We Believe

I saw this weeks sketch at Sketchy Thursday and was immediately drawn to making a Christmas tree with my photos & papers. I strayed more from this sketch than normal...and was most excited by turning it into a 6" x 12" layout!

{please click on the image for better viewing}

This next layout by Janet totally inspired me, too. 

My papers are K&Company I think...I dug deep in my stash to find the perfect holiday papers for this one. I allowed myself one regular layout but now I need to return to my December Daily ;)

December Daily, part 1 {Birds of a Feather December Kit; Fancy Pants: Saint Nick}

I am desperately behind in my December Daily album, but I'm still trying to get caught up. Now that school is out and all of my photography sessions are edited, I should be able to catch up easier :) We had pictures with Santa before December but I wanted to be sure that I included that photo somewhere. I meant to put the date as 11/2011. Oops! Hard to see in the photo but I've used some Shimmerz paint around the border of the cover.

 The first picture is of our advent calendar that I made two years ago. You can see the blog post about it here. The second day is a picture of us before a much deserved date night :) The missing child is behind the camera and she was thrilled to get to use my camera for the first time!

 Days 3 and 4 were a blur mostly spent cleaning the house in preparation for putting up our trees. One is in our main living area and the smaller is in the girls' bedroom.

 Day 5's activity in the advent calendar was to make these cute little owl ornaments. Day 6 is a picture of my youngest sleeping with Snoopy...he's well loved but only comes out at Christmas :)

 Day 7 is our newest family member with his "wall" decorated for Christmas and day 8 was a picture of our first frost for the winter.

So I'm about 1/3 the way there since I'm only documenting through the 25th in this album. I hope I can get caught up in the next couple of days! All of the materials here are from the December kit at Birds of a Feather.

I'm linking up to The Paper Variety this week...for their anything goes challenge! :)

NOT a fan! {Basic Grey: Jovial}

I'm back with another layout for this week's Christmas in July challenge at TPV. For this week only, we can enter more than once! I saw Suzanne's layout using BG's Jovial and it got me itching to use some of mine... so I whipped this up super quick this morning :)

I used part of a double page sketch from Page Maps for my inspiration. Not my favorite layout ever, but it's another two pictures scrapped!

Santa Number Two {Cosmo Cricket: Jolly By Golly}

I hope you are all having a merry week. I'm so thankful that I finished up my shopping early and don't have to stress out about presents while I'm out and about this week!

These pictures are from our second Santa visit this year. I got a kick out of the little one refusing to sit on Santa's lap (even though she sat on the first Santa's lap just fine) until I told her the only way she got a candy cane was to sit on his lap. She was all for it then!

This is based on a Julie Bonner sketch at Birds of A Feather for the December Sketch Challenge and for the December Cosmo Cricket Challenge at scrapbook.com. I started to think I wouldn't get in on the challenge this month but these pictures were perfect for the Jolly By Golly line. I'm running dangerously low on my CC stash! The challenge was to use distressing (red CS), inking (cream CS & cocoa paper strip) and layering. I'm hoping my embellishment layering counts! I really liked layering the rubons onto the chipboard elements.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Merry Christmas!

Me Want Cookie

This layout is inspired by the colors for the December color challenge at Birds of a Feather.

 While I was scraping a couple weekends ago, I ran across an old collection from Stampin' Up! and the colors were perfect for the challenge!

I made a mistake on this layout, got stickles all over but you can't tell in the pictures ;)

The toy she's trying to eat is a Cookie Monster remote control - it was a favortie gift last year!

I

I can't forget to mention that the layout is based on a PageMaps sketch! Thanks for looking :)

Fancy Pants {Tradition}

Back today to share two more layouts I did for last weekend's crop at Birds of A Feather. I was so productive, that Amy called me "Queen of the Crop" and gave me an awesome prize! Getting 6 pages done in December was prize enough for me :-) but who am I to turn away Little Yellow Bicycle and Echo Park?!? ;)

This layout was for the challenge to scrap some of your decorations. My oldest daughter loves having a tree in her room - and this year we went with the Charlie Brown tree. My youngest daughter loves to go to our big tree and look at the picture ornaments that I have for each year. I clump them together in one spot on the tree so they are fun to compare year to year.

