Sandra Satz's wooden bar and bat mitzvah memo-
Lexington Studios will scan a child's birth
ry boxes ($140), like her albums ($112; not shown),
announcement and digitally add it to the
can be personalized with the child's own invita-
custom design to personalize a baby book
($65).
tion, yarmulke, even tallit color.
Scrapbook Fever
Preserving memories made easy, beautiful — and Jewish.
BY LYNNE KONSTANTIN
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Collect favorite Jewish recipes in a
Lexington Studios scrapbook ($112),
which can be customized right
down to a playful business card or
faux restaurant name.
Parents can choose from an assortment of
fabric covers for the "Story of Me" book
($60), from Perfect Memory Publications,
or send in their own fabric for a
custom finish.
-
ike many expectant moms,
Brea Weisman began looking
for a scrapbook to record the
many upcoming milestones and mira-
cles of the life of her soon-to-come first
child while she was pregnant with him
in 1999.
"But what I found simply wasn't
what I needed," says Weisman, who
was raised. Jewish by a Jewish father
and Catholic mother.
"The books that included a page to
fill in 'Baby's First Christmas' didn't
apply to me, as it doesn't to many peo-
ple." Weisman and her husband, who is
Jewish, planned to raise their children
to be Jewish; but Christian holidays
were also a part of their lives.
"I thought, 'I need a book that's
+ +
+ + + + + ++
My Brit Milah
4 ..ilig••••••
ankh and Prbeeft da.
%he. Kwalvid
Ihelkyl eras
bnxed us Swda
fry fatmesfielsm. none
Poy rnahes 14. en nay
AV H.. name
tuatara,
Wni
Wiro rea nantad Nelff.,d 10,f
Speoal meocncs
++
I'
s
+
+
+
+ +
+
+
+ + +
A brit milah page insert is included in the
Jewish Me personalization kit.
2 6 •
AUGUST 2005 • JNPLATINUM
more flexible, that will reflect my life,"'
says the Cleveland mom of two. "Even
the few Jewish baby books I found did-
n't suit me because I needed more than
that."
Weisman had a feeling she wasn't
the only one whose life didn't fit into
the neat pages of most baby-book offer-
ings. She also knew that most parents in
similar situations, even those for whom
mixed religions didn't play a part, often
feel pressured to be a "good parent"
and create their own personal scrap-
book. "But not everyone has the time,
inclination or know-how for that," she
says.
So Weisman created Perfect Memory
Publications (myperfectmemories.com ),
which publishes exactly what she, her-
self, wanted: a standard "life" book (not
just for new babies) that can be pur-
chased on its own, plus an extensive
selection of personalization kits of page
inserts.
The standard Story of Me book
includes 80 pages that would be typical
of each child, like "my delivery," "my
family" and "first birthday"; the Jewish
Me kit, sold separately, includes pages
for the brit milah (ritual circumcision)
and naming ceremony, first Purim,
Passover, Rosh Hashanah, etc., bar or
bat mitzvah, first trip to Israel and more.
Also available are kits with themes rang-
ing from adoption and multiple births to
same-sex parents. "So if a Jewish parent
is having twins, they can buy both the
Jewish Me and the More Than Me (with
inserts for twins and triplets); the price
($9.95) of each kit is so nominal that
parents can simply throw away the
pages they don't need.
"The best part," says Weisman, "is
that you can stop at any age and just
throw out the rest of the pages, so you
don't have a half-filled-in book with a
lot of blank pages at the end, staring at
you!"
LEXINGTON ARTWORK
For parents who do want to create a
scrapbook or album of their children
with a Jewish focus, check out the
selection at Accessories 2 You at (248)
682-3125. The year-old boutique of
unique gifts, in Keego Harbor, is the
only shop in Metro Detroit that stocks
Judaica from Lexington Studios.
Founded by Massachusetts artist Sandra
Satz, Lexington Studios offers bar and
bat mitzvah albums and memory boxes,
wedding books, baby books, even
Jewish recipe books — all custom giclee
reproductions from hand-painted origi-
nals by Satz and accompanied by a cer-
tificate of authenticity.
"I've never seen anything else like
them," says Wendy Thomas, owner of
Accessories 2 You. "My son is approach-
ing bar mitzvah age — and they're just
the sort of thing that I, as a parent,
would love to have." ❑