A Final Christmas Post*

*Until I finish my December Daily, that is.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  I know I did.  A very busy Christmas, but a lovely one all the same.

I have another Christmas layout that I completed a few weeks ago featuring the ever-famous Ellie.  We started Elf on the Shelf in our house this year, so I had this great photo of my sweet little niece meeting the Elf (she named her "Lady") and just had to put it down on some pretty paper.

Meeting Lady

I absolutely adore this sheet music paper from October Afternoon's Make It Merry collection.  It reminds me of all song books and sheet music I'd go through at my grandparents' house when I was a kid.  Specifically a little collection of Christmas songs that was published in the 50s, maybe even the 40s.  I need to seek that little book out next time I'm over there. 

 

More pieces of the Make It Merry collection.  With some of last year's Holiday Style thrown in for good measure.  Love this stuff!

Supplies:  patterned paper - Daisy D's, Echo Park, October Afternoon; tin pin, die cuts, small letter stickers - October Afternoon; chipboard letters - American Crafts; stamps and spray ink - Studio Calico; border punch - American Crafts

What are some new traditions you and your family started this year?  Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments!

Christmas Time

A few weeks ago, my sister bought a little gingerbread house kit to complete with my niece.  I was onhand to help out (ie...take photos with my AWESOME new Canon Rebel T3).  It was really the first time either of us, let alone the Musher, had attempted a gingerbread anything, so it turned out pretty well considering that fact AND the fact that a good chunk of it was decorated by a 2 1/2 year old. 

Taking photos was also a fantastic excuse to use up some of the new Christmas paper I have accrued.  I'm drooling.  Seriously, drooling over three lines in particular this year:  Studio Calico's Wonderland, October Afternoon's Make It Merry and my favorite by far Crate Paper's Sleigh Ride.  I know many of you are probably shocked and appalled that my favorite was not by my beloved October Afternoon, but o...m...g....Sleigh Ride is to die for.  I have always loved Crate Paper, but this is my favorite line they have ever produced.  It's delectable.

Now that I've said that...I actually used a mix of Studio Calico, Crate Paper, Echo Park, and October Afternoon in this layout. 

Gingerbread House

 

I LOVE when I actually take the time to play around with stamps!

 

This cute little gingerbread guy totally wanted to be a part of this layout.   I know that I'm not the only one who hears their scrapbooking supplies talking to them....I mean, I'm not...right?

 

 

Supplies:  patterned paper - Crate Paper, Echo Park, October Afternoon, Studio Calico; cardstock - Bazzill; die cuts - October Afternoon, Studio Calico; brad, chipboard sticker - Echo Park; flair badge, stamps - Studio Calico; tapes - Cosmo Cricket, Studio Calico; letter stickers - American Crafts; stamp ink - Stampin' Up; other - tag, twine

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

...And Two More

So I started a trend yesterday, I guess, because I'm back today with two more related-to-each-other layouts.  I was once criticized either here or on some other public forum for scrapbooking ALL my pictures and told that I'd be scrapbooking forever if I felt the need to scrap all my pictures.  Well...so?  Scrapbooking is as much, if not more so, about the creative outlet for me as it is about the memory preservation.  So while knowing I have hundreds upon hundreds of photos left to scrap is rather daunting, it's also comforting knowing I'll never run out of projects.

So I say all that to say this....I have two recent layouts from our vacation in Killarney National Park in the summer of 2011 from a viewpoint called "Ladies View".  One is simply the lovely views, while another is of Lisa being silly and hiding behind a sign, while her hands grasp it from the other side. 

So without further ado...

Ladies View

I'm really enjoying looking at pages that have this muted, soft color scheme.  I very rarely am able to pull it off, but love how this came together with just a few splashes of bright blue and red.

 

I don't think I'll ever tire of wood grain and chevron...

 

 

I love all the vellum die cuts that Studio Calico has been including in their kits. I layered a bunch of these awesome arrows and stapled them to my page. 

Supplies:  patterned paper - Basic Grey, Echo Park, Kesi'Art, Studio Calico; letter stickers - American Crafts, Basic Grey; wood veneer, stamps & vellum die cuts - Studio Calico; flair badge -  A Flair For Buttons; date stamp - K and Co.; tape - Freckled Fawn

Hands

Here Lisa showcases her nuttiness, hiding behind this huge lookout sign and allowing her hands to peek over the top.  Which from the photo of the layout, you can barely make out!

