December Daily Blog Hop with The Memory Nest! Week #4

Hello Everyone!  Welcome to this stop of the Memory Nest's December Daily Blog Hop.  Now that Christmas is past, it is time to wind up the December Daily and put in the finishing touches.  Here is the update to my album for this past week:

Next on the Blog Hop is the creative Jessica at Finding Sunshine!
If you miss any of the stops, head back to The Memory Nest Blog!
Link up your project at The Memory Nest and WIN PRIZES from us!
See you next Friday for our last day of this December Daily Blog Hop.

Video: December Daily Blog Hop with The Memory Nest! Week #3

Welcome to this stop of  The Memory Nest "December Daily" Blog Hop, Week #3!

Although I have a couple unfinished days in my album, I have been able to do a pretty good job of keeping up!  Journalling will be finished this week.

For you to see all that I have accomplished so far, it was much easier for me to do a video share of the album! Here is a quick, two minute video to give you a view of my completed pages up through yesterday.

(FYI - this is the video for week #3 of the blog hop, but I labeled my videos by what I has been uploaded on YouTube.)



Next on the Blog Hop is the creative Jessica at Finding Sunshine!
If you miss any of the stops, head back to The Memory Nest Blog!
Link up your project at The Memory Nest and WIN PRIZES from us!
See you next Friday!

Card Making Process: Sending Texas-Size Wishes!

For today's post, I'm sending you "Texas-Size" Christmas Wishes with this adorable armadillo stamp from Texana Designs.  This stamp was a good excuse to break out of the traditional Christmas colors and try something a little more "Texan."

I am not sure that this stamp is offered anymore, but you can find all the other adorable holiday stamps at their Etsy shop HERE.

The stamping for this card was with Memento Tuxedo Black ink so I could complete some simple coloring with Bic Mark-It alcohol pens on watercolor paper. For the holly berries, I added Glossy Accents for some shine, and used a Sakura glitter pen to color over the star and the stocking fur.  The sentiment was designed on my computer, so I could make up the phrase I wanted to use.

TRIVIA:  I have yet to see a live armadillo here in Texas, although there have been some spotted in my neighborhood.  Even so, I am very partial to them. Sometimes I think they just get a bad rap.

Do you make untraditional holiday cards?  What have you tried?  Share in the comments below!

Video: December Daily Blog Hop with The Memory Nest! Week #2

Thanks for stopping here on The Memory Nest "December Daily" Blog Hop, Week #2!

My December Daily album is underway, and I have been keeping a list of what I will share on each day of the album as well as remembering to take daily photos.

This week, however, I have run out of black photo ink, so I have not been able to print any of my photos to add to this week's pages.

For today's hop, I will share my video that shows how I put together my December Daily kit to use through the month.  More items have been added, but this will give you an idea of what I found to be useful:



Next on the Blog Hop is the creative Jessica at Finding Sunshine!
If you miss any of the stops, head back to The Memory Nest Blog!
Link up your project at The Memory Nest and win prizes from us!
See you next Friday!

Card Making Process: Joy of a Challenge

This past week I have been finishing up my Christmas cards to send out, and to keep me going, I completed the latest Make It Monday Challenge over at The Memory Nest for fun!

This challenge really required me to think outside the box, especially since I wanted to twist it and use this opportunity to make another Christmas card.  Here is the challenge:

Since I'm playing for fun, I "cheated" just a little by taking one word as my title.  The second sketch is what I used to make my card:

The paper was from a BoBunny collection from a couple years ago; I just love the bright, happy colors!  As for using an item from my office supplies, I used a coordinating circle paper clip that is hooked on the inside of the card (not seen here).  

Do you have all your Christmas cards mailed yet?  How many do you send each year?

There is still time to link up to Leslie's "Make it Monday" challenge!  Your participation gives you eligibility in the monthly giveaway!

December Daily Blog Hop with The Memory Nest! Week #1

Thanks for stopping by on this December Daily Blog Hop, Week #1!   You should be hopping here from Jennifer Reilly's blog.  I hope you will become full of inspiration as you look through the ideas of how The Memory Nest Design Team is creating December Daily albums!

Okay, now time for some truthfulness. This is the first year that I've done a December Daily album -- I have always had the intention, and then Life Happens.  This year I really wanted to complete this project.  I did not really want it as a recordkeeping system as much as I wanted it to be a memory album so that my boys would know what is on MY heart during the holiday season and what is important to me.

My album is simple; I raided my stash for bits and pieces to create a chipboard album with smaller pages so it would be simple to add either journaling or a photo for each day. The paper I chose from The Memory Nest was the We R Memory Keepers "Winter Frost" 6 x 6 paper pad.  The soft colors of blue, green and grey are so lovely, and I already had several other things in my stash to complement the paper.  With two sheets of each design in the pad, I was able to cover each chipboard page back to back.

Here is the cover of my album:  

My plan is to be able to display this album on a book stand.  

The first page is a pocket made from a kraft envelope. Inside this pocket I will keep journaling that may not fit anywhere else in the album.  

Day #1:  My teenager is determined to put up outside decorations this year. 

Day #2:  I spent the evening making Christmas cards to send to friends and family.  

Day #3:  This is another pocket where I will put my youngest son's Christmas list for safe keeping.  

Day #4:  A second envelope pocket on the left hold recipe cards of the favorite holiday goodies that I make every year that my kids and hubby love.

Day #5:  (Yesterday) Texas has such crazy weather sometimes, and this year we have already had two wild weather fronts a couple weeks apart, bringing in unusually cold temperatures that we rarely see in December. 

Your next stop is the incredible Jessica Barnes!

If you want to begin at the start of the Hop, head back to Leslie at The Memory Nest.

So that's my first week of the December Daily.  There is not doubt that I will add journaling and other embellishments to the pages as I go along. (I apologize for the quality of the photos this time - there wasn't enough good light, but I think you can still see the color combination well.)  A video will be up on YouTube with a closer look at the kit I put together and how the album was assembled.  

Are you doing a December Daily?? If so, put your blog link in the comments below so that we can check it out!

See you next Friday for Week #2 of The Memory Nest Blog Hop!

Throwback Thursday: Generation Z from Little Yellow Bicycle

This week on Throwback Thursday, I'm highlighting two page layouts with paper and embellishments from Little Yellow Bicycle's "Generation Z" collection  While the sketch is similar for each, the difference in the papers and embellishments make them look totally different:

These layouts will be ready when I come across the perfects photos of my teenager!

What collection from the past can you use this week to finish a page layout??

Scrapbook Process: Don't Stop Believin' with My Minds Eye

Hi Everyone!  A quick post today to tell you that you must check out the December Reveal over at The Memory Nest blog today!  The Design Team is showing off new paper lines, and my designated collection is the new "Vintage Christmas" by My Mind's Eye!

This paper kit is so lovely; I immediately "killed the kit" and made a total of four layouts and three cards!

Along with this kit (which includes a fantastic sticker sheet) I added the Basic Grey Basics candy buttons in gold and silver glitter (which I will show on a future layout) from The Memory Nest store.  From my stash I used some poinsettia flowers, twine, buttons, brads and Thickers.  On the papers used for this layout, I distressed the paper edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger.  

Stop by The Memory Nest store and pick up the Vintage Christmas kit -- it's on SALE RIGHT NOW!

Come back on December 10th:  I will be back on The Memory Nest blog with another layout from this collection that will hopefully inspire you toward getting Christmas photos scrapped right away!