family tree drawn by Marie Lynskey
In my research on family trees I came across Marie Lynskey, a calligrapher who will draw a beautiful family tree for you. She has also written a book “Family Trees: A Manual for Their Design, Layout & Display” available on Amazon. Here are a few more samples of her work. Happily Marie is available to put her talents to work for your family tree.
dyed button from fiberluscious
Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:
If your button stash could use some color here is a solution: Rit Dyes. Click on the photo above for a step by step tutorial. While not all vintage buttons dye equally, if adding some color gives these buttons new life I think it is worthwhile. Have fun with this.
It would be a good idea to document where the buttons for your project came from and any relevant stories or information about that person or family. If you are looking for more button crafts, check out my Pinterest board.
Fable with a dirty nose and tongue
Fable turned 9 months old this week. We are now passed the halfway point in her time with us. I hated that I didn’t get Emma’s book done until several months after she left so I’m recommitting to do better with Fable. My plan is to write something about her each week and post it here along with photos. By the time she goes back to Guide Dogs for the Blind in about September I will have her book ready for final layout and it should be easy to get it done to send a pdf with her on the puppy truck.
Fetish or Fascinated:
Fable has this kind of fetish with grass. While she isn’t our first pup to like to eat grass her fascination goes deeper, down to the roots in fact. She doesn’t just pull up a tuft here or there. Fable focuses in one place and pulls up all the grass in that spot down to the roots. There is one area of the yard that she likes the grass best in and she also likes it best if her jolly ball is close by. I think that goes back to when she was very little. She would run out in the yard to the jolly ball and then instead of playing with it she would start pulling up grass. Fable doesn’t really eat the grass she just loves ripping it up and then shaking her head and spreading the “dead” grass everywhere. If left to her own devices in the backyard she almost always chooses to pull up grass.
Fable’s pedigree
Inspire by the Colorful Clan post, I did a photo pedigree chart for Fable. As you can see I have two grandparents that I don’t have photos for. I found someone who has puppy photos of Laramie but I’m hoping to find an adult photo. I’m really happy with how it came out. I’ve uploaded an InDesign CS6 template here for your personal use. It shouldn’t be too hard to adapt it to humans. I’d love to see your project if you use the template.
I’m off to download this new award winning app from StoryCorp. It sounds wonderful in helping everyone to capture oral histories. I’ll report back later after I’ve tried it out!
button bikes from This that and everything in between
Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:
No instructions for these little beauties but when I saw them I just had to share them. Can’t wait to have some time to try these out. As a small gift they would open up the opportunity to share bicycle memories or talk about how the use of bikes has evolved and changed since their invention. You must have some family story that could be trigger by these sweet little things.
It would be a good idea to document where the buttons for your project came from and any relevant stories or information about that person or family. If you are looking for more button crafts, check out my Pinterest board.
Emma.avi from Raelyn Webster on Vimeo.
About Emma’s puppyhood as a puppy in training for Guide Dogs for the Blind
Though we are sad that Emma’s future didn’t turn out to be as a guide dog, we are so grateful to have had Emma in our lives. She was a joy to raise and we will always remember her droopy eye, snuggles and happy disposition. Emma has a bright future with Dennis. Time will tell if she will need an operation. Whatever happens Emma will live a good life and make a difference in the world. We look forward to seeing just where her new life takes her.
Finally in January 2015 Dennis Marino, a volunteer at GDB wondered why Emma was still in the kennels? He had walked her several times I thought she was a really nice dog. He wasn’t looking for a dog but his question started the ball rolling and Dennis adopted Emma.
Emma lives in San Francisco and goes with Dennis to campus when he volunteers in the gift shop. Dennis’s dog walking is now with Emma, twice a day. They are a nice pair and so far Emma’s back is doing great. She has adjusted to life in the big city and the hills of San Francisco.
On March 27th 2015, we met Dennis on campus and got to see Emma again. It was so fun to see how healthy and happy she is with Dennis.
Because we want to keep raising puppies and Emma’s back wouldn’t be helped by an ongoing stream of young puppies we asked GDB to find the best place for Emma. Her mom’s family meet Emma one day when they were on campus and fell in love with her. But after talking to the GDB vet they decided that their lifestyle was too active for Emma’s condition.
In December Emma was assigned to a staff member to build rapport with until they could find just the right place for our Emma. She was well cared for and loved while she was in the kennels.
telling family tales 