More December Daily

I can finally share two missing pages of my December Daily, since the kit they're made with has been released today! Days 9 and 23.

Credits:

Baby It's Cold by Leora Sanford and Valorie Wibbens, available at Oscraps and The Lilypad

Playing card from Pocket Stuffers by Valorie Wibbens

The snowflakes are something I'd cut for last year's album and covered with Stickles.

Credits:

Baby It's Cold by Leora Sanford and Valorie Wibbens, available at Oscraps and The Lilypad

December tag from December Stories by Designs by Lili

This page is a big favorite of mine! I just love that photo and the colors. :)

I still have to finish up my days 24 and 25, plus figure out the binding (NOT looking forward to that - I'm afraid to botch up my pretty pages! ;) ) and the cover. The album is quite thick already so I'm not sure whether I will be able to bind it with the Cinch or not (I have 1 1/4" coils). I hope to have more to share in the next few days!

Baby It's Cold

Leora Sanford and Valorie Wibbens have created a gorgeous new kit out today, Baby It's Cold:

It's available at Oscraps and at The Lilypad, and it's 20% off this weekend. I love the colors of this kit! AND, there is a great free with purchase offer: if you buy the kit, you will get this quickpage+template set for free

Here's what I made with it:

Credits:

Baby It's Cold by Leora Sanford and Valorie Wibbens, available at Oscraps and The Lilypad

Font: My Own Topher

I only wish I had more snow pictures this year, but alas, the one depicted was the one and only snow we have seen so far this year.

I also made a page for my 2013 calendar (trying to plan ahead for once ;) ):

Credits:

Background paper from Baby It's Cold by Leora Sanford and Valorie Wibbens

A Month to Be Merry by Lauren Grier

I was loving this picture we took on Christmas day but didn't feel like scrapping it with a normal page, so I decided to get started on the calendar. :)

Project 52 Cards - Year 1 Completed!

When I began this project in January of this year, I wasn't quite sure I would bring it to completion, but it has been surprisingly easy to do it, in fact. For the whole of 2011, I have made and given a card to DH every single week. The toughest part was convincing him to pose for the pictures! :) Here are the final 2 weeks.

You can see the Week 51 card here.

You can see the Week 52 card here (if you dare). (Incidentally, this photo depicts how tough it is to get DH to cooperate for pictures - on this occasion, I couldn't get him to move to a better lighting position, so that's all I got. I think it is quite fitting that I got a bad photo for the botched card. ;) )

I am planning to continue this project in 2012 as well. I know DH looks forward to my weekly cards now, even though he doesn't let it on. :) My New Year's card is ready to go! ;)

Sewing 101

I've already mentioned that I bought a sewing machine on Black Friday because I've always loved the look of sewing on paper projects, and wanted to be able to do the same. I bought the cheapest machine I could find ($50 at Walmart) and it is just perfect for my needs. In the process, I made a very pleasant discovery: my husband is in fact quite good at operating a sewing machine! And thanks goodness for that (more later)... Here's an example of what he did for my December Daily album:

So pretty! Well, anyway, going back to the sewing machine. I haven't quite learned how to use it yet. But I really wanted to try sewing on DH's Christmas card (and I certainly couldn't have him do it!) so I gave it a try. Oh my goodness, I think I am a complete and utter failure at sewing! Here's the proof:

Credits:
Icolology:Christmas by Plum Dumpling Designs

Yikes is right! For the first line of stitching, I forgot to put down the presser foot, so the stitching was all wobbly. But for the other two attempts, I have no excuse - I had everything in place correctly, but I still wasn't able to sew straight. I had no idea it was so hard to sew straight! I have some learning to do in the upcoming year, that's for sure! ;)

Last Adventures With Our Elf

I haven't posted Elf pictures in quite a while! He's been busy coming up with new ways to be naughty, but what can I say? We love him, no matter what! :)

The morning after the day we did our holiday baking, we caught him making snow angels in the flour!

Luckily, he had a nice bath the following day. :)

This morning we woke up to find a picture of Jingle Ginger on all our iPads, iPhone and laptops!

