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Sister Summer Camp & A Book Page Banner

So often, summer passes us by like a hazy dream, but the summer of 2008, my sister and I were determined not to let it.  We decided that if we could be intentional with our enjoyment both of summer and each other, we could savor our time more fully.  Thus, Sister Summer Camp was born.

Here’s how it worked: about once every few weeks, one of us would “lead” sister summer camp and plan out an afternoon for us to share together.  Each camp session consisted of an activity in each of these three categories:

  • Physical

  • Spiritual

  • Artistic

I can remember one session in particular when we rode our bikes to the harbor on a breezy summer’s day, lounged on a picnic blanket to read excerpts from C.S. Lewis’s God in the Dock, and then came home and painted with watercolors.  Doesn’t get much better than that, now, does it?

When I found out my sweet sister Lisbeth would be visiting us for five days (gasp!) as part of my 30th birthday celebration, I knew that a day dedicated to Sister Summer Camp was in order (or if we’re being proper, Sister Spring Camp…but that doesn’t have quite the same ring to it).  Here’s a glimpse at our day together last week:

  • Physical: Lisbeth joined me at our local YMCA for my favorite class, hip hop!  Dancing is my exercise mode of choice because, well, it doesn’t feel like exercise!  (I need to trick myself into working out.)  Lisbeth teaches Zumba, so of course, she had no trouble whatsoever jumping into our dance routines.  She was the star of the class!  What had a blast popping and locking to “Harlem Shake” together.
  • Spiritual: For our “spiritual” portion, we decided to return to a project we had started during a previous Sister Summer Camp session, memorizing a favorite passage of scripture: Romans 12.  Our method?  Rhythm and song.  As bizarre as it sounds, we even found a way to work in the chorus of Toto’s “Africa” to help us memorize verses 4 & 5.  Hey, whatever works, right?
  • Artistic: We enjoyed a crafternoon together working on a book page banner to hang in Lisbeth’s bedroom in Pennsylvania.  I won’t tell you that this was my belated birthday gift to her and that her birthday was January 29th because, well, that would just be embarrassing.  {Sheepish grin.}  Here’s a pic of our completed banner to give you a teaser:

Book Page Banner Tutorial & Free Cut File | The Thinking Closet

I’m sharing the full tutorial for this Book Page Banner today over at Or So She Says, so if you’re intrigued, I’d love for you to take a minute to check it out.  The banner not only uses pages from an old dictionary, but incorporates one of our favorite C.S. Lewis quotes (yes, we are C.S. Lewis fanatics if you hadn’t already guessed).

Also, for those of you with a Silhouette, I also included the link to free download of the cut file make your banner creation even easier.  You can access the Book Page Banner Tutorial & Free Cut File by clicking here.

Now, I can’t resist the opportunity to share a few more photos of our time together last week.  We took a day to explore New Smyrna Beach, FL, the shark attack capital of the world (no, we didn’t go swimming); Lisbeth stand-up paddle-boarded around the lake like a pro; and we enjoyed a lot of down time together, just hanging out on the dock and sipping tea.

Book Page Banner & Free Cut Files | The Thinking Closet

Sister Summer Camp | The Thinking Closet

Sister Summer Camp | The Thinking Closet

Sister Summer Camp | The Thinking Closet

My heart is officially full.

Happy Monday to you all, and I look forward to seeing you over at Or So She Says with my Book Page Banner Tutorial & Free Cut File.

This is Lauren, signing off.

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62 Comments

  1. Wow! After reading all the comments and your responses Lauren, I’m just blushing! I feel the love my sister. And I LOVE YOU so much. It has truly been a gift growing closer to you more and more each day. I don’t take it lightly, since I know there are many siblings who would not call each other beloved friend. Thankful for your friendship here on this earth, and for eternity. And I’m loving my banner!! The banner is pleased to get to hang above my books (he loves that spot by the windows), and I’ve gotten so many compliments on him already!

    1. I’m delighted to hear that you feel the love through this post and the comments…because boy, do I have so much for you, sis. Yes, you’re stuck with me for life and beyond, that’s for sure; so I’m glad that’s okay with you! And it’s just perfect that the banner has found a home above your books, near the sunshine…may he remind you of the glory days of sister summer camp and your sister who thinks the world of you!

