December Daily Day 23

Day 23: Used the prompt by Ali Edwards "Joy is.." to journal about the photos I took for this day. Yet another photo collage from Walgreens. Used a tag from Elle's Studio kit and the Studio AE November 2011 stamp set. 

Trying to figure out how I want to capture Christmas eve and Christmas Day. There are so many stories and photos I could include. There have been a few days that I struggled on selecting one story.....Trying to take an "What would Ali do?" approach and pick one photo and just talk about the day. We shall see how it turns out. :)

December Daily Day 22

Day 22: On this day I decided to feature our Christmas card and most of the photo cards we received this year. Had the journaling card in my stash and have no idea where it came from :) Used Studio AE November 2011 stamps  on the top of it. Used a Fiskars postage stamp punch and more of the Girls' Paperie stickers. 

I have been working on Days 27, 28, and 29. I think I will make it to 31! 

December Daily Day 21

Day 21: On this day I decided to capture what music we were listening to this season. I took a screen capture of the list of music my DH likes to listen to during the holidays from iTunes for the left page. I then used Photoshop Elements to create a collage of CD covers of the music the kids and I listened to for the right page. Used a Martha Stewart snowflake border punch and the Girls Paperie word stickers. 

December Daily Day 20

This is one of my favorite pages I have made for this project! Mainly because I love the photos and how the collages came out!

Day 20: Used Walgreens to create the collages used on these layouts. I journaled in my handwriting around the collage on the left page. Loved the October Afternoon Santa pin tin. Used the Fiskars postage stamp punch and added real postage from a Christmas card in the mail for the left. 

Hitting a wall with the project right now. I am running out of steam! Because I celebrated Christmas with my Dad on Monday, and we usually do celebrate after the 25th, I initially decided to complete this album up through the 31st, to include Christmas with him every year. Now I am wondering if I just go up to today and be done. We shall see..... Maybe it is the lack of routine and sleep talking :)

December Daily Day 19

Day 19: Celebrated my DH's birthday today. Used the Girls' Paperie stickers again and used the December Daily stamp set, I believe. Hand wrote birthday because the stamp that I had was the wrong size. Tried to mimic Ali Edwards's handwriting. I think this is the most computer generated journaling I have ever done! Loving the Remington Noiseless font!

December Daily Day 18

This one didn't turn out how I would have liked, but the memory is there.....

Day 18: Used the program on the left side of the layout and the ticket on the right. I think I should have scanned the ticket and shrunk it down to fit, but I just need to move on and catch up! Just feels off...... Maybe after I complete the rest of the book I will revisit this one for a redo......

Hope you had a great Christmas! Will be showing the next two days soon!

December Daily Day 17

Finally got Day 17 done! This day was a challenge for me since I had a lot to say and I didn't know where I was going to put everything. Then I went through a checklist of things Ali Edwards made of things to try including in this year's December Daily. Make a photo the home for journaling. Opened up my Photoshop elements and.....

Day 17: I did it! I figured it out! Can you tell I am proud of myself :) On the right page I used the December Daily by Ali Edwards stamp set along with a Studio AE set from long ago that was birthday themed as well as the new Nov 2011 set I got for Christmas yesterday! (Thanks, Mom!)

Below is a closer view of the journaling.

December Daily Day 16

I stayed up late to finish some of my December Daily pages. However, I didn't finish Day 17 or 18 so I will hold off on the others that I did finish. Can't believe Christmas eve is tomorrow! Previous Christmases have been A LOT more hectic so it feels weird to be hanging out enjoying the season!

Day 16: My kids love books, so I thought it would be fun to write down their (and my) favorites this year. That way, next year I can see how they change.  Got a little creative with the Thickers! I told you I was getting low. I am officially out of "o". Hopefully my LSS has more!

Hope you are having a Merry Christmas!

December Daily Day 14 and 15

Busy time of year and having trouble finding the time to get my pages finished! I have pictures printed and ready to go but needing time to sit and journal and add finishing touches.

Day 14: So I got Technique Tuesday December Daily 2011 by Ali Edwards stamp set for Christmas from my SIL and I was able to use a stamp from this set around the 14!

Day 15: Used the stamp set above again for the tab on the right photo. Loving these word stickers from Girls Paperie. Running out of the Thickers, though. 

Thanks for looking!

December Daily Day 11, 12, and 13

Still plugging away at my December Daily!

Day 11: I love being able to share photos on Facebook! The group shot was taken by two cameras so I was excited that they were able to post the photo so quickly so I would have access to it! Used another collage through Walgreens website.

Day 12: Downloaded the photo of Tim Holtz's tags from his blog. Found some red and white twine to hang the kids art work on. Hate that it was when editing this photo that I found a typo in the journaling....I think it just may have to stay that way or I will write in the correction. Haven't decided yet. Can you find it?

