Altered Clipboard for Holidays in Hand...

Wow, it's been almost a week since I last posted, sorry! The good news is I was at a crop on Fri and Sat and got LOTS of stuff done!!!

Today's post is a project for the Jessica Sprague Holidays in Hand class that I took earlier this month. The goal of the class is to end up with an album about Christmas...either memories from the past, today's holiday season, or a combination of the two. There are daily prompts (for journaling, pictures, and activities) that need to be displayed...this clipboard will be the display for my daily prompts. And it was inspired by two people...a gal that sat next to me at this weekend's crop, and one of the Design Team members from ACBailey, Dee. The gal at the crop did a beautiful 8x8 Layout with flowers and a hat pin...I loved it sooooo much I had to use it as my clipboard inspiration. This clipboard is a project for the ACBailey Jingle Bells Blog Hop that was held the weekend before Thanksgiving...and it was Dee's project.I used papers from the ACBailey 2008 Dec Kit of the Month and a hat pin decoration from a Stampin' Up! kit. There are a few kits left and they are on sale, so check them out...and remember, shipping is free on the first of every month with a $35 order.

Snow thanks???

I am thankful for snow. Ha...this sounds odd, but there's a story behind it. If you live or have lived in Alaska, you can probably appreciate this. We are almost in winter (Dec 21 is the Winter Solstice). But for Alaska, it's already cold and D-A-R-K. Unfortunately I live in a part of the neighborhood with no street lights. People have complained to the association, but they say it's not cost effective to put a light near our house. HRUMPH. It's a good thing we have snow, though. When it's dark and there's snow on the ground, any little bit of light there is gets reflected off the snow and it doesn't seem that dark. And guess what...on a really clear day when the moon is out, there are really cool moon shadows in the snow.

One other nice thing about WHEN it snows...it has to be at least in the teens, so the temperature isn't toooooo bad. It's weird, but it never snows when it's in single digit temperatures or negative. I'm sure there's a technical meteorological thing...

So, for this week's ACBailey Challenge, I scrapped about being thankful for snow (dorky, sorry). Part of the challenge said we couldn't scrap anything with fall colors. Well, these are Alaskan fall colors (ha), but I don't think this is what they meant.

I used papers and swirl from the ACBailey Aug Kit of the Month (papers from Upsy Daisy, Prima swirl). The alphas are Pink Paisley from the Captivating sticker book. Oh, and the felt ribbon was adhered with Zip Dry...this stuff is AWESOME!!! As far as I'm concerned, it's a must have item for every paper crafter!!! It dries fast and doesn't warp papers like other liquid glues.

Disneyland Autopia - Inspriation

WOW...can I tell you how much fun it is to do layout challenges? I'm having a blast. I have been uploading layouts to several scrapbooking sites to promote ACBailey and *forgot* I used to upload to Scrapjazz waaay back when. I played around in their forum and found a challenge very inspiring...their alphabet challenge. The "Always Believe" post was the letter "J" for journaling strips. Now I'm getting ready to post for the letter "I" which is for inspiration. They sent us to a site and told us to look around and find some inspiration, then do a layout based on that inspiration.

We have been to Disneyland two years in a row the first week in January (we'll be breaking that streak this year...but will be at Disney World over spring break...YEAH!!!). Anyway, the first year we went, Autopia was the first ride we went on and it ended up being Erica's favorite. Lucky for us the lines were never very long, so we spent alot of time at Autopia. And lucky for me, we got Autopia Driver Licenses for me to scrap (woo hoo).

OK, no more stalling...Here's my inspiration...and here's my layout.

I used Prima Marketing Youth papers (they kinds look road-ish, right?) and American Crafts Poolside Thickers (up close they look leathery...almost like car tires). To try an mimic the vintage/distressed look of the frames, I used an edge distresser on the photos and then inked them.

Always Believe...and Track Santa

Did you know that NORAD tracks santa every year? There's a website you can go to starting Dec 1. I have only been there on Dec 24, so I'm intrigued to see what it has starting Dec 1. The only thing I know for sure is that there are games kids can play online...and many are educational (THANK YOU, NORAD!). I hope you'll add this to your activities with the family this year...have fun!

