my favorite things

my favorite things

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Christmas Album

It's the time of year to start thinking about my December album. Last year, I was so excited... I bought an 8x8 album, spent a lot of time getting the cover just right and then completely lost my mojo. I deconstructed that album and just did regular layouts. Looking back on it, I realized the problem was the size of the album. There is no way I can cram all my December pics into an 8x8 album.

This year, I purchased the Holiday kit from Cocoa Daisy and I'm using an 8 1/2 x 11 album. Today, I did my album cover and I'm really pleased with the results. Deciding on what to use for the cover is always the hardest part for me, but I knew I had to use the snowflake template from the kit.

Here is my kit with a few other pieces thrown in...

American Crafts 8 1/2x11 album

I adhered some Bazzill kraft cardstock to the album and coated with Mod Podge. (I used painter's tape to protect the binder fabric) I then used Glimmer Mist Sand to spray the template. I also outlined the template with a Gelly Roll glitter pen and did some embossing to the snowflakes.

I added a little ribbon along the edge of the fabric, some bling in the snowflakes, stamped the title and here is the final result...




There are so many wonderful ways to document the Holidays -- it doesn't matter which method you choose as long as you DO it! I'd love to see how you preserve your Holiday memories. Post a link in the comment section to share yours!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Our Thanksgiving

What a beautiful day we had yesterday -- gorgeous weather, yummy food, and the company of wonderful friends. I'm a blessed (and grateful) girl! Today, I'm just sharing a few pics from our fun day.








Today we'll be decorating for Christmas, but first, I must finish my coffee! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Why attend an on-line crop?

When I told my husband that I would be "attending" a couple of on-line crops last weekend, he looked at me like I was crazy. I don't think he understands the power of the message boards. lol We no longer have a local scrap store, so rather than cut myself off completely from scrappy friends, I chose to jump in with both feet into some fabulous scrappy sites.
I recently discovered a wonderful site, Cocoa Daisy -- not only do they have wonderful kits, exclusive stamps, etc., they also have an amazing design team, sure to get you inspired

Here are the layouts I completed...








Not only was I inspired creatively, I also met some fun-loving ladies that know how to enjoy life. (p.s. Thanks for all the laughs!) If you're needing some inspiration, you should stop by here!
Have a fabulous weekend, thank you for stopping by!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Too big for trick or treating {almost}

This was the Halloween that I've been dreading since my dear Son was born. He announced that he was not going to dress up and go trick-or-treating. I'll admit, for one split second I thought to myself, "Yay, one less costume to deal with." But then, my heart got heavy and I realized we were coming to the end of an era and I wasn't prepared for it. I would ask him daily if he had changed his mind and he stood firm in his decision. Finally, on the 30th, I asked him one more time and informed him that I would not have time to run around on Halloween to pick up a costume for him. Without hesitation, he responded, "Yes, I want to go and I want to be a skeleton!" Would you believe we ran into our local drug store and the perfect costume was there, waiting for him to claim it (on sale, too!)

I decided that I needed to make a mini album of all the costumes the kids have worn over the years. Although this may have been the last year for him to participate (I hope it's not!), I now have an adorable mini album that I'll cherish always.














I used the adorable My Mind's Eye Mischievous line for this project. I think it's one of my all-time favorite Halloween collections. It's going to be a busy, scrappy week for me... I'm trying to get all my fall layouts completed and I'm also attending two crops this weekend!

Thanks for stopping by... enjoy these beautiful fall days while they last!