Project December 2012...6 x 6 pocket pages

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I enjoyed 2 great feasts with my family and had a great time watching lots of movies and just relaxing.  

All this week I'll be sharing the last of my Project December creations that I've pre-made to go into my December pages.  Today I'm sharing a 6 x 12 page protector that has (2) 6 x 6 pockets to hold receipts, tags, snippets of gift wrap, etc.  

Let me show you how I created this insert.  For product picks I'm using some October Afternoon and Studio Calico papers.  I've also selected a few Washi tapes + some stitched, grid vellum pieces from my Stitched in Red Kits.  

For my page protector I'm using a 12 x 12 protector that has (4) 6 x 6 sections.  This will be trimmed down for the final insert that will only have (2) 6 x 6 pockets.  To start, I trimmed down 2 pieces of patterned paper to 6 x8.  I scored the papers at 2"then folded the 2" flaps down.  These will become pocket flaps.

I used one of the grid vellum pieces and trimmed it in half. I typed my wording using my vintage typewriter.  I use a scrap piece of paper + strips of Washi tape to secure down small pieces of paper that I want to type on.  The Washi tape pulls up easily without tearing my finished product.

Next I stitched my typed pieces to pieces of 2 x 6 October Afternoon patterned paper.  I added some of my vintage sequins for a little holiday flair.

Each of these 2 x 6 pieces were added to the 2" flaps I created earlier.  I added festive paper clips to keep the flaps flat.

A red clip to match the red sequin and a green clip to match the green sequin.

Next it was time to trim down the 12 x 12 page protector.  I like my smaller than 12 x 12 inserts to have a defining line that sets it apart from the main 12 x 12 Project Life pages.  Creating a long strip of contrasting pattern is a great way to create a visual divider.  I've been doing this a lot and you'll see me use this technique in my regular Project Life pages when I blog those.

To create this strip I used some adhesive backed fabric strips from Studio Calico. I cut a 1" x 12" strip using my paper trimmer.  I then trimmed my page protector 1/2" wider just to the right of where my 6 x 6 pockets will be.  I then folded the 1" strip around the 1"x piece of page protector.

The wood grain fabric strip will show on the front of this pocket page and the back.  I used 2 lines of stitching in my signature red thread that I'm using throughout my holiday pages this year.  This creates a nice, sturdy edge to my 6 x 12 pocket page insert.

Here is the finished pocket page from the front view.  This will come to life when I fill it with receipts, tags and such.  The page protectors are an interactive part of becoming the pocket with flaps.  Nice and sturdy but totally see through.  And I think the fun part will be in years to come when we can open the flaps and take a peek inside.   I especially think the kiddos will enjoy this part of my albums.  I might even throw in a sprinkling of snow confetti mix too.

Tip:  Make a mental note to save lots of receipts, tags, wrapping paper, clothes tags, gift sacks, ads, magazine cover, etc for your December Daily.  I'm keeping a sturdy plastic envelope in my kitchen to collect the items and an in/out try on my work table for a daily deposit of papery goodness.  When it comes time to work on a page, I can sort through the items and pick & choose some pieces to use.  I think how cool it would have been to have the price tag for my beloved Hee Haw overalls I received as a kid!  Yes, we were as country as it gets, people. 

Here's the back side of the pocket page.  The patterns you see are the back, or "B", sides of the patterned papers used to create the pockets.  No need to add more papers and bulk to the pockets.  I'll most likely add some photos here.  Perhaps a photo collage created with the Diptic phone app.  Or this might be a great place to add a longer story for the page this page will butt up to.  Or if I want to make it really easy I can print a 6 x6 photo with some Phonto app journaling.  I'll add a little tag under the paper clips to make good use of those.  

This was a fun one!  I hope you enjoy.  I'm off to dust and put away all the Fall decor so that I can start decorating for the holidays.  I have a fun Winter fireplace transformation that I'll be sharing soon that was inspired by a recent junkin' trip.  Stay tuned....

Pumpkin Blondies

Edited:  Pan size is 9 x 9.

Edited:  Fonts....the script on this recipe card is called Little Days.  For my other cards, I've used Ali Edward's font and Becky Higgin's font.  

Wow, from now on I'm going to tempt you with recipes when I need comment love.  You guys are awesome.  :)  So are you ready for my  Pumpkin Blondies recipe? I recently purchased a copy of the Mixing Bowl.com magazine, such a cute little baking magazine.  The online site is awesome too, you can find the original recipe HERE.  I adjusted a few of the ingredients in my recipe though.  

And here's my recipe card.  All of my recipe cards measure 4" x 6" with the body of the recipe being printed from my computer.  And if you hit on the word recipes in the Labels section at the end of my post, all of my recipe posts will show up. Pages and pages of my fun recipe cards.  Enjoy!

For the pumpkin images on my recipe card, I used Friendship Jar Fall Fillers.  You could really use any of the images from this set by themselves, without the jar image.  Love that.  I used the double pumpkin image and colored them with my handy dandy Copic Sketch markers.  A little glitter pen over the top makes them super shimmery.  Under the pumpkin strip are snippets of my Fabric Tape and PTI Vintage Buttons.

To add a little more color to my recipe card, I swiped my printed title with a Copic marker and then outlined it with a glitter pen.  Copic has great Spica glitter pens in lots of fun colors.

Along the bottom of my recipe card, I added some word stickers from The Girls Paperie Toil and Trouble sticker book along with more Fabric Tape snippets.  The patterned paper on my recipe card is also from The Girls Paperie Toil and Trouble paper line.  I found mine at Scrapbooks, Etc in Topeka, Kansas.  If you go there, you must get the Toil and Trouble sticker book.  It's like $4.50 with oodles of pages of letter and word stickers, etc.  A real bargain for your bucks.  I also had my elbows out and shopped for the The Girls Paperie Christmas line too, equally lovable.

And here is the much anticipated recipe for you, enjoy!


Pumpkin Blondies-from Michelle Wooderson

2 cups flour                                  ½ cup butter

1 teaspoon baking powder           1-1/2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda                1 egg

1 teaspoon salt                              1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon                    1 cup canned pumpkin

¼ teaspoon nutmeg                       1 cup vanilla chips

¼ teaspoon cloves                         ½ cup coconut

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; set aside.  Beat butter and brown sugar til light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Add pumpkin.  Stir in flour mixture, then baking chips and coconut.  Spread in greased pan.  Bake 30-35 minutes til toothpick comes out clean.  Makes 12 bars. Sept ‘10.  Can substitute chocolate chips for the vanilla and nuts are good too, about 1/2 cup.  Recipe from Mixing Bowl. com magazine.  

Friday Fun!

How about some Friday fun??? I have a limited quantity of some kits up in my Etsy shop this afternoon. Enjoy!

With the kits you can make 5 of these cute little boxes...you provide the colored image. I used a Karen Lockhart stamp of wildflowers in a jar. Ellen Hutson has a great variety of Lockhart stamps in her store HERE.
I colored the image with these fabulous and fun Copic colors below:
I love to color little images like these wildflowers...just dabble on the color and it all comes together beautifully.

The kits can be found HERE in my Etsy shop. All supplies to make the kits are sold separately in my shop. TGIF friends!!