Holiday Traditions - Past & Present

Do you have any special traditions that you continue each year during the holidays? certain foods you make each Christmas Eve, a game or a movie that you and your family enjoy together on New Years day? I usually have a hard time getting in the holiday spirit each year because I just feel sad being away from home. But I find that once I begin to decorate my home for Christmas the holiday spirit comes to me.

We had so many wonderful Christmas traditions at our home when I was growing up. My mother loved to decorate the entire house. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful Christmas memories. Perhaps that's why I miss home more at Christmas time than any other time of the year.

My mother has a green hanging musical bell. Over the years its gotten quite worn but it still plays its Jingle Bells tune. This is the Christmas decoration at my parents' house that I remember the most.

I am the hostess of the final blog challenge of the year at The Digichick. Keeping in spirit with the holidays I am asking participants to scrap their favorite holiday traditions; one from the past and one from the present. 

papers and elements from Celebrations by ViVa Artistry and Veronica Spriggs

page template from

 Repeat After Me by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs @ her ScrapMatters shop

I know its a crazy busy time of year and not one that most people want to spend sitting in front of the computer scrapping. But if you are so inspired, I would love to invite you to come and join in the challenge.

Merry Christmas

I wish you all a blessed, peaceful Merry Christmas.

Hubby's gift

Its Christmas Eve and I've finally finished with gifts for this year. I decided to make hubby a Family Man Wallet Album from Shabby Princess because I needed something to put in his stocking. This is the 2nd time I've made this wallet album (the first time being for my own father on Father's Day) and I have to say that each time I am just so impressed with the unique hybrid ideas that Shabby Princess has. This wallet album is so fun! I hope he likes is. Something tells me he will....

I want to wish each one of you a very Merry Christmas. I hope your holiday season - be it Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa - will be filled with blessed peace.

One more gift

Just a drive-by posting of this because some of my friends wanted to see the finished product. This is the Bloom Box album I made for my in-law's Christmas present. I had made a very similar one for my mother this past Mother's Day. I love it so much, I think I'll be making another one for myself!

Clementine Bloom Box Album

I absolutely adore Shabby Princess' hybrid crafts. They are so unique and make perfect gifts!!! If you still need to make a gift or two, I highly recommend stopping by her place asap!

Time Out

I took an "unofficial" leave of absence last week from CT duties and just tried to get caught up with getting ready for Christmas and New Years. I got presents made and sent off to my American family, even got a baby mini album made for my best friend who's brother just had a new baby boy. I even got my Christmas and New Years cards designed, but not yet all sent...

I generally don't use quick pages, how about you? But I have an incredible love for the name badge albums over at Shabby Princess. Have you seen these?

 Favorite Things badge album

 Barefoot badge album

Gabby badge album

I made one a few years ago, then made two last week. One was for the baby mini album and one was a kind of year in review mini album - a Christmas gift for my parents. We don't have the exact size of name badges required, but the pages can be resized easily, then I mount them on cardstock. I hope my parents like it.

Shabby Princess has some cute -- extremely cute -- paper crafting projects like these tea cups.

Sugarplum cups and mugs

I really went crazy in her shop last week. I'm going to make this wallet album

 Family Man wallet album 

for my husband as a Christmas gift as well. In the past I've made several of her mint tin albums as well. Sometimes its just fun to have some scrapbooking projects that I can actually hold in my hands. (I don't print out very many of my pages. Not good, I know.)

After all of that, I only got one page made over the past two weeks. A pair of Christmas photos of my daughter from years gone by.

Snowflake Clusters pt 1 by Busy Bee Designs

I'm not sure when I'll be posting again. I HOPE its before the end of the year, but maybe not before Christmas.

I wish you each a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful, blessed holiday season. Thank you so much for being a part of my little blog here. I always love to hear from you when you stop by.

Christmas is coming

Its Friday and that means I should be posting this week's latest pages. Mercifully, its been a somewhat slow week. The holidays are busy for both designers and CT members so I haven't minded the slower pace this past week. That being said, I still have not started my Christmas shopping. What in the world is wrong with me?!

A few weeks ago I posted an "In search of" thread at one of the larger digi sites. I really wanted some wintry frosted leaves. One of the replies I got was from TDC's very own Jennifer Labre telling me she would have some for me the next week. Well, she didn't disappoint, and she put them in a gorgeous purple and plum kit to boot! Purple is one of my all-time favorite colors and this kit does not disappoint! I absolutely love the variety of leaves, branches and flowers she has in here too. My daughter was very obliging one morning before school, she let me snap five pictures of her out in our tiny garden. Thankfully 4 out of them turned out pretty good.

