Serious Play

Preparing for December Daily 2011

So, I am collecting my supplies for this year's December Daily album.

 

Back a few weeks ago I fell in love with the December 2011 Journal Kit by Marcy Penner. The kit is so full of whimsy and unique handmade items that I will never have the time to make for myself, so I bought the kit. It should be arriving in my mailbox soon and I can hardly wait! 

You can see a more full view of the pages in this kit here. The kit includes a variety of page sizes, with the biggest measuring 6X8 in. I just love using different page sizes in my albums.

Much of Marcy's kit is made from the Crate Paper Peppermint line. I absolutely fell in love with it, so I went out and bought me a few extra sheets and embellishments from this line to add to Marcy's kit. I especially love the woodgrain paper and bought about 6 more of those to use in my December Daily album this year. So excited!

Ali Edwards, the creator of the December Daily Project, just released her new digital December Daily Layered Templates at Designer Digitals. They measure 6X8.5 in. and as always, I love them. Ali also has a set of 2011 December Daily Overlays that are available. I think she is using those in her album again this year. 

I used her 2010 Overlays for my December Daily 2010 album last year and they worked fabulously.

There is a whole December Daily kit being offered at Studio Calico that includes the unique chipboard album for this project that will fit the 6X8.5 in pages, if you are interested. The album is not available for purchase separate from the kit, however.

 

So, this year for my December Daily 2011 album, I plan on combining Ali's layered templates with Marcy's kit. I will use the layered templates for my photos and then intersperse the pages from Marcy's kit for the journaling and to house other memorabilia that comes along with Christmas. I also plan on using some Instagram photos throughout my album. 

As yet, I am still undecided on what to do for the cover for my album. I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but I will have to wait to see what Marcy's kit is like when it arrives and perhaps that will confirm the best approach.

 

Are you planning on participating in the December Daily project this year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2011

So, I guess you are never too old to dress up!

 

My girls attend a private Christian school, and although the kids were allowed to dress up today, there were some boundaries...no masks, no scary costumes, nothing gross, and the costumes still had to abide by the regular school dress code (basically, no inappropriate skin showing). With this in mind, my girls set out to just have fun!

Before heading off to school today, I tried to grab some shots of my girls. Unfortunately, it was still dark outside, so we had to do indoor shots at the backdoor with terrible lighting! I may try to retake these later today...

 

Ashley wanted to be Spiderman, but we had no luck finding such a costume in an adult size. So, we improvised with blue tights, Spiderman comic boxers and a black Spiderman t-shirt. She also painted her fingernails with silver spiderwebs, which look kinda cool.

 

Jess was all about finding something that she could wear again on another day. She is into prints lately, so this costume was a winner in her eyes. She made the ears out of a black headband and some black foam core board.

 

Later tonight, Ash is going to a friend's house and they will go trick-or-treating. Jess is having some friends come over to our house to hang and watch a movie. I find it interesting to see how, as they grow up, they still want to find ways to celebrate and enjoy the fun but not appear too childish.

 

Happy Halloween to you all!

 

 

 

Inspired by Pinterest

So, I have joined the many others who are being inspired by others' Pinterest boards.

 

If you are interested in checking out my boards go to...

http://pinterest.com/cin_back/

 

 

Canmore Condo | Part 2

So, I have a few more pages of this little mini album to share with you...

 

I always am enamoured when I catch the first sight of the mountains. Throughout the album I used various rolls of washi tape from Hambly as well as stamps and stickers from Amy Tangerine's line with American Crafts. I also used the red labels which I purchased at the dollar store.

 

On the right hand side of this spread I used a map to cover the printed words that are on the inside of the file folders. 

 

I also inked the edges of the file pages, as they are at varying lengths and it helped to define them.

 

I stamped various Amy Tangerine stamps on cream cardstock, cut them out and used them on various pages as embellishments.

 

More pages coming...

 

 

 

 

 

Canmore Condo | Part 1

So, I have been working on the pages for my File Folder Album.

 

I found a number of flyers and magazines from which I took a collection of words, maps and articles to help tell my story.

 

This entire article explained the Solara Resort & Spa better than I could have, so I simply clipped it out and adhered it into my album. I had to do a bit of work to fit the pieces that I wanted, but I like how it came out.

 

Here, I started by dripping some October Afternoon Sprinklers (Miss Mary Mack) in random places over the page. Then, I stamped the title and a few stamps from Amy Tangerine in my colour palette. Finally, I wrote the story of how we acquired our condo in Canmore. On the facing page, I adhered a map of the town, a silver star to indicate where our condo is located, an arrow made from washi tape, and our new address printed across the bottom.

And then I ran out of good natural light, so I will share more pics tomorrow...

 

 

 

 

File Folder Album

So, I created an album using file folders.

 

I am always looking at ways to make a new album from scratch and this idea came to me while browsing through the school supply room!

1. The front cover already decorated with Amy Tangerine papers, stickers and stamps.

2. A view of the printed part of the file folders showing on the ends.

3. I began with 4 regular letter-sized file folders.

4. I cut them in half on the paper cutter. I actually cut them just off centre in order to preserve the natural curve of the folders. 

5. This yielded 4 pieces of each of the two shapes resulting in a total of 8 pieces for my album.

6. After cutting, I was left with some funky peaks on the edges of both piles.

7. First, I took the right hand pile of folders and clipped the drastic swoop to make a right angle.

8. Then I used my corner rounder punch to make a smooth uniform curved corner on each of the folders.

9. Next, I took the left hand pile of folders and clipped the drastic swoop to make a right angle.

10. And once again, used my corner rounder punch to make a nice corner.

11. The finished right hand pile...notice that there were two corners to round on each file here.

12. The finished left hand pile...only one corner to round on each file here.

 

13. Next, I alternated a file from each pile. The files that have the printing on them stick out just a little farther so that they are visible along the right hand side of the album.

