On this one...you just have to read the journaling!
I had several photos AND a long story to share on this layout, so I decided to hide my journaling behind the main photo. The letter stickers give a ‘teaser’, but you have to lift the photo to read the rest.
The various polka dot patterned papers tie in nicely with the theme.
I used naked chipboard letters and then used a pencil eraser to dot paint on them to further enhance the polka dot theme.
Journaling:
One of the bigger gifts that Kaitlin received from ‘Santa’ this year was a new polka dot sheet set which features many of her favorite colors and a soft, purple bedspread. I didn’t just want to deliver it under the tree…I wanted to do something a little more creative than that. Part of the reason was because Kaitlin was 7½ years old and she’d been making a few comments here and there that were causing me to think that Kaitlin was starting to question the existence of Santa Claus. Something in me didn’t want the ‘Santa-believing’ era in Kaitlin’s life to be over quite yet.
On this occasion, I was quite happy that Kaitlin tends to be a very deep sleeper like her dad. We were home all night on Christmas Eve and Kaitlin went to bed as usual. After she was thoroughly asleep, I carried her over to our bed and remade her bed with the new sheets and bedspread. Once I was done, I took her back and tucked her into her newly-outfitted bed and went to bed myself shortly thereafter.
The ‘discovery’ was made a little earlier than I had expected though.
At about 3:30 a.m., I heard the pitter-patter of little feet to the bathroom. I thought she might just crawl back into bed and not even notice, but the next thing I knew she was wide-eyed and at my bedside.
“Mommy! Mommy, I have pocka dote sheets on my bed!”
She quickly realized that she hadn’t said that quite right and made a couple more attempts, but couldn’t seem to say ‘polka dot’ for the life of her…maybe she was still a little sleepy after all!
So, both Justin & I had to get up out of bed at 3:30 a.m. to check out Kaitlin’s new ‘pocka dote’ sheets. At that point, she hadn’t even realized her new bedspread yet, so we turned on the light and pointed it out to her.
“Oh, Mom, it’s soooo soft!”
Then, the conversation shifted a bit.
“How did he change the sheets when I was sleeping in my bed!?” she asked.
Several scenarios were considered – Santa has levitating powder (maybe he and Tinkerbell are friends), the elves lifted her up, etc. No matter what the method, we all agreed that Santa is one sneaky fellow.
Kaitlin was pretty excited about her new bed sheets and bedspread, but eventually we got her calmed down and tucked back into bed for the night.
Ever since that night, Kaitlin’s sleepy-excited pronunciation of ‘polka dot’ has been an inside joke within our little family. While she grumbles a little (behind the giggles) when we tease her about it, it’s a great reminder of a special holiday memory that we’ll cherish for a very long time.
Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Making Memories
Chipboard: Basic Grey, Heidi Swapp, Pebbles
Letter Stickers: My Little Shoebox
Paint: Craft Smart, Apple Barrell
Pen: Zig
Circle Punch: Marvy
Font: Garamond
by Linda Harrison and 