  2. Lauren, you are so full of good ideas. This was my first time seeing sister summer camp up close. Your Africa song was so funny! I hope you an d Lisbeth get to have many more summer camp sessions together in the future.

    1. Thanks for making it all possible with the incredible gift of her visit. And I’m glad you got to join us for part of Sister Summer Camp with our tea break, or should I say, Sister-Sister-Brother Summer Camp!

      1. Thanks to both of you (L and M) for making it possible for Lisbeth to visit and for all the fun “campy” things you planned!! I really loved hearing more details about your time together and seeing the pictures!! It warms this mother’s heart to see my two girls growing closer every year! I will be checking out your post on the book-page banner!! HUGS and much love!!

    2. Thanks to Mark and Mom and Dad for making that trip possible. Though it was a gift for Lauren’s 30th, it ended up being a gift for me, too! Was so lovely to get that precious time at Formosa house with that precious couple. And then to get the Lanker-Castelli cruise time as well this week. I love my amazing family!!!

      1. It has really been such a treasured spring together, hasn’t it? Still reveling in the sweet memories of playing Monopoly Deal together while trying to discern which pop star the lounge singer was imitating with his slurred singing! Lol.

  3. Ah, I get it! I was surprised to see Lisbeth in Orlando almost as much as you were. What an incredible and appropriate gift her visit was to you. Hooray to sisters and hooray to 30!

    1. Thanks, Brittany! And our sweet time together earlier last month was like a sister summer camp in and of itself. From hip hop and biking to sweet times of prayer and soul-sharing to a crafternoon making something I’ll be sharing in the next day or so. You are such a treasured friend and I count you as a sister for life, B! Thanks for helping to make my 30th birthday month so special in so many ways.

  4. Lauren you are so lucky to have a sister and to be close! 🙂 I always wanted a sister but I have two amazing brothers instead! 🙂 You guys used to spend great times together in 2008! glad you got to spend more time with your sister these last few days! love the banner you made for her… Oh! I love the idea of using an old dictionary for a special gift! (just came back from Or So She Says … you are very creative Mademoiselle!) a la prochaine! 😉

    1. I am so thankful for my sister; though many times, we together longed for an older brother. I suppose each is special in its own way! And thanks for checking out the tutorial, Ingrid; I’m glad you love the banner. It was a joy to get to work on it together. And I got so excited to see that you wrote to me in French. I don’t speak it, but it’s such a beautiful language and is music to my ears (or in this case, my eyes!). I checked google translator for that last phrase. Am I right in finding that it means, “See you later”? You can be my French teacher!

      1. 🙂 YAY! , yes; it is : but “A la prochaine” it’s mainly used for “until next time” but “see you later” is good too! 🙂 I’m glad you checked google, I knew you would! & no problem, I can be your french teacher! In Montreal, French is our official language and I’m sure you would love it!

    1. Thanks for the share! As I commented on your blog, it’s a true honor to be featured alongside one of my favorite books of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird. This was about the time of year I used to teach that book to my freshmen English students when we lived in Ohio!

  5. Love, love, love the book page banner! I might have bookmark that idea for this summer! And I adore that C.S. Lewis quote, I can never get enoughC.S. Lew is my life 🙂

    The relationship you share with your sister is so beautiful! Sisters truly are a gift from God!

    See you in a couple of weeks!

    1. I delight in the idea of bookmarking a book page banner {smile}. How fitting! Yes, sisters are such a gift. I feel that now more than ever before.

      And yes, we cannot wait to see y’all at Northstar in a few {gasp} weeks! It will be so surreal to back there…and oh so good for the soul.

  6. Awww…so much I love about this post. When I wrote my first book (Generation Ex), I included a section on my annual retreat of silence, which had personal, spiritual, physical, financial, and professional aspects. I think your retreat sounds much more fun!

    I also love your book banner idea. Our exchange student work as a library aide. She was telling me that part of her job was discarding and THROWING AWAY old books. I had to rescue them! So now I have tons of books for crafts and have been looking for projects!

    Lastly, I LOVE C.S. Lewis!

