A peek at an Insta mini and a GIVEAWAY

Happy Friday, blog readers! I just wanted to pop on here quickly today to show you a little peek of a mini album I'm sharing over on the DCWV blog today.  It's a Valentine's gift for my hubby, so shhhhh.... don't tell! 

I hope you'll hop over and take a look, and while you're there make sure you leave a comment.  If you're name is drawn, you'll win a set of the popular Insta Photo Fun collection, available exclusively at Joann's. Good luck!

December Daily: Dec 1st, 2nd, 3rd

For the past several years I have attempted a December Daily album.  A couple of them have gotten no further than the album construction or cover design.  Except for last year's attempt which progressed the furthest of any other -- at nearly halfway done.  (*For the record, I still plan to eventually go back to that 2012 album and complete it!  If you're curious, I shared some of the foundation pages in this post.). 

So, why in the world am I attempting this project again, when I've been so unsuccessful in the past?!  Well, looking back at just the handful of pages I created for 2012 reminded me what a cherished keepsake this is.  There is so much happening during the month of December that I want a way to capture and remember the little bits and pieces, that often get lost over the years.

Today I'm sharing the first of my completed pages - the cover through December 3rd.  I'm using a Studio Calico Handbook album, which to this point I've left raw.  I'm still undecided if I will paint the chipboard cover and thus have waited to add any additional design to it.  While I'll be using lots of items in my crafty stash, the majority of the elements are from Jillibean Soup's Christmas Cheer Chowder collection.

For the cover page I tried to incorporate many of the elements that I would repeat throughout the album - sequins, diecuts, woodgrain, stamping.



Supplies used: album - Studio Calico, patterned papers, diecuts, stickers - Jillibean Soup; woodgrain paper - Pebbles; snowflake punches - Martha Stewart; sequins - Lawn Fawn; gold epoxy dots - SEI; stamps - Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday; ink - Stampin' Up

As you can see the title page features lots of layered snowflakes and sprinkles of glitter and shine.  It all translates as very Christmas-y, don't you think?

 

Since I had the backside of the title page to work with for the first of December, I used the 6X8" canvas in it's entirety to focus on my title for the spread.  On this day, my boys and I tagged along with my sister and her family to cut down their Christmas tree.  I had lots of pictures to included, but didn't want to divide up the spread with a full page, in between.  So, I cut one of the 3X4 pocket pages in half vertically to allow for additional photos but cohesiveness throughout the spread.

 

Here is a look at the page again, when the 3X8" photo section is flipped to the left.

 

For December 2nd, I was again working with a 6X8 page protector, so I chose to create a mini scrapbook layout.

I love the little diecuts that coordinate with the Christmas Cheer Chowder collection.  I knew I just had to use this sweet little elf on a page accompanying pictures of our Elf on the Shelf.

 

Originally I had stamped and punched a series of numbers for each of the 25 days in December.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get them to work with my overall design.  So, I reevaluated and decided to cut and use the Jillibean paper that includes squares of all the numbers I will need plus more.  I pretty much love how they look throughout the album so far!

 

 

I'm off to put the finishing touches on Dec 4th, and print out my pictures for today.  Feels good to be almost caught up with this project.  I'm having so much fun doing it and really enjoying the season more by focusing on these little memories and blessings.  See you back here soon with more!

 

The hexagon trend: Layout, card and mini album

For some crazy reason, I have had this post in 'draft' form for MONTHS now.  I uploaded the pictures (since, as you will see, there are LOTS), and then forgot to come back and finish up the text, details and post.   Odds are high, that I got interrupted by a kiddo needing something, wanting my attention, or fighting with one another. LOL!  Seems to be the story of my life these days... 

Back in the summer I got the whole of Authentique's Delightful collection to create with.  As you'll see it's baby themed with lots of soft pretty colors and vintage papers.  I knew, of course, I would use some of it to put together  a page for Emerson's book.  The collection reminded me so much of a snuggly, worn quilt, that I immediately knew the popular hexagon trend would translate well with this line. 

Since I am not yet the lucky owner of a silhouette cameo machine, I set out to find another pattern to size and cut my hexagons.  When I came up empty handed, I decided to draw my own hexagon pattern and cut and trace them out by hand.  Yep, that's right one.by.one - all traced and cut out by little old me!  LOL!  So, if you notice a few errors in the hexagons or where things don't exactly line up, you will know why!  And would you believe that I have since discovered that I had a cricuit cartridge that had a hidden hexagon design.  DOH!

On with the page...here are pictures and highlights of my baby girl's fourth month of life.

Supplies used: Paper: Authentique Delightful collection: Beautiful(both sides), Lovely, Cheerful (both sides), Sweet, Elegant, Charming; Cardstock: Bazzill; Stickers: Authentique Delightful collection Elements stickers; Diecuts: Authentique Delightful collection: Noteables, Headlines, Icons; Embellishments: My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline twine and stick pin; Other: machine stitching, computer font, foam adhesive, scallop border punch, miscellaneous pearls and gems

Since I only used little bits and pieces of all of the patterned papers, I had plenty of extras to put together some other fun projects.  First up, a sweet little card.

