Camouflage

cam·ou·flage

noun /ˈkaməˌfläZH/  /-ˌfläj/  The disguising of military personnel, equipment, and installations by painting or covering them to make them blend in with their surroundings - on the trenches were pieces of turf, which served for camouflage - camouflage nets The clothing or materials used for such a purpose - figures dressed in army camouflage An animal's natural coloring or form that enables it to blend in with its surroundings - the whiteness of polar bears provides camouflage When our youngest son was around 3 years old, he loved everything camouflaged. He had a little pair of pants, a shirt and even Van slip on shoes. Back in the 70's, military camo was the only type of camo available. Now there are different camouflages that belong to the hunting world. One of my nieces is having a baby next month, and after a long string of girls, we can add another boy to the 2nd generation cousins. The baby's father is an avid hunter, so it wasn't surprising that the theme of the nursery is camouflage with a touch of orange. It was a very specific camouflage color- "Mossy Oak/Real Tree Break Up." I had no idea what this was. We raised 2 boys, but they didn't hunt while they lived at home. Now my youngest lives on 80 acres and can go out his front door and fish and hunt all day long. I knew I had a challenge ahead of me. I tucked away my feminine side and headed out to Academy Sports to searched for some inspiration. I love taking an item and transforming it in a creative way. When I saw the Koozies, I knew what I was going to make. Who knew that a holder for an "adult beverage" could be used in a mini scrapbook! I loaded up with different things used in hunting and fishing and started my project. I cut out different wildlife animals and "hunting jargon " with my Cricut and used them through out the book. I tried to use words that also could associate with a baby's picture (like "hibernating" for sleeping baby) I used a koozie every other page and embossed a tag with wood-like texture so they could journal on one side and place a picture on the other. For the pullouts, I used 2 target stickers and put them back to back. I also used a real paper target as one of my scrapbook pages. To mimic her baby bedding, I embossed a tag with dots, (for the minky material) and used orange seam binding, like what was on the baby blanket. Each page, I used different hunting papers I found at Hobby Lobby. I wanted to leave enough space to place pictures, so I used minimal embellishments. I would use a glossy product in areas to give a "wet nose" look. I found some Mossy Oak bandaids, so I thought it would be cute to make a "Safety First" page and put some of those bandaids in a little pouch. Next, I wanted a unique way to bind the book together, so I took a "fishing stringer" and used the hooks and fed it through grommets on each page for added strength. I used twine and fed it thru each koozie to hold them in place. For added interest, I attached fishing "floaters, lures, charms and a little light (to symbolize a nite-lite). I also used fishing swivels to attach all the embellishments. I took a copy of my son's hunting license, reduced it on my copier by 50% and laminated it for a miniature license charm. The mini was a little "chunky", so I found a compass at Walmart, added a ring to each side and used it as a closure to hold the scrapbook together. So I hope "Baby Hayes" likes his hunting,mini, baby scrapbook and knows that his Aunt Cindy loves him very much.