more calendar musings

i currently have 3 calendars in my create space. yep, that's right, 3...why? because they make me happy. i have always been a calendar girl. a couple of posts ago i highlighted some calendar finds over on etsy. but because i'm cheap, i mean frugal, i get motivated to use what i have and make my own.
the jenni bowlin 6x6 die-cut calendar is a little beauty in it's simplicity. it sweetly sits on a small easel on a tray with some of my fav embellishments. too easy, but fun. i like that .

making memories always has an eye for cute. who doesn't love a scalloped edge? this one shows off my current favorite photos. it's 15 inches wide with plenty of room to do what ya want.

and speaking of making memories, i still have a thing for their passport line from this past summer. using a rhonna farrer digital tag (enlarged greatly), i placed a digital calendar from 2peas in the tag. this was printed on cardstock and then cut around the shape. using masking tape (thanks emily) i fancily adhered the tag to the 12x12 paper, added the passport chipboard letters to say 'jan'...easy as pie.

now off to plan february's calendars...

have a great day!!!

february over at wip...

my friend trish at work in progress continues to amaze me with her kits. i truly have never been dissappointed. the main kit for february is a sweet collection of october afternoon papers. they have always been a fav of mine, anyway, and i have enjoyed putting a few layouts together already.

my new little thing is to use kits more thematically in my kids albums. with 4 kids to scrap, i need to keep it simple. so starting with this kit, i am using it for my second daughter and catching up a bit on her summer highlights. so it will appear in her album in sort of a chapter form. not sure if that makes sense or not, but i like the idea of several pages in an album that have a cohesive feel to them.

thanks for taking a peek!

simply handmade.

scrapbook trends has a new magazine called simply handmade. brand new for december & january. i was lucky to have a little tag submitted as part of their first edition of this publication. but what i really wanted to toot about, is how great that company is to work with. whenever i had a question or concern, they were great about responding and communicating. i even got a phone call at one point in follow up to a question i had. just think it should be made known when a company treats it's patrons right. and wanted to share that with you.

go take a peak at the mag...it really is a good read and there is more in there than just holiday.

thanks for stoppin' by!!!

january at zany

the gallery is up at zany zinnia for january. lots of fun kits going on over there. i had alot of fun with the projects i did get too (for those of you who do not know, my husband was in the hospital unexpectedly while i was in the midst of getting some layouts done for the gallery). the above layout was done using the patchwork quilt kit. lots, and lots of sweet goodness in that kit. Melanie Stancwyk was the guest designer for the month. she added alot of vintage flair to the love notes kit. hope you get a chance to go take a look.
and bonus, stacy has posted some sneaks for february. enjoy!

have a wonderful evening!

'our 09'

that is the name of the album that is sort of a project-365. the idea for this chronological album started taking shape in december when i was putting layouts together for the zany zinnia gallery using jenni bowlin inspired papers in the all our yesterdays kit.

the cover page is of the kids currently.

this page is followed up by a layout of each of the children that includes a large journaling format on the back of their page that writes of their past year, and then some future goals. it is my expanded version of what a christmas letter would say, if i sent out christmas letters. love this idea as it allows me to capture in one place what is going on in each of their lives. i know i will also enjoy looking a year from now through this book and having all that information in one place.

for the month of january the format will be done in black, cream and red. again, this was inspired by the zz dec kit. this works for a couple of reasons

keeps the month consistent and congruent in look. not each of the layouts is at all the same, but the color scheme helps keep the month streamlined.

and, it's a great way to kill a kit. i love to use up all the parts of my kits...if i don't use them up in the first month, i am finding that i really do not visit them again. so to help keep clutter in my create space under control, and to keep product new and fresh, i think this will be a great way to use up all those wonderful goodies.

that's all for today. thank you for visiting.

new year...new calendars...

i love calendars. trish over at wip had a great post the other day highlighting some great 2009 calendars out there. for gifts this year i used ali e's gratitude calendar. using my bind it all to bind, i covered them with patterned paper, and usually used one of the definition stamps from stampin up. they made great gifts.
here's one: now this one is very little...but cute. it came in handy for teacher's gifts. heather over on her blog posted all the instructions for this cutest little calendar ever. in includes the calendar download.

this is one of mine...


i added the month brush in pse from this kit over at designer digitals.

and one more that i have enjoyed working with is here.
it uses the making memories 15 inch calendar. this came in the large christmas kit from work in progress from december. i love the scallop-ey edges. this will be fun to work on monthly.

have a wonderful day!!!

december daily completed.

here is the last of what i will post of my december daily book. i just loved putting this little gem together. love the different sizes of papers, and the freedom to make each little entry it's own. it was fun to either use a single photo and journal away on the day, or just use the notes from church, or part of some packaging to. already i have found myself going through the pages, reading, remembering. it was a whirlwind of a holiday season again, so this helps us all to reflect and take time to remember it again.
my little mind is already full of new projects. i need to go check out becky higgins project 365. i have not read anything about it. but i have already begun a 2009 book and daily using words+photos to celebrate the new year ahead of us.

have a wonderful first official week in the new year!

to a happy new year.

wishing you a happy new year.

from our family...

to yours!

may the LORD bless you

and keep you.

may His favor shine upon you

and bring you peace.

******************

supplies courtesy of zany zinnia "all our yesterdays" december kit:

patterned paper: jenni bowlin

overlay: heidi swapp

word sticker: k&co

ac thicker alpha-black glitter