JG has all his Christmas shopping planned out - candy, candy and more candy! ;)

Phew, this one was a pain to make, but oh so funny! I made a mock up Facebook page for Jingle Ginger, with posts from Santa, Rudolph and Frosty. Then I put it up on DH's computer. ;)

2 days to Christmas!

I didn't think I'd be able to pull this one off, but I did! ;)

Jingle Ginger turned us both into Rudolphs! :) I had tried it the day before, but DH was already awake so I couldn't do it (thus, the lame "2 days to Christmas" backup plan). But this time I succeeded! Too bad I put too few paint on DH's nose, but I still count it as a success!

I am so sad that Jingle Ginger is going back to the North Pole until next year! We'll miss him!

Merry Christmas!

Credits:

December Stories by Designs by Lili

Envelope and snowflake element from Snow Day by Crate Paper

December Daily 2011 - Days 20-22

I am all caught up!! Yipeee! Days 1-23 are completed! I cannot share day 23 because it uses a kit coming out next week, but here are the rest:

Credits:

Left page:

Lift of December Daily Day 2 by Amy (amyjaz)

Music sheet by raidensgrammie21 on Flickr

Font: Carnivalee Freak

Right page:

North Pole by Mari Koegelenberg

This page is completely inspired by one of Amy's pages. I love that she writes in detail on her blog about how she is putting her album together!

Credits:

Snow Day paper by Crate Paper

December Bits by Sabrina Dupre

I broke out the paper supplies for a couple of pages. These lights were perfect for a page on Christmas lights.

Credits:

Striped paper from Snow Day by Crate Paper

Snowmen paper from A Christmas Collab by Micheline Martin and Fruitloop Sally

Word strip from Kitschy Christmas: Word Blocks by Sahlin Studio

Number 22: Maestro font

I cut the numbers out with the Silhouette, covered them in glitter, and then coated them with Glossy Accents (just another technique from Pinterest that makes me wonder why I never thought about it before...) I love the sparkle and the shine!

December Daily 2011 - Days 14-19

I'm happy to have a few more December Daily pages to share! DH helped me fire up the sewing machine today (i.e., he sewed while I gave directions) - and thank goodness for that, because I have sadly discovered that I cannot sew straight for the life of me! (but more on that later - I will make a blog post about it in a bit). Anyway, luckily for me, DH's really good with the sewing machine, and I'm loving how these pages have turned out! ;)

Credits:

Left page: Brown Paper Pack by Sahlin Studio, Santa from Christmas Wonder by Kaye Winiecki, journaling tags from North Pole by Mari Koegelenberg, word strips from Kitschy Christmas: Word Blocks by Sahlin Studio

Right page: Paper from A Christmas Collab by Micheline Martin and Fruitloop Sally, December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio, Font: Dear Joe 4

OK, no sewing on this page. :) The inspiration for this page came from a contest DH entered for me last week on the October Afternoon blog - spouses were encouraged to enter, so I asked him if he would write something. We didn't get a prize, but I loved what he wrote for me, so it had to go in the album! I cut out the words Dear Santa with the Silhouette, and layered 3 copies to make it thicker. It looks so pretty - seriously, I am so annoyed at how blah these pages look in photographs, they are so much prettier IRL! On the left page I wrote up DH's and my wish list. Did you see all the check marks on my list?? I seriously couldn't wish for anything more this Christmas! :)

Credits:

Paper from A Christmas Collab by Micheline Martin and Fruitloop Sally

Journal Everyday by Sabrina Dupre

Well, to say the truth, I am running a bit out of ideas for the album. I am all set now, but I struggled a bit a few days to come out with a topic. Since I've been making this album focused on Christmas, I didn't have a special topic ready every day, and I already covered most of the topics I wanted to cover. But our cute reindeer and penguin deserved to make it in the album. And isn't that stitching pretty? :)

Credits:

Paper from Cheerful by Tickled Pink Studio

Word strip from December Stories by Designs by Lili

Date and stars from Pear Tree album by Sara Gleason

This was my second experiment printing on vellum. I used the fast draft mode and that was a bit faint. I will try the draft mode next time.

