I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
We were all sick here, but that's a story for a different day...or never.
Anyway - I'm so excited to switch gears and start planning for Christmas! I love all of the decorating, baking, wrapping, pre-Christmas stuff that needs to be done...but I'll be the first to admit that I am not the most organized person. I know, I know...after all my messy house/work-space posts you'd never have guessed it, right?
Again...anyway...
I've decided to change my tune. This year I'm all about the planning. I've become a total planamaniac (you read that here first my friends...plan-a-maniac).
And when I was given the opportunity to play with the brand new Stampin' Up!® Project Life® Hello December kit, I did a little jig because it was the perfect way for me to get my organize on...
First let me show what all is part of this darling collection...
So great, right?
And check out these fantastic digital files, too! Stampin' Up!® was gracious enough to let me use these for my project...and I'm pretty sure they were exactly what I needed...
Here it is!
I am over the moon about this planner!
Now, I really did like the way this album arrived (dark red binding on a kraft album)...but it didn't really fit with my color scheme. So I set to work re-creating it to make it unique. I used a few layers of gesso and white acrylic paint over the red parts...and then blocked off sections of the kraft with washi tape and added some black, silver, blue & green. AAAACK. I die. I just love the way this turned out.
And a simple piece of wood veneer turned this non-traditionally holiday-ish album cover into the perfect holiday album.
OK...now for the inside...
Here's what I was talking about with the digital files...
I resized and added type to one of the digital cards, printed it out and slid it into a page protector. The perfect coordinating title page - quickly & easily!
My next page is where I will record the Christmas cards I mail...and receive. I think I will probably add holes to my favorite cards and insert them directly into my book at the end of the season. I can't wait! Oh my gosh...I'm getting so excited...
Moving on...
For these cards, I opened the digital "MAKING A LIST" files and added my kids' names. Then I simply printed them out, asked the kids to write down their wish lists, and slipped them into their pockets. Extra pockets will hold coupons and gift ideas...
Like I mentioned - I love all the decorating...but sometimes I'm a little lost at how to change things up from year to year. So these next pages will be where I add magazine inspiration, Pin-spiration, and any ideas that may come to me. I will also add photos of this years' decorations so that in future years I can see what I've done.
Next are more pages for decorating and gift ideas...
(I had the best time cutting up the little 3x4 cards to use as note cards throughout my album...)
...and a section for projects I want to complete...
...I've also included a few inspiration photos directly into the album...just so that I don't forget them. (and yes...that arrow is an upside-down tree sticker).
No Christmas planner would be complete without a list of holiday to-do's, right?
I used the little wonky-star stamp from the Hello December Stamp Set to create little places to "check off" each of our activities as we complete them.
Some of the pockets are just filled with stuff I love...
And finally...at the back of my planner album I've added some of the Stampin Up!® Project Life® Envelope Pages...
The envelope pages are wonderfully sturdy plastic...and they close at the top so nothing will fall out. I'm using one envelope to hold my shopping receipts...
...and the other to hold miscellaneous items...thank you cards, random tags, stickers, etc.
So there you have it!
What do you think? Man...I love it. I love that the Hello December collection was so easy to use...and that it contained so many beautiful coordinating pieces. I love that each little piece seemed like it was designed especially for my project...and I love that the addition of the digital items made my project even that much more "me."
I'm pretty much head over heels.
Thank you so so much, Stampin' Up!®