And speaking of Santa, here's a layout I lifted from Scrapbook Trends (it was an OLD issue). I used Scenic Route papers, the Wishblade to cut the title, Making Memories alpha stickers and Journaling box, Pebbles Inc chipboard, and Stampin up mini clip. The journaling is part of a conversation Erica had with Santa at ConocoPhillips in 2006...the words are below in case you can't read them.Erica: Santa, where are your reindeer?

Mamma: They're probably on the roof, we can't see them.

Santa: Actually, they are still at home

Erica: Why?

Santa: They're only magical one day a year.

"We..." Digital Layout

As I was surfing Jessica Sprague's website, I found a cool free digi-class. It included a free template download and an online video tutorial. I already knew many of the starter techniques, but it was fun anyway. And (as I'm sure the class is designed), I'm intrigued with the follow-on classes. I may invest in them after the new year (since the holiday class will keep me busy thru Dec if I stick with it).

Here's the layout I did...the hardest part was figuring out what to journal (hee, hee). Wednesdays she also has digi elements for a buck. I'm thinking about downloading another template...

My Holiday Values and Goals

I signed up for a Holidays In Hand class with Jessica Sprague Online...hopefully you can see that link since it's from my classes. Anyway, the gist of the class is to help us tell the stories of our holidays (past and present). Our first assignment is to make a list of our holiday values and then create specific goals associated with each one. As I look thru mine, they really seem to be pretty superficial. Hopefully these will "morph" thru the years and grow into something more...for now, I think this is the best I've got:

• family – minimize individual activities in Dec (scrapbooking, shooting, etc) and focus on family activities (cookies, movies, crafts, reading, game night, etc).
• tradition – establish a solid family tradition (ex: open presents from family on Christmas Eve and from each other/Santa on Christmas Day...we still waffle on this)
• friends –invite friends without family to join in our celebrations
• magic – take Erica for pix with Santa and have her write a letter to ensure the Christmas magic continues
• food – make a big enough turkey for left overs! If no turkey on Christmas, make a turkey *some* time in Dec!
• sweets – make holiday cookies/sweets every weekend (you're welcome, Jeff!!!)
• stockings – decorate the house before the first weekend in Dec...make a stocking with Erica's name (Jeff & I have them already)
• ornaments – make ornaments with Erica
• appreciating – make thank you cards and mail them before New Year’s Day
• connecting – send out Christmas cards to friends and family this year!!!
• memorable – document *something* about the holidays in a mini album/journal everyday from Black Friday thru Christmas...also follows with this class by doing 20 minutes of something every day

Cinderella Look-a-Like!!!

Look what I found the other day. As I was preparing for our Girl Scout camping trip and printing pictures for the scrapbook they'll make (not my idea...really!!) I found this picture from our Disney trip...it put a BIG smile on my face.Grandma enjoys making Erica costumes (mostly princess dresses). This one looked VERY much like Cinderella's dress. And of course, when we went to Disneyland, we HAD to go to lunch with the Princesses. We got sooo lucky that Cinderella was one of the princesses to come visit and I got LOTS of great pictures. I think I'll have to do a layout of the pictures I got with Cinderella at the lunch...they're precious!!!

Kinder-Perp...Freaky Friday Challenge

Yeah, I did a layout with that pagemap I posted last time. This is for the ACBailey Freaky Friday Challenge (I just love those challenges). This week we are to document the Holiday Prep that goes on. Well, there's not much prep at our house...it mostly marks the day before Black Friday for me (ha!). And that also means celebrating the 29th Anniversary of the birthday of a good friend of mine (she's on the 3rd anniversary now, I think...wink, wink). We have gone shopping at 5am on Black Friday for the past 3 or 4 years now.

So this layout is Erica's Kindergarten class preparing for the holidays by making crafts and decorating cookies. I had a BLAST volunteering that day, and the kids had a great time. Mrs Wollrich did a great job putting it all together for us!

The papers, stickers, and journaling cards are Sassafrass Lass from the ACBailey Sep KOTM. I also added a Jenni Bowlin Mini School Bingo Card (love those!!!) that was from the KOTM, too. And of course, the layout is from http://www.pagemaps.com/ and is the Nov 2-pg 12x12 map. FUN!!!

Page Maps!!!

Have you heard of page maps? They are exactly what they sound like...a roadmap for doing layouts. And you KNOW how I LOVE sketches, blue prints, and ideas. Page Maps are AWESOME! They have maps for 12x12 layouts, 8-1/2 x 11, 1-page layouts, 2-page layouts, cards, half pages, etc. And with every map is an example. They are sooooo inspriational!!!

