the card

i'm so happy with the photo for our holiday card this year!  (notice i say "holiday" so as to leave it open to interpretation...at the pace i work...it could possibly be Groundhog Day - in which case, i'll have to wait even longer to see if i should edit out the snowflakes.)  but - in reality - i know how to take decent photos; but have never ventured very far into the territory of editing, adding effects, etc. anyway, i have spent the majority of the last 24 hours hunched over my computer - editing one single photo!!! how sad is that, really? i found a seller on etsy who is going to turn this work of art into a double sided 5x7 holiday card - and i cannot wait:) i'll share the finished product here - i just know you can hardly stand the suspense...

when will inspiration strike?

since i haven't accomplished much in the way of decorating yet...i thought i'd post a few favorite shots from last year.  i know how much i love peeking into your homes and seeing your holiday decor and projects! hopefully, i'll have more to share soon. 

still love my three handcrafted trees from last year - hmm, that makes me want to go find them, buried somewhere in the recesses of our basement storage room.

i believe that buttons in shades of white and cream are one of the most beautiful crafting items in the world...

and the yarn from a thrift store looked pretty cozy, too.  the felt circles were inspired by someone's blog last year - if i find it, i'll post the link.

last year's family room mantel.

i forgot i had 3 white feather trees!

i hope you're all enjoying the season!

covered

here are the covers of my december daily. i loved ali's cover paper, but i made a decision not to buy anything new for this project online due to shipping costs, etc. i found this similar paper at hobby lobby and liked the color and texture. other than cardstock, it is the only item i've purchased for this project - i really have shopped my stash. i found this red felt 'december' by fancy pants  in an unopened, unused set of the 'tis the season felt shapes...at least 3 or 4 years old, i think. i like the simplicity of the cover and i don't plan to add anything more to it.

cover and peek of inside of back cover.

i love jenni bowlin's red line (this links to the mini version - i used the 12x12) and used it for the inside covers and the last week of my album, where i wanted a splash of color. this particular paper is one of my all time favorites - love it!

anyway - thanks for stopping by.  happy monday:)



a little merry

it's so fun to check in to blogland lately and see all the holiday inspiration! it gives me the extra little spark that i need to get going with my decorating.  so far i haven't done too much but i'd like to share these photos for a start. i don't think i've shown these butter pats before - i found them in a little, forgotten thrift store - for 50 cents each.  how fast do you think my heart was pounding as i casually screamed picked up all 12 of them and headed to the checkout?!?

i'm cheating with these next photos - they're from last year.  but i love them and they made me smile this morning.  especially because they reminded me of this site (discovered through my niece's blog)!?!?!?  i mean, how likely is it that large snowflakes would actually be dangling indefinitely from my chandelier? (um. since i live in north dakota, it's very realistic, on second thought.)
             

my treasured, handmade house from a swap last year!

so anyway - i stole this image from catalog living - just to show you what i'm talking about.  i really think that most of us bloggers who love shelter magazines will get more than a few laughs out of this site:) it's so dry and tongue-in-cheek, and just plain hilarious!  if you find a favorite and feel like linking back here, i'd love to see what strikes your fancy.  here you go:

"Kindling? Check. Two dozen votives? Check. Gingerbread family on their way to a nice insurance settlement? Check."

(courtesy of molly erdman at catalog living)

have yourself a merry little day!

december daily...done

i've so enjoyed the process of putting this book together. as i mentioned before - i wanted a neutral, vintage feel to this project - but with a touch of holiday color. i love the way this came together once inspiration struck! i had fun finding little scraps of this and that for embellishment on the transparency/number pages. i'm also glad i decided to get the 6x8 overlays by ali . it's just one less decision for me to make and i love the clean and simple look of the pages. and for anyone who doesn't know what i'm referring to - they're the cream pages you can faintly see behind my transparencies. 

i'll let the photos tell the story again. but feel free to post any little questions if you want:) oh - and there is no photo of page 12 - it just wouldn't photograph without a blur. i forgot to take photos of the covers, but i'll do that next time.

december daily

i'm so thrilled that i am finally making a december daily album! this represents not only a wonderful creative project - but maybe even more importantly - it means that perhaps i am making progress in dealing with my struggles related to adhd. for once, i started something ahead of time.  for once, i got past the tendency to not do anything, if i can't do it perfectly.  for once, i acted instead of staying stuck in creative chaos.

but i won't bore you with any more personal details than that.  more than anything - i just want to encourage you to do this, too.  you don't have to be a "scrapbooker" or other dedicated crafter...anyone can do this!

one of the (many) reasons i never got this done in the past was because of an aversion to very much bright color in any of my projects or pages.  well - so silly! i've come up with the perfect solution for me - i'm using neutral colors for the majority of my pages...but i'm using beautiful shades of red for the last week of the month.  and i love what i have so far:)  i'll be posting photos of my "colorful" pages soon.

all of these photos are self-explanatory, i think.  i made a few of the transparencies, although the majority are from hambly.  for those who aren't familiar with the 2010 december daily, there will be cardstock pages too.  these are simply the more decorative pages to mark each day - although it's possible that they'll hold some photos or ephemera, too.  ali edwards has everything you could possibly need in terms of inspiration and detailed examples on her website...so well organized and always well done.  thanks for the inspiration and instruction, ali:)

days 1-10 are all here, though not in order;) that would have been pushing it, you know!