14. Notice that the height of the folders ends up different as well since I did not cut them exactly in half. I think this gives the album character. Of course, if you wanted uniformity, you could cut them exact, but then you would have to work with the corners a little differently than I did.

15. There are a number of ways you could choose to bind this album. I chose to use the coptic stitch, which I did in a yellow baker's twine. Using a Bind-It-All, binder rings or an accordion fold to create a spine would work just as well.

16. A view of the inside pages using the coptic stitch. I treated each file as a 'signature' when binding.

17. Another view of the coptic stitch. I chose this method because I like how the 'pages' (folders) stay flat when opened.

18. A finished view of the stitching along the spine of the album.

 

I had so much fun creating this album that I will probably make more! As well, I cannot wait to fill this album with a most fabulous story that will be documented in its pages!

I will share completed pages throughout the week...

 

 

 

In 42 Years LO

So, I converted my birthday post from last week into this layout.

 

I simply copied all of the text from my list and, using Photoshop, I played with it in a text box until I liked the size and shape of the box. After printing the text out onto the kraft cardstock, I used the October Afternoon Sprinklers to make the paint splatters. The title is a variety of letter stickers. I chose different washi tapes that fit my colour palette and finished it off with a vintage typewriter sticker from an Echo Park paper pack I purchased back in the spring.

Now, my list will be something I can look back on in a few years. It will be interesting to compare my thinking at 42 with what it will be in the future.

 

 

 

Vintage Finds

So, I went antique shopping with my mom.

 

Last weekend my girls were playing in a volleyball tournament in a little town just south of Calgary called Nanton. This unique town is known in the area for its smattering of antique shops. My mom and I have been trying to make a trip to Nanton all summer, to no avail, so this was perfect! We slipped down to the shops in between the girls' games to see what we could find.

I managed to find a few vintage pieces that made me smile. The retro mirror has a beveled edge all the way around it's intriguing shape, as well as some tasteful etching. I have been scoping mirrors for several months but most were scratched or chipped or had an overpowering design or too pricey! I picked up this one for $28. After checking out a few vintage tablecloths, my eyes caught sight of this beauty with the yellow and grey design...my fave colour scheme. Not a snag, rip or stain could be found. And if you look closely, there is a very subtle cream design that surrounds the flower pattern, which made me fall in love with it.

And then there was the Brownie movie camera which still has the original reels and some film inside! The leather case is in excellent condition and includes a few other gadgets such as a stand for the camera, extra reels, tins, and a certificate.

In another fun little shop I found this Kodak folding camera. I don't know a lot about this camera, so I am going to do some investigating. It is in excellent condition and I am hoping to get it working once I can find the film it requires. This one cost me $25.

Then, I spun around to discover this beauty sitting on the shelf. It is a Zeiss Ikon from the German man, Carl Zeiss who is known for his camera lenses. Again, I don't have too much information on this camera  yet, but I am going to find out. This one cost me $50 and I have already put 35mm film into it and have begun taking some shots. This is where the ease and instant gratification of digital will be missed. I will have to wait to finish the entire film and have it developed before I can see if it is working! 

So, I am tickled with my purchases and anticipate using each piece in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Starbucks LO

So, I realized that I am quite particular about my Starbucks drink.

 

It has been a while since I completed a digital LO and I had fun with this one.

 

Supplies:

Chevron background paper:  Ali Edwards via Designer Digitals

Stitching:  Anna Aspnes (a kit download from a class I had taken)

Title font:  Steak

Journaling font:  Simply*Glamorous

Date tag:  my own design

 

 

 

30 Day Photo Challenge | Pt.4

So, I am finally posting the completion of the 30 Day Photo Challenge that I took in August.

 

I found out about the 30 Day Challenge on a blog called Oh So Lovely via Amy Tangerine. This project took place over the month of August 2011. Basically, there was a specific photo that I was challenged to take each day. Some days it came easy and some days I had to get creative, but that is what I loved about this challenge. 

If you happened to miss the first few posts for this summer project of mine, you can visit them below:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

 

And the finale, Part 4 follows...

Day 27.  after dark: a shot of the downtown lights in my great city, Calgary

Day 28.  daily routine:  brushing my teeth in my bathroom

 

Day 29.  purchased:  an unsweetened Refresh tea latte from Starbucks

Day 30:  in motion:  streaking lights while driving down the street

 

Final Thoughts:

• I absolutely loved shooting the daily challenges
• it was a manageable project given that there was only one shot required per day
• it was the perfect way to document my August, seeing how I would not have otherwise been documenting it (all of our holidays were over by then)
• I will definitely be doing this project again
• having the album completed ahead of time made it easy to just adhere in the daily photo
• letting the pictures be the documentation kept the 'to do' each day very minimal
• challenging myself to get a specific shot took some thought but I was up for the challenge and it stretched me a little (this was a good thing)
• I further challenged myself to shoot with a variety of means that I had (Canon DSLR, Instax Mini, TTV camera, Poladroid) which gave further visual interest to my completed album
• I used number stickers that I had purchased at a dollar store and ran out of 1s and 2s before the project ended, so I simply used the negative of the number sticker and filled it in with a Sharpie marker

 

I am thinking of creating my own 30 Day Photo Challenge.

If you would be interested in following along with me, kindly leave a comment below expressing your interest.