On Tuesday I went and took my sister's senior photos and took a few shots of Reiley standing next to an old building. I used that for my photo. For the journaling I created a journaling block in photoshop and typed above a number two.
For Wednesday I used the Christmas card I created in photoshop as the photo. I created a large journaling block to kinda echo the Christmas card and randomly wrote about the day. Didn't add a number as the text has December third written into it- but that got covered so I am thinking I might need to add one now.
Thank you everyone for your kind comments about the album and the printable. I am so happy to share...and with many requests I am working on a printable calendar right now that should be ready next week.
By the time I remembered it was the first of December last night it was late...and I did not want to drag out my camera. Luckily I had taken that photo of our advent calendar and although it is now filled with candy...it still gets the job done. I hesitated putting the number one tag on this page (because of the photo with the tags) but you cannot over think this.
Here is my cover. I had no idea how I wanted to do the cover- especially using a fabric album. I was too nervous to paint on it or try to tackle anything new. I found these cloth napkins at Target and cut them apart to adhere and stitch to the album. Simple. I like how it turned out because the interior has so much to it when it is finished.
A peek inside the album and a peek at the printable.
I am off to take some senior photos of my sister- we got a light dusting of snow today and we are hoping it works out well with the place we want to take photos at!
Not that there was a first three things- but these are the next three things I think I might take a shot at. Did I mention that all of these things can be made/purchased for under $10 total. Great way to stretch your Christmas budget and make some awesome projects over the breaks.
I've seen these wreaths before and thought about making one...but never quite knew for sure how. Lindsay has a great tutorial (complete with video!) on her blog. I love how she bought everything at the dollar store- makes me want to make one now.
These little guys at Mibo studio are going into Reiley's room...and maybe my room...and maybe the babies room too. A printable sheet you can use over and over again- perfect crafting that Reiley and I can do together. This shop also has an awesome printable calendar and printable Christmas figures (which would make a perfect project over the Christmas break!).
This new digital kit (and Karla's other book template kit). Check out all of her digikits here. I don't do much in the way of digital scrapbooking...just kinda getting started on that and learning as I go- but these I had to have. Very excited to try them out and my mind is spinning with all the different ways I can use them! Karla has an awesome blog too. Extremely talented and her kids are just too cute!
So, now that you are back from all of your Christmas shopping this weekend (and if you have $10 left over) you can work on a few projects with me.
Also, check out the Good Grief blog today for a new challenge...writing! I went ahead and used the digital kit up above for my challenge and did a layout about my Mema's (grandmother's) writing in her recipe cards. A great reminder on how we should incorporate some of our own handwriting in our scrapbooks from time to time...even if you don't like it- somebody will cherish it.
AND...I have my December Daily album all finished up and ready to start documenting each day. I am going to be posting a photo of the first day and cover hopefully tomorrow along with a free printable that I used (and you can too!)
If you are working on a December Daily album also please link in the comments- I would love to see it and have already been checking out everyone's work they have sent me...along with keeping up in Shimelle's class and trying to incorporate that also (this is the 3rd or 4th year I have done her class- I love it!) I have to say these December albums are some of my favorites out of all my scrapbooks!
I came up with a few specials for Friday and some for the weekend.
The Window Shoppers special is going to be a limited supply offer. I will put a quantity up of these and when they sell out- the deal is over. It includes a little something for each aspect of your holiday. You have the number tags for advent, the advent assignment tags for journaling, the caroling packaging tags to wrap gifts and christmas cheer cut outs to help with card making.
The Add- A- Tag special is going to be a Friday only thing. On any purchase of $5 or more you can add this to your cart for $1.50 and select what tag set you would like from the photo. Limit one per order.
Throughout the weekend the Christmas alphabet tags will be on sale for $5 from a regular price of $8 (this is while I have quantities available also- but I will just kinda watch the quantity so you never know when they are going to out).
And something for blog readers (limited quantity). Type in (while checking out) Message to Seller 'blog special' and I will include a pack of three special edition chronicle tags that have tomorrow, yesterday and today on them. I don't have a photo of them and I only have a handful...I will try to update this when they are gone.
All of these specials will be going up sometime late Thursday night...I can't guarantee what time though since I am doing all of this in between meeting with family.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and get lots of rest for those of you waking up early to stand in lines tomorrow ;)
These are three good reasons why I value my family. I value my family because they are funny! My family, on my mom's wedding day, my uncle Jon fell and everyone laughed in the picture.
Once my dad and I were dancing and dad did something funny. My dad once grabbed his leg and did a very funny dance.
My uncle keith once tried to teach me something. My uncle Keith tried to teach me something hard and then at the end he asked me if I wanted to do another one and I said, "NO". Remember your family can be funny but they can put pressure on you too.
I think she hit the nail on the head with that last thought.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I took a break this weekend to work on a few projects. First I finished up our advent calendar for this year. I decided to keep it simple and something we could use each year.
I used items I already had on hand. The backing is a metal piece I received from one of Jenni Bowlin's monthly kits a while back which I had spray painted with chalkboard paint. The tins had been organizing a bunch of alphabet embellishments- which I ended up mixing altogether in a glass jar (which totally freaked Justin out- he said I would be regretting that move later). The ribbon I had on hand also (but only in two short pieces which I knotted together). The star is a nail I picked up at a local antique/flea market a few years ago.
To make this a little more interactive I plan on typing out a bunch of quotes and/or quick projects for each day and tuck it in with a small candy (of course).
I also got a chance to work on my December Daily album this weekend- which was a great accomplishment since in past years I had never gotten my album ready and worked on it in pieces each day (which does not really work out come December). I am excited to share- I just have a few loose ends to tie up.
