December Daily 2011 - Days 1-7

Hi there!  I've actually been making time each night to work on my December Daily.  What's really helping is that I pulled lots of things from my stash and put it with the Studio Calico kit that I got for it and I keep it all together. That's all I'm allowed to use!  Since the pages are small, it's easy for me to bust out the days' page quickly.  Here's my progress so far:

Our Santa visit - we did this on Black Friday.  We were visiting family, so the two girls on the outsides are mine.  The boy is my nephew and the girl holding Layla is my sister-in-law.  Layla's smile just warms my heart and makes me laugh.  Not to mention Caylan's cheesiest of the cheese smile!

Starbucks - no explanation needed.  The kraft image is from a giftcard that someone gave me.

Georgia Bulldogs - we lost, but whatever.

Used an entire package of snowflakes that I've had for YEARS!

Saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it!  I used a few grid journal spots from Project Life and I'll put the return address from our Christmas cards we receive this year.  I may also collect the different stamps people use on one of them.

This is the front of the Christmas card we're sending this year.  I may also include our newsletter we do every year.  If I have room.

Cookies!  And I finally used the awesome Mister Huey's that came exclusively in the kit.  It's called Holly Berry.  Love!

I have a slight obsession with peppermint this time of year.  Used the packaging from my favorite treats on this page.

And that's my first week.  I'm hoping I can keep caught up with this project, but so far, so good!  It's actually relaxing to work on it after the day is done and I can reflect on what I want to document.  Are you working on a December Daily?  Link me up, I'd love to see it!

Here are a few of my favorite December Daily's that are going on right now:
Geralyn Sy
Ali Edwards
Nicole Reaves
Ursula Schneider

December Daily - The Foundation

Hope you're sitting down, this will be a long one!  I didn't realize how many pictures I had until I got them on the computer and renamed them...oh man!  Ok, so this is the foundation of my December Daily.  I purchased the kit from Studio Calico (sold out).  I also purchased the daily overlays from Designer Digitals.  The layout goes like this:
Left side (back of previous page): patterned paper and embellishment
Center: decorative transparency with day number
Right: overlay with details of the day, pictures, journaling, etc.
My concern right now is how full it is, and I haven't even added any pictures or anything like that.  I mean, check this out:

Scary huh?  I'm thinking I might go back and change out some of the thick brads and anything else I can do to make not so bulky to start off with.  And here are my foundation pages:

Inside the cover is a calendar page that came with the kit.  I stamped the dates and added in things that are already on our calendar for the month.  I'll add to it as things pop up as well.  I may add in some small pictures along the bottom, haven't quite decided yet.

This will be the cover page.  It's not done yet, obviously.  Hint: that painted red "S" up in the corner is going on there.

I've added little post-its to pages to remind me of what I want to share that day.  Most pages already have these!

This envelope will hold small journal cards and I'll paste return address labels from Christmas cards we get from friends on it.  Saw this on this Pinterest post.

So there you have it, my December Daily foundation!  I really love it!  I'm excited to get started on it today.  I'll be updating weekly with my pages, so you'll see one week at a time.  Time to power up my Pandora Christmas station and get to working on Dec 1!  If you're doing a December Daily, please let me know where I can see it!  Happy Scrapping!

Working, Working, Working

Hi!  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!  My husband left for TDY on Sunday and it's my first time alone with both girls....and...yeah, it's hard!  So I've been very busy not only taking care of them, but also working on my December Daily album.  Which I finished today!  I got the whole foundation done and will finish taking pictures and will post them all tomorrow when I have more time.  For tonight, I'm exhausted.  I'm making a hot mug of tea and zoning out in front of the TV with my Boston terrier, Brody.  Until tomorrow...

The Sampler November Sketch

It's sketch time at The Sampler!  This month's sketch was so awesome, that I had to decided which page to do because I immediately had four different ideas!  Will definitely use this sketch again in the future.  Here's the sketch:

And here's my page:

I used the Amy Tangerine paper from the kit and turned it on it's side, using the clouds as some journaling spots.  Everything on this page (except some of the flowers, brads, and mixtape) is from the November kit.  Please check out the design team's pages for their takes on the sketch and start working on your own!

