This is My Life...

Polar Expression Christmas Trees...

Have you seen the Polar Expression christmas line from Imaginisce? It's adorable! You may remember me mentioning that I was working on a card class awhile ago. During the time that I was planning the design of the cards and which products I would use I came across the Polar Expression line at my LSS. I instantly fell in love with the colors and the textures of the paper. I love how Imaginisce does the raised glitter and shinny effect on their papers. Too cute! So I made those cards and the class was huge hit.

Now that I'm on the DT for Imaginisce I have even more reason to use the Polar Expression line. Woohoo! I've already made my share of cards this season so I thought I'd move into home decor. I got these trees from Oriental Trading Company and altered them using papers from Imaginisce. They look adorable sitting in the middle of my dinning room table!

This tall one I made using the Warm Woolen Mittens paper, holiday trimmings ribbon, Flannel PJ's paper, Pine & Peppermint paper and the Sugar Sprinkles paper.

I cut the paper in strips following the curve of the mitten. Then I glued them on overlapping each other, starting from the bottom up. I didn't glue down the very bottom edge of each strip so that I could roll up the edges and show the green underneath.

 

For the medium tree I used the Sugar Sprinkles paper, Pine & Peppermint paper, Warm Woolen Mittens paper and holiday trimmings ribbon.

On this one I cut the paper into 1 1/2 strips and then punched out a border using the Martha Stewart Drippy Goo Edger Punch. I know that technically this is a Halloween punch, but I thought it gave the tree the pine needle effect I was going for. I glue down the strips overlapping from the bottom up and using the flat side of my scissors I folded the punched edges up. For the tree topper I poked a toothpick through the top of the tree and placed two peppermint candies on both sides from the Warm Wishes Chipboard Stickers.

 

(sorry for the blurry picture) 

For the small tree I kept it simple and just wrapped it with paper! It was so pretty as it was that I couldn't bring myself to add anything more to it!

I used the Pine & Peppermint paper, the Jolly Jingle paper, the Frosted Forest paper and the Sugar Sprinkles paper.

 
 

X-mas Countdown with books...

I put together this blog post to share on the Simply Renee blog on Wednesday, but I wanted to post it here also to give you a heads up!

Something new we started last year is counting down to Christmas with a book each day. I wrapped up 24 Christmas books and let the kids take turns opening one everyday and then we sit down together as a family and read one each night.

To get started, gather 24 Christmas/Winter themed books. A great place to build your stock of books is the dollar section at Target, Marshall's/T.J. Maxx and Scholastic book orders via your child's school.

Wrap up all the books (let the kids help and let go off any perfectionist tendencies...it was hard for me!). Make up 24 tags to countdown the days and number your books. We count backwards to Christmas in our home, so we start with 24 and work our way to #1. I numbered all the books randomly with the exception of 'Twas the Night before Christmas' as we always read this Christmas Eve night.

Then put them all in cute bin (mine is from Target) and enjoy!

2009 Christmas Memories #1

Here's the first entry into my 2009 Christmas Memories Album.

 

I mounted the picture on a 4x6 piece of chipboard and then covered the back with some patterned paper and stamped the date on it.

 

I'm planning on keeping the album really simple and focusing on the pictures and the words so I probably won't be adding too many more embellishments to it than I already have.

 

Here's what I started with for day 1.

25 Christmas Memories Part Two...

Here's the second half of the album.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No I didn't forget how to count!! I really love Ali's idea to write a letter to your child (or someone else) about your reflections over the last year. I plan to write both the kids a letter and put them in seperate envelopes. I think this will be so fun to look at every year!

 

 

25 Christmas Memories Part One...

I got the base of my album put together. As I was working on it I decided that I would make it a combination of pictures and stories, but the focus is on the story because that's what I forget (even when I tell myself I know I won't forget!). I'm making this a 25 Christmas Memories Album for the year, so I did number it, but I won't be worrying about having to put something in everyday. It's a lot of picture so I'm going to break this up into two post! That and since I'm working via dial-up right now it's about all I can handle tonight!!

I used a 6x6 American Crafts D ring album since I happened to have it sitting unused! Since I wasn't use the page protectors I cut my papers to 6.25 x 8 so I have more to work with. I used a mixture of old and new product. I thought about stitching in some pockets and adding some tags and such, but I didn't want to be stuck to anything since this whole process is new to me. Well not new, but the determination to actually stick with it to the end is!! I thought I'd wait to incorporate those things while I was making the pages this year. Maybe next year I'll have a better feel for how this will work with me and be able to add more at the beginning!

I love hearing from all of you that are doing this to and looking at all your cool albums. It's really encouraging and inspiring!

I'll share the rest tomorrow! Plus I already have to put in my first page so I'll show that tomorrow too!

Preserving Christmas...

So, is anyone doing a Daily December album like Ali Edwards does? I'm always inspired by hers and I tried it last year, but I failed. I didn't have my album setup a head of time so I'm sure that was a big part. Plus, I keep worrying that if I put it all in a mini album then what will I put on my full sized layouts? I was worried I couldn't do both.

Thanks to a little nudging from my favorite girls at the Nook I decided that I would make my december daily album be more of a journal to preserve my memories and thoughts so when I make my pages I'll remember better. See the two layouts below. Those are the first layouts I think I've ever done for Christmas. I have a fear of creating these kinds of layouts. I worry that once I create them for one year I won't have anything to do for the next year. That's where I'm thinking a daily december album will come in handy. Will help me see more stories to tell! I'm very excited to get it set up. And I'll be sharing it all here.

I just realized something - we are getting our tree early - as in this weekend! So my Christmas memories this year will actually be starting this weekend. It doesn't seem right to wait until December to start preserving memories since many will be past already. This might have to be more of a daily Christmas journal and not just December.