In other news Reiley had been battling with a loose tooth for several months now. Yes, it was quite a drawn out process from the point when her dentist pointed out it was loose this summer. Then it started breaking off. So, she was collecting the pieces of it for the tooth fairy over the last few weeks. Finally Saturday night the last piece came out. I frantically searched for something to put under her pillow (and ended up getting too creative). I photoshopped a tooth fairy image to stick on a dollar bill (the tooth fairy always gives her 'special' money- like gold coins). Then I grabbed out the glimmer mist.
BIG MISTAKE.
Reiley plays with glimmer mist all the time. She uses it more than I do.
Sunday morning when she woke up she was all excited- thought the dollar was awesome- wow it sparkles...I am going to add this to my collection...
Then she came downstairs while I was working and asked if I did it because the dollar smells like glimmer mist. I could not help but give her a awkward smile and she knew I was the culprit.
Later we worked on our December Daily albums together when she began questioning about Santa...
So, I guess we are all cleared up now since the Easter Bunny was never something she believed in. She did say she was happy I was her Santa and Tooth Fairy- and even mentioned she would do the same thing for her kids when she grew up because it was important for them. All in all it was a very informative day for her.
Julia Sandvoss recently contacted me about using some of my Thankful paper chains for a Thanksgiving project for Show Me St. Louis on KSDK St. Louis. Check out what she made with them and her other projects here- or watch the video
Reiley started off the weekend by cleaning off the chalkboard wall in my studio and drawing a whale as we watched a documentary about whales...while I worked.
Then she went on to start doing some math.
By the end of the weekend my chalkboard wall looked like this and each time I came down I could not help but be reminded of the movie 'A Beautiful Mind'. Kinda creepy- but cool to see she is enjoying math so much. Not sure if all the answers are correct yet.
It does not surprise me too much because at the last parent teacher conference I was asking why they did not have as much homework as last year. Her teacher explained that it was just at that particular time they were not giving as much homework out- but that it would start up soon. Then she asked if Reiley would like extra work to do at home. I took her up on her offer and told Reiley- who was so excited to do extra math work at home- and then for the next week while her teacher gathered up worksheets for her she complained each day about not having her extra math packet.
She finished her math packet her teacher gave her over the weekend and turned it in. Then she had to wait a few more weeks before receiving a new math packet (which she also made mention of several times) so I picked up a workbook for her to go through.
She said she needs to be able to do math like a 'math magician' for when she becomes a scientist when she grows up.
I have been working on orders and favors for my sister's bridal shower...and maybe a little bit of working on getting the baby's room cleared out and putting a crib up (fun stuff!). It is definitely exciting to think about how I want to decorate a boy's room- after only doing girl stuff for so long. At the same time I decided to update Reiley's room a bit. She is very excited about this.
And...Reiley's birthday is coming up here shortly. So, Justin and I are thinking about any last minute home improvement projects we can do prior to having people over. He caught me in the act this last week when I suggested we move the entertainment center that 'came with our house' upstairs. Apparently we both think the same though because he has been working on getting dry wall finished in the office/playroom.
So, hopefully I will have some pictures of projects coming up here shortly with all the work we have been doing.
Okay, so I won't lie- I am not too big on Halloween. I still take Reiley out trick or treating- but we stop by our parents and grandparents and she is pretty happy with the small amount she gets there and always asks to go home after that. She is not too big on it either. We typically have snow here so it is not much fun...and actually as I am typing this out it is snowing a lot. What is the use of getting all dressed up and begging for candy if you have to wear your coat over your costume, snow boots and freeze your butt off?
My family is way into Christmas. Actually, my mom starts putting up her trees on Halloween night. She is standing right next to the door anyway so she figures she might as well get something done. And yes I said trees (plural). My mom has four large trees in her house for Christmas. So what my family lacks for in Halloween we make up for in Christmas.
But back to Halloween.
So, I inevitably skip many Halloween festivities. One would be making anything for my shop. Another might be actually spending anytime scrapbooking it. I do buy a pumpkin...and we carve it. But, this year I thought I would at least do a freebie to make up for the lack of spirit I have. I think they turned out pretty cute.
There are two downloads here. One is for the "boo to you" tag set (shown above in such terrible lighting) and the other is for the "boo to you" candy bag toppers.
Here are the candy bag toppers. All of my candy corn was busted when I bought it- totally did not make me happy since I intended on using it for pictures.
What I did for the candy bag toppers is score them in half (skipping over the eye section) and then cut the eyes out with an xacto knife. It is a little bit of effort but it sure is worth it. Fold them over and staple them to a regular sandwich bag (because we don't want to search for special sized bags). You can do a snack size bag too.
And to jazz them up a bit more I had Reiley adhere some googly eyes. They probably should have been bigger but what can you do? You don't have to add the eyes though- they already have them printed on.
On the back of the candy toppers is a blank section that you can write a message on if you like. My friend's mom likes to write bible passages. She figures if she is going to participate in this she is going to do it her way...but you can write whatever you want. If you are handy with a computer you could add it in that way- or just handwrite a note...or nothing. No pressure.
I had a crazy busy weekend and I am very grateful. Thank you.
Thank you for everyone on the kind comments with my wall. They all made me so happy.
Right now I am pretty much buried under orders so I made the decision to shut my shop down just for this week so I can catch up. I want to be sure I can get all the orders out from over the weekend before I take on any others. I am working on orders as quickly as I can (in the order I received them) and am planning on having them finished by the end of this week.
I have had several people ask if I was going to offer another printable (and free) calendar this year. I am definitely going to try. Last year I never really had planned on doing one but I was looking for something I could give as a quick gift- something usable. I like practical gifts. So, I had made it on a whim. This year I will try to get one done earlier though.
I do have two halloween printables (freebies) that I will work on getting up in the next day or two.