 And this layout was for a challenge to scrap a tradition with some specific journaling prompts. Since we just went to The Nutcracker 2 weekends ago, it was perfect timing to scrap this :)

I think part of the reason I was so productive was that I worked within kits. Both of these layouts are using Fancy Pants newest Christmas line, Tradition. They were my last scrappy purchase that I made a few months ago. Oh, and that double pager is based on a PageMaps sketch...love those sketches! Thanks for stopping by, I hope to have another layout to share this weekend :-)

P.S. I've been so productive that I'm over 100 pages this year now!! ;)

Gifts at Grandma's

Back today with more from the crop! I saw this sketch and immediately thought of presents - you know, good old fashion boxes decorated with bows :)

And this is what I came up with (many grueling hours later, lol)

 I love the design and think it works great with the pictures...but I only wish that I had taken the time to do computer printed journaling! I was so frustrated with all the different boxes that I was rushing to just get done and didn't take the time to get my lines straight :( I still love it though - this is one of those that looks much better in real life!

The paper is from an OLD collection of Stampin' Up! It sure felt good to use up lots of my stash this weekend - especially since I still like that paper. I can't say that about all of my stash!

Winterfest Crop

Good morning! I spent my weekend scrapping and finished 6 pages, plus one altered item! I played along with Amy at Birds of a Feather for her Winterfest crop. Fun challenges!!! This one was for the Song Title challenge - had to use a holiday song as your title.

I love this picture - oldest DD was totally afraid of The Grinch at our local Festival of Lights. Actually, I'm not sure she'd seen the movie at all to know who he was.... Anyway, I pulled her hand and forced her into the picture ;) Another year older, she tells me she will take a picture with him this year, but only if she stands by me :)

The block under my journaling strips is from Bo Bunny and the ribbon is awesome - it's actually part of the paper! The other patterned papers are from SEI and look really cool in real life - they have a metallic shine. The flowers and ribbon trim are from Kayla - just perfect for several of my layouts this weekend...thanks Kayla! Oh, and the layout is another based on a PageMaps sketch - I've already used the sketch several times - I must like it. lol

You still have another day to get your pictures uploaded for the crop so go checkout the challenges! I'll be back this week (hopefully, lol) to share the rest of my pages ;)

Stocking Fun {Cosmo Cricket: Jolly By Golly}

I created this layout for the November Cosmo Cricket Challenge at Scrapbook.com. The challenge was to create a layout about Christmas. I used a PageMaps sketch from Jan '09 (I think) and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! All of my Christmas pictures from last year were dark & blurry as I was still getting used to my new camera. But the design of the page and the Jolly By Golly really made this layout look great! Of course, a little stickles always helps, right? I really like the ribbon with the background paper, too :)

Thanks for looking!

TuTu Cute {Fancy Fants: Christmas Magic}

I PROMISE...my next post will not be about Christmas! lol

Here's a double page, title courtesy of Suzanne!Could the girl stand any farther away from the ballerinas? lol This guy just snatched her up. She was soooo tired by the time we met the dancers. I hope she'll enjoy them more this year :) The Playbill is inside of a clear envelope and has a couple of autographs inside marked by my bookmark with hidden journaling on it.

The hardest part was working with scraps on this layout. Once I decided to NOT attach the playbill, I had to find more scraps to cover the part behind the Playbill. But it all worked out in the end and I'm excited to have this event scrapped!

Thanks for looking :)

More Christmas In July {Fancy Pants: Christmas Magic}

Another Christmas time layout. It will be the next door neighbor to the first layout in the last post I did. One more double page layout to go and I'll be done scrapping this event and can get back to non-Christmas layouts! lol

Do you spy my new border punch? It's not much but I had to find a way to include it ;) I think I'm addicted to making these flowers. Seriously, it's so easy and I get to make them match the LO so much better :)

Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend!

