December '11 P12

So you may recall that last year (this year, too, but I've gotten waaaaay behind!) I was doing a Project 12 album.  I did really well, all the way up to December, then didn't complete a December layout.  What?!  I think part of the reason was the sketch:

It's a gorgeous sketch, but come on - three photos????  I'd been taking pictures every day of the month for my December Daily album, so it was impossible to narrow it down like that.  Eventually, I printed off 12 mini prints, and then let them sit for several months longer.  Finally, in order to get myself in the Christmas/December Daily spirit, I created this layout, and I love it!

Here's what I used - Kraft and black cardstock, Simple Stories patterned paper (25 Days of Christmas collection), SMASH tape, Ranger/Dylusions spray (Postbox Red) and stencil, and stars cut with my Silhouette Cameo.  Man, I love that Dylusions spray with a passion!!!  Can't wait to get more colours!  

So, yes, now I'm feeling pretty Christmas-y, and when you see my December Daily foundation pages for this year's album, you'll notice some similarities between it and this layout - lots of stars and mist and the same paper collection.  Fun, fun!  Thanks for looking, and hope to see you making your own December Daily album!

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Seriously Creative November Challenge

Hey, everyone, hope you had a great weekend!  Me, I'm glad to finally get this page finished - seems like I've been working on it for weeks!!!  I needed to make a project for November's Seriously Creative Challenge:

I've been seeing wood veneer accents everywhere these days, but I didn't have any of my own.  Then I saw this video, and inspiration hit!  I was able to cut these word bubbles out of some Studio Calico Take Note wood grain paper on my Cameo using a free file found here.  

Then I made this paper doll using another free file found here:

The Cameo got a good workout on this page - I cut the title, glasses, and notebook border using cut files from the Silhouette store.  Oh, and the star panel was pre-cut earlier, if you recall from my post here.

And here's the sketch I used from Let's Get Sketchy:

I just love this picture of Ailis!  I took it the day she got her new glasses.  I was hoping that all the kids would inherit Jason's superior eyesight, but I guess with three kids, chances are at least one of them will get my lousy eyes!  That's the thing with genetics, it's a bit of a gamble!  Anyway, with her new haircut and specs, she could probably pass for 15, which is a little scary!!!  We'll just have to keep her locked up at home, eh? Shotguns at the ready, haha!  

Well, must get Brenna Bean out of her high chair.  We have places to go and things to see, but thanks for looking, and I'll have December Daily progress to report soon.  Oh, and if you've made anything using wood, or even trees (i.e. Christmas trees will work!), be sure to link it up to our Seriously Creative Challenge!

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I'm Back!

After a fantastic weekend of splurging, indulging, visiting, and rocking in Vancouver with some fabulous people, I'm back with a shorter post than I had intended because I erased some photos from my camera that I shouldn't have.  I guess my brain was elsewhere, which has been happening to me a lot lately!  Anyway, this is a card I made for someone in town here who dug through her stuff and found a pair of winter boots for Brenna.  Isn't that sweet?  I had mentioned at Strong Start one day that Brenna had been playing in the snow in gum boots because we hadn't been able to find winter boots for her yet, and she sent a pair home with Ailis the next day!  

The design of this card is inspired by one I saw in a Paper Crafts magazine, very simple to put together.  I used PB&J paper from Basic Grey, and some CTMH pearls.  The ribbon is from my stash, and I cut the sentiment with my Cameo (Pacifico is the name of the font, free at dafont.com) and sprayed it yellow with Dylusions spray - I love that stuff!!!  Here's a peek at the inside:  

I also had a birthday card I made for my girlfriend, but it's already in the mail.  Then there was a baby boy card I made for my friend in Surrey, but same thing, the photo evidence is gone!  Ah well, these things are bound to happen.

Here's something cool to tell ya:  when I was in the lower mainland, I was able to meet Alison, a friend I've met through blogging!  We've never met in person before, but I've always thought we led parallel lives - I can't tell you how many times I post something only to see that Alison's completed the same challenge, or I'm having a rough day with one of my kids and then I read Alison's post and see that the same thing has happened to her!  Anyway, it was pretty neat to actually meet up with her in person, and I have the photo as evidence:

She also gave me a whole schwack of goodies from her stash, some really awesome stuff!  Can't wait to play!!!

Which brings me to my next question:  Are you doing a December Daily album?  I am part of a facebook group started by my friend Carole - we actually "met" two years ago doing this very project!  We also have a pinterest board with some fantastic winter inspiration pinned, so if you are interested in joining us, let me know and I can set you up with our group.  And that is what I have planned today, some cutting with my cameo to get my base pages ready.  My goal is to have the album all set by the time December 1st comes around, not like last year...

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Some Quickie Cards, Thanks to the Cameo

Getting a new tool like a Silhouette Cameo can be a bit overwhelming, so one of the first things I did was visit the online store and browsed the "Happy Birthday" offerings.  For $0.99, you can get all the cut files to make these cute cards (designed by Lori Whitlock).  Wow, so easy, even I could figure it out!  I decided to use an older Close to My Heart paper pack (Unforgettable) to make these three cards.  To dress up the cardstock a bit, I just did some dry embossing with a new Spellbinders embossing folder - it's very nice, one side has the bricks, and the other has a wood grain design.  Here's a close-up:

Then last weekend, Ailis had a Hallowe'en birthday party to go to, so I whipped up this more girly/Hallowe'en version in a couple of minutes (yes, I said "minutes"):

But it gets even better!  I saw a video tutorial on how to make this card, and even though it was October 31st and a little late to be making cards, I decided I just had to try it out and made these:

The white one's for Ailis and the black is for Nolan.  Here's a peek at the inside:

(If you're wondering about the sentiments, I used an old CTMH stamp of the month called "Thriller".)

Now the bats are pretty neat, but I figured this design could be used to make any number of cards using different shapes.  Here's what I came up with using a free star cut file and some Studio Calico patterned paper from "Take Note":

At first I thought this would be a card front, but now I'm leaning toward using it on a page.  Wow, sky's the limit with this machine!  I can't wait to try butterflies, or maybe flowers, and even cars would be cute for a masculine design...  Hey, thanks for looking, and I hope you all have a great weekend!

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