Tag Archives: christmas

Nov 9

December Daily prep.

I know it’s just the beginning of November, but I am already in the mood for the Christmas season! Why? December Daily madness! Ali Edwards started it a few years ago, and it has spread like wildfire, and now everyone seems to be doing one. If you’re not in the know, it’s a month-long documentation of Christmas activities, shopping, decorating, preparing, visiting and partying in the month of December. Each day of December seems to be about  Christmas, or getting ready for it, no? This is a way to put your special activities into a sweet little scrapbook to remember this Christmas in the years to come when 2012 is long forgotten.

Ali Edwards has a special December Daily kit available through Studio Calico, but it’s pretty expensive, and they run out quickly. Her album, this year, is only going to be 6×4″, too small for me. The album I did last year is approximately 6×8″, which is a much better size, but mine got way too full, so this year I’m going to do another 6×8″ album with divided page protectors, thanks to Simple Stories Snap album.

I think it will cut down on the bulk, and make decorating much more fun. I got the idea when I signed up for Lisa Truesdell’s class “Divide and Conquer” at Two Peas In a Bucket. She uses this same album and shows how to have fun with all the pockets. “Why don’t I do this with my December Daily?’, I thought. Good idea!

After printing out the PDFs for this class and reading through them, I got online and shopped at Two Peas In a Bucket for some essential supplies.

Rather than spend an arm and a leg on a pre-made kit for my December Daily, I decided to make my own (after all, I’m going to need that arm and leg when I shop for Christmas gifts!). Even though the Simple Stories album was unavailable when I wanted to purchase it, it was only two days later that I received an email announcing its return to the shop, so I purchased it maybe three days ago, and it came in the mail today! Good service!

In her class hand-out, Lisa Truesdell explains that she only used a 6×6 paper pack for the album she created; the smaller size is perfect for this album, and all the papers will coordinate together to ensure a cohesiveness throughout the album. I decided on Basic Grey’s Aspen Frost line (I thought it to be the prettiest one), so I purchased the 6×6 pad (saving a lot of money!), a sheet of stickers, a package of mini envelopes, a stitched garland and some more Micro Mini Monogram letters. I wanted some pretty brads, and I loved the ones My Mind’s Eye has in its All Is Bright collection, so I got those as well. I shopped at Studio Calico, too, and had to have their wood veneer Christmas trees, and their Wonderland adhesive badges. I also got my washi tape at Two Peas In a Bucket, and I found sequins at Joann. I still had some left-overs from last year’s December Daily, so I don’t see anything wrong with using those supplies as well:

letter stickers (Basic Grey); baker’s twine (Martha Stewart); Christmas word-fetti (Glitz); bingo cards (Jenni Bowlin); badges (Evalicious); kraft tags (homemade)

[Correction: the word stickers are by Authentique, not Glitz.] I’ve also noticed some great ways to make tags on my own: look for free downloads from your favorite blog, or on Pinterest. I’ve found plenty on Pinterest and I got a free downloads from Ormolu,and Creating Keepsakes:

One of the front, title pages of my DD album.

This is called “subway art” from Creating Keepsakes; you can download it here. The Ormolu download is really nice, too:

You can also download this printable for free, here.

All I need now is for December to get here, and get my camera out and ready for some action! I promise to be back when things are under way to show my progress from time to time. I am really looking forward to it, and I hope you will share your December Daily ideas with me, too!  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

Dec 9

December Daily, days 6-9

Busy, busy, busy!! I’m working, going to various meetings, doctor’s appointments, cooking, getting ready for Christmas, and tending to an ill child….oh, my! It’s not unusual for this time of year to be rather time-consuming, and I admit, that this project of mine does take more time than I’d like it to. I think the perfectionist comes out in me, and I can’t just print out any old photo and just paste it onto a piece of paper and be done. No. I want it to look good. I think that’s because I looked back on last year’s Christmas album, and I was utterly appalled with what I did. I took short-cuts and just threw things together to save time. I am now trying to see if I can do things better without spending every moment of my free time doing it–oh, wait…I have free time? News flash: I didn’t know that!

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Extra page of every day ephemera

Day 9

I may not be able to post every day, but I will get each day recorded and documented, and when I have a chance I will post the pages here, even if it means posting numerous past days all together, like here. That’s okay; I don’t want to stress too much about ‘shoulds’; I want to do what I can and concentrate on the ‘coulds’. Life is too short; enjoy today! See you next time!

 

Dec 5

December Daily, day 5.

Somehow, I didn’t get the original email from Studio Calico, but I received a copy this morning….the binders were to leave China on December 1, and the minute they arrive at their warehouse, they’ll be shipped off to us immediately. I feel bad for feeling bad about it in the first place, but I didn’t get that darn email explaining the hold-up! Oh, well, I’m not worried. I’m still participating, and I just discovered today that Ormolu also has cute smaller size binders ready for decorating any way one pleases (check it out here)! Now, why didn’t I know about that sooner? Well, my head is out of the sand at this point in time, and I’m ready to celebrate December!

Back side of the pockets.

Pictures are not the greatest, my apologies. This is fun, though; I am so glad I am doing this!

Supplies being used:

Thanks for stopping by, I’ll be back again tomorrow!

Nov 12

A new trend: white on kraft

I am loving a look I came up with while creating Christmas cards and tags: white ink (with snowflakes or stars) on kraft paper. I stamp images onto a kraft tag or card and emboss with Stampendous detail white embossing powder. The look, to me, is very Nordic, simple, earthy, and classic. I can’t get enough of it right now. I am hoping you like it as well, too, because I have some items for sale on Etsy that are created with this beautiful style in mind.

