Family Calendar Minis (photo heavy)

 Three weeks before Christmas I decided to start a project as Christmas presents for some of my family.  Photo Calendars are always a favorite and so I decided to make 3.  Needless to say these calendars were more of an undertaking than expected and Christmas presents turned into New Years presents, then Valentine's, and now St Patty's.  I was thrilled to have finally shipped them early last week and cross them off of my unfinished projects list.  Although the first 2 1/2 months have already passed, they will make great mini albums for them to enjoy once the year is done.

  The calendars are 8 x 8 and each month features a scrapbook page with pictures from 2010 and perhaps some journaling and/or a Title.  I tried to keep the pages relatively simple so that these projects could actually be finished.

  I know that these will be cherished for years to come and it makes it all worth it, and is the reason I scrapbook in the first place!  Next time though, I think I'll start a little sooner lol!!  Now on to the rest of the pile....

Little Snow Buddy

  When we woke in the morning last Saturday we were suprised to find large white flakes coming down.  My daughter rushed outside to make the first snowman of the season.  The snow didn't last long and most of it melted before it hit the ground, but she managed to collect enough to make this mini snowman.

   Basic Grey's Jovial Collection was perfect for scrappin' these photos with these adorable little snowman and the rich deep reds that complemented her 2010 Olympic mittens.  I ordered the brads and cardstock embellishments, but none of the snowmen woolies that came with the collection so I decided to paper piece this little guy.

   I cut multiple snowflakes in each size and layered them together to add volume and dimension.  And what would be a layout without a little glitter!!  The sketch I used for inspiration was from Stuck On You Sketches

I have a few more projects in the works and hopefully will have them up before the end of the week.  Thanks for stopping by, and I love reading all your comments so thank you to those who do :O)

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - Basic Grey: Jovial, Cartridges - Winter Woodlands (snowflakes and title) & Graphically Speaking (title), Glitter - Martha Stewart, Font - Prestige Elite Std
Snowflake digital brushes were downloaded free from unknown site (too long ago!)

Back Online And Playing Catchup!

  It's been over 2 weeks since my last blog entry thanks to my recent internet upgrade.  I was offered a much speedier internet package, so of course I said yes thinking of all the blog hopping I could do in a much shorter amount of time.  But instead of racing around on the web, my browsing came to a complete slowdown, and uploading even the smallest files was impossible.  Sooo..... after many frustrating mornings, I called them up and explained my situation and they sent the tech out today.  Yeah!!  I'm back in business, finally enjoying the speedy browsing I was promised, but now I have a lot of catching up to do.

  Speaking of catching up, I thought I was finished with Feb and March 2002 photos and could finally move on to April, but as I was flipping through the next batch of photos I stumbled across a few more that I just couldn't leave behind.  So here is a quick layout I made to feature the Ice Rink my Dad made in his back yard with Tristan one year.  The story was the focus of this layout and so I looked to Ali Edwards' article in Creating Keepsakes May 2009 edition for inspiration.

Ice Skates: Cricut Cartridge "Winter Woodlans",  Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye "Wild Asparagus - Brothers",  Cardstock:  Unknown

Happy New Year

  For my last post in 2009 I wanted to complete a layout I'd been working on the past couple of days (I get to scrapbook in 5min intervals due to the demands of my 7 month old).  I normally put the focus of the layout on the photos, but in this case it was more about playing with shapes.  I dragged out my Creative Memories shape cutters to create the hexagons which I placed in a circle to mimic the snowflakes cut using my Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge.  The blue and white by itself felt a little flat, so I added silver embossing to the edge of the hexagons and a couple of rinestone gems for a little sparkle.  While digging out the embossing powder I tripped on my acrylic paint, so I decided to dust them off and paint a chipboard snowflake from Stampin Up that had been hiding in my stash for some time.

  I really loved working with these photos as it reminds me of a time when my family all still lived here together.  Now that we are so spread apart the importance of capturing memories such as these has become far more apparent.  We always take for granted that what we are blessed with today with still be here tomorow.  As I enter the New Year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the treasured memories of the year past and be grateful for all that I've had.  As for the next year, my number one resolution is to live more in the moment and appreciate what is here right in front of me while I have the luxury of doing so.

  I covered a little orange box in white paper and inked it with walnut distressing ink then spritzed it with glimmer mist.  I then added a snowflake patterned paper by Basic Grey.  Using my Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge I created the layered "Season's Greetings" and glittered snowflakes. (Martha Stewart glitter)

  This was to hold a few cookies baked by Kieth to give as a little something for my neighbour who always sends us some baking.

These Sock Monkeys were too adorable to resist.  I discovered them at our local craft fair this November and ordered one for each of the girls.  They have thier names stitched on the bottoms, and I was able to chose which socks I wanted them made from. You can find them on  Mrs B's Website.

  I love this picture of Isa in this little hat that came with the snow suit from Grandma and Grandpa.  The little bear was a gift from her brother Tristan.

  On Christmas Eve we heard the Fire Truck Sirens and looked out the front porch to see a neighbour's truck in flames.  The flames were so high the coating melted off the power cables above and they had to shut off her power.  Thank goodness no one was hurt.  Our stellar fire crews had the flames douced in a short while and left an icy skating rink in the road.  This was rather exciting to watch and gave Kieth and I a break from our Christmas wrapping.

Snow Shoeing Boxing Day

  Kieth and Tristan recieved Snow Shoes for Christmas this year and spent the late afternoon on Boxing Day taking a trip down to the lake with the dogs.

  The snow was quite fluffy and little Kiara had some difficulty managing it, so Tristan the protector picked her up and carried her to the crustier snow on the Lake's surface.

  Tristan stands by what I call Ice Volcanoes, created by stumps on the lake's shore. Chewy and Kiara are thrilled to have such a vast area to run and play on.

  An opening in the ice created by a small creek.  Boys are always drawn to running water.  Only the frigid air keeps them from splashing and playing in it.

  The trees look etherial all covered in frost with the moon peeking out from behind.

Christmas Card Challenge - Trigger Tuesday at Moxie Fab World

I way over visiting Moxi Fab World when I spotted this cute simple card made by Carolyn King based on this platter from Crate and Barrel.  You can see her creation here

So I decided for the fun of it to see what I could whip up in the 5 mins that Isabelle would entertain herself on her play matt.  I used my Cricut to cut the snowman, and just freehanded the tree.  The gold balls are small gold brads.  The patterned paper is Holly Jolly Dotted Line by Doodlebug Designs which I've had hiding in my stash for a few years now.  The style of this card is a little more simplistic than I would normally do, but I think it's rather cute and will make a great teacher card for my 8 yr old Felicity's teacher.

I feel like it needs a sentiment or greeting and may add one after, but I love the fact that I actually created this in about 5 minutes!