Celebrating Adoption ~ Day 9 of Cooking With Cricut's Every Day in May Blog-Aversary

Today is a very special day!  Not only is it Day #9 at Cooking With Cricut's Every Day in May Blog-Aversary, but it is a special day at our house.  Cooking With Cricut is having a month long Blogoversary Cele"bear"ation with postings and giveaways every day during the month of May - and each and every day there will be some kind of celebration posted!  So make sure you hop on over and check out the fun!

I am honored to be  the guest designer today and today I am celebrating adoption! I am the adoptive mother of four amazing children -- three are grown and on their own and my baby just turned seven. Each and every year we celebrate the day their adoptions were finalized. We call it their Adoption Anniversary -- I have a friend who is also an adoptive mother who calls it their "Gotcha Day." It's a big deal -- there is almost always a gift involved and a special dinner -- kind of like a second birthday. 

Today is my youngest's anniversary and this is the gift I made for her. It is called a "Star Book" and it is basically a 3D card. 

It was pretty easy to make and features pictures of my little one from the time she joined our family at three months to present as well as a poem called "How Do We Love You." 

I found the instructions for the star book over at the Splitcoast Stamper's website -- here is the link. 

 The materials for this book include:  two pieces of 4" x 4" chipboard or mat board; 7 pieces of card stock cut at 8" x 4"; 7 pieces of card stock cut at 6 1/2" x 3 1/2"; 7 pieces of card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 3"; and then whatever you want to decorate your pages.

When the book is opened it looks like a star.  If you click on the middle picture and enlarge it, you can see that the decorative part of the page is adhered only on the sides. 

Here are the details:

George & Basic Shapes -- cut all of the pages using the rectangle and sizing it to the dimensions above.  Papers used -- white card stock, card stock from DCWV Nana's Nursery - Baby Girl paper pad, and Bazzill's Lily Pond.

Accent Essentials - I used a frame and hid the inner cut using Cricut Design Studio to create my photo corners.  They measure 1 1/2" square and are cut from paper in my scrap stash.

Just Because Cards - the mats for my poem measures 2 1/4" w by 2 1/2" h.  It is cut from plain white card stock and I brushed the edges with a Mossy Green stamp pad.  I then ran them thru my printer.

Mother's Day 2010 - The tag on the cover of my little book measures 4" w by 2" tall and is cut from white card stock and Bazzill's Pinkini.  And it anchors my grosgrain ribbon that ties the star book closed.  The pink jewel sticker heart is by White Blossom and was purchased at Michael's

The paper on the cover of the book is by K & Co. and is called "Young Girl Flowers" and was designed by Tim Coffey.

Adoption is an amazing way to build a family. On any given day in my home state of Florida, there are approximately 850 children waiting for forever families. They are waiting for someone to love them, waiting for a place to call home. They come from varied backgrounds, circumstances, races and ethnicities. While some have specific medical, physical or emotional issues requiring special care, many do not. Some are part of sibling groups that want very much to stay together as part of a new family. Adoption isn't for everybody, but if you think it might be for you and your family, I encourage you to take a closer look.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my extra special project today!  Make sure to leave me a comment with your blog address ~ I'd love to come visit and see what you're creating.  And don't forget to pop over to Cooking With Cricut and see what amazing freebie Melin is giving away today!!

~ Jen