Project Life 2014....Week 29

Sharing Week 29 of my 2014 Project Life.  Right smack dab in the middle of Summer.  

Pages were created with Gossamer Blue kits.  Here's the left page.

The right page.

A collage of die cuts and stamped elements from the kits.

Planning my canning season was a highlight of my Summer.  I loved every sticky, sweaty minute of it.

Oops, Jordan lost her swimming suit top.  Josey and Kara thought this was just hilarious.

Sometimes I find a good quote that I just have to include.

Loved this kit and the pretty colors.

A little toad popped out one day while I was watering plants.  Jordan taking a run right before a giant storm hit.

Going to the races with Grandpa Woody.  Eric's photo of Jordan's eye because it was just so blue...and the girl has the longest lashes ever.

One more week in the books.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Tray Tuesday....on a Thursday

Hey, how about a Tray Tuesday post on a Thursday?  Today I'm sharing a few Christmas thank you cards.  I always like to get a few of these finished ahead of time so that we can have them ready to send out shortly after the holiday.  

 The cards were easy to put together.  I used scraps of patterned paper, some ledger paper, some Gossamer Blue Themed Add-on Kit items and my Paperclip Flag Kit from the shop.

 For the little flags, I trimmed the first off so that it fit onto my card front nicely.  I added a glittery snowflake and an enamel dot.

 On my second card I notched the ends of the flag for something a little different.  I typed my sentiment, punched it out and added a few more enamel dots.

Here's the entire kit, complete with two paperclip fabric flags, tags, vintage labels, doilies, envelopes and more.  This kit and all of my Noel Notions items are on sale right now in the shop.  I'll ship out within 24 hours of orders placed so that you can still use the items this holiday season. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to check out the new aprons in my shop also.  They'd be adorable gifts for the baker or chef in your life.

Vintage aprons now in the shop.....

My vintage aprons are now in the shop.  I've searched all Summer long for aprons and I have a pretty good stash built up.  I finished up a nice selection for the shop and will add more as I finish embellishing them. 

 Each apron has been cleaned, mended and embellished with vintage doilies, lace and buttons.  I have covered any holes or spots with buttons, the vintage pieces of doilies or lace.  These aprons may show slight signs of wear but they are in excellent shape.

Aprons will ship out within 24 hours of placing an order, making them a perfect Christmas gift for the cook on your list.  Add a favorite cookbook and a pretty wooden spoon or measuring cups....that would be my favorite gift this year, guaranteed.  Help me bring back the aprons, friends.  Be sure to tag your aprons with #apronrevolution on Instagram.

Also in the shop, all of my Noel Notion items have been reduced in price.  There's still time to add a few kits to your holiday crafting stash.  I've got some fun wrappings, tags and more.  See previous blog posts for wrapping ideas.

December Memories 2014.......family & holiday spirit pages

Today I'm sharing my first pages of my December Memories 2014 album.  This year I'm using the Gossamer Blue December Memories Kit for my pages. This first double page layout is our family page.  It's a page noting the 4 members of my family + Charlie, our dog.  I used a 3 x 4 insert for each one of us.  

I used a Small White Tag and Grid Paper Labels to tell just a little bit about each one of us. I'll be using red or gold thread throughout my album this year for machine stitching. The plaid letters are from the Gossamer Blue December Memories Kit. 

This next two page spread is all about getting into the holiday spirit.  I included photos of our first light snow, my Fall fireplace mantel decor and my slogan for Winter, "Keep it Cozy".  

A little typed journaling about my hopes for this holiday season. 

Charlie, keeping it cozy indeed. 

An insert that I had done during my page setup. Includes snowflakes, enamel dots and stitching. 

This fun circle insert is new. I planted Paperwhites on Thanksgiving Day and kept the cardboard packaging that came with the bulbs.  I added journaling to a Medium Manila Tag with my vintage typewriter and stitched it to the piece. 

Flipping that piece over, you see the back side which a a photo of my Paperwhites planted in an Ironstone container.  I printed the photo on 8.5 x 11 photo paper then just traced the circle onto it using a Sharpie.  I cut out the circle, then adhered it to the back of the Paperwhite packaging.  Using my Cropadile I punched two holes so the piece could be inserted directly into my DB album. I did the journaling using the Phonto app on my iPhone 6+.  For the gold sack, I may add some additional journaling to that but for now it's just for decoration.  

One little outtake photo for you.  Charlie interrupted this photo session to let me know that his little redheaded sisters were home.  He needed to look out the window, bark loudly and then cry until the girls came through the door to pet him. 