Day 13: This day I didn't have any photos for what I wanted to talk about. This layout put me out of my comfort zone. I had a sticker from Madeline's trip to the doctor so I added that. On the right tab I plan on adding a stamped image or sentiment. 

Through this process I have found it difficult on some days to pick one story. So many things going on this time of year! 

Thanks for visiting!

December Daily-Day 9 and 10

Made the last finishing touches to Day 9 and 10 and have them to share with you.

Day 9: We made cookies and I used the packaging of the box for the right page of this layout. On the left I used a photo collage from Walgreens and some of the stickers from The Girls' Paperie. A pretty easy layout. May add a little stamping to this one when I get my stamp set :)

Day 10: We visited Santa and got a great photo! Love that you have the option to by the image on a CD so I can print as many at what ever size I choose! This Toyland paper was great for today. I had to swap the base from another day, though so 9 and 10 look more similar than I would have liked. Used the tag Christmas wish from an Elle's Studio set that I bought extra with my kit. 

I have Day 12 completed but I was waiting for some photos to be shared with me for Day 11 so I will post when that gets completed so they stay in order :)

December Daily 1-8

I purchased the awesome kit, 'Tis the Season, from Elle's Studio to create my December Daily. In it contained exclusive tags with numbers 1-31, coordinating papers from a handful of manufacturers, Thickers, and a ton of other goodies. To see the whole product list, check their blog post. Also used a Sizzix set of snowflakes for the foundation of most of my pages. These are 6x6 pages. I decided to start off small this year for a couple of reasons. One, scrapbook funds are low so I could cut my 12x12 papers in 4 equal pieces and make it go further. Second, I thought it would be easier to use 4x6 photos or collages with this size.

Here is an updated version added on Dec 26.

Day 1: It is not done. I am receiving the Studio AE November stamp set for Christmas and I plan on using one of the stamps on the right page next to my photo collage. :)

This was the first time I had really gotten the hang of making a photo collage in Photoshop Elements! I had gotten it as a gift 2 years ago and I am now just getting some use out of it.

Day 2: The sticker is from Autumn Leaves and I used Are We There Yet stamp set from Technique Tuesday on the journaling circle. The photo collage on the right page I made through Walgreens. Used the i dots on the snowflake from the Thickers. It needed a little sparkle!

Day 3: This layout I used the Elle's Studio packaging and punched a scalloped circle and used rub-ons from my stash to embellish. Also used some of The Girls' Paperie stickers from their Tinsel and Twig collection.

Day 4: I got these advent boxes through Stampin' Up last year. They are so cool! I can put little treats, and coupons (for movies, Christmas books, etc.) each day and customize it every year. Love that!

I created another collage in Photoshop Elements. Used more of the snowflake rub-ons and The Girls' Paperie stickers. The patterned paper on the right side had a place for a wish list but I put what was in the first 10 days.

Day 5: Used another collage from Photoshop Elements. It was a 4x6 collage that I cut into two, one for each child. 

Day 6: Used a metallic silver pen, more of the snowflake rub-ons and a little green ribbon. This is one of my favorite days!

Day 7: Used a red Sizzix die cut tag with green ribbon stapled with Tim Holtz's tiny attacher, used a sticker from Crate Paper. This collage I made through Walgreens website.

Day 8: For this layout, I downloaded the images from the DVD covers and printed them as photos. I used a Martha Stewart edge punch to mat the photo on the right side. 

I have rather enjoyed my December Daily journey. I have ran into a few hiccups with supply shortages and with my printer, but my book is finally coming together. Can't wait to get the Studio AE stamp set to add a few touches to the layouts and I will probably have to buy another set of Thickers to be able to finish the album. 

More days to come soon!

SMILE

I love Basic Grey's kits! This has been my favorite kit to put together in a long time! It had me do all kinds of techniques that I would never think to do on my own and I love the Out of Print collection by Basic Grey!

The first technique was a paper weaving technique. Great to add texture, and color. It was a bit of a pain to do but worth the final product!

The second technique I enjoyed was the flowers. Not only did you get to layer the flower pieces but then there was doodling the flower stems.

Still plugging away at my December Daily. Hopefully I will have some pages to share in the next couple of days!

Oh, and if you are interested in purchasing this kit click the link.

Soarin'

I completed another Just Kitting kit. I love this one with Mickey Mouse in the airplane. The fabulous thing about these paper piecing kits is how unique the images are. Unless the kits are specified as Cricut, the characters are hand-drawn or traced images.

Loved how this kit worked perfectly with the photos I had for Soarin' over California at Disneyland's California Adventure.

Sometimes I struggle on how to journal for layouts like this. I wanted to add details without writing a novel so I did a checklist approach. Notice the "fellow companion" was not checked. My son's friend wimped out and didn't fly with us.  :)

I wish I was posting my December Daily pages but I just am not quite happy with them yet. I have some great photos and elements but I don't feel like they are pulling together just right. Some of them I wish I had certain stamps or other specific supplies to use. I already have ideas on how I plan to change it for next year. 

