Finished December Daily

Hello!  I can't believe December has come and gone...as has another year.  Goodbye 2012 and hello 2013.  Last month I shared the beginning of my December Daily album and I'm back to share the finished product with you.  I'm not going to show every completed page, but I did choose several that I thought you might enjoy.

I added this title page.  It's a little hard to see, I apologize, but the tag simply says Merry Christmas.

December 8-My nephew's first birthday.  I didn't do a lot of journalling for this page, I'll save that for a scrapbook page.  In the little pocket on the left I included some of the tags from the gifts he received.

December 11-This page documents an unexpected gift I received in the mail.
 

December 17-I included some information about a center I volunteer at (it's a place for grieving children and families and I work with a group of 6-12 year old kids who have had siblings die).  I wanted to share a little about our last meeting before the holidays and how we remembered our loved ones.

December 20-I included a picture of some of the gifts I had wrapped and prepared.  In the journalling I talked a little about our family holiday traditions and how we give/receive gifts.

December 22-Annual cousin's party.  Every year before Christmas all the cousin's from my dad's side of the family gather together for fun and festivities.  It started over 25 years ago and is something we all look forward to every year.  The ages of the cousins in attendance this year range from 33 to 5.  There's a lot of us, and it's a total blast.  My youngest brother and sister in law moved out of the country last spring but were able to join us over Skype.  We even managed to play Scattergories together.  Great memories.

December 25-The big day!  I chose to end my December Daily here, some people go through the entire month, but this worked out better for me.  And as you'll see in the picture below, my album was completely stuffed.  For  Christmas day I included the events of the day, a package label for a pair of shoes I received, a printed movie ticket for Les Miserables, and a picture of the stack of games and gifts my oldest nephew received.  Hopefully he won't complain of boredom any time soon.

And there you have it.  I really enjoyed documenting December 2012 and plan to do it again next year.  The holidays always seem to fly by and this was a fun way to slow down and remember the moments.  Happy New Year!

December Daily

Hi scrappers.  Once again it's time for me to share a project at She's A Sassy Lady and I'm excited to share the foundation of my December Daily album with you.  I'm sure many of you have heard of this, but if not, it came from the mind of the very creative and talented Ali Edwards.  I purchased a kit from Studio Calico this year and it included the album, paper, embellishments, photo sleeves and stamps.

To decorate my cover I used some Mister Huey mist, twine, ribbon, border stickers and alpha letters.  My usual style is a little cleaner, but I'm happy with the color and texture. 

A picture of the inside cover of my album.  I actually love it and kind of wish it was on the outside cover, but it just felt too big and bulky.

These daily cards are a product created by Ali Edwards and there are a variety of colors and styles.  I chose to print my cards on kraft card stock with a green border.  The album is an off white color and so I didn't want to print on white card stock, I felt like it clashed.  I'm really happy with the way my cards turned out.

These 4x6 chipboard pages were also included in the kit.  Some of them I covered with paper and others I painted in coordinating colors.  I have an example of a painted page in the picture below.

Day 1-my apologies for the blurry picture.  The story I focused on was our annual family outing to the tree farm.  The journaling on the left tells the story of the picture and the rest of the day.

Day 2-a very uneventful day for me.  The picture shows a pile of "things" I collected during my errands.  Some days are a little less exciting than others, but that's life.

Day 3-I chose to use a picture I took while out with friends playing BINGO.  I love the wood veneer letters I used, and they seemed to fit the retro look of the BINGO cards perfectly.

Day 4-my sweet nephew in the tub.  I just can't get enough of that face.

And there you have it my friends.  Next month I'll include more photos from my album.  I'm sure it will include a lot more embellishments and details.  Thank you for visiting today and I wish you all the happiest of holidays.

Owl Treat Box

Hello scrappers.  Once again it's my turn to share a project at She's A Sassy Lady.  I have to admit I haven't had much crafty energy lately, but I'm trying to turn that around.  I'm hoping I will be inspired to start working on my Christmas cards and getting ready for December Daily, which I'm planning to take part in this year.  At times like these, to get myself back in the groove, I find it easiest to pick a project that requires minimal creativity...in other words, I chose to create a 3-D image that some other creative person already designed for me.

The owl box is from the Silhouette online store, which means all I had to do was pick out my paper and embellishments.

I did some inking around the edges of the card stock and pattern paper.  I assembled the owl before putting the box together, it just seemed easier that way.  It's difficult to see in the pictures, but I added glossy accents to the eyes and beak.

I thought a bow was appropriate for this girly owl.  Now all that's left to do is add some treats and pick who the lucky recipient will be.

Details

Pattern Paper:  My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose (Hattie)

Solid Card Stock:  Papertrey Ink

Ribbon:  My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose (Mabel)

Glossy Accents

Stampin' Up Dimensional Adhesive

Ink:  Papertrey Ink-Vintage Tea Dye Duo

Thanks for hanging in with me.  I hope you enjoyed my little project, perhaps it will provide some inspiration for one of you.

