December Daily® 2015 │ Days 21 to 25 and the end

It's done! A bit later than I would have liked but its done. I sat myself down yesterday and finished the last three days and the ending and I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out.  This is going to be long with lots of pictures so lets just get to it.

Day 21

We tend to wrap gifts all at once in one day and I find it easier to do it that way than to start and stop and start and stop. I like to crank up the Christmas tunes and have at it.

I added two journaling cards from In a Creative Bubble and two photos and it was done. Super easy!

Day 21b

This isn't dated and it didn't really happen on the 21st but I wanted to get this Starbucks cup, bag and two photos in there somewhere so I just added it in here. I trimmed the bag down and sewed the photos down similarly to a layout that I just finished that I will post shortly. The stamps I used are from Kelly Purkey its called My Daily Grind and they are currently on sale. If you are a holiday Starbucks lover, this stamp set is for you.

Day 22

I shared this in my last post but I wanted it also in this post for consistency sake. The Metropolitan alpha stamps are from Kelly Purkey as are the numbers. They are super, super cool.

I used one of Ali's 3x8 inserts for this and just covered up the holes with washi tape and re punched the holes to match my album. I love these protectors, they are a super fun size.

I added a photo to the back and love the height it gives the photo.

I embossed the wood snowflakes with white embossing powder that I added some silver glitter too. It turned out really pretty. I used the Tim Holtz Tonic scissors with the red handle to cut the veneer in half. They worked really well for that. I did file down the edge with a nail file to smooth out any rough bits before embossing them just to make sure there weren't any sharp edges.

Day 23

Baking day is always something to look forward too. We make the same type of cookies every year for Santa and paint them with an egg wash paint. Its something I did as a kid with my Mom so its fun to carry on that tradition.

This year I remembered to get a nice clean shot of the cookies laid out when they were done and added in one of my husband and daughter painting. I added in a journaling card of the gingerbread man from Kelly Purkey's mini kit and one from Ali's main kit.

Day 24

Christmas Eve is always busy so I added a bit more than I normally do. The protector on the left is about our evening at church and the journaling card is one that I made using an older piece of Ali's word art.

I really wanted to use that Merry and Bright card from Kelly Purkey's mini kit so I added it in here as a transition from the church portion of the night to the getting ready for bed portion of the night.

On the back side is a photo of my daughter in her new jammies. Another tradition my Mom started with us when we were kids that I carry over. And of course a photo of leaving the cookies and milk out before bed. I really had to edit this one because she was not having it with me taking lots of photos that night so I had to go with the best of the best and make it work.

Day 24B

Another filler space because I really wanted to add in that letterpress December calendar from Studio Calico and was quickly running out of days to get it in. I also wanted to use that transparency sheet so in it goes. I trimmed off the original holes and re punched my own to match the album. I added in one of the tabs and I'm so glad that I bought two sets of these. They are one of my favorite things this year. For the photo on the left I added in an old piece of word art from Ali and just printed it out.

Day 25

I backed the other side of the December calendar with a photo that I actually took after Christmas, but it was one that I loved and it really works here so in it goes. I pretty much followed the same formula that I used in last years album. I added in a 3.5" x 8" inch piece of heavy weight vellum that I typed my journaling on to. I always need lots of space to get the whole story of the day down and it never fits on one journaling card so this has become my go to solution for telling the full story of the day. I added in another tab and my number and it was done. The Merry Christmas word art at the bottom is from In A Creative Bubble.

I even used the same template as last year. Its a template from Ali Edwards and it just seems to have the right amount of spaces for the day. I don't worry too much about getting every photo in so this works for me. As long as I get the high points and at least one photo of the whole family I'm happy.

My album ends are always different. Sometimes its a photo from Day 26 or some journaling or something, it varies. This year because I didn't include any of the photos of our Elf Twinkle I wanted to make sure I got them in somehow. Last year I added collages every week that you can see here, here and here. I loved that and thought about doing it again this year but we went out of town and my Elf days weren't as consistent as last year so I just decided to wait and do one big thing instead. While I was gathering my photos I realized I missed snapping a shot one day which really bugs me but I can't go back and redo it so it is what it is.

Here is the front of the little fold out that I made to hold all of the photos. Its just over 4" wide and 8" tall. I used my new Minc machine that I got for Christmas to decorate the front and man do I love it!! I added a tab on the top but cut it in half so I could have a different tab on the backside.

Here you can see how amazing the Minc looks. I opted to use the red foil and I love it. The file that I used was a brush set from Ali Edwards and there was also a stamp set of many of the words in this set. How lucky for us that our Elf's name just so happens to be Twinkle.

