DECEMBER ALBUM

DAYS 8, 9 & 10

WEDNESDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 2014

Today I am sharing Days 8, 9 & 10.

DAY 8

"ORNAMENT"

Today's photo-a-day prompt was "Ornament". I played around with this page for ages, trying different things - scraps of patterned paper, embellishments, different layouts on the page.  

Then I just decided to keep it simple. 

A single photo. A close up of a gold ornament. 

The number for the day. 

The title. 

And a sticker embellishment.

SUPPLIES:  The Christmas themed background paper is from my stash so quite old, it's by Daisy D's called Christmas Memories-Garnet. The metal tag is by Making Memories. The glittery red number 8 are Thickers by American Crafts called Pantry. The green stickers spelling out Ornament are by Simple Stories. The "tinsel" sticker is Cozy Christmas by Simple Stories.  

DAY 9

"WHAT YOU'RE READING"

I expect with this prompt it was imagined that I would be capturing a typical Christmas story, if I had children and was reading a bedtime storybook to them for the holiday season.

At the moment I am reading 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane'. Not exactly a Christmas themed story. 

I had originally started this book a while ago but struggled getting into it. I decided to persevere and give it another go as I have had a few books that I've struggled with to start in the past which have then turned out to be great books.  The Hunger Games being one example. 

I know this layout is not exactly Christmas themed nor in the usual Christmas colours but as I am including everything, my regular happenings plus Christmas related events I wanted to use papers that would echo an ocean like feel.  I'm also glad that I persevered as the book is turning out to be really good! Can't put it down. 

SUPPLIES: I have used a multitude of supplies on this layout, some of them scraps so brands are unnameable. I do know the background paper for the top layout is Sonnets by Sharon Soneff through Creative Imaginations called Maps Paper. The dark blue paper with the words "The End" on it is by Chatterbox. The chipboard letters are Thickers called Kitten by American Crafts. The rest of the alphas are Simple Stories. The water bubbles on both pages are super old by Creative Imaginations called Bits & Baubles. The silver card stock is Bazzill.

Disclaimer: Now I did just say I was going to keep things simple but bear in mind I did create the page for Day 9 after Day 8 & 10. As well, as there isn't enough natural light to use during the day to take photos, I am having to use artificial light to take them, which is washing out the colours in the photos unfortunately.

DAY 10

"WRAPPING PAPER"

The photo-a-day prompt for Day 10 is "Wrapping Paper".  Again, I tried to keep this page simple as well, as I had spent a fair bit of time on the previous pages from Day 6 & 7.

Didn't want to spend too much time or fall behind. 

I originally had this layout on the previous page, the one below, as I thought the wrapping paper design would go well with the pattern on the paper, but it seemed too busy so I put it on the back side of the insert. 

This background paper is by Simple Stories from the Cozy Christmas line, which I am just loving at the moment, as is the 3 x 4 "Don't get your Tinsel in a Tangle" card. The washi tape is bits of paper by Fancy Pants cut up to look like washi tape.

That's me for now with my December album!

Surprising myself even that I am staying on top of it! 

Although in saying that I don't really have much time for anything else but this!

Onwards and upwards!

See you next time!

DECEMBER DAILY 

DAY 5 TO 7

MONDAY, 8 DECEMBER, 2014

Today I am sharing my December album days 5 through 7.

Now I didn't have anything actively happen on the 5th day that could have been construed as Christmassy and the photo prompt for the day was "Your View".  

Well, I expect they were imagining that I would be able to capture a Winter Wonderland, however that is not the case so I didn't think that a pic of my back garden would be that exciting for a Christmas or December album. 

However, when I woke up on Saturday morning, there was a layer of frost on the ground. And I thought hold on a minute, this would have been perfect for yesterday, so was going to use photos from Day 6 for 5.  Then I thought, why not just use them for Day 6 and skip Day 5. Why make it more complicated and crazy than it needs to be. Simplify.

Besides, in viewing other December albums online I have noticed that there are quite a few people this year that are not doing daily but are simply just adding things as they happen. 

