December Album 2012

One of my favorite things about the holiday season, is preparing my December album. There are so many "December Daily" kits offered, that choosing can be a little overwhelming. This year, I chose Citrus Twist's December Daily kit along with Cocoa Daisy's Christmas add-on because they complimented each other perfectly.

I have to share the lovely presentation with you from Trina at Citrus Twist. Even the Grinch couldn't resist digging into this treasure! I'm sure that tag will make it's way into my album! Be sure to click on the photos so you can see it up close. :)

Check out this fabulous stamp set that came in the kit...

Once I touched the pretties in the package, I couldn't resist the urge to get started on my album. This year I decided I wanted to add lots of bright colors to my album cover, this adorable Crate Paper was the perfect starting point. I decided it would be fun to make the album cover look like a gift, so I wrapped the patterned paper with washi tape. With just a few more touches, I ended up with a simple and festive album cover.

December album wrap up

This is the earliest I have ever completed my Christmas album and it feels fabulous! I just wanted to share some of my favorite pages... (you may click on image to enlarge.)

As you can see, I like to keep it simple for December. If I didn't, it would never get completed! :) As much as I love doing the Christmas album, I get anxious to scrap something else. This is my first layout for 2012. I mainly used the Dec. Cocoa Daisy kit for this project. It was fun doing a 2 page layout with a masculine side and a contrasting feminine page.

We have a busy weekend ahead, full of indoor soccer, basketball games and hopefully, a little scrapping! Have a fabulous weekend and thank you for stopping by!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

With all the hustle and bustle of shopping, wrapping, baking, etc., it's important to remember to capture the quiet little moments that make you smile (and that you want to hold on to forever.) Here are a few of those shots I captured in the last few days...

Trying to squeeze some crafty time in during December is really hard, but I've managed to do a few layouts. The first, is a layout I created using Pink Paislee's Snow Day collection. The pics are from last January but they've been waiting patiently for the perfect paper to come along. I think you'll agree that this is it!

The following are the first couple of pages of my December album. (You may click on image to view it enlarged.)

I'm using Cocoa Daisy's December kit, Teresa Collins Christmas Home, along with other things from my collection.

Tonight is Christmas movie night, along with popcorn cooked on the stovetop with real butter! (My dear husband has this perfected!) Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

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!

Journal Your Christmas Dec. 1st

I basically just took my blog post from earlier today and used it as my manifesto for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class. Here is my album cover along with my manifesto page. TFL!

FLTOA Recipe Challenge

Yesterday, I had the honor of hosting the weekly challenge @ www.fortheLuvofArt.com. When I received the Nov. kit, I knew it was perfect for this, the challenge is to use a recipe on a layout. I knew instantly what I wanted to do... our favorite cookie recipe.
Every year we bake several batches of these, don our Santa caps, and deliver to our friends. It's so much fun to take a little time and spread a little Holiday cheer.
Since I can't deliver these to all my online friends, I hope you take the time to make a batch of these delicious treats and feel the love from our house to yours.