When you open it up you see all 20 images that I have of our Elf. I also added in the Twinkle tab to the backside of the Moments tab on the front. To make this I set up a template to hold the 20 images that I needed and just ran them across and down the template. The two columns on the left that fold out are printed separate from the 12 photos on the right. I did this so I could easily fold the piece and photo paper doesn't really fold that well. I added in the circle numbers that I made so the days would be labeled. I made the fold out but creating a hinge out of a piece of cardstock that was about 1.5" x 8" and that is underneath the photos but on top of two pieces of cardstock, one that is 6'x8' and the other is the cover that is 4"x 8". I plan to add in envelope at the very end where where I save all of my gift receipts and all of the little notes that Twinkle leaves for my daughter. Its fun to save that kind of stuff each year and look back on it.

To finish off the album I created a label for the spine, super simple just like last years. The year and a little star. I did decide to leave the cover plain and let the shiny gold take center stage.

Another year, another completed December Daily. It was so much fun as always even though I felt like I was floating thru this month. It really was a total blur.

I'm excited to put this away and get started on my Project Life for 2016. I'll be back soon to share more on that for sure.

Take care,

Featuring Kelly Purkey │ December Release

Its release day over at Kelly Purkey's shop and its a great one! The reason its so great is she is now offering subscriptions to her monthly kits!!! How exciting is that! You never have to worry about things selling out before you have a change to order. You can sign up for a three ($24.50 per month), six ($22.50 per month), or twelve ($20.50 per month) month membership at a discounted price. Each kit contains a limited edition 4x6 stamp set, set of sixteen 3x4 double sided cards, set of four 4x6 double sided cards, one 4x6 sheet of printed labels, two 1" badges, and one 6x8 alphabet sticker sheet. You can read all about the new subscriptions right here.

The kit this month is called Today, and I used it in the above Project Life® spread and it was so fun to work with. Here are some more detailed images.

I love the little circle stamps and had fun layering them on the cards and my photos.

Here is a closer look at the stamp set in this kit.

My next projects featured the new Metropolitan Alpha set. I love a good bold and graphic font, especially one that can stand so well on its own.

My first project is for my December Daily® album, specifically Day 22. I desperately needed to see some snow so we set off to find some and it was perfect. I stamped the word Snow three times and then embossed it with white and a little silver glitter mixed it and I love how this turned out. The song lyrics were typed first and printed right on to the cardstock prior to stamping and embossing.

I used the Metropolitan number stamps to add in my day number.

My next project was a little throw back to the summer and the best concert I have seen in a really long time. I haven't been to New York in a really long time but I really wanted to use the I Love New York stamp set so this layout was born. Welcome to New York! My little homage to Taylor Swift and the opening number of her 1989 concert and the best capture of a really surprised and amazed little girl.

I used the Metropolitan Alpha to create the title stamping it in Brilliance White Moonlight ink adding in little bits from the stamp set to help set the tone. I scattered gold glitter starts around for some dimension.

Here is a close up image of the stamp set so you can see all that it includes. I love that she added in the subway letters, how cool are those. It sure makes me want to jet off to NYC really soon.

I hope you love the new subscription plans, I know that its been hard with things selling out really fast sometimes so I think this is a brilliant way for you to ensure that you get everything that you want going forward.

See you soon,

December Daily® 2015 │ Days 16 to 20

Somehow in spite of it all I have managed to stay caught up and it feels like a bit of a Christmas miracle. This month has flown by and my Christmas spirit has been hiding from me this season so working on this project has been somewhat of a blur for me. I know once the day comes and I can enjoy and soak it all up I'll look back on these pages and know that even though I felt like the spirit wasn't in me it really was the whole time. Being an adult this time of year and working so hard to make sure that the season is magical and special for someone you love is a huge task and one that take on wholeheartedly. I think sometimes I forget to keep the magic inside for myself too and I plan to spend the next four days doing just that.

Day 16

I can't remember how far back I started this but I know it was probably around the time that she was three. But every year since then I have picked out a special wrapping paper that was just for her gifts. It makes wrapping so much easier because I don't have to label her gifts. They are just there in a pile and she knows they are just for her. The past few years she has wanted to pick out her paper herself so its always a special trip to Target to find just the right one. I love that she picked one so quickly and one that was so perfectly her right now.

To help separate the days I added in a star transparency with a big glitter star and the Story of Today banner from the main kit.

Day 17

Simone pretty much won the lottery with her teacher assignment this year, case in point this super cute little art project that she brought home from school. In real life its much bigger so I just scanned it and then shrank it down to size to fit on top of the cute winter scene embossed paper. I then cut it out on my Cameo using the print and cut feature right on to photo paper. It worked so well! She also brought home a super cute Elf Job Application and that is folded up inside the glassine bag. I used some of Kelly Purkey's Clearly Kelly Holiday stamps to decorate the front and I love how the Yeti pairs with the Elf. The Spreading Cheer stamp is also one of Kelly's stamps.