This is my favorite page so far! I used a piece of a paper bag from Starbucks, and DH's stellar sewing was the perfect finishing touch!

Credits:

Paper from A Month To Be Merry by Lauren Grier

Joy element from December Bits by Sabrina Dupre

December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio

Word strips from Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

I made and cut the HOHOHO with my Silhouette - I needed a touch of blue added on this page.

Credits:

Kitschy Christmas by Jenn Barrette and Sahlin Studio available at The Lilypad and at Sweet Shoppe Designs

Kitschy Christmas Journaling by Sahlin Studio

Christmas party word strip from Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

I sadly found out a couple of days ago that gluing vellum doesn't quite work, but as you can see sewing sure does! :)

Credits:

Twelve Days 'Til Christmas Journal Book by Emily Merritt

Word strip from Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

Number from A Month To Be Merry by Lauren Grier

That's all I have for now! A few more pages are in the works. I'd love to get this done and posted by Christmas day, but we'll see what I can manage. 2 more days... ;) I played with glitter today - it is messy and a pain to work with, but it is oh so pretty!! :)

North Pole

Mari Koegelenberg has a new collection out today, just in time for Christmas! It is 20% off throughout the weekend.

I will be using it in my December Daily album too, but in the meantime I made this page:

Credits:

North Pole by Mari Koegelenberg

Font: CK Mama O

ETA (12/23): I got a GSO at MSS for this page. ;)

Christmas Season

I am really enjoying this Christmas season. Too bad it's coming to an end already - it's such a magical time of the year! This year I've put quite some effort in making sure we did some Christmas activities - baking, going to see Christmas lights and gingerbread houses. In the process, I took many pictures that I really love. I have been using them in my December Daily album, but I also wanted to make a digital page to show them, so I made this:

Credits:

Weekly Review Templates by Jenna Desai

Cheerful by Tickled Pink Studio

Sugar Shock font bundle by Lauren Reid and Darcy Baldwin

Gimme Space font by Lauren Reid and Darcy Baldwin

This kit is so pretty!! I loved using it!

December Daily 2011 - Days 10-13

Here are a few more December Daily pages!

Credits:

Kitschy Christmas by Jenn Barrette and Sahlin Studio available at The Lilypad and at Sweet Shoppe Designs

December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio

Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

I really love this photo!

Credits:

Brown Paper Pack by Sahlin Studio

December Bits by Sabrina Dupre

Very Merry embellishments by Precocious Paper and Sahlin Studio

I kind of realized too late that I used rather similar papers on two consecutive pages... Oh well! :) I took the picture before adding a couple more photos and the journaling for privacy reasons.

Credits:

Downtown Christmas papers by The Tattered Pear

Border from Pear Tree album by Sara Gleason

December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio

I love this photo of DH and the colors of this page!

Credits:

Background paper from A Christmas Collab by Micheline Martin and Fruitloop Sally

Writing in the Snow and December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio

Very Merry embellishments by Precocious Paper and Sahlin Studio

Christmas lights word strip from Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

I added the snowflakes printed on vellum, but didn't find a good way to attach the vellum to the photo. If you use glue, it will darken the vellum. So I ended up adding some word strips on top to keep it down. Not ideal, but it'll do!

And this is where I'm at at the moment! I have a couple more pages planned out, but need to do some stitching and glueing before I can share them.

December Daily 2011 - Days 1-9

I know I've been quiet lately.. I've been really busy with work, Christmas concerts and parties, holiday baking, and my December Daily album. I am mostly caught up with it, even though I am missing a couple of bits here and there, but have not had time to take pictures and show it off. Since it's December 19 and I still haven't shown anything, it really is time for me to post something. :) So here are days 1-9. More to come soon (I hope!). There is no cover at the moment - I need to see how thick the album turns out to figure out the binding and the cover. :) I will add credits shortly. I printed everything on matte presentation paper, except for photos, which are on glossy photo paper, and a couple things on vellum.

