New Years Eve ~ Happy Birthday!

Earlier this month I sat down and made some birthday cards which I hadn't done in almost a year!  Considering that I used to make an average of 10 cards per week for design teams prior to this year, that was a pretty big drop off for me. However, I still can't bring myself to buy cards at the store, so I sat down and created a few. 

For these two happy cards, I used some of the Taylored Expressions watercolor panels & colored them with my Zig Clean Color Waterbrush Markers.  

Wishing You a Very Happy New Year!

One Little Word ~ December 2017

This week I finished up several scrapbooking albums with some long & short term projects.  I set some pretty steep scrapbook goals at the beginning of 2017 to document more stories with words and photos. This year marked the first time in over 10 years that I wasn't on a design teams or a design team coordinator.  I made that decision because I really wanted to go back to my first crafty-love of scrapbooking.  Simply put, I missed getting lost in the photos and memories that came along with them.  Over the last 5 years in particular, all of my crafting time had become about making cards and working part time doing administrative duties for various companies.  While I loved being on the design teams & made so many wonderful friends over the years, I needed the time and space to get back into my books & find some new companies I love.

Anyway,  back to my completed projects for 2017!  The first project I finished this week was my December Daily album detailing our holiday activities through this month.  I'm thrilled with how it turned out and hope that years down the road our family will enjoy those memories. You can check out my December Daily link for all of the pages.

Another album I am almost finished with is my Project 52 for 2017 in the Project Life App. I just have a few more photos to add for today and tomorrow & the journaling... I'll share that page as soon as it's done.  Next week I'll send the pages off to be printed & finish it up!

And one other project that will come to an end is one that I've been working on all year long.  My One Little Word album ~ {Explore}. It was a great word for me and really kept me focused on telling more stories and taking more photos... but it was also so much more. It's not so much a scrapbook project as it is a personal journal about where I am and what I'm feeling.  Below are the wrap-up pages for the December prompt which was to talk about the Facts, Feelings, and things I want to remember about my word this year.

I felt like this album needed a finishing page, so I took some self-portraits with my word to finish it off.  The "New Adventures Await" photo moves me into 2018 and my new word... which I will share soon ;)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Project 52 ~ Week #51

Oh my goodness... I'm so very close to completing a goal I set at the beginning of 2017!  Document a full year of photos and stories with the Project Life App.  Here it is, week #51 with just one more to go {which is already in progress}.  I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking with this project all year and I can't wait to send in the second half of my pages to have them printed.  I think I started out journaling more in the early months, but I did manage to get something down for each week, so I'm pretty happy with that.

For this week, I used the Comfort & Joy kit and overlays. It is definitely my favorite Christmas kit because it has so many different looks.  I think I used it for 3 out of the 4 weeks in December. ;)

Have a Wonderful Weekend & Happy New Year!

December Daily 2017 ~ Final Pages!

 WOOHOO ~ I finished my December Daily album for 2017!  It's always a wonderful feeling to finish the final pages of an album.   For the final three pages, I used the Ali Edwards December Daily kit.

One of my favorite photos of this year was this family photo taken Christmas Eve morning.

Documenting so many fun Christmas traditions!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of our December stories.  

December Daily ~ Day #17 to 22

You may wonder why I would add additional projects to my To Do List during such a busy time of the year, but December Daily is kind of special. Everyone is home, it's a short-term project, and it documents several of our family holiday traditions.

For Day #17 - 22, I used everything from the Ali Edwards DD kit.  Like many of my previous pages, I wrote my journaling in Word and trimmed them to fit inside the journaling cards.  I do this for a few reasons, I like telling longer stories and the clean look.

I love how these next few pages turned out.  Again, I used the Ali Edwards DD kit for a majority of the products.  The red polka-dot paper is from Felicity Jane & the pocket is actually from my Christmas card order that came from minted.com with an invoice inside.  See below for the original look.

I included a list of items I almost always buy for our traditional holiday cooking as well as a list of everything I wrapped as gifts for our family.

Here is the original pocket.

Just a few more days to go on my December Daily.  I'm hoping to finish up the pages before the week is over!

Enjoy your day!

December Daily ~ Days 12 through 16

During such a busy time of year, it's always wonderful to have some time to relax and work on a project that I love.  December Daily is the perfect project for those days because I just tell one story for each day of the month.  Today, I'm sharing day #12 to #16... 

I added our 2-sided Christmas card to the album by attaching one to each side of a clear sheet.  Then I placed it inside a page protector.

For Day #14, I used Ali Edwards new "For the Love" story kit.

Not a very Christmas-y event... but that's what the weekend brought.

Enjoy Your Day!

December Daily ~ Days 8 through 11

I've been working all week on catching up on my December Daily and finally took some photos of the pages.  Sometimes that's the hardest part!

I've been using the Ali Edwards & the Jasmine Jones December Daily kits for my pages and I'm pretty excited about how the album is coming together.  Here are Day #8 to #11 ~ Enjoy!

For our family, December isn't just about Christmas.  We also have several birthdays in the bunch!

Have a wonderful weekend!

