December Daily 2013- Days 1-8

I have pretty much finished up my December Daily for this last year. It took me much longer than I expected, mostly due to the need to print photos. I think for this next year I'm going to want to invest in a small photo printer to make the process a little bit easier. I quickly feel behind without it, and the motivation to finish it waned after the holidays passed. I tried to keep it super simple this year, as I knew it was going to be a challenging month (and it ended up being even more challenging than I had thought!) I still have a couple of photos to order, and a bit of journaling to add, but I think it's about time I shared some of it. So I thought I'd put up the first eight days! I'll have more posts later throughout the year, and maybe even a few sneak peeks of my 2014 album (yes, I've already started, when inspiration strikes who am I to say no?)

The Front Cover

Front inside Cover and title page

Day 1: Putting up the Christmas Tree and Picked out our ornament for the year

Day 2: Jack Decorated the Windows

Day 3: First snow storm of the year

Day 4: Made chex mix, and put together our Gingerbread Houses

Need to write out my chex mix recipe still!

Day 5: Ryan complains about the cold

Day 6: Lunch out with my mom

Day 7: Gingerbread house decorating and playing in the snow

Day 8: Ryan Gave the Prayer in church

 So there you have it, the first eight days in my album. Look for more soon!

More 10x10

So now that you've got a peak at the outside of my Oldest's little 10x10 album I bet you are itching to see what is inside! I know my mother-in-law in Iowa has been waiting patiently to see his little list. So today I am going to walk you through the album I have all set up and ready to go!

I love to do a lot of the work ahead for mini books, so that I can easily put it together once I have pictures. It gives me a nice foundation to build off of, and it makes jotting down the facts in real time so much easier! It can be hard to remember the facts about a certain experience months later when you have the time to "scrapbook", but if you set it up ahead it can make a world of a difference! I love to "scrapbook the future"!

This first page is one of the dividers that came with the Simple Stories SN@P album. I wanted to have something pretty to look at when you opened the book, so I decided to make a mini scrapbook page right on the divider. The idea for this page actually comes from not one, not two, but three challenges from the Scrappy Friends! I used this sketch challenge from Grand Diva's Scrappy Place, a word challenge from the Creating With Paper and More blog, and a tic-tac toe challenge from Rochelle Spears. I Chose the word "Adventure" for the word challenge, and the bottom row of a journal card, wood, and stamping for the tic-tac toe challenge. I incorporated the word with a cute little rubber banner from Freckled Fawn's Oh Deer Me Kit for March. I stamped a row of arrows from the Teresa Collins He said She Said line, as well as a "you are here" stamp from the same set on a cork banner for the stamping. The wood I incorporated through primitive wood veneer stars from Studio Calico. And the journal card I cut in half and put in the bottom corner for a little note about how excited I am for this project with Ryan. All the patterned paper pieces are also from journal cards! They come from the Slate and Jade project life editions. I cut them down to use on my little layout. They really are so versatile! I left a space for a photo on top of the overlay. I haven't picked just the right one for it yet. I really want it to capture Ryan's adventurous spirit, and nothing has spoken to me yet.

On the back side of this is his list. I found these adorable bright colored puffy number stickers from Mambi on clearance at Micheal's and knew I had to use them for this project! I tore some strips of washi tape to write out his list on. In case you can't read it, his list is as follows:

1. Learn to ride a bike
2. Go to Legoland
3. Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
4. Ride on a real train
5. Feed a giraffe
6. Play 11 new games
7. Try 10 new foods
8. Meet War Machine
9. Jump on a trampoline
10. Ride 12 different roller coasters

I love that it is a mix of big and little things, hard and easy things, "so Ryan" things and completely unexpected things. I know I am going to cherish the moments spent fulfilling this list!

The rest of the album I filled with various page protectors from Simple stories SN@P line and various journal cards from the Slate, Honey, Jade, and Just Add Color Editions of Project Life. I left some places blank so I can slide photos in later, and there is plenty of room for journaling and embellishments as I go. I made sure each goal had a place to write the date we completed it. We've already crossed one thing off his list, and I can't wait to finish that page!

This album is for sure an ongoing project, and I plan to make a blog post when we complete each thing on his list telling about the experience and showing the completed page in his album.

I've got another 10x10 list project brewing as well! My four year old has made his own list! I've got another SN@P album just sitting waiting to be created! Hoping to work on it some on National Scrapbooking Day this Saturday, May 3rd!

100 Happy Days- A Challenge to Be Happier

Life has been kind of difficult lately, and I have been struggling to find happiness on a day to day basis. I won't go into all the gory details, but just believe me, this past year has brought so much heartache and strife I don't know what to do to get past it. I've been searching for some sort of meaning and purpose, searching for ways to be happier, looking for MORE (there's that one little word again!).

In my search I came upon a challenge called 100 Happy Days, and I decided I would take up the call and try it. Basically it challenges you to take a picture, every day, for 100 days, of something that makes you happy. I loved the idea, and it seemed like a good way to try and see the happiness in my life in a time that I am struggling. At the very least, I figured that if I finished it, when I was having a hard time in the future I could look back on it and tell myself if I could find happiness during this hard period of time I could get through whatever else came my way.