So in that vein, this is what I decided to do with Day 6. I can always swap the prompts around as well if need be down the line to ensure I try to include them all. 

DAY 6

"YOUR VIEW"

This the full two page spread for Day 6. I also included a smaller insert which I made from a Christmas card cut in half. Thought the "Let it Snow" phrase was somewhat appropriate for the theme.

For the photo in the top pocket I thought it was amazing that I could zoom in enough to actually capture the tiny little ice particles on the garden table. Its like a teeny tiny ice forest. 

For the bottom pocket I used some very old metallic frosty white paper (very apt) by Papermania that I was looking to get rid of. Worked perfect for the phrase "Jack Frost nipping at your Nose!" I included a couple snowflake brads by Accent Depot and also a tiny 3-D snowflake sticker by The Paper Company. (Just between me and you I had to put it right over the "O" where I smudged the ink as it wasn't dry when I popped the card into the pocket)

For this page I included a mock playing card with Frosty the Snowman on it along with a snapshot of footprints on the grass (I love the crunchy sound the grass makes when you walk across it after a frost)and a picture of the frost covering the branches of a shrub. For the journal card I created this insert with some leftover snowflake paper, half a Cosmo Cricket tag, a round "super" sticker by Simple Stories, a Dymo style "cold" sticker by EK Success and finally some glittery stars punched from an old Christmas card. 

DAY 7

As I had something of my own to add on this day I did not need to use the prompt as a fallback. However I may use the prompt for this day which was "Bright", further down the line. 

We had planned to attend the Annual Cookham Christmas Fayre this year as we missed it last year. I have to say I was really looking forward to it. 

Cookham is a small well to do village close to where we live, home to a few historical figures and also a couple of modern day t.v. and sports celebrities.  

We frequently walk Rupert along the Cookham Moor at the weekends so thought it would be easy to just go for our walk and then carry on up the high street to the fair. 

The weather was lovely at first, chilly but a bit sunny. There were loads of shopping stalls to peruse along with numerous food and beverage stalls.  

We were happily enjoying ourselves, about half way up the high street when the heavens opened up and rain lashed down upon us. In moments we were soaked to the bone as was Rupert and unfortunately had to call it a day. 

A couple snapshots of us in the car on the way home as we didn't get a chance to take any whilst at the street fair.  Simon is pulling his "Bah Humbug" face and I'm just laughing at him being an angry dork. The Bah Humbug card I created in Word and the Bright card is a compilation of Simple Stories and Pebbles.  

Another Christmas card insert with some AC Thickers called "Eric" spelling out JOY and on the back a picture of the Costa Hot Chocolate we got on the way home as we didn't get a chance to get a hot drink at the fair. 

Something to warm us up!

We do love our Costa Ho Cho's!  And the Snowman cup was so cute! This time we tried the Toffee Fudge Brownie one, which was so delicious!! Creamy & chocolatey! Was tough to share it.

That's my December album for now! 

My first week out of the way.  Only three more to go!

DECEMBER DAILY

DAY 3 & 4

SATURDAY, 6 DECEMBER, 2014

Today I am sharing Day 3 & Day 4.

I am trying to keep up with the whole "daily" aspect of this project. I do admit it is a bit of a task.  I know how easy it is to fall behind, you miss a day or two and before you know it you are a week behind. Hopefully I can be completely done with and on top of Day 7 by Sunday evening. 


DAY 3
"RED"

Day 3's photo-a-day prompt was Red. I have to say that I was struggling to think of something for this day as I did not go out of the house but instead spent it baking.

I love baking in general but it is a completely different ballpark this time of year. So many lovely things to bake and so many new recipes to try!

As I said I was struggling to find something red and it didn't dawn on me until Simon said your cookbook is red. Bingo!  So this became my picture for Day 3.

I have also found a couple recipes on Pinterest that are brilliant for the holiday season that I have yet to try. So I expect there will be more baking to come in the next few weeks.  

One is a Candy Cane Mini Donut recipe that you can find here, courtesy of Paper & Stitch.

Another is this simple but absolutely yummy looking recipe here, courtesy of cookingclassy.