Big Red

This is a kit I put together from Just Kitting that couldn't have been more perfect for my photos! It helps when you know the designer, I suppose :) If you love paper piecing, you will love these kits!

Baby Shower

Nichol Magouirk's Stamping class this month on Two Peas in a Bucket was about paper piecing a stamp image to use on a layout. I hadn't scrapped the photos from my baby shower and had this really cute Stampin' up stamp with umbrellas on it. Didn't realize how much cutting was going to be involved when I decided to use it! But I really like how it turned out.

 Used vellum to stamp another umbrella (also Stampin' Up) with black StazOn Ink and again with Versa Mark ink on pink and purple cardstock and pieced it together. I traced the black circle and used a Technique Tuesday stamp sentiment around the circle.

 Used the umbrella border strip stamp and stamped on Stampin' Up's white cardstock and again with VersaMark ink on other colors of cardstock. (Yellow was textured)

 The water mark didn't show up very well on the green, so I embossed it with clear embossing powder and used some distress ink and used the resist technique before cutting it out. Used the Stardust pen to give a little sparkle to some of the details on the umbrellas.

Just as the photos were from 2006, the paper is even older! Glad to be able to use some of the old stuff from my stash!

Other Products used: Patterned paper- Gin-X, Chipboard alpha and coasters- Gin-X, Border punches- Martha Stewart and EKSuccess.

Grandma's Stockings

For this layout I was participating in two challenges from Shimelle. The first was Shimelle's sketch of the week.  

Here is what I created.

The second was to "find a creative way to document a holiday memory that’s currently missing from your scrapbooks. Feelings, thoughts, memories hidden behind the pictures. It doesn’t have to be deep and angst-ridden. It can be light and breezy. But angst-ridden works, too, if that’s where you’re at! It’s all good."

Thanks to Shimelle I did two things, got the border paper out of my stash and into a scrapbook, and second, got the story behind my choice of stockings documented. Love that! Thank you, Shimelle!

Supplies used: Border Paper-Imaginisce, Journaling boxes-S.E.I, Letter stickers-American Crafts and Doodlebug (date), alpha stamps and mini square punch- Stampin' up. 

My friend, thank you

When my SIL ordered some Technique Tuesday stamps for my birthday, Technique Tuesday included a card kit. It consisted of a card a card base, handful of square scraps and twill. This little kit has been sitting on my craft table calling my name. I finally pulled the pieces out and put something together.

Paired up with the stamp set that I won from their blog, Fabulous by Ali Edwards,  I made this card. I also used the Studio AE March- Cake and Candles by Ali Edwards, which happened to be the set I got from my SIL. I fastened the twill with my Tim Holtz tiny attacher. Gotta love that tool!

The Call of the Wild

This is a kit that I started a very long time ago. This layout made me realize that I tend to put pages together in different stages. Design, photos, title, journaling, date. Sometimes, like with this one, I pass over it for months before I decide and move onto the next step.

The title and journaling was holding up the completion of this kit. When I saw the Technique Tuesday Studio AE stamp set for July 2011,  I finally knew I could finish it!

This was a kit by my friend Tami. Check out her blog www.playswellwithpaperkits.blogspot.com to see some of her more recent kits. She creates the best Disney inspired layouts that don't use Disney specific products.

This layout is of my DH and I at Animal Kingdom in Disney World. This trip was the first time we had had the chance to use our first digital camera and my DH thought the gorilla was a great test subject for testing the camera out. I think he took some really great photos!

Forward Facing Transportation

I had a hard time deciding which of the photos from this should make it on a layout. Some of them are a little out of focus and blurry. Part of the reason for that was because my son was so excited he was moving around, not sitting still. But like all important firsts, I wanted to capture this moment on a layout. 

Products used: Patterned paper: Best Creations; Stickers: American crafts, K&Company.

My Own Monsters

I loved the My Own Monster iron on kits from SEI. When I saw them at the CKC I picked up one for my son and daughter. Figured it would make for a fun craft day. Then in the SEI booth, I spotted the coordinating paper and stickers. Here is the layout I created with the paper, stickers and some leftover iron on pieces (there were tons).  The iron ons are available now at Target.

4-Wheelin' with Papa

When I participated in the SoCal Shop Hop over a year ago, I found the perfect paper for some photos of my son at 2 years old riding a 4-wheeler with my Dad in a grab bag. Paired it up with some Technique Tuesday Studio AE stamps, and I think my layout came together really well!

Supplies: Stickers: American crafts; punches: Fiskers, EK Sucess, Stampin' up; die cuts: Sizzix; stamps: Technique Tuesday, Studio Calico, Stampin' Up; ink: Stampin up, Ranger; brads, washers, tiny attacher: Tim Holtz