So here is the album I came up with to document these 100 days of happy.

The cover overall. Learned a lot from this.

I used a Simple Stories SN@P album in pink. I spray painted the kraft with a yellow gloss paint (which was not my best idea ever, but it did the trick. I then attached two little heart overlays from the February freckled fawn Oh Deer Me kit. I used a cute acrylic heart frame from their December kit as well, and a little puffy sticker from January's kit. They seriously have the cutest stuff! I used various thickers and rub-ons to add the title, along with a chipboard "happy" from some Mambi chipboard stickers I had.

I have to say I SUPER LOVE IT ALL! it turned out so cute!

My cute title page, the pictures are from a photo booth.

I then decided I needed a title page. I used one of the journal page inserts that comes with the SN@P album and then went in search of a sketch to use as an idea for jumping off. I found this sketch from Colorful Creations to use and love how it turned out. It was such a fun sketch to work with. The back of the page will have an explanation of why I decided to take up the 100 Happy Days challenge. I used cards from The Project Life Slate and Just Add Color kits, some washi tapes from walmart of all places, a vellum sticker from the November Oh Deer Me kit, a puffy sticker from the January kit, a resin cameo from the February kit, and a "what a fun moment" banner from the March Kit. I also used some wood chips from Micheal's and some homemade enamel dots made from perler beads (tutorial possibly coming soon, if I remember).


I then filled the binder with a bunch of blank cards and page protectors to add to throughout the project. I haven't added any pictures yet, but I plan to soon!

I am excited to take up this project, and hope it will help put me in a better frame of mind. Trying hard to get back to the happy me!

10x10 List: A Bucket List for Kids

Recently I was reviewing my 30x30 list and my oldest son got really interested in it. We talked about what a bucket list was, and after our discussion he decided he wanted to make a list of his own. We decided on a 10x10 list, and he wrote down 10 things he wants to do before he turns ten. Some of them are surprising, some of them are so him, and others are going to take a lot of work to accomplish, but this is a great way for he and I to embark on a project together.

When he had finished his list I picked up a Simple Stories SN@P album, and made a foundation for documenting his journey to cross things off his list. Here is a peek:

The Album cover, tried to use his favorite colors, yellow, orange, and Turquoise.

This cover was made using this sketch challenge for the Paper Bakery. They have the cutest scrapbook and project kits, so make sure you go check them out. I haven't subscribed yet, but they sure are tempting!

Close up on the title.

Most of the embellishments are from Freckled Fawn's Oh Deer Me monthly kits. I was lucky enough to go to their booth at Scrapbook USA a couple of weeks ago and instantly fell in love with their gorgeous embellishments! So much so that I decided to subscribe! I can't wait for my first monthly kit to arrive! The acrylic arrows are from their December kit, the little resin cameo and the striped overlay card is from the February kit, and the "seriously, so cool!" banner is from the March kit. SO MANY CUTE THINGS. If you fall in love like I did make sure you use me as a reference when signing up and we will both get $5 to use in their store!

The wooden stars and the orange polka dot washi are from Micheal's recollection brand, and the cute little bling dots are from the Walmart scrapbooking section. The white foam letter stickers are American Crafts brand thickers. The frosted "list" letters are from Heidi swapp. The little white star stickers and the "adventure awaits" sticker are from Me and My Big Ideas.

I plan on doing another blog post to show you the insides of this fun little album. So make sure you check back to take a look!

I'm also excited to say that I'm hoping to start blogging some more! I've got some goals I am trying to meet, and part of meeting those goals means I need to be better at blogging, taking pictures of my work, and linking them up for some exposure. So, it shouldn't be 3-6 months between blog posts. (I know guys, I'm so terrible at this blogging thing!!!)

I want MORE out of 2014

So I was suppose to blog yesterday... but I didn't... so here I am today, getting it done. No MORE procrastination!

As many of you know the past few years i have picked a word for the year. This process is called "One Little Word", and came about from a wonderfully amazingly talented woman Ali Edwards. You can read more about the projects on her blog. She offers a year long workshop, which is amazing! I have loved it! This will be my second year doing the workshop, and it is so worth it.

Anyway, this years word was very hard to come by, I thought about it for MONTHS. I needed a word that was going to help me get back to a point that I could flourish again (flourish was my word f or 2013, and it was great, but I lost my ability to flourish somewhere along the way). There was so much in my head, and nothing was coming up as THE word. I made lists and lists and lists, I would get there, and then cross everything off and start again. I finally decided on a word that could encompass many of my words, but it took me a while to share it, because it felt really selfish. The word I chose was "MORE". It took a while for me to be able to explain why that was my word, and I am still kind of learning why. I want more of a lot of things right now, I want more shenanigans, more devotion, more creativity, to be more conscious, more happiness, to complete more and be more complete, more sharing, more learning, more loveliness, more purpose, more community, and more abundance, just to name a few. And the reason I want more, is because I am worth more. I've been in a pretty bad depression lately because I have felt worthless, and I'm hoping telling myself I am worth more, and having more to work towards will help me get to the other side of this depression. 