    1. Oooo…I’d love to read about that retreat of silence. I’ve had mornings of silence, but I’d like to try even more than that. I see great value in silencing our voices in an effort to awaken the body, spirit, and mind. How long would you retreat usually last?

      And I’m as appalled as you were to hear about your exchange student having to throw away old books as part of her job! Yikes! What is this world coming to? I’m so glad to hear that you’ve rescued some of them for craft and d.i.y. projects. I bet you could do a whole round-up of projects using book pages. There are some neat ones I’ve spied out there in blogland, and it would of course be an honor to have this humble buddy in the mix. (Yes, I am apparently now referring to blog posts as buddies! Though I suppose as a writer, you might relate to growing kindred with your text.)

      Hooray for your love of C.S. Lewis! I just can’t seem to get enough.

      1. Lauren, I just emailed you the text from my book about the Retreat of Silence. I’d love to know what you think. I would often do a day, usually at the end of December to think through my plans and goals for the new year.

        Great idea for the book page round up. I have my pin board started! And your banner is included!

        Yes, I totally understand your affinity for your words. You can imagine how I felt when I had to cut CHAPTERS from my first book. Ouch. My poor babies.

        Screwtape Letters is my favorite by CS Lewis. Have you ever read Randy Alcorn’s modern adaptation, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters? (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1576738612/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=dejondrehou-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1576738612&adid=0XZ45HGQPAV114MZ7RP1)

        1. Thanks for passing that along, Jen! I can’t wait to read it. And December is a perfect time of year to do some reflecting on the past year as well as goal-setting for the new year to come. I may have to adopt a similar tradition!

          I can’t imagine cutting whole chapters of your book! Although, I suppose all of the best authors do have to edit, edit, edit. I remember in college, my English professor showed us a copy of T.S. Elliot’s early drafts of “The Wasteland.” Elliot slashed page after page of his text before getting to that famous beginning, “April is the cruelest month.” It has always been a great example to me that good writing is just good re-writing (and sometimes that means cutting!).

          The Screwtape Letters are one of my favorites, although I’m torn between The Narnia Chronicles and his essay, The Weight of Glory for my top pick. No, I have never read the modern adaptation! (Didn’t even know about it.) Will have to add it to my ever-growing reading list. Thanks for the rec!

  7. Oh, I love the idea of sister camp…if only I had a sister. Could I please be an honorary sister sometime for some physical, spiritual, and artistic fun? I’m thrilled you had such a fun visit with Lisbeth. Looks like every moment was special, refreshing, and fun!! Your book page banner looks intriguing. I’m headed over to give it a look-sie! But why do you have to keep tempting me to buy a Silhouette? I don’t think I can keep my (non-embellished) pocketbook closed much longer.

    1. It would be an honor to call you my sister for a day of physical, spiritual, and artistic exploration, Jessica. I would just venture to guess that we might need more than a day because of how much talking we’d get lost in!

      RANDOM ASIDE: I love that you used the word “looksie” (something MY sister would say) and your use of “pocketbook” takes me back to my childhood for some reason. I feel like everyone nowadays calls it a handbag or purse, but pocketbook feels like a throwback to the past, and it makes me smile inside. And want to play dress up. Ah, nostalgia…. Leave it to you to make me smile with your diction alone.

        1. You know, I never identified “looksie” as old-fashioned before, but now that you mention it, it totally is! You bring back “looksie” and “whoopsie daisy,” and I’ll do my part with “grand” and “hullabaloo!”

          1. Thanks for doing your part, Mama! When I hear the word “swell,” I can’t help but think of Fred Astaire and Judy Garland singing, “We’re a couple of swells, we stop at the best hotels, but we prefer the country away from the city smells.”

          2. Why, of course you can, fancy pants. (Name that Jack Black movie!)

  8. Ahhhh once again Lauren you remind me of how much I wish I had a Silhouette!! All the things I could make! Also sister camp is an amazing idea, I have to say. When my sister comes to visit me this summer I think we will do the same thing!! I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend!

    <3gabby

    1. Yesssss! Do it! I could totally see you taking Sister Summer Camp to a whole new level, Gabby…as you do with everything!

