Christmas in July? Yes, Please!

PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO has a new Ad Challenge up that was exactly what I needed to motivate me to get started on my December Daily!  I have loved every single December Daily album I have seen for the past three years and kept meaning to make my own.  But once the holidays get here, well...things get a little crazy...and free time for this working gal is spent DOING all the things I want to record in my album.  I never seem to have the extra time to actually MAKE the album, too!  So, this year, I decided to get a head start.  And nothing beats the 100+ degree temperatures we are having out here in the Wild West than sitting in a cool air conditioned room planning Christmas projects (and thinking about the f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g 70 degree temperatures we generally enjoy during the Holiday Season.   Brrrrr!!!!)

 

So, I pulled out my PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO Christmas at Home Collection (and my Nature Walk Collection and scraps from all my other Pretty Little Studio Collections) and I got started on my December Daily Album NOW.  This year, when the Christmas season arrives, the only thing I will have to do is add pictures and journaling.  Even I can do that.  Here's to getting ahead of the game!  And here are pictures of my first three days in December - only 27 more to go...

 

December 1st:

I decided to use a blank art journaling album that I bought well over a year ago to create my December Daily.  All of the pages are made of craft paper, which provides a good base.  I can paint on each page, cover it with my patterned paper, or just leave it as is.  This smaller album has enough pages that I plan to use it for my December Daily for the next year or two and insert tabbed dividers for each year.  For my first page, I worked off a Pretty Little Studio Sketch found HERE.

 

 

I love adding little touches like these sequins, staples, and of course my "distressed sewing" complete with uncut strands left to hand down from the ends - a "technique" I picked up from the fabulous LISA WILKINSON.

 

December 2:

I mixed a lot of my scraps in non-traditional Christmas colors with these adorable deer die cuts from the Nature Walk Collection to create this page.  The inserted photo pocket page provides additional room for extra photos or journaling.  And I really love layering on top of my sleeve - especially with wonderful PLS die cuts!

 

My inspiration for this page was this week's PLS AD Challenge and this PLS SKETCH. (For those of you who like sketches, PLS has tons sprinkled throughout its blog that are absolutely perfect for projects like this!!!)

 

Let's take a quick closer look at my dear deer:

Isn't he adorable - especially with his pink twine bow?!

 

December 3:

It's another two-pager, complete with a large pocket that holds tags containing future wish lists and shopping lists and maybe a picture or two.

 

And, look!  Another deer, all dressed up and ready for Christmas!  I have to admit, I am a sucker for little baby deer holding candy canes - yep.

 

And that's it for me today.  What about you?  Have you started with any of YOUR Christmas projects yet???

Project Life Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the PRACTICALSCRAPPERS and SCRAPTOWN LADY Blog Hop!  We thought it would be fun to combine forces and share projects with you that have our design teams’ takes on one of the hottest scrapbooking trends around:  Project Life. 

Whether you are a “Project Lifer,” are interested in Project Life, or just want to find out ways to use all those fantastic Project Life types of products and ideas on your own projects, we have a hop FULL of inspiration and creativity! 

We’ve got a fabulous prize, too - a $25 gift certificate to Scraptown Lady’s shop, which is stocked with awesome scrapbooking supplies!  What do you have to do to be entered in the drawing?  It’s easy! 

1.      Be a follower of Practical Scrappers; and
2.      Be a follower of Scraptown Lady; and
3.      Visit all the blogs, starting with Practical Scrappers and ending with Scraptown Lady, and   leave a comment at each blog along the way.  

We will be hopping until Sunday, June 30^th at 11:59 p.m. CST.  The grand prize winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 2^nd! 

 If you get lost along the way, just check the complete list below to get you hopping in the right direction:

 Practical Scrappers: http://www.practicalscrappers.com/

Christine Freet Meyer: http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com/
Erin Morehouse-Kislingbury: http://girlpaperscissors.blogspot.com/
Charissa Miller:  http://www.akihasmommascraps.com/
Nicole Laha: http://www.shezigzags.blogspot.com/
Claude Campeau: http://www.imzadi481.blogspot.ca/
Lanette Erickson: http://stacksofscraps.blogspot.com/
Malika Kelly: http://www.malikakelly.blogspot.com/
Danielle de Konink: http://picsandcheesecake.blogspot.nl/
Lisa Peeples: http://www.snappinandscrappin.blogspot.com/
Mary Pat Siehl: http://siehledwithakiss.blogspot.com/
Wendi Robinson: http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/
Julie Comeau: http://lepetitmondedeglamotte.blogspot.ca/
Kim Ryden: http://www.rydenkim.blogspot.com/
Ruth Bonser: http://scrapmachine.com/
Krissy Clark McKee: http://krissyclarkmckee.blogspot.com/  That's me!
Marcia Dehn-Nix: http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/
Cathy Harper: http://www.alteredplayground.blogspot.com
Rhonda Van Ginkel: http://snapwhiz.blogspot.com/
Scraptown Lady:  http://scrap-town-lady.blogspot.com/

 If we have inspired you so much that you “need” to do a little shopping now, SCRAPTOWN LADY is offering 20% off all orders during the hop!  The sale runs from now ‘til midnight Monday.  Enter “code20” to receive your discount.

 

And, as an extra prize, if you start following my blog and leave a comment, you will also be eligible to win a free project life online class with my dear friend, the amazingly talented LISA WILKINSON.  An example of her wonderful work can be found HERE.

 

Now, for my take on Project Life....well...er, the whole keeping up with a year long project every.single.week. was a bit intimidating to me.  But, what I decided I DID want to do, was keep a small journal-type scrapbook with all of the (numerous) INSTAGRAM pictures I take that usually end up sitting on my phone forever and ever.  Using a smaller SNAP album and having a quick way to document the stories behind my day-to-day Instagram photos was very appealing to me, so that is what I have begun to do.  This is my start; let me know what you think:

So far, I have used a combination of AMERICAN CRAFTS and PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO papers.  Why?  Because they were already on my work table and I had lots of scrap pieces sitting out - perfect for a smaller format like this!

Because this is my "everyday" album, full of my "everyday" thoughts - I have committed myself to journaling about them all - the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Kind of scary, but also liberating in a way.  And if I don't want anyone else to see it, I'll just put it on a pretty tag and stick it in a pocket.  That makes everything better, right?!  Right!!! (For the record, though, the journaling on this tag was quite happy - just saying!)

I love using random left-over bits and incorporating them into several pages - something I also tend to do with my 12x12 layouts.

 

That's it for me!  Ready for more inspiration?  Okay!  Your next stop is: 

Marcia Dehn-Nix: http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

Happy hopping!!!