Take a look at the November maps and see if you can find some inspiration. I think you'll see a layout or two from me based on a "map" REAL soon!! I just LOVE this one, for example...

What's the Deal with Facebook???

Do you Facebook? I don't. I'm scared of it...I'm scared it's gonna consume my world. I feel bad enough that I'm blogging and chatting online in forums. Someone please help me with this...I think I'm on the verge, but I need a push. Here's my nightmare of a story:

A friend of mine (at least I think she's a friend...I don't feel like a very good friend today, though) moved out of town in January. I found out she was pregnant, and in my mind I thought it was in the May time frame. I ask another mutual friend today when she's due and she says, "Oh, Michelle, she had the baby in September...you need to get on Facebook." I call another mutual friend and ask her why she didn't tell me and she laughed and said, "You need to get on Facebook."

I have no iphone, no blackberry, no DS, no Wii, no nothing. I didn't even know what "the Nook" was and had to ask. I might as well drive a car and break with my heels...UGH!!! Can you even believe I'm in the blogging world? I can't...

So, I guess I've answered myself...I really DO need to be on Facebook, don't I?!?

Freaky Friday Challenge - "OW"

Thanks for coming back and checking out my finished layout for the AC Bailey Freaky Friday Challenge. As I mentioned, this uses two of the Scrapbook Etc Free Collage templates...I had to change the first page cuz I had too much journaling (go figure...me with too many words? Ha!).

The layout is lifted from a Scrapbook Etc Nov/Dec issue and uses some left over papers from Close to My Heart, Creative Imaginations, My Mind's Eye, and Reminisce. I also added some Pebbles Inc and Maya Rd Embellishments along with Stampin Up ribbons and covered chipboard from an unknown source (sorry). I had a blast with this challenge and I'm looking forward to the next several weeks...I hope you'll join me!

Freaky Friday Challenge and Free Collage Templates

Early in the year I blogged about being inspired by challenges...I am going to super charge my scrapping this month by participating in the Freaky Friday Challenge at AC Bailey EVERY Friday in November. The first one is using left over scraps (in honor of left overs around the holidays). I created the photo collages tonight for the pages and will print and complete the layout tomorrow. Here are the two collages for the layout...I used free templates from Scrapbooks Etc. The blank boxes on the first page will have a journaling block instead of photos...cuz getting Erica's ears pierced has such a great story with it (story below)! I hope you'll come back tomorrow for the finished layout...and check out the challenge at AC Bailey each Friday, too!

Cecile is Erica's God Mother and has asked for a year to be the one to take Erica to get her ears pierced. Erica has been scared and hasn't wanted to...so Cecile has patiently waited. This year, one of Erica's birthday presents was a Tiara dress-up set for four. With it was some cheap clip-on earrings. Of course Erica had to play with them, but she always complained that they hurt. I told her that clip-ons hurt ALL the time and pierced ears only hurt for a second when you first get them. After hearing that she decided she was ready to have her ears pierce.

We waited for 20-30 minutes for Erica's turn at the store. While waiting, Erica watched a girl who flinched (she didn't cry or gasp or anything...just flinched) and that was enough to scare her out of it. So I told her, "OK, you can keep wearing clip-ons that hurt all the time." She was initially OK with that...and then Cecile told her she'd buy her two more earrings of her choice if she got her ears pierced that day. Ian (Cecile's son who's just a few weeks younger than Erica) picked out one pair and Erica picked out a set with several pairs. Whew...SAVE!!! She was still scared, but wanted to get them done. I was a bit nervous that they weren't going to pierce them both at the same time...I thought we'd end up walking out with one pierced ear (ha!). When it came time for the actual piercing, all Erica said was "OW" in a very matter-of-fact voice...not a loud voice, not a whiny voice, just very neutral.

And of course, within a minute of having them done, she was all smiles and the pain was gone. We celebrated with Dairy Queen afterward...what a great day!!!

Mini Album Challenge...Prepare NOW!!!

I get a weekly email newsletter from a local scrapbook store that I frequent. It has great ideas, classes, crops, and products. This week's newsletter had a WONDERFUL idea that I wanted to share with everyone...and challenge you to do. I'm posting it now to give you some time to think about it and be ready to execute it. I'm gonna do it, so hopefully we can inspire each other to complete it...