Rochelle Spears

Diana Gonzolas

Amber Goble

Holly King

Jules Dix

Monique Liedtke

December Daily 2011 - The Cover

I finished my album cover for my December Daily last night.  I decided to paint it.  I was terrified of messing it up, and then where would I be?  But in the end, I decided to do for it.  And I LOVE it!  Here's what I used:

Chipboard album from Studio Calico's December Daily add-on kit (sold out)
Tim Holtz grungeboard letter (d)
Chipboard snowflake
Ribbon
December button from Ormolu
Red acrylic craft paint
Liquitex Matte Medium
Mister Huey's spray mist in Pickle
Glossy Accents

I mixed the acrylic paint with some of the Liquitex Matte Medium.  The medium drys clear so it's not noticeable.  It helps the texture of the paint not be so rough on the chipboard and helps keep it from fading or chipping.  I painted the entire album, inside and out, and also painted the "d" with the same paint mixture.  I really like the tone-on-tone look.  I then adhered the ribbon using the Glossy Accents to be sure it wouldn't come up.  I adhered the "d", the snowflake and the button all with the Glossy Accents as well.  It's very secure!  Here is the finished product:

I love the way it turned out.  I have my Ali Edwards Overlays printed, I ordered some transparency overlays online today, so as soon as those come in I can really start building my album to get ready for December.  Right now, my plan is to have the overlay pages (right), with the opposite page (left) being a patterned paper with a Christmas quote on it.  And I will have the transparency overlays in between with the dates on them.  I'm super excited about this project.  Are you doing a December Daily?  If you're interested, see Ali Edwards' blog posts about her process.  It's amazing!

Sampler Reveal and a Giveaway!

The November kit for The Sampler, "Seasonal Sweets," is up on the blog!  And to "sweeten" the deal, there's a big giveaway with your comments.  Holly has a whole bunch of stuff to hand out and she's in a giving mood, so be sure to check it out and answer the question from the post for a chance to win!  A couple of the designers, yours truly included, have already started posting projects with the Nov kit, so be sure to check those out on the blog as well.  The sketch challenge will go up on Sunday and I'll have a second layout done next Tuesday as well.  SO, go leave your comment for the giveaway and good luck!

The Sampler Reveal

I'll also be back later this week with the cover for my December Daily.  I'm painting it...I'm terrified, but I'm painting it.  Wish me luck!

I'm thinking....

...about a lot of things.  Such as:

1.   Getting my December Daily kit from Studio Calico today and I CAN'T WAIT to dive in.  Still don't know exactly how I'm going to do it, but I'm sure seeing the kit will inspire me.

2.  Setting up a Project Life station.  Lisa Truesdell wrote this great post about her Project Life process and I plan on using some of her tips.

3.  Submitting my Weight Loss Smash book to their blog.  Maybe they'll feature it???

4.  So much scrapping inspiration on Pinterest!

5.  Lots of projects I want to take on.  Hoping I can get them all done and do them all justice.

What's on YOUR To Do list lately?

The Sampler Design Team Call!

You all know I've been a member of The Sampler's design team for the past year...wow...a year already???  It was such a great experience and, hello - free kits every month to play with?  Yes please!  The site is now looking for it's 2012 design team.  Are you one of them?  Here are the details to enter and I strongly encourage you to go for it!  It's a great team to be on and I had a blast with it.  You have until December 5th to get your entries in.  Good Luck!

The Sampler Design Team Call

November: Currently

Reading a good sci-fi book for our next book club meeting and really enjoying it.

Needing to finish my mini books for the Spouse Home Business Expo this coming weekend.

Trying to stay away from the Halloween candy in our house right now.  Unsuccessfully.

Planning so many big projects: December Daily, Project Life 2012, selling ready-made albums on ETSY.

Thinking about Christmas gifts to send to family (all gift cards though - I refuse to pay more in shipping than on actual gifts)

Really needing to upload and share photos from our San Diego trip and Halloween.

Wishing my girls weren't growing up so quickly!

Looking forward to my mother-in-law visiting for Thanksgiving.

Also needing to get my coupon binder organized and my grocery list ready.

Being very busy with an ever-growing To Do list and Want To Do list.