Day 18

Sadly her last day of school before winter break didn't go as planned and the flu bug hit our house. It's always hard being sick during Christmas time so this was a super simple photo and words type of day. The jouranling card is from In A Creative Bubble and the cozy blanket paper from the main kit worked perfectly here.

Day 19

When I made these stockings for our family right before Simone was born I intentionally left space on Simone's so that she could add things to it as she grew up. Things that meant something to her that told her story. This year she decided to add a heart eye emoji and I love it. I decided to try and use some of my metal craft dies to cut the felt and it worked perfectly. I could not have cut that perfect of a circle on my own for sure. The jouranling card on the right is also from In A Creative Bubble. I love everything she designed this year.

Day 20

In my attempt to find some Christmas Cheer we set out for some shopping in our matching sweatshirts. I paired the large photo with some jouranling cards from In A Creative Bubble and one from the main kit. I altered the card a bit to remove the date portion since I was using one of my large numbers instead.

I probably won't be back until after the holiday but I look forward to living the next few days to the fullest and fully embracing the season and all that there is to love and enjoy about it. I hope you all do the very same thing and Merry Christmas to each and every one of you.

xoxo,

December Daily 2015 │ Days 8 to 15

Well we successfully pulled off a pretty big surprise for my daughter. We flew her to Disneyland for 4 days to celebrate her birthday. My daughter has been reluctant to fly for the past five years and she recently started talking about flying again. After many conversations to gauge weather she was truly ready we decided to book the trip. The flight is only an hour so we thought even if it didn't go well, it would be quick. It ended up being a really amazing trip and she did so well that she is eager to take another flight. We are thrilled!

The flip side to travel in December is getting back and having so many days to catch up on. It was daunting to say the least but I sat down yesterday and today and got myself caught up.

Day 8

I didn't have a chance to work on this one before we left but I always try to get one good shot of our tree for the album. This was a quick and easy spread to put together just a photo and words. Which seems to be a theme this year. Simple. Simple. Simple.

Day 9

Its tradition that on my daughter's birthday I by her a big Mylar balloon but because we weren't going to be home on her birthday I did it a day early and made it part of the reveal that we were flying to Disneyland after school. I purchased the airplane balloon on line and had it filled at my local party store where I bought the giant number eight. As you can see I'm doing better about embracing her personality in the photos I snap and use. This one is so her and I love that.

I added in the envelope given to us at check in and adhered the baggage tags to the back side. The silver glitter alphas are from my stash and pretty old but I had all the right letters left, yay!

Day 10

I kept this super simple with just a few of my favorite photos from the day, my journaling is on the back of the pano pic of the tree. Thanks to a kind Disney photographer who took this one for me. He loved doing it and was very excited to see how it turned out.

We stayed at the Disneyland hotel this trip and the diamond postcard was in the desk for guests to send, I of course knew it would be perfect for this album.

They had some really fun and unique photo ops spread around both parks. This one for the Matterhorn was my favorite.

Day 11

Because it started on the right hand side I added in the transparency to help break up the days. As you can see above I added my number right on top of one of the circles on the transparency.

This elf was the cutest, her name was Cranberry.

We visited Santa and California Adventure and it was a brief visit but it was perfect and the message of what she wanted was delivered. Seeing Elsa and Anna was another highlight of the trip.

Day 12

Our last day in the park so just a few photos and some journaling about the last day. I was kind of disappointed in the holiday decorations this year. The castle is usually much more elaborately decorated but I think because its the 60th Anniversary the Diamond Celebration stuff is taking center stage instead. It was still lovely and the parades and fireworks were amazing, but to me it was just lacking the Christmas spirit I have seen and loved so much in the past.

Day 13

Our flight home and a simple picture and words about how well the flights went.

Day 14

Back home and back to school and boy was it cold. Well cold for us here in California.

I added in the screen grab of the weather I had snapped and it fit well on the back side of the tag.

Day 15

Our Christmas cards arrived right before we left so I didn't have time to send them out so I made sure to get them out yesterday.

Its become a thing for me to do something funny on the backside of our cards and this is what I did this year. I saw it on Pinterest so my friend who took our photos helped me make it happen. I created the text part of it myself in Photoshop Elements. It was super fun to work on for sure.

I'm so happy to be caught up again and hope that I don't have to work so hard and fast again this month. If you have any questions on what I used or anything else, please don't hesitate to ask below.

See you soon,