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12/31/14

Around Here: December Edition


It has been one merry December around here!  Birthdays, parities, hot chocolate and lots of red and green!  I'm pretty sure my kids are on a constant sugar high seeing that everyday is full of sweet treats and sugary goodness.  Hoping you and your family had a magical Christmas and a very happy New Years!  Bring on 2015!


12/30/14

Project Life: December 2014



I'm up on the One Little Bird blog today sharing a Project Life spread from early December.  Since I complete a December Daily® album every year, I usually just add in a sprinkle of photos from our month.  I actually love putting these spreads together because they can be so photo heavy (without me feeling any guilt about not journaling)!!  :)

Here's a little peek at my spread!  I used another one of the October Afternoon page protectors with the 3x3 pockets.  This style is my new favorite!  I love uniform and cohesive everything looks (I'll blame that on Instagram)!


Peppermint's December and holiday journaling cards are outstanding.  I just love her clean, minimalistic style!!  I also include a few digital overlays/brushes before I printed my photos!  I love the effect they add!!



12/28/14

Far Far Away Reveal // Studio Calico

Reveal was last night at Studio Calico and I'm super stoked to be sharing my layouts here today!!  Studio Calico kits are awesome and the January kits are no exception!!  The colors are so pretty and calming and scream NEW YEAR!!  The main kit patterned papers are some of my favorite to date from Studio Calico!  I love a good kit with a mix of colors, texts and patterns.  It makes creating so fun and easy!!  I couldn't stop playing around with the January Main Scrapbook kit and literally had to put it aside just so I could open the other kits!!  I created three layouts with the main kit and hope to get around to a few more this week!!  

Anna & Drew
I have a step-by-step coming soon for this page!  I basically played off of the diamond shaped wood veneer pieces and created a whole bunch of layers and dimension on this page!  Pop dots were my best friend on this one for sure!!  :)

The Hug.
My main goal on this page was to the awesome rubber alpha in the kit.  I'm not the best at using titles on my pages, and of course it couldn't just be horizontal on my page....  I love how they look against the pretty pink paper from the kit, and I also love the contrast of text and patterns on this page!!

Start
This page came together so quickly and really just used some leftover trimmed pieces of paper from the main kit that I had lying on my floor!!  It's another example of how versatile and fun the papers are in this month's kit!!


Magic
No surprise that I immediate fell in love with the large white alpha in the kit!!  Tone on tone are my favorite....and the pops of gold were perfect for this page (and my large title)!!


Project Life: November 2014
I used an October Afternoon page protector that had 3x3 inch squares for this spread.  I love the uniform look of the squares!!  I started by printing my photos and then selecting cards that went well with the photos I had.  Then I trimmed everything down to 3x3 inches and popped them into my page protector!!  Fast and easy!!

To add a little more detail to my page, I stitched around the majority of my cards...it's kind of hard to tell in person, but I really do love the texture and "homemade" look it adds to the spread.


Most of my journaling was done on the Project Life cards, but I couldn't resist adding some to my photos!!

And while I had all of my supplies out, I got started on my January Project Life BOOK.  I used a few of the kits, as well as some of the fun Far Far Away Digital products!!  Did you see that the Project Life Main cards are no available as a digital download??  Say whaaaaaat??  That totally made my day!  I love using these cards on everything so now I don't have to pick and choose!!  Yay!


I'll be sharing more about my 2015 plan next week, so stayed tuned!!  For now...it's just some pretty eye candy!!  :)

Project Life: January


And that's it from me this reveal!!  What's your favorite kit this month??  Did you get what you wanted??  I was just over at Studio Calico shopping around and there are kits left!  Hurry up and grab yours before they are gone!!  Happy shopping and happy crafting!

12/24/14

Far Far Away Sneaks / Studio Calico


I am so excited to share my very first Studio Calico project sneaks with you!!  The January kits are so amazing and they were so much fun to work with!  The colors are fresh and new....just like January!!   January is always one of my favorite months of the year....I love the fresh start, the new beginnings, the "to do" list of projects that I haven't messed up yet. 


I managed to squeeze out three layouts with the main kit (and could have kept going) and one with a mix of kits.  I so wish I would have had more time.....geez December.....slow down a little. 