It's called a December Daily. What is the December Daily? Here's an excerpt from Ali Edward's Blog: "December Daily is an album that documents the month of December leading up to Christmas day (and sometimes beyond - that's completely up to you). it is a chance to reflect, to share, to celebrate the season in a manageable, in-the-moment way."

Great idea, right? I hope you'll join me. Here's a link to an example one of the Designers at the store put together in 2007. Pretty cool!

Misc pix...

I promised some pictures for family out of the area...and since I didn't get to scrap these this weekend, here they are. I'll get them scrapped SOON!!!

These are from the Alaska State Fair. We took some time off from work, picked Erica up right after school, and got lucky with a beautiful day (and buddy rides...buy one get one...woo hoo!). Erica is definitely turning out to be like her mama: a thrill seeker. YEAH!!! Finally someone to ride with me.When we first got on the coaster, Erica wasn't quite sure...

It didn't take long for her to settle into the ride...

By the time it was over, she was waving hervarms in the air!

We also rode the kite ride for the first time...it ended up being her favorite ride (so she said). It was a really cool feeling, I have to admit I liked it, too.

And just to prove that Dad was there, too, here's a pix of all of us...on the Tilt-o-Whirl...the only ride Jeff will go on. Not sure why he can handle that one and not any other one. I can barely ride it with the twisting motion. Oh, well, we'll take what we can get.

Wow...I have scrapped alot in 2009!

I just looked thru my posts for the year and I have posted 49 layouts this year. I wanted to do 5 pages a month and 49 layouts doesn't break down the single vs double page layouts. YEAH...I'm meeting at least one of my scrapping resolution/goals for the year.


Looking back at the other goals, they are hit and miss:

I did make an acrylic album (bought a kit from ACBailey)...but I haven't put pictures in it yet...so does that count? Probably not. I'll try to get that finished before the end of the year so I can count it.

I did clean my scrap room, but it hasn't really been KEPT clean. I can walk in it and find stuff, but I can't really work at either of the two large tables...they're full of stuff. In fact, last weekend for the Midnight Madness Challenge, I scrapped at the dinner table...partly because everyone was upstairs, partly because it's cold down in my craft room, but mostly because it would have taken too long to clean it. HRUMPH!!!

I haven't attended a weekend retreat yet, but I am going to an all day crop on Black Friday and Black Saturday. I'll come home to sleep and shower. Can I call that a weekend retreat since I'm away from the family and not doing anything but scrapping for the weekend? I know...I'm home on Sunday, so does it REALLY count?!? I'm gonna say yes...two full days away is a weekend, so there!

The last thing I didn't even come close to doing...host a fourth Friday get together at my house every month. Ha...I think the last time I did that was in March or April. I can't even remember when I last did it. Oh, well...I wanted to do it for ME to be productive, and given the number of layouts I've completed so far this year, I have been. I will definitely go back and count the total pages I've completed by year end. Inquiring minds want to know...

So how have you done on your goals/resolutions?

Free Digital Breast Cancer Stamps

Bummer...I would have liked to have been able to post this in Oct since it's Breast Cancer Awareness month. I just saw this posted in the ACBailey Forum this morning, sorry.

Oh, well...it's still a great project idea. If you're interested, here's the download. Enjoy!

Got Candy?

Erica went Trick-or-Treating with her friend Jenna. She and Jenna have developed quite the friendship starting this summer...they are even calling each other and leaving messages on the answering machine (ugh...she's only six and the phone thing is already starting). Jenna has an older sister and Erica is an only child so they were destined to Trick-or-Treat with mom or with and older sibling...fun, right?! I coordinated a "play date" for them to go together and it was a BIG HIT! I froze by behind off, but they didn't even notice the cold. They were running around from house to house having a good ole' time. I'm soooo glad they are friends!!!

And I've already scrapping the fun...can you believe it? Well, I wouldn't have, except the ACBailey Midnight Madness Challenge got me digging into my layouts. One of the challenges was to find layouts (old or new) that had specific words in the title, as an embellishment, or as the main focus. They had words like leaf, candy, corn, vampire, moon, umbrella, and apple. I dug thru my stash of layouts and found a few. This layout was actually completed YEARS ago when I went to Creaking Keepsake University (CKU). I totally forgot all about it until I found it...and since I really only got two pictures (one that was VERY blurry), it was perfect to use for this year. Voila'...instant layout!!!