Christmas In July

I'm pretty sure that I scrapped a lot of Christmas last July, too. Must be that I'm trying to get a break from the heat! LoL

I've been hanging out with Suzanne at her new site, Paper Whores. This first challenge was spread out over a week or so and we had to follow daily instructions to complete a LO. Here's mine - I love it!

Then the next challenge was to scrap our addiction - which part of scrapbooking we are addicted to. Mine was the paper (I really do belong at Paper Whores!) and alphabets. I would say border punches are close to becoming an obsession, too! We had to use a punch AND it's negative space (flower in the center) and 4 different pattern papers. The alphabet for the title just so happens to be my favorite Thickers!

And then this last one is really from a kit that Suzanne sent us for being so chatty. 5 of us all had the same supplies and came up with at least on LO using ONLY those supplies. This is my first one...{I used an older Inspired Blueprints Sketch to get me going on this one}but then I went back to make a page to go with it. The only thing I added was the red twine on this page...and I still have supplies left to make at least one more page! Suzanne was VERY generous :) btw, the title says "{Fairy} Fun Xmas" because my oldest DD was sporting her fairy wings - which she pretty much wore every day of 2009 :D The are kinda hard to notice but she's wearing them in front of the tree in the first LO.

If you are looking for some fun challenges, come visit me at Paper Whores :D

Another Fancy Pants Christmas Magic

I just realized as I went to title this blog post that I don't have a title on this layout! Oh, well. It doesn't need one ;) It's too windy to spend time trying to get a close up, but the transparency ornaments have some glitter on them - looks nice in real life! I used the kit again from the NYOBC kit a few months back. I'm disappointed with the kits because the idea books contain samples that have embellishments that ARE NOT IN MY KIT! So frustrating - it's not just one small thing here or there, it's lots of embellies. They did at least provide the link for how to make the flowers though....but somehow, my flower didn't come out as good as the one in the book :\

I'm torn because I enjoy going every month - it gets me out of the house for a few hours all by myself and I get to talk with other women who like to scrapbook. Plus, I get to see what everyone else creates with the kits. But with the price increase, it makes it not a good kit compared to the other one's I've been getting. I thought I might go and decide month to month based on the kit but now I'm not sure....I hate to say that I prefer the way they had it a few months ago :(

Be Merry! {Fancy Pants Christmas Magic: Merriest Tale, Chestnuts Roasting, Bough of Holly}

It's been forever since I've touched one of my kits from my monthly group that meets...they gave us way too many Christmas kits way too early. But I knew I was going to like the Fancy Pants kit with the brown and cranberry colors. Perfect for the girls Christmas portraits!

This first LO is of the holiday card I sent out this year, using one of Julie's sketches for Magpie Club: I actually created that layout after I did this next one. I saw that Ali Edwards posted what she does with her holiday cards and thought it was a fantastic idea - why didn't I think of that?! I don't get very many cards, so I used bigger sections of each card and for a couple, I used more than one piece. I especially love that we can keep pieces of our parent's handwriting.

I'm really pleased with how the pages turned out and I was able to do them both in just a couple of hours. And now I don't have to feel bad about throwing away cards every year!

Mini-Muffin Tin Christmas Countdown Calendar

This project has been very similar to birthing a child. In the beginning, you're very excited of the idea. Then you get frustrated with trying to get all of the supplies ready to actually get started on it. Next, you're so happy to begin the process...then boredom sets in (24 of the same thing...several times over). Seems like months go by, then you're just ready for it to be done with already! Final anticipation as the last pieces come together...and then when it's done...it's not quite as big of a deal as you had anticipated. I am glad to know that she is super excited about it! She woke up this morning and went straight for it - VERY disappointed that we aren't starting this right away. Poor thing!!

Some closeups:

Everything is magnetic - including the little circles inside the tins. So if I get tired of the design or want to use it for another holiday, I can reuse the tin!

