Child Keepsake Memory Boxes/Books

If you have children, then you understand that each child collects a lot of papers from school, awards, report cards, artwork, photo's etc.  

Some of these things I want to save for my boys' keepsake memory books that I will eventually finish as a graduation gift for each of them.

The keepsake memory books that I have started for each of my boys will take me years to finish.  They're part scrapbook, part project life, part baby books, etc. (I hope to share the albums with you all someday.  At the end of this post, I'll show you a little sneak peek of those albums.)

In the meantime, I have to have all of my boys' keepsake stuff organized.  This is how I keep it all together:

I've created a large file box for each of my boys. 
You can find these boxes in my Amazon Store Here.

 Inside each box, I have file folders organized by year/grade.

 As the boys come home with a piece of art work, a report card, etc. I simply slip it into the correct file.

 Setting this system up has made it so much easier to keep everything together.

 Sweet little hand prints from 1st grade is definitely worth keeping and adding to their keepsake albums.

 Diplomas, etc are worthy of keeping as well.

 I even slip photo's from the year into these files too.

 anything that I would like to add to their keepsake albums go into these files.

 I store the boxes in my office/craft room closet on a bookshelf.

You may remember a while back I shared this post with you all:

Organizing Children's School Papers

Well since then I have changed my mind and decided that it'd be much easier to have EVERYTHING all together and in one place, including school papers, photo's, art, etc.  So I no longer use this system.  I use the file box system instead and it's been so much easier having it all in one place.

The keepsake memory books that I'm creating for each of my boys look like this:

 Like I said earlier, it will take me years to finish these books.

Here is a little sneak peek at one of the inside pages.  

I am creating my own full page 12x12 scrapbook layouts and I sell them in my Etsy Shop Here. 

 You can find the Announcing You Page (shown above) in my shop HERE.

If you want to create a little simpler keepsake book/album for your child, I do have these digital sets in my shop too:

Aqua Baby Keepsake Memory Book

 ...and some extra pages for the set here:

and I also sell the School Days Memory Books (in digital format) too:

Simply click the photo's above to be directed to the items in my shop.

.. and that is how I organize my children's keepsake items.

May you be a little inspired!

Until next time,
DaNita 
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View more of my Most Recent Projects HERE.
 

My Boys' Shared "Nautical" Bedroom

As most of you know I have 4 boys (and in 3 weeks, I will have 5 boys!!)

With that 5th boy coming soon, I've recently been moving rooms around to make room for a nursery again. (The nursery is almost done and it's so cute!  I'm hoping to finish it up and show you before my little guy arrives, but we will have to see.  I'm not making any promises ;)  I've got LOTS of projects that I'd like to finish before he comes, so we shall see.)

Today I'm showing you my youngest boys shared Nautical room.  It's a work in progress room.  I really haven't finished it yet, but I'm going to show it to you anyway.

Someday I'd like to change the red and white striped shams to blue chevron stripe or blue trellis design shams. I'd like those gold pillows to be red with a large white letter momogram on each. I'd also like to get two trunk type toy boxes to go at the foot of each bed.  Wouldn't that be so cute?

Some of you may think I'm crazy to have cream bedding coverlets in a boys room, but I will tell you this... you can bleach whites/creams and I have many times.  We've had the cream bedding for many, many years and I will say, they still look fine and are in pretty good condition.

I'd still love to paint the room someday too and I think I'll paint the ceiling too (or at least part of it) as there is just too much ceiling in here with the slant.

This room is actually more of a big bonus room, but I have to use it as a bedroom as we don't have enough bedrooms not to.

The "old" toy room is through that walkway.  I showed you the toy room tour the other week (which isn't the toy room anymore.) That room is now my second oldest sons room. I'm still waiting on a door for his room too.

 The lighthouse poster is from Costco.  I still need to add a matte to that piece.

 A little desk area and ...

...across from the beds, I had created a reading nook.  (Which doesn't even look like this anymore) Now I've moved all the toys to this section of the room.

.. oh and those curtains... they're pinned up there.  That's another "project" that I need to finish.  All I need to do is sew a pocket for the rod to go through, but I have yet to do it.  (Believe me I have lots and lots of this kind of thing going on in my house - curtains that are pinned up and yet to be sewn.)  If only my mom lived closer!  She's great on the sewing machine, me not so much.

The bean bags are from Target, the rug and curtains are from Ikea.

 and these picture ledges are the RIBBA picture ledges from Ikea.  I just used them for books instead and I do love them!  The link directs you to the smaller ones, but I have the bigger ones here.

I did love this area as a reading nook, but after moving the Skateboard bedroom to the toy room, I needed a "new home" for all of those toys, so now this space looks like this:

 

 I moved the bookcases that shelves the toys into this area.

 and it's been working great.

The top baskets hold books now...

... and I did LOVE those ledges with the books, so I moved three of them on a wall next to the beds.

and that is the tour of my boys' shared bedroom.

May you be a little inspired!

Until next time,
DaNita 
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View more of my Most Recent Projects HERE.
 

Toy Room Tour

Last week I shared My Son's Skateboard Room with you all.  Remember I told you that we're making room for a new baby nursery and so I've been moving rooms around?  Well that skateboard room is now in the "old" toy room.

I never did give you the entire tour of the toy room.  I shared bits & pieces of the room in these posts here, here and here.

Today, this room looks nothing like it did a few weeks ago, but before I show you the now, check out this space when it was the toy room:

Those book holders above the toy box are the Ikea Ribba Picture Ledge. Love these for holding books!!  I actually have some of the larger ones in my boys' shared room (which I'll show you soon.)

The toy room wall color is Sherwin Williams 6523 Denim

This is the view into the toy room from my youngest boys shared bedroom. 

The bookcases on each side of the toy box are Ikea's BILLY Bookcases.  The baskets are from Ikea  and the sand buckets are from Target.

Here's the TV side.

This is how I organized the boys' movies...

... and their x-box games.

The three white tables holding the TV are Ikea's Lack Side Tables.

The alphabet wall art can be found here in my Etsy Shop.

Like I said, in order to create the "new" nursery, I had to move my second oldest son into the toy room.  So now, this room is a completely different room.  It doesn't look anything like this anymore. It even received a brand new fresh coat of paint and it's not blue anymore.

This room is off from my youngest boys' shared room.  Next I'll show you the rest of the shared nautical room.

May you be a little inspired!

Until next time,
DaNita 
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

View more of my Most Recent Projects HERE.