Anyway, On to the pretty stuff.
I got to work on some of this month's prompt. I still need to finish up some of it, but I love what I have so far. I decided to incorporate my one little word into project life this year, to help give myself momentum on both projects. Here is what I've got.

 The top left card says "Hello There More One Little Word 2014", the top right card is a definition and thesaurus entry. The middle row has a fold out journaling card, with a bit more about why I chose my word, then a photo of me (thank you Disney photopass photographers for getting at least one good shot of me!), the "make your word visible" graphic that Ali shared as part of the workshop, and a little card with an Ampersand. I choose an ampersand as a symbol for my word this year, as one of the synonyms for more is "and". The bottom row has two quotes that contain my word.

I really love how it turned out! It has me excited to continue! I've got a second "Intentions" page I am still working on that will be opposite this page.

I also picked up some little wooden letters that I covered with Washi tape that spell out "MORE". My intent is to put them on a wall, and each month add a quote that corresponds with what I want from my word that month on the wall as well. It's my way of trying to "Make My Word Visible".

So there you have it folks! A new blog post, a new word, and a new year!

December Daily 2013- And the end of a hiatus

So, I have not posted anything since May, and had hardly posted before then. Life has been pretty cruel to our family the last few months, and I just have not been in a good mind set to be posting. Being forced from our home, moving in with my parents, job loss, my mom having cancer, issues with school for Ryan, deaths, impending deaths, impending surgeries... yeah. So I took some time off.

But I am back, and I have a few pictures of my latest project to share with you. Once again I am trying to participate in Ali Edwards "December Daily" project. This has been a beast of a project in the past, and I am ashamed to say I have wasted a lot of time and energy on it over the years only to fall flat after a few days. But here it is, December 5th, and I am still at it. I haven't printed photos, waiting to do that at the end of each week for convenience sake, but here is a little peek into my album so far. Can't wait to get my pictures and put it all together for the week!

My Cover. I just love how it turned out! So bright and happy! I used a plastic snowflake Ornament, and layered on some thicker's in Glittery White and Red, then added a few random baubles from a jar of plastic snowflakes and candies. Oh, and there are some washi tape strips added as well. The green is from American Crafts, and the Blue is from My Mind's Eye.

A closer look at the cover.

The spine. This i might redo. I am not really happy with it. Think I will pull the label out of the spine and start again.

Inside cover and title page. I got the fabric covered wood "merry" in the discount bins at Micheal's, and love it! Not sure where the "december" word came from, plus more of the previous washi's. The Title page numbers are Tim Holtz (I believe) grunge board numbers, I sprayed them with some red glimmer paint.

The Left side of this page will have a picture of our christmas tree, with a story of how it took us six hours of work to get up! The filler card is from the Project Life Merry & Bright mini edition.

This is day 2 and 3. Love my little sequin pocket!

Couldn't figure out how to turn this one, but it is the backside of day 3.

Had to take a close-up of this beautiful sequin/glitter pocket. Isn't is just so much fun! I love it!

So there you go! My first few days of my December daily. Later this week I will post the rest, plus repost these ones with photos! So excited to be doing this this year. It is a welcome distraction from everything that has been going on lately, and it is turning out just so beautiful so far!

Do or Do Not

Lately I feel like I just can't get motivated to post on the blog. It's not that I haven't been doing things that are blog worthy, I just haven't slowed down and taken the pictures, and written anything up. I am a doer, not a writer, and that makes blogging a little more difficult sometimes. I'd rather be out there doing things and thinking up things than putting the things I have already done down for others to see. I need to get better about it!
My blog has a lot of potential! The little I do have has attracted a number of offers that still have my head spinning a bit, I haven't followed through with any of them though, because I feel like I am not a blogger yet. Gotta post at least once a week to make me feel like a blogger!

Kind of feel like life has just been super crazy from one thing to the next lately, with family visiting, Dominic graduating, vacation plans changing and going back to the planning stages, an oven fire and subsequent lack of an oven for the last two weeks (and subsequent meal creativity, how many meals can you come up with that do not use the stove or oven at all?), trying to get my oldest registered and ready for school n the fall... and that was just this month! I haven't even looked at the One Little Word stuff for April yet, let alone May, and it's almost June!
I've been enjoying the craziness for the most part though. My boys are growing so much. Ryan is finally starting to get interested in learning, thankfully. Apparently backing off and giving him space on the issue was a good thing. He is excited to start doing some kindergarten prep books and games. SCORE!

Anyway, I guess what I am saying is I should be writing more, but that I'm not because I am busy enjoying what life is right now. Enjoying having my husband around more, enjoying family adventures (like a horse drawn carriage ride from one bus stop to the next), lots of snuggle time, really listening to my crazy kids imaginative ramblings, and taking in this last summer before my babies start moving on to being kids and starting school. Maybe someday I will get back to blogging more, but for now I am happy with the way things are. Maybe I will push myself for once a week posting something, but I don't think you can expect much more than that!