mayor, superintendent, council member, congressional representative, and more talk about community service, and learned that the students would be meeting to decide the recipients of $500 donated in their honor.  Trevor and the others were given beautiful certificates, lunch, and gift cards from a dozen local businesses.  To say we were proud would be the understatement of the year.

Between Steve and me, we took several hundred pictures that day.  I really struggled with what pictures to use for this special layout.  I went back and forth on what to include before deciding to keep it really simple and allow three photos and my journaling to tell the story.  I asked Trevor to write the title in his handwriting.

Trevor has just submitted his application for the 2014 Be the Change Student Summit.  While we hope he is selected, what is important to me is that he knows that, even at 7 years old, he can make a difference.  He understands that we don't do community service to win a contest, but because helping others is the right thing to do.  He knows that anyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can be the change they wish to see in the world.  In my mind, that makes him a winner no matter what.