      And yes, Easter weekend was fantastic! We visited my in-laws and had an Easter egg hunt with my nieces and nephews. And of course, we ate lots of yummy food, and I fell into a deep afternoon nap yesterday. How was yours?

      xo
      Lauren

      1. oh a deep afternoon nap sounds so glorious…every day at around 1pm at work I stop and reflect on how magnificent a nap would be, lol. I informed my sister that we will be doing sister summer camp and she goes “knowing us, we will get so involved in one project we won’t get around to the next two!!”

        1. I hope there’s a deep afternoon nap in your not too distant future, Gabby. They are nourishing to the body, mind, and soul! And I delighted to hear that you and your sister are scheming up a sister summer camp of your own, even if it ends up just being one deeply-involved activity. Ha ha. Make it your own! 😉 P.S. You’ll be excited to know I’m observing some theatre classes at a local classical school here in Orlando…eager to see how they do things!

  9. What a fantastic time!! Love this idea of Sister Summer Camp (or in this case, Sister Spring Camp). That’s so wonderful that you and your sister are so close. And I love the Book Page Banner!
    Kenley

    1. Thanks, Kenley! Yes, I’m really thankful to have the close relationship I do with Lisbeth. Though, it wasn’t always that way. As little girls, we fought like most siblings do…we even wrestled (usually until one of us started crying). Now, we laugh to remember those times! And I’m glad you enjoyed the book page banner; it makes me want to create more crafts using dictionary pages now. Hmmm…. Any ideas?

      I hope you have an April Fool’s day with a lotta laughs!

    1. I know! It was such an incredible gift, and I’m so thankful to Mark for coordinating it all. And while you may not have a blood sister, perhaps you have a friend who is like a sister with whom you could enjoy your own version of “Sister Summer Camp.” Heck, I could see the two of us having a blast together. Wish I could teleport myself to your neck of the woods for some camp activities this afternoon. 😉

    1. Hooray for sisters who double as bffs! I know that’s the not the case for everyone…that some folk do not have close relationships with their siblings for one reason or another…but we are so thankful that we do. It’s such a gift! And I venture to guess you feel the same way. 🙂

  10. Thank you so much for sharing the special moments that you share with your sister! It is clear that the two of you are quite close. Now, why isn’t there a video of the two of you belting that verse out to the tune of “Africa”? THAT is something I could see both of you doing and I think I would have been quite entertained to see it! So happy that your week, and heart, were (and still is, as to the heart) full.

    1. Ha ha. We might have to make a video of that someday. It actually was quite tricky to fit the verse to the music, but working it out did help me remember it all the more. The whole reason we had the song on the brain was because we had recently seen a sketch on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon where Jimmy and Justin Timberlake play boys at summer camp and they sing the song on the top of their lungs in little boy voices. It had us in stitches. Anyway, I know you appreciate quirky humor and 80s music, so I imagine you’d enjoy that sketch (linked above).

      Hope you had a joyous Easter with your sweet family, Christine!

  11. Hope you had a wonderful birthday! Glad you got to spend some quality time with your sister. I have 3 sisters and don’t get to see any of them as much as we’d like, so whenever we do… we make it count. I’m off to check out this C.S. Lewis banner!

    1. It was a wonderful birthday and then some! Thanks for the well-wishes, London. And it delights me to know you have not one sister, but 3! I delight to hear that you make the most of your sister time when you do get to see each other. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” certainly rings true, doesn’t it?

  12. You and your sister have such a beautiful relationship! I also love the sister summer camp idea. So Sweet. Loved your book banner tutorial, too – so crafty and creative!

    xoxo
    Melyssa

    1. Thanks, Melyssa! I’m so thankful to have a sister is even more than a relative, but a dear friend. And I try not to take that for granted!

      I’m listening to your “Springtime Chimes” as I type this response. Thanks for the gift of your mix today. Mix making is one of my love languages, too. You’ve inspired me to get back on 8Tracks and make my own mix to share with readers soon (when I made my Indie Christmas mix, I was still on WordPress.com and couldn’t embed the player right in my post). Now that I have that ability, I need to take advantage of it! Thanks for the reminder and sweet tunes.

      Cheers,
      Lauren

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