December Daily: Day Seven & Day Eight

Day seven of my December Daily-Max and Luke took their Taekwondo exam. Max received his gold belt and Luke received his orange belt.  They were so very cute!  Our neighbor girl across the street also received her gold belt. I just love the photo of the three of them.  I got some cool action shots, but once again, hard to see behind the page protectors!

Day eight-my birthday!  I turned 38, and celebrated with my favorite guys.  They made me homemade pizza, and took me to get my favorite ice cream in the whole wide world-chocolate coconut almond chip. YUMMY!  Bill took this photo of us. It turned out so cute, but his thumb was in the way. I just added the "8" over it!  I also fished the receipt out of the bottom of my purse and used some of the pamphlets and gift card holders from the store.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily: Day Five & Day Six

I am almost caught up on my album now! HOORAY! I am still not happy with my photos of the completed album pages.  I just love the convenience of the pockets, but the glare from the page protectors is annoying!  They look better IRL.
On December 5th, we actually had a night of NO ACTIVITIES! It is a rarity, so I made one of the boys' favorite meals.  Bill and I had some of our favorite "cheap" merlot and we all cuddled up and watched "Elf".

I have continued the tradition of celebrating St. Nicholas Day with my boys.  It makes me smile, because they are way more impressed with the huge, juicy apples and oranges St. Nick brings, rather than the candy and the gift!  When Will was little he used to go on and on about how St. Nicholas found the biggest, best pieces of fruit.  Every year, it is a challenge to find the best produce to put in their stockings.  This year, Bill found the biggest oranges I have ever seen.  The boys were super impressed with them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily: Day Three & Day Four

Hello! Today I can share day 3 and Day 4 with you all.  Day three shows photos of some of the Christmas decor in my dining room.  I LOVE Christmas and decorating.  This year I put up three trees, but I actually own five.  I am still reluctant to pull out some of my things.  Maybe next year when Max and Luke are seven...

Day 4 is all about our beloved Christmas books.  My boys have always looked forward to a Christmas story before bed.  This year I wrapped them all up and put them under the tree.  Each night, they take turns unwrapping a book.  It has been fun to see them try and guess which is their favorite.  After they open a book, I put them in a big basket so that they can look at them and we can read them some more!  They think it is fun to unwrap a "gift" each night, and it doesn't cost a thing, as they are books that have been in our collection for quite some time.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily: Day Two

Day two is done! I am on a roll (no pun intended)! Will had a football skating party at a local roller rink.  They ordered pizza, and also had their awards ceremony.  Will was super unsteady at first, but he was a trooper and kept trying!  He was much improved by the end of the evening.  I took a photo of a pair of skates and used Instagram to make it look a bit more retro.  I love that instagram photos are perfect for the 4x4 pockets in this album!  I also included a "motion" type photo of will zooming past me in the lower left corner.  The stamped sentiments are from Unity, and the letters and numbers are from a few The Stamps Of Life sets.

I bought a new printer last night! I think it will make printing out photos a lot easier, and it is an "air" printer, so I can print from my iphone! HOORAY!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily: Cover and Day 1

Here it is! My December Daily album ready to go.  I went with a Simple Stories album this year.  I like the different pockets and sizes that are available.  I thought it may make it a little easier, and less stressful.  So far, so good!  I bought the Homemade Holiday papers, but am realizing that there are some events that I may not want to use Christmas themed papers or colors for.  No worries...I can mix it up, and the leftovers can be used on cards.

 Here is day one!  Will had his big FLL tournament which was an all day event.  Grandma watched Max and Luke and took them out to lunch and to see Rise Of The Guardians, which they loved.  I left a space next to the journaling about the movie, so that I can add some of the ticket stubs.  They are currently in Grandma's purse!
I am finding that with the page protectors, it is very hard to get a decent photo of the layouts.  Because there are multiple pockets, it is not like I can just photograph the layout first.  Something I will think about for next year.  I am off to buy another ink cartridge for my printer today.  I was going to wait and just have my photographs developed each week and pick them up and add them into the album, but that is just not as much fun!  So...I will continue to print them at home, even though it is rather costly!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: Silent Night...

Hello!  Today I have a Christmas card to share using stamps, paper and dies from Heartfelt Creations.  I love the way all of their products coordinate so beautifully together.  I wanted to make a CAS Christmas card that was not only clean in design, but also elegant.  I think the gold embossing does just that along with the rhinestones.
You can find the products used and instructions for recreating this card below.