Now I need to figure out where I will store the days as we remove them...And decide if I want to include a title. I could cut out some words in the green/red cardstock using my Silhouette and put them at the top and/or bottom....like "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" or "December". What do you think- Add words or leave it alone? If you vote for adding something - what do you suggest?

******Edited to add:

I forgot to give credit to someone who I lifted an idea from... I try to always give credit when I steal an idea ;) I came across an Etsy seller in my search for ideas on how to make each square different and I came across SugarPlumMommy. It was actually one of her sold items...I took her idea of using the ribbon like I did above on #6. There are a couple of other Etsy sellers that have these types of calendars - so check them out if you want one (or need ideas!).

I'm now kicking myself in the behind for not just cutting out the dates with my Silhouette!!! You don't even want to know the complicated process I went through...

Sketch #43 @ 52 Sketches...52 Weeks

Click here for the sketch at 52 Sketches...52 Weeks.

I was amazed as I looked through some of the other layouts based on this sketch - that some people don't like circle layouts! Oh my, I really like them :)

I like them so much that I've used most of my supply of diecut pages so I had to create this one myself! First, I traced and cut out a large circle. Then, I used my coluzzle cutter to cut half circles all the way around the edge of the circle. Took some time but I think it's worth it! I wanted to show how I cheated too - without the close up you'd never have known! I ran out of "E"s so I had to create one out of an F and an extra piece of punctuation :) I was torn between backing the circle or not - but I think I like it backed on this textured dot paper. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!

Santa Christmas Card

I had a sudden urge to design my Christmas card for this year. I know, it's not even Halloween yet...but if I need supplies, I need to order them soon.

I pulled out the Christmas stamp sets that I own and started looking online for ideas. I want a card that is red and black because the picture of my soon to be three year old daughter is going to be taken in a red petticoat.

Side note: I hosted a portrait party last weekend and we saw a preview of the petticoats that Tasha bought for her Christmas Mini-session....so I went out and bought a cute top from Gymboree and blue jeans (hopefully she'll wear them!) to go with the red petticoat. If you are in the Houston area and want Christmas pictures, checkout this site. You can also check out Tasha's blog here for more info on the pettis. I love Tasha's work so much that she's the only photographer that I've used in over a year and a half!!!

Back to business: I came across a santa card online....and I've seen them before...I think I even made one at a stamp class! But I knew this is exactly what I wanted since my daughter's shirt says "Santa's Favorite" on it. So this is my version. I didn't have silver eyelets but may get them to try it out. I heart rhinestones right now...they are the "o"s in Ho! Ho! Ho!

What do you think? Any suggestions? I'm thinking of making the buckle a little thinner...

Plan to post this as an item for sale on Etsy whenever I finalize the card.

Christmas Control Journal

Since my daughter's birthday is just days after Christmas, I'm always a little overwhelmed with the planning and gift buying for both celebrations. PLUS, being a teacher, we normally worked until the 22nd or so of December - not much time off to prepare!

I've always kept a list on one piece of paper that listed who I was buying for, my limit, and any ideas I had. Plus, I kept all receipts in one location so that I could easily find them for refunds or exchanges if needed. My list would get very messy and I was in need for something a little bit "more". Right after Christmas last year, I discovered Flylady. The control journal made perfect sense to me! It was exactly what I needed. Holiday meals, parties, functions, Christmas card list and gift ideas could all be combined into one notebook. These pictures are of my own control journal for this year. I've already printed several forms from the Flylady site to help me set it up, plus I've been clipping pictures of gift ideas and saving coupons or flyers. Two pockets in the front for coupons, gift cards, etc.
To store my receipts and gift receipts (I think I will label each envelope still)

A friend of mine forwarded this site to me as well - and it suggests starting in September to prepare for a stress-free holiday!

If you'd like a journal like this - I can personalize the front to suit you, please visit my shop :)

Christmas is only 15 weeks or so from now!!!