These wood veneer diamonds were my fave....you'll be seeing a lot of those this month, I bet!!!  


I also managed to catch up with my November Project Life spreads AND start my 2015 album!  As I mentioned on Instagram....I'm taking a different approach to Project Life this year (this is my FIFTH year of PL), and I am so excited!!  I'll be back next week to share some of my thoughts and my plan!!  


Happy sneaky sneaky!  I'll be back on the 27th to post the full reveal!!  Can't wait to share more!!!  And don't forget....the Far Far Away kits will be up for grabs on the December 27th at 12am EST!!  I bet they go fast!! Happy shopping!!



12/23/14

Day By Day at Studio Calico


I am so excited to be contributor in the first Day By Day class at Studio Calico with the awesome Nicole Reaves!  This will be my FIFTH year doing Project Life and I am actually super excited about it this year!  My books are almost completed from last year, but I can say that I kind of slacked the last half of the year.  It's weird, because I actually took MORE photos, but documented them less.  That's changing this next year, though!!  I've switched my plan and routine up a little for 2015 (and I'll be sharing more about that next week), and it's going to be amazing! 

What I love best about the Day By Day bundle class is that it covers so many different areas and techniques to be used in Project Life!  And basically, it's like year long encouragement to get your album completed!  If you're like me and love new and exciting ideas, then this class is for you!!  

Here's what Studio Calico says about each class:

WHAT YOU'LL GET : 

Enrolling in the Day by Day Workshop bundle will give you access to five workshops in 2015. We've staggered the release dates to keep you inspired and moviated all year long! Here's an overview of each of the workshops.

Project Shots with Nicole Reaves : 

Capture the moments that mean the most. In this workshop we’ll show you how to look through the lens of your camera or phone and see how that moment will fit into your Project Life® spread. Learn interesting angles, subjects, and ideas for bringing in just the right words to capture your everyday. (Available January 2015 - can be purchased separately here)

Chaos Control with Allison Waken : 

Document More. Clutter Less. Lists, tickets, receipts, tags and other memorabilia can add so much to the story in your Project Life® album, but it’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the bits and pieces you collect. In this workshop, we’ll share ideas of memorabilia to save, how to keep it organized and accessible, and then explore fun ways to get it all into your album. (Available March 2015)

Out Of Pocket with Kelly Purkey : 

Stop hiding in the pocket. Give dimension to your Project Life® album by coming out of the pocket. This workshop shows you how to mix things up with additional tools like dies, attachers, hidden journaling, index tabs and dividers to give your spreads interesting components that take your album from simple to simply amazing. (Available June 2015)

Digi Time with Peppermint Granberg : 

Project Life® goes digital. The possibilities are endless when you open up the world of digital on your album. Our digital experts will guide you through techniques, processes and ideas for making digital elements a part of your spreads. Whether you’re a novice or experienced digital user, you’ll walk away from this workshop with ideas to personalize your spreads with digital stamps, templates and printables. (Available September 2015)

ArtSpread with Catherine Davis : 

Artistic Projects for Project Life®. Achieve the artistic impact of the most pinned spreads. The closing workshop of this series focuses on stepping back and looking at your Project Life spread as one canvas. We’ve taken the most popular artistic Project Life® spreads from our gallery and made exclusive sketches. Learn how to use those sketches as a jumping off point to give that artistic look to your next spread. (Available November 2015)

Registration for Nicole's class is open now, or you can purchase the whole Day By Day bundle and save!  You also get this awesome free stamp set, which is just perfect for all your Project Life stamping needs!!

So are you in???  Hope to see you in the classroom!!  

12/22/14

Crate Paper: DIY Photo Album in a Box




It's not too late to put together a sweet photo gift for family and friends!!  I shared this pretty little DIY photo card (or it could be an album) over on the Crate blog a week or so ago.  I love making these albums in a box.  I just think they are so easy to make, but are so cute!!  


You can read more about how easy these are to make over on the Crate blog!!  Hurry!  You still have time to make one (or a few)!!!




