MKPLxSU Blog Share: Hello December

Hi!


This month at MKPLxSU we have decided to try something different - instead of all posting our pages on one day, we are spreading them out through the month. Today it's my turn to share my pages.

This month we have decided to focus on the Hello December 2016 kit that you can find in the Holiday Catalogue. While it's mainly designed to be used for a December Daily type project, you could really use the kit in any way you'd like! As a bonus, it is also among the products discounted this week in the Online Extravaganza. Nice!

This is the fifth year I have started (and completed!) a December Daily album, so for me it was a no-brainer to get the kit and plunge straight in. I usually leave the title page until last, but I was so excited by the 2016 transparency card that I just had to make it first.

The kit didn't come with sequins this year, so I used some from the Metallics and Brights packs in my stash. I also managed to find some sequins that were pretty close to Emerald Envy among my hoarded bits and pieces. I think they came from a kit that Ada had where you push pins through the sequins and into a foam board to make a picture. I sealed the pocket with my Fuse tool to ensure they stayed put.

I usually have a page or two at the front of my album from November, as we often attend some Christmas events that are held early. In this case, the second page of my DD documents the Adelaide Christmas Pageant. Rob, his mum and the big kids took some silly selfies while they were waiting for the pageant to start. I think these kinds of memories are the best kind to preserve!

The very next day Rob, his mum and the big kids went to a Christmas party at the Adelaide Zoo. They had far too much of a good time to remember taking photos, so all I had was this one of Alex playing Pokémon Go as they walked around. He's so obsessed with it at the moment, and it was far more interesting to him than the animals!


I should point out that I would usually go to these events with the rest of the family, but as I was still recovering from my ankle surgery it was best for me and Hudson to stay home and let the more energetic members of the family enjoy a couple of special days out without having to worry about us keeping up. Hud and I had some fabulous mother-son bonding time at home.

This is my last page for now! Usually the Christmas tree would go up on Pageant day, but we had such a huge weekend that we just didn't get time. I was going to wait for Dec 1, but Ada nagged until we gave in on Sunday. It's not decorated yet, but as it's a fibre optic tree it still looks great at night with the lights glowing.

Did you see that I created another transparent pocket? I used one of the metal paper clips that come in the kit, as well as some more sequins. I didn't actually realise it was a paper clip until after I'd sealed the pocket. Oh well, it still looks great floating around in the pocket with the sequins!

Are you planning a DD album this year? Have you started it, like me? Please join us in the Facebook group and post your pages for us to see and enjoy!

Bye for now,

Tina

MKPLxSU: Hello December 2015

Hi!

One of my favourite things in December is doing a December Daily album.  This year is my 4th year doing one, and I still love doing it as much as I did the first year.  I've got a little smarter along the way though - the first year I tried to document everything we did every day and I very quickly got bogged down in it.  Now I just pick one thing each day to document.  One photo, one story - easy!

This month the MKPLxSU Design Team have a Blog Share that highlights the Hello December 2015 Project Life Collection.  This collection makes it super easy to complete your December Daily album, and it's so very pretty!

The thing I struggle the most with on my DD Albums is the wording on the front page! I usually leave it til last, which is why the card on the bottom right is blank.  The right words will come to me eventually!  I used the gold alphabet stickers to write 'twenty fifteen' on the top card.  Part of my DD method is to get the photos and cards into pockets each day and then come back once I've finished to pretty up the pages.

I quite frequently start my DD with a page or two from November. Adelaide has a huge Christmas Pageant in November, which traditionally starts the Festive Season in South Australia.  We didn't go to the big Pageant this year, but I marched in our smaller, local pageant so I've started my DD with that.

Quite a lot of the earlier pages have nothing to do with Christmas! School is winding up for the year and there are a lot of events to do with that.  On these pages is Alex's last flute lesson for the year, and also his High School transition visit.

Alex and Ada have signed up for the local library's Summer Reading Program. The theme this year is Lost Worlds, which includes Star Wars and Dr Who.  They are both big fans, so they are keen to go to the themed events.  On the 5th we went to the library to see the Tardis and watch a Dr Who episode.

Of course, we had to include the Santa Photo. The photo I've put in my DD album was not the one we had printed.  The 'official' photo had all three smiling at the camera.  However, I loved this photo more than the smiling one.  Hudson really doesn't like sitting and having his photo taken. His missing tooth just adds a touch of humour to the photo.

Ada had an excursion in the last week. They went to the pool and the movies.  I forgot to get a photo in the morning (we are usually rushing out the door at the last minute) so I got one after she returned home. I try not to stress if I don't get the 'perfect' photo, sometimes it's just not possible.

So there's a little look at my DD album. I hope you've found some inspiration in my photos.

You can also check out the blogs of the rest of the MKPLxSU Design Team to see how they've used the Hello December 2015 kit.

Julie Kettlewell, UK

Delys Cram, New Zealand
Linda Higgins, Australia

Constanze Wirtz, Germany 

Janet Morrow Wakeland, USA - http://remarkablycreated.com/ 

Bye for now,

Tina

Memory Keeping With PLxSU: December

Hi!

On the first Monday of each month I participate in a challenge hosted over at the Memory Keeping With PLxSU Facebook group.  The Design Team are based in countries all around the world and we are all SU Demonstrators and Project Life fans.  This month we are challenging ourselves (and you of course!) to complete a page or pages around a December theme.  It's important to note that this doesn't necessarily mean a December Daily page - it can be absolutely anything to do with December.

Having said that, my pages today are from my December Daily album.  This is the third year I have started a December Daily album.  My first year I didn't complete the album until the following September.  Last year I finished the album in January.  Not too bad!  This year keeping up will be so much easier with the Hello December PLxSU Collection.

