Fast, Fancy, First

Sometimes, after Storytelling Sunday, I think - I should have made a page about that. And sometimes I actually get round to doing it:

This is the only photo we have of the Thomas Train Triumph; but at least that means I don't have to think about how to get more pictures on my page. Despite my best efforts to change, I'm still a one photo kind of girl. I always have been. I think it goes right back to the beginning, when I found a stack of 6x4 photos in a folder, and I took one , and I stuck it on a page. The main draw now, for me, is that working with one picture over a couple of hours gives me a chance to really look at it, really take in the little details and remember the things I'd missed. On this one I remembered:

- that crazy flower patterned fleece she is wearing, which we bought while on holiday in Edinburgh. It replaced one we'd bought in the same shop a couple of years earlier. One with a big red heart on the front and a pair of ears sewn into the hood. Everyone loved it.

- the little girl standing next to her. Who travelled for miles every day and, at the end of that first year, decided it was just too far. She changed schools and we never saw her again.

- the train driver cap which was popular with every kid who visited; but not with its original owner, because, even in those days, his hair was too big for a hat

- and Thomas himself. We used the same cardboard box idea again to make Robot Wars robot costumes for a family party. Robot Wars was very popular in our house for many years..

..and so it goes on. That's what happens when I start with one photo and spend a bit of time with it.

The brightly coloured papers here are a move away from the paler pages I've been making lately. Almost everything came in a kit from Citrus Twist - what about those crazy shaped flowers? I cut those from a piece of Prima paper which seemed to suit.

The red washi tape was in there too, so I used it to create a flap with my photo

In the end a different part of the story came out in my journaling, so it looks as if I'll be printing out the full Storytelling Sunday version and sticking it to the back of my layout. That's one post preserved - if, like me, you are starting to wonder about keeping the rest, you could have a look at the simple instructions from Blog Guidebook on how to back up your blog. I think it's definitely worth it, don't you?