12/18/14

Making Merry: Snowball Soup


Anna is full of Christmas magic.  She loves the tree, the sounds, the sights and of course, the presents.  I've really talked with her a lot this year about the real meaning of Christmas, and am trying to instill in her the feeling of "giving".  Giving our time to others, giving money to help out those who are less fortunate, donating gifts and picking Angels from the Angel tree....  She gets it.  She gets the reason behind this amazing season and I couldn't be more proud as a mama.

So when we were talking about gifts for her teachers at school, she immediately insisted that she give out gifts to her classmates, because "it's the season of giving, right momma" (I totally asked for that, right??).   With two days until she's out for Christmas break, I really had to scramble to figure out what we could do.  I mean, who has time to make/wrap/give 25 gifts????  :)

I spent (probably way to much time) on Pinterest and found these super cute little "snowball soup" gifts.  It's nothing more than hot chocolate, candy and a poem, but it's something and it's super cute!  And Anna couldn't have been more excited to put them together.  She stuffed each bag with a big smile on her face talking about how excited her friends were going to be....just the sweetest girl ever.


I know it's last minute, but I thought I would add the poem here just in case anyone else was looking for a quick, last minute gift!  Just right click, save to your desktop and print away!  I printed four to a sheet and then trimmed them out!  Easy peasy!!  

I think they would make great neighbor gifts, class gifts or even family gifts for the little ones!  Who doesn't like hot chocolate, right??  

Happy giving, friends!

12/17/14

Tis the Season for Wrapping


As much paper as I have in my house, I should totally be a skilled gift wrapper.  Unfortunately, I fall short in this area every single Christmas.  Most of the time, our presents are wrapped and slapped under the tree....no bow, no label, no pretty tag.

This year, I'm determined to pretty up our gifts and packages.  Apparently, if you start early enough you CAN make this happen.  Who knew??  :)

I found myself driving from store to store the other day in search of boxes.  I really need some smaller rectangular boxes for some clay bowls I made and I could not find anything close to what I needed!  Then, as I was standing in the middle of my craft room, I spotted a stack of Project Life boxes from Studio Calico.  Score.  

These little boxes are THE PERFECT boxes for wrapping!!  The pattern is so super neutral that you don't have to wrap the boxes and they already have an elastic band to keep them closed.  Super score!!


I jazzed them up a little by adding ribbon, tags, Christmas goodies and some Project Life cards!!!  There are so many Project Life cards from Studio Calico that would work for gift packaging!!  I love that!!  


I bet you have a zillion of these boxes hanging around, don't you???  Go get to wrapping!!  You're welcome!  Ha!  :)


12/16/14

25 Days Inspiration


The 25 Days class at Studio Calico is in full swing!  The class has been full of lessons, contributors, videos and more!  And it has truly been an honor to be the instructor for the class!!

The gallery is just overflowing with amazing pages and December Daily® spreads.  Every day new projects are added, so if you are looking for inspiration be sure to hop on over to the gallery, grab a cup of coffee and peruse for a little while!!  My favorite thing about the gallery is that everyone has a different approach!  There are so many fun and new ways to approach products, pages and the like!!  It's just amazing!!

Today I wanted to share some pages that have really caught my eye during the class!  I love how each artist takes a different approach.  Some use lots of photos, some lots of words....whatever works for this album, or even that particular day!  There is no right or wrong to memory keeping!  I always try to remind myself of that when I'm beating myself up for not adding as much journaling or stories....in the end, I'm still recording memories and that's all that really matters to me!

First up is the amazing, Carly !  Carly has such a beautiful, airy style about her pages.  I love how the white makes the photos pop from her page.  I also reeeeeally love the consistency in the number cards.  It really gives the book an awesome cohesive look!!  



Next up is Donya.  Donya's photos take center stage in her pages and they are divine.  She always has super creative ways for using journaling cards or digital brushes. She often lets her photos speak for themselves and I think the clean look is just beautiful!  



Annik's work jumped out at me right away!  She always has the most creative uses of paper and products!  This little tree is so delicate and amazing!  Her album is full of gold and white, two of my favorites!!


And last, but definitely not least is the amazing Tara Elias.  The first thing that popped out at me when looking at her book was all of her words!!!  I love the stories she tells and how each day is filled with memories!!  And her photos are just superb!



Such eye candy, right??
I hope these ladies have inspired you to work on your album!  They definitely inspire me every single day!!