I loved using a bunch of October Afternoon's Farm Girl line on this layout - from paper to washi tape to letter stickers.

 A few pieces of October Afternoon doo-dads and another awesome die cut from Evalicious. 

 

 

More of my beloved Studio Calico wood veneer in the top right corner here, tons of washi and some stamping.  My stamps, sadly, see so little use!

 

A tag, a flower die cut from an older October Afternoon line and a vintage bottle cap from Jenni Bowlin.

Supplies:  patterned paper - October Afternoon; die cuts - Evalicious, October Afternoon; bottle cap - Jenni Bowlin; tapes - Freckled Fawn, October Afternoon; letter stickers - October Afternoon; stamps - Studio Calico; wood veneer - Studio Calico; other - tag, ribbon

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Fake Tattoos

In the olden days of my blogdom (just over a year ago now), I would randomly through a variety layouts up here in one post and leave a few little comments and be done with it.  Well, as my blogging style has matured ever so slightly, I like to zoom in on one specific layout and the inspiration or design therein.  However, I'm going to break from that today in order to showcase TWO...that's right, TWO layouts that I absolutely love. 
I had a bunch of photos I took this past summer when visiting my girlfriend in Ireland of a particular evening when we were just hanging out and for some reason I got a bee in my bonnet to tattoo her and give her a sleeve.  Okay, so I'm not a tattoo artist, nor did I have any tattooing equipment on my person...and frankly, I can't draw to save my life....but I am persistent!  and stubborn!  So I took a handy ball point pen and went to work.  And you know...I have to say, I'm very impressed with the fruits of my labor.  No....impressed doesn't go far enough.  STARTLED....completely startled at my fake tattooing prowess.  (I'm lying).

I Am the Most Amazing Fake Tattoo Artist EVER!

A layout created specifically to brag about my mad (fake) tattooing skills.  That skull and crossbones are pretty badass, dontcha think?

 

A washi border, some splatters, some awesome retro stickers...what more could a girl want?

 

I'm pretty obsessed with these chipboard alphas we've been getting in the Studio Calico kits lately.  They are made by Basic Grey and they are totally wicked.  Love them!  I also thought this little boy button looked cute here.  I have one niece, a sister, a mom, a girlfriend, and all the men in my current life are adults, so I thought this use of it was pretty apt!

 

It's taken me awhile to jump on the speech bubble train, but I've been using them a ton as of late!

 

Love wood veneers and love glassine bags from Whisker Graphics. 

 

Supplies:  patterned paper - Studio Calico; die cuts, wood veneer, stickers, mists - Studio Calico; brad - Jenni Bowlin; glassine bag - Whisker Graphics; ribbon - The Girls Paperie; letter stickers - Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin; tape - Freckled Fawn; other - tag


Ink

...And I had some more photos that really needed a scrapbook home, so I created this one focusing slightly more on Lisa and how good she looks with tatts.  hehe

 

More Studio Calico wood veneers, some Soho Garden Paper from AC and Sasparilla from OA!

 

Evalicious is one of my new favorite brands:  the "Love this" tag.

Supplies: patterned paper - American Crafts, October Afternoon; tapes - Cosmo Cricket, Freckled Fawn, October Afternoon, Studio Calico; wood veneer - Studio Calico; flair badge - A Flair For Buttons; die cuts - Evalicious, October Afternoon; envelope - Basic Grey; spray inks - Studio Calico; letter stickers - American Crafts

Thanks for reading!

Sketches With Color Challenge #4

Hi all!  I'm here today with the Sketches With Color mid-December challenge! 

Here is our color combo and sketch for Challenge #4:

And here's my take:

Taking a Break

These photos are from a 2010 fall trip that Lisa and I made to the Fort Worth Zoo, bringing along a then 4-month old, Ellie!  We had fun and I know E's favorite part of the trip was staring at the trees that passed above her as we strolled along and she reclined in her stroller!  I had some sweet vintage Cosmo Cricket (circa 2005) die cuts that fit in really nicely with this color scheme!

Supplies:  patterned paper - Echo Park, Heidi Swapp, Lily Bee Designs, October Afternoon, Simple Stories, Studio Calico; letter stickers - American Crafts; flair badge - A Flair for Buttons; die cuts - Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper, October Afternoon, Studio Calico; wood veneer - Studio Calico; punch - American Crafts Knock-Outs

Thanks so much for reading!

