A storybook
about and just for
Shaela Jamie
As our grandchildren started coming along, I made a special book for Keri, Ryan and Brenna with a story/poem written just for them and included photos of each child as part of the story.
I didn’t expect that we would be getting so many grandchildren so quickly and since the books are very time/labor intensive, I decided I would not be making any more.
Since both her brother and sister each had their own storybook by Mom-Mom, Jill asked if I would make one more for Shaela.
During their visit last August, Shaela dressed up in her cousins princess costume and I snapped a bunch of photos. The story came quickly to me and I thought I would be able to complete the book for her birthday in November.
I began editing photos to illustrate the story but soon realized that one should write the story first and then gather photos that fit.
Shae’s birthday passed and I shot for Christmas.
Christmas passed and I set my goal to finish by their Easter visit.
Little Shaela asked about her book during that visit and I was sad to tell her, Mom-mom hadn’t finished it yet.
~*~
I had the photos in files that would be merged together for each page to be completed but I had only finished three and felt overwhelmed.
The book needed thirty-six pages plus a cover and title page.
~*~
I turned to someone who I knew could do infinitely better on the illustrations…
Abbey
Bless her heart, she spent hours and hours and did a fantastic job creating page after page, illustrating my story and using my photos (and some she took) to complete the book.
She also created the cover and added all of the text to each page.
~*~
So after the l-o-n-g wait and even after driving all the way here from New York and arriving after midnight, Shaela wanted to see her new book.
~*~
It blessed my heart to see her listen to her storybook where Princess Shaela was the main character (along with the castle puppy, Sir Raider von Wolfgang) and hear her giggle at the parts she found funny.
(Prince Ryan and Princess Brenna are also part of Princess Shaela’s adventure)
Finally finished
(even with a few misspellings despite umpteen proof reading)
I was asked where I had the book printed. In the past I have used the more common book makers such as Kodak and Snapfish. This time Abbey did some research and wanted to try MyPublisher. We were very pleased with the quality of the book. They also have a service available to make a dust jacket. The book and jacket looked just like a book you would purchased from any leading book store. We couldn’t be more pleased!
This gift is what I would classify as a most thoughtful, creative, and lifetime gift. The anticipation on the little one's faces is priceless! Your artistic and thoughtfulness continues to amaze me. I am so impressed with this gift.
oh my that is just the most wonderful treasure I have ever seen. A special book that is truly a labor of love.
What a treasure- Something those kids will remember for their lives! What a lot of work too!!! xo Diana
She will treasure this for years to come. You are a wonderful grandma
What a wonderful gift for Shaela to cherish. You're so creative!
How wonderful. The work done on this wonderful story book will be a lasting treasure forever. Hours well spent!
You and your daughter did a great job on this. How very exciting for Shaela. Wishing you all lots of fun this weekend.
Mrs. M. Lane
Oh my goodness!! What a wonderful book. You and Abbey did great job…the photos and illustrations are awesome! From the bits I could read, the story sounds equally delightful.
What a special treasure Shaela has. You create the most wonderful, full of love creations!!
What a wonderful storybook your granddaugther will always treasure — a new family heirloom!