 

And also, a darling little 6x6 album that was a gift for a very special little baby girl and her family.  I kept the album fairly simple, so that 4x6 or smaller snapshots could easily be added in without covering much of the decoration.  I made sure to include some manila tags directly into the three ring binding, to provide an additional spot for memories and journaling. 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with another 2 page layout, featuring many of my favorite Pebbles producs.  Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

 

December Daily cover and foundation pages

I have been promising pictures of my December Daily for awhile now.  So, wait no more - I am finally sharing!!!  I actually had these all set to go at the end of last week, BEFORE December AND even posted them to the gallery at Two Peas (where I was the 'featured project'(!!!) on Friday - come here to check me out).  However, I didn't make it back to the blog before we headed out of town for a busy weekend.

 

But enough with the excuses...  Here is the fun stuff!  In an effort to actually get these pictures posted and this entry out of 'draft' form, I won't bore you with lots of text, but if you do have any questions about something I used or did, be sure to leave me a note in the comments.

 

Here is my pretty little tray that I've set up to leave out on my desk during the month of December.  I've filled it with all sorts of bits and baubles, tags and tapes and lots of other miscellaneous holiday items that may come in handy during the month.

 

And here is a look at the cover of the album.  I'm using an October Afternoon Here and Now chipboard album for the base.  I believe this particular one was part of the 9 to 5 collection, but I can't find it on their website.  As you look through the album you'll see that I'm planning to use the lined notebook style pages that came with it, but mixing in patterned papers (mostly from October Afternoon's Holiday Style collection from winter 2011) here and there, as well.

Here is the inside cover.  I plan to add some text to the right hand side describing the idea and theme of the album. 

The following images show some of the decorative details I've added as a starting point. 

To label the days throughout the month, I've pre-stamped these sweet little Martha Stewart scalloped tags.  I used an Ali Edwards Technique Tuesday stamp set (I believe it's the December Daily one from 2011), to stamp the numbers, month and circular label.  These tags will get sewn into the album, as I go.

 

I am happy to report, that as of this morning, I have officially updated my album through day 4!  Don't know that I always be this caught up, but I'll enjoy the fleeting feeling of accomplishment, while it lasts!  When I get a chance, I'll be back to show what the completed pages in my album look like.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Mother's Day mini and some fun news

Now that the holiday is officially past and gifts have been given, I wanted to share the cute little mini books I put together for both my mom and mother in law for mother's day this year.  The album measures a little more than 4" x 4", so it's the perfect size for these Grandma's to pop in their purses and always have on hand, to share photos of their darling grandchildren!  For the contents of the album I selected some favorite photos of my kiddos and paired it with text, that answers a couple of 'interview' questions that I asked them about their Grandma and Nana.  Here's the look at the cover:




And a side view of the album, shows how it is kept closed with a length of twill tape.  I love from this view, how you can see all of the bits and pieces of each page peeking out - and hint at what's to come inside!

As you will see, I laid out the album to include a picture of each child on the left page, and their response on the right.  In the middle of each page, I sewed a small envelope into the book binding, which when opened, reveals a sweet little drawing from them.  I started the book with a picture of my oldest.

Here is a look at the page once the pocket page is turned.

Again the next set of pages is set up with the same 'formula' - picture, pocket, then text.

A close up reveals how the envelope opens, and shows a peek at the paper, containing Justin's sweet little artwork, inside.

The backside of the envelope and his response to my questions are shown here.  I love the he said he loves his Nana because, "she teaches me tricks." Ha, ha - funny boy!

Next, is baby girl's page.  Obviously, she is not quite at the age to create artwork yet so, I chose to use a decorative envelope here.  I punched some 'confetti' from paper scraps (as is all the rage in scrapbooking right now!), tucked it inside a vellum envelope and sewed it shut.  I think it adds a fun little decorative element!

I gave baby girl a little help with her 'interview', as well! (wink!)

For the final pages, I mixed up the 'formula' a little bit.  I include some decorative elements on the left, sewed a vellum envelope into the binding and finished it off with a group photo of all three kids.

This picture reveals the contents of the vellum envelope -- sweet little mini instax photos of each child!  Love this!  I was thrilled when I figured out that the envelope was the perfect size to contain these!

Here's a look at the final page:

To finish off the back side of the album I stamped a sweet little phrase, from an older Hero Arts Stamp set and added a remaining sticker.  

As you can imagine, these little albums were quite a hit with the Grandma's! My only regret is not making a copy to tote along in my own purse!

Oh, and before I sign off -- just wanted to share my fun news.  I found out yesterday that a recent page, shown in this post, won the latest sketch challenge over at the Jillibean Soup blog.  Yay, me!  If that wasn't enough -- my prize was to select $50 worth of items of my own choosing from the online Jillibean store.  How fun is that????  I had so much fun shopping with my Jillibean dollars.  Maybe when I get my package in the mail, I'll snap a pic and share my goodies!

As always, thanks for stopping by!