I have printed a photo of our tree on vellum to go in front of my page 1. (note to self: use draft mode when printing on vellum!!)

Credits:

Twelve Days 'Til Christmas Journal Book by Emily Merritt

December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio

December Bits by Sabrina Dupre

Credits:

Brown Paper Pack by Sahlin Studio

Pocket Stuffers by Valorie Wibbens

Half Rounds by Amy Martin

Very Merry embellishments by Precocious Paper and Sahlin Studio

This year I am featuring several full page photos. They make putting the album together so much easier, plus I love to show off some of my favorite photos from the season! I love this 2-page spread!

Credits:

Very Merry and Bright by Jenn Barrette and Shawna Clingerman

Music paper bracket from December Bits by Sabrina Dupre

I had lots of pictures to add to this day. I always struggle with photo placement on hybrid pages, but I am pleased with what I did here. Digi is so much easier for me. (In case you're wondering, I digitally erased a few words on the page on the right for privacy).

Credits:

Left page - No Peeking papers and Pocket Stuffers by Valorie Wibbens; Very Merry embellishments by Precocious Paper and Sahlin Studio; word strip from Kitschy Christmas by Jenn Barrette and Sahlin Studio available at The Lilypad and at Sweet Shoppe Designs

Right page - Writing in the Snow, Painted: Fresh Snow, Icicles Alpha and December Daily Numbers by Sahlin Studio

Saturday DH and I finally tried the new sewing machine I got on Black Friday. It works very well, for paper too! Of course, the one time it didn't work properly was when we used it to attach the number to this page. I had to use a rhinestone to cover up a hole in the page. Oh well... ;) I am still intimidated by the machine, but I do want to learn how to use it with confidence, since I've been wanting to sew on my projects for quite some time now!

Credits:

Santa's Little Helper by Karah Fredricks, Kate Hadfield and Kaye Winiecki

"Our own little elf" word strip and number 5 from Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

As I mentioned earlier, this year my December Daily album focuses on Christmas events, and of course our dearest elf Jingle Ginger had to get his own page spread. I love how it turned out! :)

Credits:

Background paper from A Christmas Collab by Micheline Martin and Fruitloop Sally

Tree from Joyful Christmas by LDrag Designs

Tag from December Bits by Sabrina Dupre

Paper tape, spray mists

The tree element on the left was something I'd cut out for last year DD album but not used. I sprayed green and silver mists on the red paper on the left. Fun! I've had a hard time photographing these pages, since the glossy paper gets my own reflection in the way!

Credits:

Kitschy Christmas by Jenn Barrette and Sahlin Studio available at The Lilypad and at Sweet Shoppe Designs

No peeking word strip from Kitschy Christmas Daily December Add-on by Jenn Barrette

Joy word strip from Kitschy Christmas: Word Blocks by Sahlin Studio

#7: paper tape

Here is how I made gift wrap this year: kraft paper sprayed with red, green and silver. And yarn to go around. :)

Credits:

Twelve Days 'Til Christmas Journal Book by Emily Merritt

Very Merry embellishments by Precocious Paper and Sahlin Studio

Big Ol' Tags 3 by Lauren Reid

You cannot quite see the glitter on the 8 from this photo..

Unfortunately I cannot share page 9 quite yet because it's using a new kit that my designer decided to wait a bit on, but hopefully I can come back to add it soon!

A Well-Behaved Elf, Finally!

8 Days to Christmas.. Here are the latest Elf pictures!

DH and I have recently bought a treadmill, but Jingle Ginger has no intention of using it! :)

Reading his book with our little moose.

This week our Elf has shown his crafty side! :) He did do a bit of a mess initially to cut out his initials...

But then he cut out some beautiful snowflakes! He must miss the snow from the North Pole..

Isn't he cute? Perhaps I should ask him if he wants to help me with my hybrid creations!

And now he's made a complete card! An elf after my own heart! <3 This past week he has behaved really well, it looks like we'll have a smooth sail until Christmas. Or maybe not? ;)