Beautiful
all papers and elements from Winterberry by Jennifer Labre Designs
page template from Honey Pots 3 by Busy Bee Designs

I also got a very pleasant surprise from this little mini kit by Studio Gypsy. She calls it a mini, but there are still ample papers and elements to make some seriously gorgeous pages.

 Believe

all papers and elements from Believe Mini by Studio Gypsy
page template from Fuss Free Funky Paper Play by Fiddle-dee-dee Designs

I made a few more hybrid Christmas tags, this time with Studio Gypsy's adorable vintage Christmas tags.

{DIY} Gift Tags by Studio Gypsy, 

Maya Road chipboard frames, ribbon, buttons, string, cardstock, glitter, rub-ons

And finally, a layout I made a few weeks ago for the December 9th "Play it Again" feature on The DailyDigi blog.

everything here from Ho Ho Ho by Laura Banasiak and Micheline Martin

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. I sincerely hope you are having a blessed holiday season. Please come again.

'Tis the Season

How in the world is it possible I haven't updated my blog in three weeks?! Where has the time gone? I'll just blame it on it being the holidays and a busy time of year in general. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Christmas preparations are upon us. I haven't started my Christmas shopping at all, but at least we finally got our annual family photo taken. I'm not entirely pleased with it, but short of wearing a wig there is nothing I can do about it. A few weeks ago I got a haircut, and while the length is quite a bit shorter than I am used to that is not the main problem. Its just such a different, slightly masculine cut. I do not like it. When I was in high school, my sister was in beauty school. I guess you could say she used us (my mother, my father and myself) as guinea pigs to hone her skills on. From that time I have been a firm believer in the advice - or perhaps consolation is a better term - she would sometimes offer afterward. "Oh well. It will grow out."

I guess I have a lot of catching up to do with my pages. I've been in a hybrid mood the past several weeks and have been busy making Christmas tags. I'd forgotten how much work hybrid can be. But at the same time I'm just having fun.

Ho Ho Ho Tags
papers and elements from Ho Ho Ho by Laura Banasiak and Micheline Martin
ribbons, popdots and Maya Road chipboard swirl

Vintage Tags

papers and elements from Vintage Tags and Christmas Retrospect papers by Quirky Twerp
ribbons bells and eyelets

Noel Christmas card

template from Fuss Free Christmas Greetings by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs
papers and accent from Noel by Mari Koegelenberg
flowers made using Paper Roses template by The Cutting Files
chipboard swirl from Maya Road

A few Christmas layouts

{joy}
papers, elements and page templates from Holiday Harmony by Studio Gypsy and Studio True Blue

Merry Days
page template from Honey Pots 4 by Busy Bee Designs
papers from Merry Days 1 and 2 by Jen Wilson
sparkle alpha also by Jen Wilson
greens from Mini Christmas by JM Designs
rolled flowers from Little Bird Said by Kasia Designs
word art from Wonderful Magic by Vera Lim
white epoxy leafy vines from Harvest Sky by Nikki Beaudreau

Definitely Nice
papers and elements from Sweet & Crafty by Quirky Twerp
page template from Honey Pots 5 by Busy Bee Designs
alphas from Snow Much Fun by Mari Koegelenberg
watercolor stamped alpha is from Watercolor White by Laura Banasiak
glitter action on flowers is from Punk my boi glitter styles by Joyful Hearts Designs

And a few others

Fall Splendor
page template from Honey Pots 5 by Busy Bee Designs
papers and elements from Second Spring by Captivated Visions and Stolen Moments

Random Top 10
(as seen in the November 2010 Artisan Notebook)
most papers and elements from So Grateful by Sugarplum Paperie and Sahlin Studios
Family and Traditions wordstrips from Fall Snippets by Sahlin Studios
Home wordstrip from Words to Scrap By by Designs by Dani
page template is from Scraps to Go Vol 3: Top Tens by Jennifer Fox Designs

Believe
page template from Fuss Free Funky Photo Play by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs
papers and elements from Earth & Sky by Veronica Spriggs (Guest Designer at TDC Dec 2010)

She Loved You Too part 10
page template, papers and elements all from Joyful Heart collaboration between Busy Bee Designs and Joyce Paul
alpha brushes by CD Muckosky

Thank you so much for spending some of your time with me. I hope you are enjoying the upcoming holiday season and all the busy, yet fun preparations.