Something must be in the air because I finished another scrapbook layout last week!  All the time spent at home must have stewed the creative juices because I've been having such a fun time crafting these last couple of days.  I have missed crafting just for the fun of it!  Project Life this month has been coming along so easily.  I'm waiting for a good weather day to take photos of what I have completed so far.  Is it too weird if I say I'm proud of myself for keeping at it this long? 

Back to the layout, it was created using Studio Calico's CUPPA Scrapbook kit.  Beautiful colors in this month's kit.  Oddly enough, now that it's the last scrapbook kit I chose to subscribe to since I had months of not using them enough, I found myself reaching straight for it when I took this picture.  I using a sketch from Page Maps to help get me started.  That site is a great resource for helping me figure out how I want things laid out. 



The view from my backyard is simply gorgeous this time of year.  All those trees were one of the many reasons I wanted to live here.  I couldn't wait to see them change colors year after year.  After being in this house for over two years, I finally remembered to snap a photo before the leaves all blew away.  This photo has been my list of things to do ever since I moved in!  The colors married wonderfully with the CUPPA kit.
A few pieces were taken from previous Studio Calico kits.  They included the cutest embellishments in their kits, such as that "Awesome" wood veneer I used in the photo above.  I've been waiting for the perfect project to use it on.  Those tiny black star embellishments have also been waiting on my desk to be used.  I'm happy that they've been including more star embellishments in their kits.  I also used the Big Ticket Basics stamp set by Papertrey Ink to create that large ticket in my cluster.  It is a good size stamp for scrapbooking.  I die-cut a ticket from white cardstock and stamped the image twice using different colors so I could layer them together using foam tape.  It creates a nice pop of the peachy color without adding too much visual clutter.



Here is another place where I used another item from PTI, their One Liners.  Ever since they released a month or two ago, I knew they would look perfect in a layout to create a nice accent.

My husband likes to play jokes on me, especially those that show how gullible I can be sometimes.  On the way home yesterday, I called him like I normally do.  He has been home all week still recuperating from his surgery so I wanted to check up on him and see if he needed me to pick up anything from the store.

It seems a few packages had been delivered and one of them was addressed to me from Texas.  Now, if you know me, there are times where I can be very gullible and easy to deceive.  Some of his favorite memories of me are the times he's tricked me over the phone.





















I kept wracking my brain, trying to figure out what I could have possibly ordered over the weekend that was from Texas.  I knew no one in Texas and the stores I normally shop from are nowhere in that state.  Plus nothing I ordered over the weekend should have arrived that quickly.  This thinking goes on for the half hour it takes me to get home. 





















I should have known better.  I should have realized who I was talking to.  =)

Nestor had finally felt well enough that day to run a few errands and, to thank me, he bought me this little bouquet of flowers from the grocery store to thank me for taking care of him after his surgery..  I loved them.  He is not the flower-giving type and that made these even more special.

Since one of my goals this month is to restart Project Life, I have been thinking of ways to make it more interesting.  I'll go into more details on a different post on how I'm changing up how I approach Project Life, but one of the things I pinpointed about what makes it difficult for me to continue at it was not enough creativity.  I loved scrapbooking because of all the tiny touches and embellishments I could add to it, but I had a hard time doing much of that in my Project Life album.




















So...I decided to come up with some inserts of my own!  Little snippets that can be added to the pockets along with purchased items.  I've been so happy coming up with ideas for mini collections using items I already own.






















The first set I've put together are Christmas Memory Cards.  I have created additional sets which can also be purchased at the shop.  Since these are items I plan in using for my own documenting, they coordinate with the patterned papers I was planning on using this year, namely the Wonderland Collection by Studio Calico.  I loved the colors used in this collection. 





















Each 3x4 card is die-cut and then hand-stamped with different fill-ins for a favorite Christmas memory. 

The fill-ins included are:

• Tradition
• Activity
• Decoration
• Recipe
• Ornament
• Moment
• Wish
• Movie
• Book
• Food
• Song
• Memory 

I am looking forward to filling these out as the month of December progresses.  I can't wait to see what my husband writes on the cards.  It's always so nice to see things through his eyes and this is such a great way to document it!

 

Good morning!  I'm getting started listing the limited number of paper house gift boxes that I have made for this year's holiday season.  Aren't they just so cute?  They are pretty roomy inside and can fit a bunch of little knick knacks.  One of the ways I used this box was to house a mini spa kit for my best friend.  I layered in some dried moss and nestled the tiny bottles and containers among it.  Very cute presentation.

The first house listed is the one above.  Festive colors always make me smile.

On another note, things around the blog may slow down for a week or so.  My husband recently had some minor surgery done and I've been busy taking care of him and making sure he's comfortable.  That doesn't leave much free time to make projects and post pictures on the blog.  So for now, some of my posts may focus mainly on shop updates.

The Nice List - Pure Poppy

The Nice List - Harvest Gold

The Nice List - New Leaf

All of the latest color editions of The Nice List are up in the shop!  I love how they turned out.  The final color I plan to add will be a cute pink which I also plan to send to three of my little nieces this year.

[My eldest:  Booda]

Autumn is officially in full swing here in Maryland.  The leaves have changed colors and the weather has a definite chill to it.  This has me wanting to cozy up at home with my cats around me on the couch and focus on what I'm grateful for.  I want to start recording memories again and I hope this month I can find my stride all over again.

Goals

1. Project Life redone
2. Complete Christmas cards
3. Start a new tradition:  Gratitude Journal
4. Major clean the house