However on this particular day I was working on something else!


DAY 4
"JOYOUS"

For this day the photo-a-day prompt was Joyous. Unfortunately I did not have a photo for this day that would depict the feeling of Joy. 

As well, at the moment we are kinda in a place where Joyous is not what we're feeling. As I didn't have a picture I included some journaling about this day and put it on the back of the insert card for the purpose of privacy. 

This page, with the photo above and below, doesn't directly pertain to the Capturing December Photo-a-Day Challenge. They are filler pages that I created in the Christmas spirit. 

That's me so far with my Capturing December album.

As always, thanks for looking! Wondering how everyone else is getting on.

Happy Scrapping!

SUPPLIES USED: Day 3 - Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess paper. All word stickers (genuine, Wednesday & the real deal) are Simple Stories. The pink recipe ticket is by Melissa Frances called Kitschy Kitchen. Day 4 - Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess paper. BoBunny Father Christmas tag. 7 Gypsies #4. Gold star & arrow are Studio Calico. Green striped paper is Simple Stories & Joy circle is by Cosmo Cricket from Mitten Weather. The bottom card is my own. For the filler page, the reindeer insert is a photograph printed on white cardstock and the other pocket 4x4 is Simple Stories background paper and a tag from the BoBunny Father Christmas line plus gold ribbon & a gold star by Studio Calico. 

DECEMBER DAILY

"TITLE PAGE, DAY 1 & 2"

WEDNESDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2014

As mentioned in my previous post I have decided to do a December Daily album, albeit at the last minute! I am hopeful that I will keep up with it daily, however I have to say, if I'm honest, that this concept of daily is not the best approach for me so I will see how I get on.

As well, as I did not think that I would have enough of my own stuff to include in the December album I have decided to a use a photo-a-day prompt list for the month, just in case.  If I don't have something to include for that day, then I will fall back to the prompt from the photo-a-day list. 

This is my title page for the album. Kept it simple. Actually had something else but went with this instead. Still feel like it needs something else though.

DAY 1
"TEMPERATURE"
My first photo prompt was to capture the temperature for the day.

As the page was so small there wasn't room for journalling so I punched a hole in a insert card to include the journalling on the facing page.

The page below titled Merry & Bright is not part of the photo-a-day prompt. It is simply a picture I took of Christmas ornaments which I liked so decided to scrap it. 

DAY 2
"FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE"

The prompt for Day 2 was Favorite Holiday Movie. This was tough for me as I have quite a few favorite films for this time of year, however I suppose if I had to pick one it would have to be Elf!

For the left hand page I used a printable by invitingprintables which I found on Pinterest that you can find here. The 3 x 4 insert card with the Elf legs (in the top right pocket) and with the quote from Elf is by Leslie Jean Jacobs and can be found here on her blog. 

The page below is not part of the photo-a-day prompt either. Just something I chose to include. 

The reindeer insert card in the top left pocket is by Ashley Horton. It came from a full sheet of festive fun printables by her and can be found here on her blog. The photo on the right is a picture I took while shopping at TK Maxx. I love shopping at TK Maxx and luckily a new location just opened by our house. The card on the bottom I created with free clipart from Google. 

The quality of the pictures I have taken are quite poorly as getting good light for photographing in the house this time of year in the UK is virtually impossible. I have done my best to lighten them in an editing app, but I think they are still not the best. 

Well that's my December "Daily" so far!

Happy Scrapping!

 DECEMBER DAILY AFTERMATH

MONDAY,  1 DECEMBER, 2014

I know that I am a bit late to the party. Not only in joining in on doing a December Daily album but also in creating one! 

Yes, I created it today, December 1st and the picture above is the aftermath of said event.

As I said I wasn't intending to do a December Daily but have been inspired by others, mainly foreverandaday_gram.  You can find her December Daily album here.  It's simply in-cred-i-ble! 

I have probably watched her video like fifty times by now! Way to become an Instagram stalker. 

I will be switching it up a bit as I intend to include my regular monthly pocket pages along with my December Daily. 