One Little Word {Explore} ~ October & November Prompts

Hello My Friends!

This year I've been a bit behind on my One Little Word project; however, several weeks ago, I managed to sit down and work on the prompts for October and November.

For November, the assignment was to pick song lyrics or quotes with your word.  I did several searches with the word Explore, but couldn't really find anything.  I've been using quotes all year long in my book, so I decided to look up some synonyms of Explore & then find quotes for those words.  

The prompt for November was to write a letter to yourself about this year's journey with your word.  

Just one more monthly prompt and this year's OLW project will be complete.  I plan on doing that the week after Christmas since it is a wrap up of this year.  I'm also working on picking my word for next year... I've got a list of 7 words so far & I'm attempting to narrow it down.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #50

I can't believe it's already Week #50 of this year!  This Project 52 has been a big project for me and I'm so happy that I will actually finish it!  I'm not only going to finish it, but I have actually stayed current with it all year long.  Back in July, I printed the first batch of pages, cut them into 6x12 pages and slipped them into the album.  I can't wait to print the rest of the pages and call it done!

For this week's page, I used the Merry & Bright kit from the App with a few overlay kits ~ Comfort & Joy, Explore, and Wish Big.

Have a Fabulous Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #49

Hello Friends!  I'm back with another page from my Project 52 album. Lots of Christmas pages are starting to happen so I was thankful that the new Comfort & Joy kit was released in the Project Life App.   The printing on the photos was done in Photoshop Elements for the top two and the bottom photo was a photo I pulled off Facebook that a friend posted.

Enjoy Your Day!

December Daily ~ Day #4 through #7

Hello & Happy Friday!   Ready for more pages from my December Daily?  Some of them are very Christmas related & some aren't... but that's how December goes.

For Day #4, I documented our annual Band Mom Christmas Party.  I don't usually do two-page spreads in my DD album; however, the 2x2 page protector that I used on Day #3 didn't leave enough room for my journaling and large group photo.  The supplies from this page are from the Ali Edwards & Jasmine Jones DD kits this year.

Day#5 & #6 ~ I used supplies from the current Ali Edwards DD kit.

Day #7 ~ I used the circles from the Ali Edwards & Jasmine Jones DD kits this year along with dies and embossing folders from Taylored Expressions.  The sticker letters, #7 & the snowflake are all from my stash.

Have A Great Weekend!

Project 52 ~ Week #48

As you can see from my posts over the last week, I'm working on lots of projects right now!  I love getting back into my creative space ~ it makes my heart so happy!  I still need to finish up the last few days of my December Daily album, so for today, I thought I'd post my latest Project 52 page from last week.  My page includes cards from the Amy Tangerine Plus One Mini Kit and photo overlays from the Project 52 Overlays and the new Explorer Edition Photo Overlays.

Thanks for stopping by!

December Daily ~ Day #2 & #3

I'm on a roll with my December Daily Album!  I'm going to try hard to keep up on it either daily or every few days because I'd rather document as things happen.  

For Day #2, I decorated the outside of the house.  We had temps in the 50's over the weekend (which is very unusual for Northern Indiana), so we took advantage of it.  I took a photo of the greenery on my lightpost with the porch garland in the background.  I added my journaling in Photoshop Elements.  The sentiment, stitched circle die and holly die cut are all from Taylored Expressions and the polka-dot paper is from Felicity Jane.  I added a coordinating Day #2 tag that was from the 2015 Ali Edwards DD kit and added the "Day" and holly from Taylored Expressions Dies.

For Day #3, I used the 2x2 pocket page that came with my Ali Edwards album and cut apart the squares from the Jasmine Jones Mini Kit.  The "Day 3" are thicker letters from American Crafts and the snowflake is from my stash.  I added little clear gems to embellish the pattern paper.

Have a wonderful day!

December Daily ~ Cover & Day #1

Welcome to December! 

I decided to do a December Daily Album again this season since I enjoyed my finished album so much last year.  So yesterday, I pulled out and organized all of my DD supplies and worked on the cover page and "my reason why" page {which is also my Day #1 page}.

For the cover page, I used a transparency from Felicity Jane's Joy Kit.  I die cut a large red double stitched circle and embossed the "twenty seventeen" stamp from Studio Calico with Versa Ink and clear embossing powder.  Then I added the large white wooden tree & rubber shape (both from my stash that were in the 2015 Ali Edwards DD kit) and the red felt heart from this year's Ali Edwards DD kit.

On the back of the transparency, I added another double stitched circle the same size with another pattern paper circle inside.  The sticker letters are from Studio Calico and the wooden circle and cork #1 are from the current Ali Edwards DD kit.

For my Day #1 post, I typed up "My Reason Why" page in Photoshop Elements and added a pretty snowflake from my stash with a small felt heart from the DD kit. 

Here's a close up of the snowflake/heart circle.  The title on my letter "My Reason Why" was a free download from Ali Edwards blog last year.

I'll be back next week with more pages from my DD album!

Have a great weekend!

One Little Word ~ September Prompt

Hello Crafty Friends! 

