I know I said that Mondays would be "December"-day but I just can´t wait! November is too grey and I just want more of that Christmas spirit! So here are my album from last year:

The album is a 6x8" black chevron burlap from S@np- Simple Stories whit 1 pack of page protectors and 1 pack of "Insta" pocket pages.

 I did this weekly, by Advent and just using pocket pages. I used vintage images from my stash and pinterest. I really like this album but it´s a bit, flat both physically and story wise. 

But I had one, the first I made and I finished it in the days after Christmas. (Thinking maybe do hole of December for this year)

But here are the crappy photos:

Enjoy! 

Love Julia

I don´t very often add news things in my PL but I couldn´t leave out what happened in Paris last week. Paris for me is a dream, France is a dream and what happen there was a nightmare. But I wanted to have it in my album, hidden. The sn@p pockets are perfect and this way it´s there but it´s not the first thing you´ll see.

 Love from all over the world to Paris

I have to say it was a bit hard to focus on the good things for this week after Paris but here are 2: Majken did so well on our trick training and I reached 15% fluently in french!

Love Julia 

Have you started to think about December Daily?

Last year I did an album and I have to admit that I might letting myself getting hyped up of all of the December Daily prep videos coming now. I´m so doing it this year and I went back to my 2014 album to see what I liked and what I can do differently.  I also was really unsure of what i wanted for this year. 

Making the plan:

First I started whit all of my options/ questions

-How do I want to do it?

Daily     Just stories    Mix

-What feel /warm or cold

Gold    Silver    Mix

The Size?

6x6     6x8     A4

The structure?

Pocket pages    Free/loose    Mix 

For me this where the big questions that before I had answered them couldn´t start. 

As you can see I have this plan of really mixing it up. I want to do it daily but whit stories of memories and traditions mixed in. I also want to have both silver and gold. Mixing pocket pages but also have "free" pages. All in a 6x8 album.

After this I wrote down all the things I want to have, specific photos and stories but also stuff like vintage images and lots of texture. 

Finally I made two more lists:

-What I liked about the 2014 album

*it´s a fun album to have and look through

*the vintage vintage images 

*good size, fits nicely on the bookshelf

*having family recipes whit photos

* clear structure

*pages of  favorite traditions, music and ornaments

-What I can do better

*having a thought out plan, both for content and look. (making a kit for this year)

*More! everyday pages, more stories and more christmas!

*Photos, making sure that they look good and bright

*More life in the album, free pages and lots more texture.

This are my top 3 for awesome December Daily inspiration boost:  

Marie Lottermoser is the Queen of December Daily, have a look at here gallery!!

Scrap Gals Podcast has a episode about December Daily that is filled whit ideas

Victoria Marie is an amazing lady at youtube and she has just finished series where she finished her 2014 December Daily album. I´m sure to check out when she starts whit 2015!

I really want the 2015 album to be as good as I can make it and doing a plan, having a clear image of what I want it to look like, include and feel like will (hopefully) help. 

Love Julia

I love looking through magazines, they are so pretty and inspiring, and for this layout I wanted to try to use an advertising I ripped out. 

The add is a full page and was found in a garden magazine. I just love it and after having thought about how to add it, I sat down and turned on the camera... hoping for the best. 

The add-page had a black background with what looked to be a sketched garden scene. In the signs was info about the event, I covered them whit the photo and tiny word sticker.

So I started whit colors, pink and gold. I had this painted craft in pink, perfect for a background. I got out my trusty sewing-machine to sew down the page and the gold-dotted vellum. Really liking how the white thread frames the dark!

 There is not allot of embellishments but I added a glittered tag and some leafy-thingis Magnolia die cuts, to play whit the garden scene. Sens the I wanted the background to be the "star" I used a black& white photo, so I didn´t have to have competing colors.

 I used a Amy Tangerin craft word for my title, again so not to over power. I think a black title would have been to much. The craft word works whit the background and stand out just enough whit the glossy-accent.  

 What is the last thing you do? Splatter some gold Heidi-Shine of course! I love doing this over black & white photos, it looks so magical!!

Love Julia

This last weeks my desk has been covered in glitter, embossing powders and everything Christmasy. It´s that time of the year to start doing Christmas-cards, and I love it!!! I always do to many but if there is on type of cards that I love to make, it Christmas ones. 