Now, you might notice that I have actually started my December Daily with a November entry. That's because in Adelaide the Christmas season officially begins with the Annual Christmas Pageant.  This year Rob took the big kids into the city and they watched from his office window.

Another November entry, simply because we attended our first Christmas party for the season in November.  The party had a Super Hero theme, and Rob and Hudson didn't need much encouragement to dress in their Superman t-shirts!

December 1st is the day we put up our Christmas tree.  It fell on a Monday this year, and it felt really strange doing it on a weekday.  From my perspective it was great though, as I could assemble the tree without any 'helpers' or whining kids!  I did briefly regret allowing the big kids to decorate the tree by themselves as they made a huge mess and left it for me to clean up!

Here's a little trick for pocket pages: don't be afraid to cut photos to fit them across multiple pockets.  It makes planning your pages a little easier.  If you are cutting a photo of people though, place the photo on a flat surface and lay the pocket page over the top.  This way you can see if you are going to cut through someone's head BEFORE you start chopping up the photo.

My husband was on call and got called out on Monday, so we decided to wait for him to be home on Tuesday to finish decorating the tree.  All the kids have name baubles and they take turns putting Santa on top of the tree each year.  The tree is so tall that Rob needs to lift them up so that they can reach!  It worked out well that we did the tree over 2 days, as I didn't have anything else 'planned' for my DD that day.

It's not Christmassy at all, but it was the 'story' for the day - the surgery I had on my head. A DD doesn't necessarily need to be all about Christmas, you just pick a story for the day and tell it!

Sometimes, no matter how much you try, you just can't make a back to back page work.  In this case I had one landscape photo and one portrait photo.  Thankfully in each pack of Photo Pocket Pages you get one page that is a single 6x8 inch pocket.  I just cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock to size and adhered the photo, date card, journalling and embellishments to the cardstock and slid it into the page.  Easy!

I really like the addition of the Cherry Cobbler Glimmer Paper to the date cards.  I saw this somewhere, but I can't remember where.  I quite liked it, so I've decided to use it through my album.  It helps the cork numbers you get in the Hello December Accessory Pack to stand out.

So, that's it from me for now.  I have a few more pages to show you, but I will do it in batches through the month.  You can see what the rest of the MKWPLxSU Design Team have come up with by clicking on the links to their blogs listed below.

Claire Daly, Australia – http://www.clairedaly.typepad.com

Julie Kettlewell, UK - http://www.juliesjapes.blogspot.com.au/

Delys Cram, New Zealand - http://delysc.wordpress.com/

Constanze Wirtz, Germany - http://conibaer.blogspot.com.au/

Janet Morrow Wakeland,  USA - http://remarkablycreated.com/

Kim Holterman,  Netherlands  - http://kims-scrapbooking.nl/

Kimberly VanDiepen - http://stampinbythesea.com/

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #196: Just Add Christmas Projects

Hi!

I'm pretty certain that it's Friday (see my previous post!!), which means it's time for the very last Just Add Ink challenge for 2013.

This week we are challenging you to show us your Christmas projects.  Apart from Christmas cards my biggest Christmas project is my December Daily album.  This year it's been a much easier task thanks to Stampin' Up!'s Season Of Style suite of products.

This is the first page, which isn't actually the first page.  The Adelaide Christmas Pageant is on in early November and really marks the start of the Christmas season for us.  I couldn't possibly leave it out!  I also included the Special Children's Christmas Party which is on in late November.

This is my title page.  I'm still deciding on a photo for the bottom left pocket, which is why it's blank for now.  I will add the year over the photo when I choose one.

The hardest part, which isn't really hard at all, is choosing which pocket page to use for which day.  You also have to think about the day that is going on the other side of the page.  The page above is the front and the page below is the back.  I knew that I would have a lot of photos on day 6, but not many on day 5.  I picked the 16 squares page to suit the busier day and then cropped my photos for day 5 to fit the pockets.  It's a really cool effect!

Any spare squares I just fill with some of the Season Of Style DSP Stack papers.

My main tips for completing a December Daily are:

• Keep it simple - don't try to document everything every day.  Pick one thing from the day and document that.
• Plan ahead!  I wrote down what we were doing each day so I knew which days would be quiet and which would be busy. On the days where we have nothing on I will do a page about a Christmas tradition, or favourite things about December.
• I also made my date numbers in advance.  I made them all on 2x2 inch squares and used the same colours and materials for them all to keep the look uniform.
• Having a home photo printer certainly helps to keep on top of the album and up to date, but it's certainly not an essential.

See you over at Just Add Ink with your fabulous Christmas projects.

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Christmas!

Hi!

It's time for the final Just Add Ink Challenge for 2012.  The Design Team are taking a well deserved break and will be back in mid January. But for now we have a Just Add Christmas challenge. I decided to take on the challenge of doing a December Daily album this year, so it seemed natural to use it for my JAI challenge project.

I used the Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Tulle Ribbon and the Cotton Ribbon from the Holiday Catalogue to create the front decoration. Some Cherry Cobbler Glimmer Paper and a sticker from the Merry Moments Simply Scrappin' Kit finish it off.

The album was an old folder I had put aside a while ago, waiting for a suitable project.  The folder was quite flimsy so I strengthened it with chipboard before covering it with a quilted cover I made from the retired Deck The Halls Designer Fabric.

The actual album pages are for now only digital. Each day I have created a title page and a collage page of photos from the day. Later on, when I have a bit more time, I will used the photos to create hybrid pages for the album. For now, here's my pages from days one and two.

Poor Rob, cleaning the airconditioner and putting up the Christmas tree was all too much for him!

We all had a wonderful time at the Special Children's Christmas Party.

So, how will you Just Add Christmas?  Can't wait to find out!

Bye for now,

Tina