I'll be back with a few more updates a little later on.  Hope you've got a good start to your December Memories/Daily December albums.  I'd love to hear your plans for your album.  Did you get all your base pages made ahead of time?  Or do you prefer to wing it and make the pages as you go along?  

Project Life 2014.....Week 24

Sharing Week 24 of my 2014 Project Life today.  I'm still amazed and thankful for this style of scrapbooking.  Never would I ever be able to keep this up to date and include so many photos if I did just traditional style layouts.  I know at times the process gets a little mundane, especially if you get behind, but I stick with it and keep loving each and every layout when I'm done.  

For Week 24 I used Gossamer Blue kit for my inserts. 

The left page.

The right page. I love being able to look at the two page spread as a whole.  It really makes that week in our life come together.

Still loving adding a weekly, dated insert into the mix.  It lets me see what part of the year we were at when I flip through the layouts. I like to use this as a little mini canvas to add something artistic too.  Whether it be just a few tags or whatever, I like the creativity this one little insert allows.

Josey getting her ears pierced for a second time.

Charlie making a mess of the trash.  A photo really is worth a thousand words sometimes.

Father's Day with Eric and the girls.

Some pretty papers and fun stickers and stamps on these two inserts.

A week in review card made with a stitched on tag and cut up pieces of typed words.  On the right I used a stencil from a Gossamer Blue kit with watercolor paints.

Random little photos from the week.

My little nephew visits for the week.  On the right I added a photo from social media.  Sometimes those make the best filler pages.

Hope you're still loving the Project Life process.  Sometimes the excitement comes and goes.  Sometimes I find something really exciting to add to my pages.  Sometimes it's a simple bit of watercolor or a really neat piece from a monthly kit.  I still love trucking along.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Project Life 2014....Week 23

I'll be sharing lots of my 2014 Project Life spreads throughout the month of December.  Today I'm sharing Week 23 which includes a 4 x 12 insert. 

This is the full two page spread. I used Gossamer Blue kits for inserts today.

The left page.

The right page.

My 4 x 6 dated insert.  I love the white space combined with the printed elements, die cuts and stickers. 

A collage photo of some good junk collected during the week.

Wow, my nails were really nice in this photo.  Just before gardening got into full swing.  And my beloved flip flops.

Jordan's injuries.

Love these journaling cards from One Little Bird.

The 4 x 12 insert, front side.

The 4 x 12 insert, the back side showing the start of Summer league volleyball and basketball.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  :)

Tray Tuesday.....Spiced Tea Mix

Hey there, I'm back today with a fun Tray Tuesday share.  I've been making this Spiced Tea Mix ever since I can remember.  I use my mom's recipe and it was always my job to mix the tea and store it in the Tupperware container.  I love this stuff and I'm not sure now if it's the actual tea or the memories it evokes that I love so much.  Recently I packaged some up in a gift basket I made for a friend to give to her apartment tenant.  The renter texted my friend and told her how much it reminded him of his mom and that he loved it.  Then our little friend Brayden came over with his brother while I was making a new batch.  He was curious so I made him a cup.  He loved it too.  So I sent him home with a little batch of his own.  Good stuff and good memories happen with this stuff, I tell ya. 

 Sooo...what better gift to give than a little jar of my Spiced Tea Mix.  I reached for a Modern Wrappings Kit from my shop to create my packaging.  I also carry a Vintage Wrappings Kit which uses all vintage fabrics.  I took one of the strips of fabric and ran it through my sewing machine, creating folds as I fed the material through the foot feed.  I left about 4" on both ends plain.

 I wrapped the fabric strip around my jar that is filled with Spiced Tea Mix and some cinnamon red hots.  I added a red sprig from the kit and a Gold Glitter Clothespin for embellishments.

 The ruffled strip of fabric looks fun and festive wrapped around the jar.  I like to leave the lid free of embellishments so it can be screwed on and off with the wrappings left in tact. This way it looks cute sitting out during the holiday season.

 I like these gingham lids from my stash.  They add an instant holiday feel to my jar gift.

 I tied a few candy canes up with a white tag from the kit and some Candy Cane Baker's Twine. I sat the jar on a white doily from the kit. I sat all the goodies on a pretty, vintage tray.  Just the perfect gift for a teacher or friend who comes over to visit.

Here's the entire Modern Wrappings Kit from my shop.  You can see my previous posts for some additional wrappings ideas.

The Gold Glitter Clothespins come in a set of ten here.

 You can find 5 yards of the Candy Cane Baker's Twine here.

I love to give handmade gifts and wrap them up with unique wrappings.  This year though I'm all about keeping it simple.  This little gift jar took about 10 minutes or less to assemble, including sewing time.  Here's to a handmade Christmas.  Thanks for stopping by today.