This year I have started earlier and made many more, my sister goes to different Christmas-markets and takes my cards whit her. Today I thought to show you three of my favorite cards that I made this past week. I made all of them in bulk, eight of each, so I kept the design easy and on pre-made craft card-bases.. The stamps and dies are all from Magnolia, colored whit distress ink.

 The first card I wanted to keep rather clean, just the oh-so-cute moose, two snowflakes and a "merry christmas" stamp. The biggest part of all of the card is coloring the images... 

 I had to have just a little sparkle here so I put some Ranger "Silver" stickles around the snowflake. 

 I love embossing-powders and I think they add that magic, especially to a Christmas-card. To get this light snowfall effect I have used Stampendous "chunky white" sprinkled over the moose. 

 On the seconed card I started whit my favorite stamp (a gift from my lovely mum). Here I wanted a more winter, cold and frosty pallet. The papers are from a My Mind´s Eye "Lost & Found" 6x6 paper pad and cut out whit Magnolia dies.

 My favorite embossing powders are from Stampendous and sprinkling this "Shabby White" around the image is like adding magic! 

 Next to the snowflakes I added a mix of pearls and rhinestones and the sentiment is just punched out of my Dymo.

 The last card is more classic for Christmas whit the red and gold. This is made in the same way as the second card, just in different colors but not so many embellishments... 

 I can´t stop using the "shabby white" powder! 

If you have a chunky white powder, add it heavier on the "ground" , or on the shoes to look like snow. The little leafy thing is from a Magnolia die set and I just embossed it whit Ranger "gold tinsel". Love that powder, so pretty and detailed. 

 For the sentiment I simply stamped whit black on a label, keeping it classic.

I hope that you like the cards and that they inspire you to sprinkle some embossing powders!

Love Julia

Following a sketch is, for me. so hard! The story behind this layout is that I started whit it late one night, stopped to be able to record the process to day after. So I took a photo of the layout to glue it all down later... Oh good grief,  my head was like, "but put it here", "try it here" "why not some paint?!" I had to keep remind myself that the work is DONE! just glue it down...

The day after, in daylight, I started whit some blue mist for the background, and the mat it on craft. Here it´so clear how hard my brain had whit this, did I trim the background? No! I always to this, but I just couldn´t think straight...

 But my brain did think; " I LOVE a pink tassel!

 ...and copper-glitter leafs. I love those!"

 After having added the journaling my thought process started to come back and I finished it whit some gold "Heidi Shine"

In the end I´m so happy whit how it turned out and I´m so glad I didn´t change it.

Love Julia

So here we have the Like For Ever kit for November, 

the main is Maggie Holmes new line; "Shine". That is, the papers (12 sheets), the stickers, alpha stickers and a roller phrase stamp. In the kit is also a big wood word from Heidi Swapp vellum pockets from Amy Tangerin and 2 rolls of grey washi from Pebbles.

 

Now, honestly I have made a few layouts whit this kit but I found it very challenging. There is no embellishments here more the the sticker sheet and the word. Now I  don´t think its a bad idea to "dip into" your stash but when buying a kit I sort of want that kit to be enough...  I had wished that there had been something more dimensional rather then plasticy washi... I don´t know maybe I´m just really cranky but I´m going to work whit this kit, just going to use more from my stash then last month!

 Is now the time to say that "Shine" is not my new favorite line? to soon? 

For the first layout I cut it down to an A4 from this sort of starry +-sign pattern. I do love that they had a navy paper ( I would have loved a pretty floral) So I matted the photo on the navy,the back side, the striped, a doily and the backside of the + pattern. 

 I love navy, I also love lilac so I decided to add both here, tassels, a Magnolia butterfly and some mist-splatter

 I have a rather big stack of tassels, don´t judge. I make them super easy from embroidery yarn and some gold string. The journaling here I felt would be lost on this black&white paper so I wrote it in a shipping tag, added some "black tie" twine from Lawn Fawn

 The phrase stamp (best part  of the kit) I added in the background, making the phrases part of the design. I also added some of the washi behind the photo, as layers. I have a hard time to use washi and this glossy, plasticy is not my favorite. But I will use them!

Love Julia