Back To School

Hi scrappers.  This month at She's A Sassy Lady I'm sharing a back to school project.  I like to put something together for my nephew to take to his class and this year I found a crayon box and thought it would be perfect for a little treat.

This is a picture of the box before it's folded.  I used the tools in Silhouette software to change the size of the box for my needs.  I cut a few samples before finding the right size.   

Look at all these fun colors!  I love using a variety of colors and patterns for elementary school age children.

Next I stamped "first day of school" on white card stock and then used a scallop punch which I adhered on some brown card stock.  Punches come in really handy for projects where you're making multiples of an item.  For this project I made 30 treat boxes.  I don't know exactly how many kids are in my nephew's class this year, so I prefer to make more than I think I'll need.

To finish the box I wrapped some ribbon around them and adhered the badges.  Inside of each box is a mini fruit rollup and sticker.

When it comes to school projects my goal is to keep it simple.  I do this for a couple reasons, the first is because I have to make so many.  And secondly, second graders aren't going to really appreciate time, energy or perfection.  So, it's just not worth stressing out...they just want the treat inside anyway!

Recipe:

• Pattern Paper- Papertrey Ink Bitty Dot Basics
• Solid Card Stock- Papertrey Ink
• Ribbon- White 1/4-inch grosgrain Stampin' UP
• 1-inch scallop punch Martha Stewart
• 1 1/4-inch circle punch Marvy Uchida
• Brown Ink- Papertrey Ink
• Stamp- The Paper Studio

 Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Card Share-Home Sweet Home

Hi scrappers!  It's August 1st can you believe it?  I'm keeping it simple this month at She's A Sassy Lady and using a sketch.

One of my favorite blogs for sketches and card challenges is The Sweetest Thing, so I'm including a link for you and I encourage you to check it out.  The card measures 6x6-inches.

The 'home sweet home' sentiment and image, along with the file tab are from the Silhouette online store. 

As you can see I don't have a lot of variation from the sketch, which is fine.  I love sketches because you can use them as a jumping off point or take them strictly as they are presented.

Details:

• Card Base:  Bazzil
• Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Enchanted Evening and Rustic Cream)
• Pattern Paper:  October Afternoon (a variety of collections)
• Button:  My Mind's Eye
• Ribbon:  Papertrey Ink (Simply Chartreuse)
• 'Destination' Sentiment:  October Afternoon (Boarding Pass)
• Marker:  Stampin' UP (Old Olive)

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I'll see you soon!

Multicolored Embossing Technique

Hi scrappers!  Once again it's my turn to post at She's A Sassy Lady.  I hope you enjoy this fun technique I'm sharing with you.  I've seen similar ideas around the blogosphere and wanted to give it a try.

I started by stamping a background stamp with Versamark.  Then I slowly started sprinkling my embossing powder in alternating colors.  Unfortunately, you will "waste" some powder since all the colors will mix together, but I think it's worth it.

And after all my colors are added.  Apparently I missed a spot, bummer.  This picture is before I set the powder with my heat gun.

I also decided to try it on black card stock and I love how it turned out. 

Next I placed my heat embossed pattern on my cutting mat, as you can see I chose to use the black for this card.

Next up, cutting.  Pretty simple, right?!  I chose my sentiment from the Silhouette online store and lined it up in my window so it cut directly on my paper.  If you look close you'll see I accidentally cut off part of my 'y', thank goodness I had a big enough area I could cut it again.

Then I simply put my card together.  I used some twine and a border punch to complete my card design.  I have to admit, it feels like something is missing...but in any case, it's a finished card...for now at least.  Lol.

Details

Stamp:  Hero Arts/Basic Grey-Oxford Collection

Pattern Paper:  Basic Grey-'PB and J'

Embossing Powder:  Zing-Red, Yellow, Pewter

Border Punch:  Stampin' Up-Scallop

Twine:  The Twinery-Black

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink

Button:  Papertrey Ink

Versamark 'Dazzle'

Embossing Buddy-Stampin' Up

Thanks for visiting and have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Happy Father's Day!

Hi!  It's my turn to post at She's A Sassy Lady and I decided to share a couple Father's Day cards. My design is so simple that this is more of a card share than a tutorial. 

I picked the tie, mustache and 'Dad' sentiment from the online Silhouette store.  I think these two images are perfect for a couple quirky yet masculine cards.

I took this picture to give you an idea of the size of this sentiment.  I continue to love how well the Silhouette cuts intricate images on even the thickest cardstock.

I used a scrap to punch a couple of hearts for my cards.

Details:

• Authentique 'Journey' Collection
• Echo Park 'Dots and Stripes'-Metropolitan
• October Afternoon 'Rocket Age' Collection
• Spellbinders Nestabilities-Classic Oval Large
• Papertrey Ink-Solid Cardstock
• Black Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Gray Twine
• Silhouette Online Store

Are you inspired to tackle a Father's Day card? I hope so.  As with most holidays, it will be here before we know it, along with the last day of school...which is the next project on my list.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!