living artfully

smiling

I can't stop smiling! Mel, whose fabulous blog you must go visit, has awarded me with a "Making Smiles on Faces" award. Her blog is inspiring and genuine... and when you read her writing, you'll feel like you're listening to a dear friend. Thank you, Mel - I'm so honored!

To pass on this award, I have to share 5 random facts about myself:
1. I could live without a TV if it weren't for Top Chef and So You Think You Can Dance.
2. I used to think I would not be inspired by reading books about creativity, but lately have been eager to give it a try. Any book recommendations?
3. I don't have a sweet tooth. Instead, I have that gene that makes you think nothing would taste better than french fries.
4. I have a weakness for all things wood grain.
5. My favorite holiday drink at Starbucks is the Gingerbread Latte.

And I'd like to pass along this award to these five bloggers who make me smile...
Melissa at Sunlight & Simplicity
Carrie at Through the Camera Lens
Suzanne at Suzyville
Meghann at Meghann's Little Corner
Alissa at {a} My World

Thanks for the inspiration, ladies!

red + kraft

 

This year I'm going with red, kraft and brown for my December album. I learned something that was important to me from last year's December Daily... using random sheets of Christmas paper from my stash will not make for a cohesive album.  I still love my 2008 album for sentimental reasons, but my goal this year is to simplify the look and create an album with better  flow.

Top to bottom:
- Creative Imaginations journaling
- K&Company embossed stickers
- Creative Imaginations frames
- Making Memories icon dot
- Jenni Bowlin saloon
- Making Memories glitter big red dot
- Jenni Bowlin red cabbage flower
- The Paper Company berry stripe
- Jillibean Soup can beef consomme
- Jillibean Soup jibber jabber
- Jillibean Soup talk soup
- Creative Imaginations red medallion
- Creative Imaginations chocolate fudge



There is so much inspiration out there for December albums and I love seeing what everyone is putting together. Are you doing Ali's December Daily, Holidays in Hand, Journal your Christmas, or something else? Have you decided on a color scheme or products for your album? I'd love to hear and please share links if you've already started!

you're invited

to something special this Saturday, November 21st. Please check back on Saturday to see what some lovely blog friends and I have in the works!

holidays in hand clipboard

Holidays in Hand is underway and today we printed our journaling prompts for our December album. Rather than keep the prompts in a binder, I altered this clipboard to hold the 5.5 X 5.5 version of the prompts. Before printing, I recolored the date circle in Photoshop so it would be red rather than the brownish color it came in. And since this will be on display, I wanted to keep the design simple and clean. This little bit of holiday cheeriness is now sitting on my desk, reminding me of how excited I am to create our album.

 

christmas goals

I'm a huge believer that a lovely holiday season doesn't happen completely by accident. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year's is wonderful and joyous, but it can also be filled with obligations and deadlines and pressure. For me, maintaining that joy is all about having a plan and allowing myself to let go of certain things. This year I am choosing to focus on the things that are meaningful, that bring us happiness, and that are about relationships...

 
My grandma with my cousin's new baby - Christmas 2008

This Christmas I'd like to:
- Sing Christmas songs loudly around the house, all month long.
- Make our Christmas cards more meaningful by including a letter from us.
- Hand-craft a few of our Christmas gifts; already have ideas for my mother and brother that I wish I could post because I'm so excited!
- Carry on the tradition we started last year with our siblings; we all create scrapbook layouts recapping the year to share and place in our family scrapbooks.
- Create some type of daily December scrapbook album.

Things I won't be doing:
- Going to the malls in December; aside from the decorations, the malls in December drive me absolutely crazy! I'm going to continue the shopping we've already started and hopefully be done by December 1st.
- Begging my husband to wrap Christmas presents on December 23rd; must try wrapping as we go.
- Hand-making a hundred Christmas cards from scratch. I have a solution I tried last year that I loved; I'll be posting the details for you soon!

If you're a list-lover like me and want to feel more organized, check out Organized Christmas. A lot of bloggers have posted links to this site. If you haven't already visited, consider taking a look to see if there's anything you'd find helpful this holiday.