I spent the last few days catching up on my One Little Word prompts for 2017.  This is one of the projects I vowed that I would finish this year, even if I was doing the prompts a bit late. 

For the month of September, the prompt asked us to look at our word as it relates to the words Rest ~ Pace ~ Joy. Are we finding time for those things and are we managing them?   The cards for this month were a digital download from the class & I filled in the text using Photoshop Elements and I added the stamped words from this year's OLW stamp set.

Below are a few photos from this month that described what was happening in my life, a quote card from the monthly download and the Reflections card with my thoughts for this month's prompt.

I'll be back next week with my October & November prompts!  Woohoo ~ it feels great to be caught up on this project... well I am until tomorrow when the December prompt comes out.  LOL!

Have A Wonderful Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #47

Hello Friends! I have to say, I was very tempted to do several pages for last week because Week #47 was super jam packed with activities!  The guys started out the week in Indianapolis and we all ended the Thanksgiving week in Philadelphia and New York City.  Whew... lots of miles for sure!

I used the Wander Edition Kit from the Project Life App for this page & thought it fit the busy week rather well.  I'm sure I'll be using this kit to document more pages for this trip in the upcoming months.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Project 52 ~ Week #46

Another week over and that means that I have another page for my Project 52 album.  This page features cards from the Project 52 ~ 2016 Edition.

Have a Great Day!

AE & Felicity Jane Page: Surprise!

I'm not sure if you're more surprised by the fact that I'm posting twice in the same week, or that I actually had time to make a 12x12 physical scrapbook layout!  LOL!!! It think this is the first 12x12 layout I've made since April or May and it felt great to get into my craft room again!

Over the last few weeks, since marching band finished up, I've been working on finishing my son's sophomore year Band Album. This is the final page of the school year when he was named Drum Major for his junior year. It was such an exciting night & Matt's reaction was awesome!

I used the Felicity Jane Heidi & Caroline Kits for the pattern papers and embellishments.  I love how their kits work so well together month after month.  The big acrylic "Surprise" word is from the Ali Edwards Surprise Story Kit. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Project 52 ~ Week #45

Good Monday Morning!!  This morning I have my Project 52 page from last week to share.  It's been such a crazy fall season with marching band it was nice to have a weekend with some down time.  As you can see, my son took advantage of it too :)

For my page, I used the Coral Edition Kit from the Project Life App along with overlays from the Just Add Color Kit.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #44

I know you aren't going to be surprised by another Marching Band page; however, this week I have a REALLY good excuse.  Last Saturday was State Finals & the Concord Marching Minutemen made it!  Our band has been in Class B for the last 30+ years and have made it to State Finals all but one year.  This year, it was our first year in Class A because our school population went up and many in the marching band community didn't think we would make it to finals!  Well we did & we placed 5th!!!  It was a very exciting week of activities and then Finals on Saturday!  

For my page, I used cards & overlays from the Confetti Edition Kits and I also added a few Just Add Color Overlays to the photos.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 52 ~ Week 43

Hello Friends!!!  Thanks for hanging in there with me only posting Project Life App pages during this busy season of my life.  I promise I'll have some physical pages posted soon!

I thought I'd add a touch of fall this week on my pages so I used the Seasonal Snapshot 2015 Kit from the Project Life App with a few of Matt's senior pictures.  

Have a Wonderful Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #42

How is it possible that I am sharing Week #42 of this year already?  This year is flying by and I'm so thankful to have the Project Life App to do this project so that I can document the day-to-day.   I used the Azure kit from the App for my page this week. 

Have a Wonderful Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #41

Hi Friends!  Some days I wonder if things will ever slow down... I'm thinking they won't & I'm working hard at embracing that thought.  Don't get me wrong, I love being part of all the things we are involved in, but a little time to catch my breath is a good thing too.  I also think a little time to scrapbook with physical products would do wonders for my soul.  Maybe I can carve out a little time this week... maybe!

Anyway, I wanted to share my Week #41 page with you today.  I used the Project 52 ~ 2016 Edition for my cards and the Dream Chaser & Currently Photo Overlay Kits.

Have a Fantastic Day!

Project 52 ~ Week #40

Another great week and another week of band, band, and more band!  This has been our life for the past 7 years and it's the last season with Concord Marching Band.  Next fall will look very different, that's for sure! 

For this page, I used 2 cards from the Project 52 ~ Fresh Edition.  The cards I used to highlight our band activities are super simple, but I felt like they summed up the week very well. 

Have a great day!

Project 52 ~ Week #39

Happy Monday Friends!  

Once again I have a Project 52 page to share with you.  This time it's for Week #39 and I kept the cards pretty simple with lots of white space which really makes the photos pop.  I haven't taken tons of photos the last few weeks, but I have spent some down time watching lots of new TV shows.  So I decided that since that week in September was full of season premiers, I would document what I've been watching.  

Another spot on my page features a super cute photo of my daughter.  I haven't seen her since Labor Day weekend, so I told her I missed her face and that she should send me a photo.  I 💖 it!

I don't normally do this, but I used a combination of kits on this page ~ Currently & The Poet Society Card Collection.  

Have a Wonderful Day!