December... Daily? (maybe just twice)

Hey there. I love December Daily!  Well, I love the idea of it. I love the idea of documenting this time of year, with so many fun traditions and special memories. However, I'm not really great at doing it. In fact, I never really commit to doing it because I know I won't be able do complete it, at least not in the sense of documenting something each day. But I do want to document our various holiday activities, and there are SO many awesome holiday products I'm dying to use that I always seem to create something.

But between my dead EHD, the added stress and busyness of this time of year, and a kid who doesn't like to go to bed (ahem... DANIEL), I haven't had much of a chance to play. I finally cranked out a couple of pages! These my be the only pages I get done, but at least it's something!

created with Memory Pockets Monthly: JOY; Joyful Papers, Joyful Elements, and Pocket Full of Joy by Stolen Moments Design; Bebas Neue font

created with Dashing Collection; Holiday Spots, DOTW Stamps & Transparency Journal Cards by Digital Design Essential, Pea MelodyShay font

For the first layout, I used the Memory Pockets Monthly collection plus some add-ons by Stolen Moments:

 

For the second page, I used a bunch of new things from Digital Design Essentials. Gina has been adding new things to the shop almost daily, plus tons of freebies on the blog!

We'll see if I get anything else scrapped... hope you're having a wonderful December too!

Holiday Traditions

We have quite a few different holiday traditions, and one of my very favorites is a trip to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to see the lights. Oddly enough, we usually don't make it until the week after Christmas, but it is still a big part of our celebrating! I made a page using some Instagram photos from our visit last year:

created with 2014 December Storyteller Collection by Just Jaimee; Harting font

I used the big & beautiful December Storyteller from Just Jaimee. There are so many fun things, I was barely able to scratch the surface with this layout. I can't wait to use this collection again for some December Project Life pages!

Thanks for stopping by!

Do You Elf?

I know there are a lot of elf lovers out there, as well as some pretty passionate elf haters. Our elf, Fritz, came to us three years ago and has created a lot of Christmas magic for our family. He isn't one of those super mischievous elves... he just likes to keep and eye on things from different places around the house. He is much beloved by the children in our home, and an important part of our December traditions & celebrations. This new pocket collection by Just Jaimee and Mommyish was the perfect thing to document our elf.

created with Real Life In Pockets - Shelf Elf by Mommyish and Just Jaimee; Project Grids vol. 2 templates by Amy Martin; Deming and Handy George fonts

In fact, Fritz always makes an appearance on November 29 - that's today! We are out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday until tomorrow... I wonder if he will be waiting for us when we get home?! Happy Holidays!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

... these are few of my favorite things!  (This song is totally stuck in my head.  And now yours, probably.) I wanted to share a pretty and easy way to wrap gifts this holiday season.  We are heading out of town for Thanksgiving later today, and we'll be seeing our entire family on my husband's side. We are going to do a big family gift exchange while we're together.  I'm explaining this just so you know I'm really not that on top of my game this year - this is the only Christmas shopping & wrapping I've done so far!

But the wrapping... I love wrapping gifts. I saw these tags in the Pixels & Company shop and knew I had to use them. I went with a kraft paper and baker's twine to keep it simple, and helped myself to some of my neighbor's evergreen sprigs (snip, snip!).  I think it turned out simple and lovely.

brown paper packages, tied up with string... made even prettier with Fair Isle Festive - Tags by Celeste Knight

To print the tags I just arranged some of them on an 8.5x11 canvas in Photoshop Elements (I resized a few of them), printed on white cardstock, and cut with scissors. Very fast and easy!

I simply remember my favorite thiiings.... anyway, thanks for stopping by! Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Christmas is coming...

Hi there! We're just a few weeks away from Christmas, and new products are already hitting the shelves. Over at The Lilypad, the Document Your December (DYD) products were just released and I had some fun playing around with them.  First off, I made a page using new goodies from Just Jaimee, Stolen Moments, and Quirky Heart.  This layout features a photo I took last Christmas of my daughter in the glow of the Christmas tree, pure magic.

scraplift of The Crazies, a Princess, and Me by joelsgirl: http://the-lilypad.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=59952&title=the-crazies-2c-a-princess-26amp-3b-me&cat=667
created with Bling Alpha, Bling Bits, and Gesso Paint Bits by Just Jaimee; Merry Holiday Papers by Stolen Moments Design;  Jolly Junque 2 by Quirky Heart

And then I got crazy. That's right, I fired up the printer, pulled out my scissors and created this really fun Christmas Stocking Advent. A few years ago I saw this idea and I thought it was such a fun way to do an advent. I purchased 12 different pairs of socks and split them up. I hung them from a string with clothespins. This year I added the numbers by Stolen Moments which was so quick and easy, I just adhered them with good ol' scotch tape. Each day will have a small treat or a slip of paper with an activity that we'll do that day. So excited for this, and I love how it turned out with these numbers!

created with Coutndown Cards by Stolen Moments Design

I'm usually not a huge fan of Christmas things before Thanksgiving, but working with the new DYD stuff has really got me in the Holiday spirit.  I'm hoping to create some more magic with these products before the season is over. Thanks for stopping by!