Color Backgrounds

I tend to gravitate towards more neutral backgrounds in my work, but lately have been playing more with color.  Last month's Studio Calico kit, Sock Hop, had a great yellow paper that I decided needed to be used as a backdrop for a layout.

She's An Adventurer

It's been said here before that I take a million photos, particularly on my travels.  I've just begun to dive into the stack of pictures I have of the Torc Waterfall at Killarney National Park in Ireland, which Lisa and I visited in the summer of 2011.

I love this picture of her.  I think it's just too cute, so it made a great stand alone photo for a layout.

 

 

Supplies:  patterned paper - Studio Calico, Basic Grey; letter stickers - Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin; die cuts, wood veneer, stamps - Studio Calico; brads - Echo Park

 

Thanks for stopping by!

December Daily 2012: The First Three Days

Hey all!  I finally have my first 3 days completed and ready to share.  I have to admit, it's taken me awhile to get into much of a Christmasy spirit this year.  Last year, my family had a lot more Christmas-related activities planned, so it seemed like I was documenting something very specific each day for at least the first couple of weeks.  This year, it's just been regular everyday life.   Everyday life that is decorated for Christmas, anyway.

But with a class field trip to the Nutcracker on Friday and taking Ellie to see Santa on Saturday, things have definitely gotten more Christmas-like!

Supplies:  album, page protectors, chipboard inserts - Studio Calico; patterned paper, stickers - Basic Grey, Crate Paper, Echo Park, October Afternoon, Studio Calico; letter stickers - American Crafts, Basic Grey, October Afternoon; vellum accents - Crate Paper; pockets & envelopes - Basic Grey; other - coaster, ribbon, twine, brads

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sketches With Color Challenge

Sketches With Color has a new challenge up on the blog!  This is my favorite color combo so far!

Here's my take on the challenge!

Waiting

 

Supplies:  patterned paper - Lily Bee, My Mind's Eye, Jillibean Soup; diecuts - Jillibean Soup, October Afternoon, Sassafrass Lass, Studio Calico; flowers - American Crafts, Basic Grey, stickers - Crate Paper, Echo Park;  vintage bottle cap - Jenni Bowlin;  brad, button - October Afternoon; washi tape - Freckled Fawn; other - rhinestones, twine, mist

Please drop by the blog when you can!  We'd love for you to join us!

This Christmas...

As I prepared to write this blog post, I had that Stevie Wonder song "This Christmas" going through my head.  I'm not a huge fan of the song, as I prefer my Christmas music to be of the 1940s Bing Crosby/Frank Sinatra variety (nothing against you, Stevie, you're wonderful!), but it made me realize that this Christmas will be very different from last Christmas.

Last year, Lisa was here celebrating with us from Ireland.  This year we'll be apart again.  Last year was very hectic and full.  This year should be somewhat quieter and calmer.  Last year I spent wayyyyy too much money on gifts.  This year I've pledged to be much more conservative.   Last year, I dropped my point and shoot camera and it's never been the same.  This year I am awaiting the new Canon Rebel EOS T3 DSLR that I just ordered which should be here on Friday (whoop!).  And last year, I stressed entirely too much over this little project called "December Daily" which I was doing for the first time.  This year, I have a year of experience under my belt and a much better plan of attack.

I am happy to report that my base pages are all made, my cover is decorated and my title page is complete.  I will be using no more than one 4x6 photo per day.  On some occassions, that 4x6 might be two 2x3 photos.  I want to be more reflective in my journaling, while not putting tons of pressure on myself to be perfect.  So...without further ado, I give you the base pages of my 2012 December Daily!

December Daily 2012

Cover

 

Title Page

Day One Base Pages

 

Remaining Base Pages

 

 

 

 

 

 I used a bunch of different paper and embellishment lines to complete these base pages.  The majority are from the Studio Calico kit, Studio Calico's Wonderland line, and Crate Paper's Sleigh Ride line.  You will also find some vintage KI Memories, Daisy D's and a couple of lines from last year:  October Afternoon's Holiday Style for example.  I have tons of pages premade in two sizes.  4x6 to fit the page protectors of my album and I don't have the exact measurement, but a larger size to fit over the chipboard inserts that came with the album.  I'm so excited and looking forward to December 1st!

 

Thanks again SO much for taking the time to stop by my little blog!  Have a great Saturday!