And today is the last day to sign up for Jessica Sprague's free class: Holidays in Hand. It's a free class that runs today through November 23rd and we'll be creating a December album project. Although Jessica is known for digi-scrapping, you don't have to have or know Photoshop Elements for this course. I love the tagline for this course: capturing the hope, memories, and wonderment of the holidays.


Now that I've recorded my goals, I think it's time to scrap and watch a Christmas movie. I think I'll be putting on White Christmas. I love Christmas movies old and new so very much. What's your favorite holiday movie?

i'm grateful

for the big stuff - the amazing people and blessings in my life. And I'm grateful for the little stuff, too!

 
Inspired by Amanda Probst's gratitude challenge at Paper Posies. 

1. baking with our Kitchenaid mixer
2. great books
3. days when magazines come in the mail
4. blogging and all the amazing bloggers I'm meeting
5. good wine
6. scrapbooking paper
7. old photos
8. yummy coffee 

What are you grateful for right now?


 

yesterday and today share

Are you telling the stories that you'll want to remember 25 and 50 years from now? Are you telling your own story?

The first few weeks of Ali Edwards' Yesterday and Today class have been mind-changing.  We are about halfway through the journey and have been creating layouts of stories from our past that are important to who we are.

Scrapbooking with old photos has been a magical experience. Digging through boxes of photos and stumbling upon those gems that absolutely transport you to a moment in your past. Getting that feeling that can't wait to tell a certain story, that you've touched on something you never ever want to forget.
Week Five: Random Facts

 
Week Two: Introduction

 
Week Three: Six Favorite Childhood Memories

 
Week Four: Challenges
 
When was the last time you scrapped with what you'd consider "older" photos? I'd love to hear how you are preserving your older memories!

what's your decorating personality?

Ever get lost on the internet, dreaming up ideas for your home? If you're like me - not serious about purchasing or redecorating - it's still fun to play!

You can find out your interior decorating personality with this sweet and simple quiz. My decorating personality is "sun kissed." The room is meant to convey energy, friendliness and ease -- love it! 


Thanks to Sunlight & Simplicity for introducing me to this quiz!

So, what's your decorating personality?? If you take the quiz, I'd love to hear your results!

project 365

A photo a day. Every day of the year. 365 photos.

Sounds fun... and a little scary, too. Right?? I love the idea of having a photo a day to document a year in our lives. I am sure at the end of the year I would come out a better and more thoughtful photographer. And I think it would teach me to pay closer attention, to notice the every day details of our lives, and to experience more gratitude.

I've been dreaming of doing a Project 365 since last year. But I gave up the idea for 2009 when Creating Keepsakes quickly sold out of their Project 365 kits. Looking back, now it seems silly that I thought I needed a kit to take on this project. But the hugeness of the project and the pressure to take pretty photos are still there, with or without a kit.

But I don't want to let that hold me back. I can do this. And I will, staring on 01/01/10.  In the meantime, I'm going to gather up lots of pretty inspiration. And ponder how I want to focus this project. At first I was thinking of just every day photos of our lives. But then I stumbled upon a lovely photographer doing her 365 in self portraits...


Anna Gay

So maybe it will be a mix of every day photos with a monthly self-portrait. I'm still dreaming up the plans! If you are thinking of doing your own photo project or want to learn more, here are my favorite Project 365 resources:

Want to read more about the Project 365 concept? Check out Photojojo's article.

Need tips? Here's a great list from someone who completed their own 365.

Not sure what to take photos of? Creating Keepsakes published a list of 365 ideas.

Need inspiration? And a home for uploading your pictures? Flickr has multiple groups: Project 365, Project 365!, 365 Days, and Project 366-1.

Want to scrapbook your 365? Becky Higgins is developing a new product called Project Life.

Want to share your 365 in grids on your blog? Making mosaics at Big Huge Labs is fun, easy and free.


I'm know this will be a lot of work, but I'm sure it will pay off!

jumping in the leaves