2013 December Memories Pages 17, 18, 19,

Today I'm sharing some more pages of my 2013 December Memories album.  This project seems to be one that is started with such great enthusiasm and then fizzles out about midway throughout the holiday season.  I am so very happy that I have the entire album completed.  The extra photos + stories all tucked into this one special album will be a family treasure for years to come.  My hope is that by sharing my completed pages, you'll be inspired to dig into your supplies, print those photos and finish your album.  You'll be so happy you did.

This is page 17 which is all about Charlie.  

I included some photos of that were taken over the holiday season + I added in a photo of the ornament that his big wagging tail broke, the day we took a country drive + I added some journaling onto Grid Paper Labels.  

In the photo, below right, Charlie got a new duck for Christmas.  Oh how he loves a new toy.  It reminded me of the very first toy we bought Charlie on the first day we had him....a duck none the less.  

Page 18 is a favorite of this year's December Memories album.  I Loved that speech bubble with "coal" on it so I designed this page around that single embellishment.  I have a cute photo of the girls being "good" and then some photos of them being silly.  

These are typical photos for me.  Jordan making a goofy face and someone always photo bombing the person having their photo taken.  Jordan had received an exemplary award for academics at the ballgame and she didn't want to pose for yet another photo.  

The week I took these photos I found 2 notebook pages that the girls had written about 9 years ago.  They must have gotten in trouble and had to write some sentences for me.  I was good at dishing that out for bad behavior.  I scanned the pages and printed them out at 4" x 6" sized photos.  I just tucked them into my page protector.  I just think their little hand writing is adorable.  

Moving on to page 19 which has a collage page of some of our holiday ornaments.  Very simple but I love to see how different the tree looks each year even though we use all the same ornaments. 

Hope you enjoy!  Time for some basketball tonight.....but first I think I might have just enough time to finish Week 51 of my 2013 Project Life.  Have a good weekend everyone. 

December Memories Days 2, 5, 11-13

Today I'm back to share more of my December Memories 2013 album, created with the 2013 Gossamer Blue December Memories Kit.  I'm skipping around on the days because I didn't plan for this to be an event a day type of album.  I worked on each insert as a specific memory/tradition so you'll see my pages here on the blog as I completed them.  

Going back to my first intro page, I added this vintage flash card which I offered in a kit in my shop.  I added "us" to the mix and a sticker.  

 Planting Paper White bulbs was a new tradition I started this year and my plan was to take a weekly progress photo as the bulbs grew.  That was really fun to watch.  Here's the front side of that insert which has a page protector trimmed down to 3 x 8.  You can see week 1 and week 2 progress of the bulbs.

 Here you can see week 3 progress and week 4 shows the bulbs in full bloom in an additional insert.

 One of my favorite photos of this album, I think, because I love the idea of fresh flowers in the middle of Winter. Papers and stickers from the Gossamer Blue kits.

 Page 5 which shows various crafts I created throughout December. Cards, holiday planners, candy bar wrappers, gift packaging, etc.

 Here I created a collage of some of the Christmas cards I made.

 Day 11 shows my homemade marshmallows.

 I saved the gelatin package and stitched it on a 3 x 4 card.

 I love this photo because I arranged a blank spot when taking the photo, knowing I could add some fun text in there using the Phonto app on my iPhone.  I added a sticker too.

These gold, glittery stickers got a workout in this album.  Here I paired them with typewriter journaling. 

 Page 12 shows some of my holiday lists, with a fun polka dot sack insert.

 Lots of lists so why not lots of "lists" words on this insert?  I used various stickers from the kits and my stash.

 I used two Large White Parcel Tags as inserts for the fun sacks from the Gossamer Blue kit.

 Here I folded some grocery/meal planning lists and stitched and stapled a piece of vintage ribbon to one of the lists to use as a pull tab.

 I didn't have photos to fill this page protector so I trimmed a list into 4 pieces.  It's used more as a decorative element here.

 Page 13 is all about my holiday baking.  Here I took photos from all my baking sessions and added them in one spot. This photo shows a 5 x 7 insert page too.

 Here's the 2 page spread without the insert.

 New cookies this year for cookie trays.  I love photographing food.

 I kept a candy kiss to add to one insert.  Cute.

 Peanut butter balls with a chipboard button and twine.

 Here's the insert.  I used two 4 x 6 photos and adhered them back to back on a 5 x 7 piece of star acetate from the kits.

 Here's the back side.  I added a strip of star paper to the edge so that this insert would stand out from the 2 page spread.

 I ended up coloring in the white stars with watercolors and a glittery watercolor medium to add some shine.

 Here's a photo of that little painting session, using my new travel watercolor palette and a refillable watercolor brush. That was so fun just to fiddle a little with paints.