Let me know if you are doing one to. Or if you are doing something different!

These layouts were created using the December Nook kit (shipping now!). I can't believe I haven't been scrapping the holidays in the past. These were the easiest layouts I've ever put together. Why? Because my heart was in them. Plus, the products are so beautiful and easy to work with!

Christmas Decor - I love decorating for the holidays. How I do it each year changes so I think it will be fun to look back on this type of layout year after year to see how my style changes. I'm sure as the kids grow things will start to look  a lot different! (and seeing what it looks like when my house is clean is a bonus!).

(Note - see that key in the middle picture - that's probably my favorite christmas thing ever. It's a magic key that lets santa in the house since we don't have a chimney! We put it outside on the night of Christmas Eve - I think this needs it's own layout about the magic of believing in christmas!)

 

 

Mmmm - We make these cookies every year. My mom bought me a cookie press years and we've sense made it a tradition to make these every Christmas. We tried the whole process of rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookie and then decorating them, but the kids get bored during the process and I end up doing most of the work. This is our solution! Its quick and easy and makes the best cookies ever! I hid the recipe for the cookies behind the photo! I'm thinking next year instead of focusing on the cookies I'll focus on the memory of the day making them. (see I can make these layouts each year...a little pep talk to myself!)

 

 

 

 

 

(Psst - If I sound a little rambly, that's because I pulled a muscle in my neck. Or maybe it's a pinched nerve. Who knows. The point is that I'm in a lot of pain and I can't move. So I've taken some pain killers just to get through the day. It's making it hard to concentrate! Or to even care about concentrating!)

Happenings in the scrappy world...

A quick post to update you on some things...

IMAGINISCE

 
Info from Imaginisce:
Be a fan of Imaginisce and GlueArts and win! To celebrate the launch of both the fan pages, we're running some friendly competition to see who can get to 1,500 fans first! Visit the Imaginisce fan page, click to become a fan and post on their wall: "I'm a Fanatical Facebook Face-off Fan!" for a chance to win one of two gift baskets of Imaginisce & GlueArts products each worth over $300!

Jump over to Glue Arts Facebook page and be sure to leave them a note so they know what great fans we have!! And if you're NOT already a fan of Imaginisce...then for sure click here!

(it's also good to be a fan of Imaginisce because they do giveaways all the time just for being a fan. And who doesn't love a little Imaginisce goodness!!)

Also check out the Imaginisce blog daily to meet all the new design team members! I've really been enjoying reading their bios and seeing their fabulous work. It's going to be a great team!

Clip It Up!

 

Clip it up is running a special on their 36" Ribbon organizer from Nov 27-30. That's a great deal! I love my ribbon organizer (I only have the 18" due to space limitation, but could have totally filled up the 36"). It's probably my favorite thing in my whole scrap space.

 

 

My Scrapbook Nook

And last but certainly not least...run to the Nook now and get the December kit. Trust me, you will be glad you did! It's full of Making Memories yumminess. It's sitting at home right now waiting for me to play with it and it's torture having to wait!

 

What days is it?

I've been gone for so long I've lost track of what day of the week it is. Plus, I worked on Monday this week, which I haven't done in over 4 years, so I keep thinking today is Saturday. Oh, and the time difference is throwing me off too. It's funny because it's only a 3 hour drive to Chicago, but with them being an hour different it gets really bright out at 6 am, but dark at like 4pm, so I'm off! I've woken up before my alarm all week and I never do that. I'm not a morning person at all.

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry today and it was awesome! So interactive and educational. It's a bit of sensory overload and the kids got pooped out quickly. Then we got lost driving back and ended up in downtown Chicago. That was a different driving experience! And it most definitely did not end up with me shouting like an idiot at Tom. I would never do that.

I'm rambling, I know.

I really just wanted to pop on here to tell you to come join us for a Virtual Crop at the Nook (now through Sunday). There will be prizes (I think I might have even heard word that there's a guest DT spot up for grabs!) and all kinds of fun stuff going on. I posted my challenge already which is a 5 product challenge - you have to use only these 5 things, but you have to use all 5 - Paper, Thread, Stamps, Ink and Letters (photos, adhesive and tools don't count). Here's my take on the challenge. (Excuse the crappy photo - hotel lighting isn't ideal for photographing layouts!)

 

Lily Bee and the Nook...

I'm so bored right now! I'm stuck sitting in a hotel room and I have no ambition to do anything. I'm out of my element. I don't even know how to function in a clean room with no fighting kids. I feel exhausted, but I still have that feeling like I should be doing something, so I figured I might as well blog real quick.

I've been playing with the November Nook kit. It's full of Lily Bee which makes me extremely happy!!

Can you believe she's only barely 4? I'm missing her and her brother terribly right now!

 

 

Full instructions for the mini album can be found here. And all the pictures of the inside can be found here. The mini was a Friday Fave on the Lily Bee blog...woohoo!!

That reminds me. This layout was a Friday Fave on the Lily Bee blog a few weeks back too and I never even posted it here!

I brought some of the Nov kit with me and a couple pictures so hopefully tomorrow I'll find some energy and get some more pages done.

Back by Popular Demand...

I am so excited to announce that we are re-running my super awesome (not that I'm biased!) class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. The Challenge of Me is a class designed to get you scrapbooking about YOU and telling your story! This class is full of daily prompts that will get you telling your story in new and fun ways. My album that I completed is my favorite of all albums. I love that I learned a lot about myself when I created it and my friends and family get to know me better as well! Check it out now. We had so much fun last time around that I can't wait to meet all of you in the class! 

 

I'll be showing more sneaks of the class over the next few weeks as well so stay tuned!!