White Noel Christmas cards

Snowflake stickers

small white star tags

medium snowflake tags

scrap paper chain

There’s no end to what you can do with these items. I will be starting my December Daily in a couple of weeks, and I intend to use these tags and stickers to embellish my album; the cards I’ve made (not showing are the red star and green tree cards) are meant to be simple in order to let your words and sentiments shine. Let your Christmas be merry and bright with white-on-kraft by Retrospect!

Nov 9

Using scraps to make a paper chain.

I’m working hard this evening in my ‘workshop’ (just like Santa’s…) creating Christmas cards and tags for my shop, Retrospect, on Etsy. When I ran out of 8.5×11 kraft sheets, I got out my 12×12 stash, and started cutting away, to get more of the necessary size. I don’t like wasting things, especially scraps, and while tossing some 1×8.5″ strips into the trash, I came up with an idea to use them instead of throwing them away: make a paper chain! I grabbed those babies out (no worries; my trash bin is entirely paper and bits of ribbon) and went to work.

I have some snowflake stamps from Stampin’ Up! that I had been using, and noticed that the smallest stamp would fit the 1″ size of the strips. I thought it would be nice to stamp an image onto the strip to make a design; right now, I’m working with kraft paper for my projects, and I am really into white-on-kraft with snowflakes or stars…kind of a Nordic look which I am loving. I used a white ink pad to stamp the images, then I sprinkled Stampendous! “Stamp-n-Stuff” in an opaque white embossing powder over the stamped images, and then heated each strip so the white would stand out a little more. The fun thing about this is that it’s easy enough for the kids to do while you’re making your own things!

I can easily see my 11-year-old stamping paper strips (but if we want them embossed, I would do the heating) to her heart’s content. I chose the white, but of course it would also look pretty with red or green, (or any combination) and any of your smaller size Christmas stamps. I only had about 14 scraps, but of course the more you have the longer the chain.

I stapled each strip into a ring, just like I remember doing back in Kindergarten…and yes, it was just as much fun doing it again today!

My daughter didn’t get to make this one (homework to do…) but I’ll be sure and have her help with more of these in the future that we can add to this one. I have no idea how long it will end up being, or where we’ll put it, but that’s the easy part, and we’ll love having it be a part of our holiday festivities. What a cheap decoration, too! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my shop vac (powder everywhere, what a mess…). Come on back in the next few days when I show you my Christmas holiday cards that I’ll be selling at Retrospect! Thanks for stopping by!

Nov 6

One Little Word, November

I can’t believe it’s already November! Whoa! So, a new month means a new assignment for my One Little Word class. My word, imagine is a great word, in my humble opinion. I’ve enjoyed using my word, and I think that’s because I’m good at imagining things…..which may or may not be a good thing when stated that in that way…

Anyhoo, here is this month’s assignment:

Nothing fabulous, nothing special. I kept it simple; simple is my mood for today. You’ll notice I used one of my Christmas tags with the star sewn in a different direction. I promised I would use it in a project to illustrate one of its many uses, and here ya go. These tags can be used as ornaments on a little Christmas tree, tied to gifts, added to a card, or put into a December Daily book. Add things to it (A name, a gem, a decorative brad, etc.) to make a unique creation. They’re for sale in my shop should you be needing any odds or ends for the Christmas season.

I’m hoping this One Little Word class will restart again in January so I can choose another word and continue with this next year. It’s been a great class; each prompt has been easy to follow, it’s been fun and enlightening, and it doesn’t take tons of time out of a busy schedule in order to complete each assignment. I hope to see you there next year, if that’s a possibility! Thanks for stopping by!

Nov 5

Seeing stars.

I love stars. I always have; looking at the stars in the sky as a child, and seeing anything shaped like a star now, catches my eye. I made some new tags for Christmas with stars, and more in a bigger size, with snowflakes (almost like a star, right?).

My goal tomorrow is to use my tags in some projects. See you tomorrow! Happy Holidays!

Oct 23

The holiday seasons are coming!

I am super excited to introduce some new items to the Retrospect shop! My mom visited me yesterday, and while talking about Christmas and scrapbooking, some ideas came to me that I had to make for my Etsy shop! I know that I want to do a ‘December Daily’ album this year, and looking around I came up with some things I know I would like to have available to me, and I thought perhaps, some of you would, too.

Advent calendar tags

to-from tags

small fabric star tags

All my tags are hand made and come with baker’s twine to make your gift or project unique and special! If you’re looking for some help with making your holiday festivities look their best, come see me! Next up, I’ll be making Christmas card packs. See you tomorrow!

Dec 19

Sweet Christmas memories…

My daughter and I have adopted our own Christmas tradition. We make gingerbread houses for the season. Knowing me, of course, they come from a box purchased at a local retailer. We just open the packaging and put stuff together. Not the real thing? Of course not. But you have to understand me: no Christmas tree in the house (too expensive and too much mess); no homemade cookies or treats (yet– no time); no lights (where to put them?), etc. You might call me the Grinch, or Scrooge, but the honest truth is I’m lazy. There, I admit it. Working full time and owning a part-time business takes a lot out of a girl. Well, that and poor planning. I have vowed to myself and to my poor daughter that next year will be different; I will start planning in August. Or September. No later than Halloween. I promise!

Nonetheless, we have managed to create our tradition and stick to it, even if the base of it came out of a box from Costco. We spent some good, quality time together having fun, and I managed to take some photos and scrap them. Years from now, my daughter can see that for Christmas I at least managed to something.