I'm happy to announce that my album is 100% complete.  I'll be sharing the rest of the pages here on the blog soon.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to compile some thoughts on what I loved and what I might change up for next year on the last installment.  Thanks for joining me today.  If you tackled a DD this year, how did it go?  Are you finished?  Have you set a deadline? It's so worth it so keep on truckin' and work on your album while the memories are fresh in your mind.  This is kind of like Christmas itself....so fun while the season is here but when it's over, it's done and you're ready to move on.  I'm so happy to have my fat little album completed.  A real treasure. 

December Memories 2013.....Days 6, 7, 8

Hello everyone.  We woke up to about 4" of snow so it looks like we'll have a white Christmas this year.  Perfect sledding snow but it's bitterly cold so we'll see if that transpires.  We might opt for taking a drive on the country roads and photographing the scenery.  With homemade hot cocoa and marshmallows.  And Charlie.  :)

On the blog here I'm sharing days 6, 7 and 8 of my December Memories album.  Day 6 was a favorite day and a favorite layout.  Every year our high school art class sponsors a holiday dinner and music program for the senior citizens of our community.  My mom and dad always look forward to it and Eric and I get to go also as special guests for Eric being a school board member.  So I get to see the fun stuff that the art kids do and socialize with lots of the folks of our community.  

 This full layout just shows off the holiday spirit so nicely.  Josey and a few other art students were in charge of creating a full holiday wall display in the main entry.  She took my vintage Santa mugs, some old thermoses, my wood platter and old sled to create an old time scene.  It was so darling. I used sheet music patterned paper for the backing here since there was a music program too.

 Here's the entire wall that the girls decorated.  I suggested that they used sponges and paint to create the bricks.  I think it looks pretty spiffy.  The little Santa mugs display was set into a recessed window which is the concession stand window.  It looks like you were looking into a house.  I used a Gold Foil Doily tucked under the photo and a "deck the halls" sticker since the girls literally decked the hallway.

 Journaling about the day and the sequin pocket with gold doily that I had created previously.

 Next up is day 7 which has a gold envelope insert.

 This day was all about shopping in the city and then heading to Eric's company Christmas party.  I really love the aqua and gold color scheme here.

 I used more gold foil accents and letters for the little title card.

 This insert shows the gift wrap aisle at Target.  Always a fun time each year to just stroll down the aisles and see what they have.

 The right page has a 4 x 6 photo of me standing in line.  Ugh, the worst part. I use the "nice" speech bubble in a different way....to journal that I needed a reminder to be extra nice and patient while dealing with all the crowds.

 I typed on my Grid Paper Labels throughout my album.  An easy way to add journaling then you just peel and stick.

 Here's the gold envelope insert with various stickers.

 I tucked in a few photos into the envelope. They're not pretty photos so I didn't want them in the main portion of the album.  Eric manages a Bobcat machinery store so the Christmas parties are always construction oriented with lots of men.  It's a fun time and the guys get ornery.  There is always a silent auction and rob your neighbor type gift exchange.  Sometimes you get something good, sometimes you get a used tape measure, Goof Off and paint can lids.  Yay. We did come home with a piggy bank that farts when you put coins in.  Jordan loved it.  Go figure.

 This is the back side of the envelope which notes the freezing one degree temperature we endured while out shopping.  I loved the little car sticker from a Gossamer Blue kit that I stuck on top of the screen shot of the weather.

 Day 8 was all about keeping warm and cozy.  I have a 5 x 7 insert in between.

Here's the 2 page spread. 

 I love using enlarged photos in the albums.  Capturing a photo of our tree with the fireplace in the background is always a favorite shot.

 Most of the embellishments were already chosen previously, I just added the stickers.

 The right side shows a dusting of snow on our wood rack on the back deck + a nice warm fire.  The "warmest winter wishes" card was a favorite from the Gossamer Blue December Memories Kit.

 This is the insert which shows out slight dusting of snow that was supposed to measure 4-6".  Not.  I added an instagram with pop dots that has the word "snow"that drew with my finger on a rock in my flower bed. The old adirondack chairs are some treasures that are showing their wear and tear.

 The back side shows Charlie and one of our furry kittens.

 I used more Grid Paper Labels to journal how lucky Charlie is to get to stay nice and warm inside the house.

 Finally, here's the status of my December Memories album so far.  All of the 31 days are in here and this shows up to day 8 with embellishments and photos.  Me thinks this album is gonna be a chubby one.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend. Eric opted to not take any extra days off for Christmas so that his employees could all take time off.  That means we have to enjoy every extra day we can.  I'm off to bundle up for our little country drive.  Then I'm baking the last two batches of cookies for cookie trays. Except the family brought home white chocolate bark instead of actual dark chocolate almond bark for my peanut butter balls.  Text me from the store, people.  ;)  Have a great day!