As well, I wanted a bit of structure to follow as I'm sure I won't have enough Christmas related stuff to add myself, so I have decided to play along with a pin I found on Pinterest with photo prompts for capturing December. 

These are just a couple of the pages I have created.  

I plan to add my daily #'s as I go along as I'm not sure which pages I will be using for each day or photo.

I like the fact that I can swap it around as I go.  

I have spent many a year collecting sheets upon sheets of Christmas paper only to never use them so I am busting through my stash for this!

Lastly, here's hoping I will finish it as I have noticed that a lot of other scrappers start these and are then finishing them years later!

Happy Scrapping!

OCTOBER - BURNHAM BEECHES

    FRIDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2014

BURNHAM BEECHES

As it gets closer to Winter here in the UK we cannot always get out during the week, with the evenings getting dark so early, for a proper dog walk.

However, that's not the case at the weekend. This particular Saturday we decided to go for a walk at Burnham Beeches, a preserved area of natural beauty only about a 25 minute drive from where we live.

We are lucky to live so close to what has been described as one of the finest woodland tracts in Britain, that people visit from miles around. I especially love visiting there in the Fall to see all the beautiful trees as they turn for the season. 

For the main page I really wanted the focus to be of the stunning picture of one of the water features within the woodlands.

I wanted to echo the Fall colours so chose this background paper by K&CO.

SUPPLIES| The background paper is from a pad of "designer" paper by K&Co I picked up from Target, of all places, many years ago. The brown alphas are by Simple Stories with the big chipboard B by K&Co from an old pack in my stash called Wild Saffron. The leaf accents I created with paintchip cards and one of my punches.

I wanted the above page to be very naturey - if that's a word! So I chose a textured green paper for the background to echo the feel of the woodland trees.

Then I cut apart a biolique paper (I think it was called) by Anna Griffin for my accents. Something that has been in my stash for quite some time. 

The one big adventure sticker is by Simple Stories.

This page includes a couple of woodland shots from our walk in the top pockets.  Trying out selective focus in the picture on the top left. Creates a nice perspective I think.

The bottom pocket holds a PL journaling card which I ran through my printer, date stamped and then mounted on the same paper as used for the main page.  Added a few doggie paw prints with a Studio Calico stamp, some more stickers by Simple Stories and a bit of the flower from the Anna Griffin page.

Do any of you have areas of outstanding natural beauty near you that you like to visit for a leisurely stroll, walk with your dog or other activity?

As much as I do sometimes miss the big cities of America I am grateful, whilst living in the UK, for beautiful places like this.

OCTOBER - AT THE MOVIES & FEGO'S CAFE

WEDNESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2014

Since I have been spending the past week catching up with October I will now have a lot of blogging to catch up on as well.

MOVIE TIME
Simon and I do love our films! This week we went to see The Equalizer, a remake of the 80's tv programme.

This page was quite simple - a movie themed filler card, a photo of the movie poster, a project life journal card and then a filmstrip card with two mock tickets.

 A close up of the "movie" tickets.

LOOK @ THIS

This next pocket page is about a mishap (or more appropriately, severe damage) with my curling iron.

Not the best way to start your day.

I wanted the title to say "This Happened" but I didn't have enough "e's" so I ended up with Look @ This.

The journaling card is PL and the alpha stickers are by Simple Stories.

BLACK SEAMED STOCKINGS
I like the retro look and on this particular evening Simon snapped a pic of my stockings just before we were going out for the evening.

I printed the picture in B&W and then did a simple B&W insert card with a stitched font to match.  

FEGO'S
I try to have a regular catch-up with two former colleagues who have become very close friends. 

We try to meet up at least once a month to have a meal, a good chat and a few laughs.

This month it was at Fego's in Marlow.

The background for this page is the restaurant menu printed out onto white cardstock.

I knew that as soon as I saw the pic that this is the way I wanted to use it.

I added a photo strip of some of our food, a group shot of us and the title with American Craft Thickers.

The tiny alphas at the top and bottom of the page are by Kaisercraft. The chipboard button by Webster's Pages and the banner label by Jillibean Soup.

That's all for now! Happy scrapping!