HCPC 3415-Petite Poinsettia PreCut Set
HCPC 3419-Holiday Poinsettia Candle PreCut Set
HCDP1 225-Frosty Blanket Paper Collection
SKU:  125156  Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia dies
other products: white cardstock, gold twine, gold embossing powder, gold gems, Top Boss embossing ink, heat gun
Fold white card base so that it measures 4.25" x 5.5" when folded.  Cut journal box from Frosty Blanket paper collection and adhere to center of card.  Stamp two poinsettia images in embossing ink and sprinkle with gold embossing powder. Use heat gun to set.  Stamp Silent Night music score onto white cardstock in embossing ink, and sprinkle with gold embossing powder. Set with heat gun.  Use matching Spellbinders dies to cut poinsettias.  Layer and adhere to lower left corner of journal box over center poinsettia.  Add gold gems to centers of poinsettias.  Tear along edges of Silent Night Music score and then adhere to journal box.  Tie gold twine around top of card and tie into a loopy bow.

Make sure you stop by the Heartfelt Creations blog for more inspiring projects from the design team.

Emily

All Is Bright...

Hi, there!  Today I have a fun vintage style card to share.  I have had these Santa images from Crafty Secrets for a while, just waiting to be turned into some Christmas creations!  I also used twine and brads from My Mind's Eye "All Is Bright" collection.  I just love reds, greens and blues for vintage Christmas decor.  The snowflake is a die cut that I added chunky glitter to.  I also inked the edges of my card base with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain distress ink.

Here are the following challenges I am entering this card in:
SCS CAS 199
Make It Monday
Craft Your Passion-snow
Paper Playtime-Christmas colors
Tammy's Scrappin' blog-anything Christmas

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

TSOL: My Heart Soars...

Hello!  Today I have a card to share using the newest The Stamps Of Life release called, hearts2diefor.  Perfect for Valentine's Day, Weddings and "just because".  I also used the cloud and bird stamps from the kites2fly set.  I added some baker's twine for the string to my heart balloon.
I think I may save this one for hubby for Valentine's Day!

I have decided to do a December Daily album again this year.  I am have my album and papers all cut and ready to go.  I am still trying to decide how I want to do the photos.  Last year I printed them out of my printer, which was super convenient, but expensive. I burned through several ink cartridges at $30 a pop!  I am wondering if I should just send them to be developed each week?

My boys were so excited to pull out last year's December Daily album, that I know it is something that I will continue to do from year to year.  Maybe I will even get on board with Project Life someday soon!  I will share my December Daily pages as I complete them.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: More Timeless Amour...

Hi, there! Here is another card using stamps, paper and dies from Heartfelt Creations newest collection, Timeless Amour.  I love that the imagery, can be used for weddings, loved ones, Valentine's Day or for any special someone in your life!
The instructions and product list for this card can be found below.

HCPC 3500-Open Vintage Floret PreCut Set
HCPC 3502-Mini Vintage Floret PreCut Set
HCPC 3505-Timeless Rosette PreCut Set
HCPC 3506-Passage to my Heart PreCut Set
HCPC 3509-Timeless Sentiments PreCut Set
HCDP1 228–Timeless Amour Paper Collection
HCD 727 Vintage Floret Die
HCD 728 Timeless Amour Die
Product ID: 159223 - Paper Blossoms Molding Mat
Product ID: 459222 - Paper Blossoms Tool Kit
Product ID: 159723 – Art Institute Glue
other supplies: Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen, white card stock, glue gun, Mellow Moss ink by SU
Fold card base so that it measures 4.25" x 5.5" when folded.  Stamp rose vine from the Timeless Rosette set in Antique Linen distress ink to create background on card base.  Ink edges of card base with Antique Linen Distress ink.  Stamp heart image from Passage To My Heart set in black ink onto white Timeless Amour patterned paper. Use matching die to cut out.  Flip the lacy border heart over so that the burgundy is showing. Adhere both hearts to center of card base using Glue Arts glue.  Stamp sentiment from Timeless Sentiments set under heart.  See Emma Lou Beechy's tutorial on how to make dimensional roses HERE.  I used the Timeless Amour patterned paper in burgundy for this.  I stamped the floral images in black and used the coordinating dies to cut.  The Sepal was stamped in green ink and cut using the coordinating die.  When your rose is finished, attach to center of heart.

Make sure you stop by the Heartfelt Creations blog for more inspiration from the design team.

Emily

TSOL: Folksy Tree....

Hi, there!  Today I have a card to share using the trees4Christmas set from The Stamps Of Life.  I created a little wintery scene by paper piecing the tree and stamping the stars in white in the background.  The paper is from Simple Stories and Authentique.  I also added some glitter to my snow mound and around the base of the tree.  I added a burlap bow at the top with a cookie cutter charm (I believe I purchased those at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago).
My house is decorated, so hoping to get some projects done today in my studio!  I did not stamp or do a single thing over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Kind of nice to just hang out!  I wanted to share a photo of my family at Thanksgiving below.  I love how this photo turned out.  I stood on top of my parent's kitchen island to take it.  You can see every single person except for my niece who was in a high chair back in the corner.  Not too shabby!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily