Very Mary

Winner!

Hey all! Thanks for playing along on the give-away post. Here's the winner: 

Am I first? :) I usually don't enter these things, but I need a calendar to organize myself, and heck, a scrappy calendar would be even cooler. My main goal for 2011 is organization... I'm still on that quest. ;p

Posted by: melanie | December 03, 2010 at 09:05 PM

Melanie, can you email me your address so I can forward it to the editors at SCT? 

 

Works of Art

One day she was just scribbling away at unrecognizable works of art, and the next, she is suddenly drawing people!

Mommy, Sadie, and Daddy. (Caleb is not featured because, apparently, the artist ran out of room.)

December, Daily

December is rushing along, and I have been really enjoying myself this year. I usually do anyway because I like the holidays, but I just feel more aware this time around. Having a preschooler around will do that to you.

In the last week, we have met Santa:

"written" him a reminder note:

admired the Christmas lights: 

wrapped a few packages:

and found another use for the countdown calendar:

among other things. Hope you are enjoying the holiday so far!

Chasing December

December 3

With D being an electrician and all, it's an important part of the holidays to have an outdoor decoration plan in place. Last year, we added a mailbox thinking that it had potential for a fun holiday activity: getting holiday mail. "Holiday mail" has turned out to be a chocolate advent calendar. Every day when Daddy gets home from work, they check the mailbox and find the chocolate for the day. It's a pity they don't put more than one chocolate in there. 'Tis the season to be sharing, you know. 

December 4

I dusted off the ol' Cricut for some snowflake cutting. I know it's not really craft time when the machine does all the cutting, but we don't have any kid scissors (it's on my list), and her "craft stamina" is still somewhat limited. Glitter and glue would have probably made this more exciting, but excitement is overrated, especially when it involves clean-up with a broom, don't you think?

As it happened, she was perfectly happy to peel the snowflakes off and play "snowflake face." I'm not sure about the exact rules, but it involves putting a snowflake over your eye and then making as strange a face as you can manage, all while saying, "hello, I'm SNOWflake FACE!" in an accent.

She doesn't get it from me.

Overheard

Sadie: Daddy is sweet like cotton candy!

(pauses)

And Mommy? You are a sucker.

 

(I'm not trying to win the situation here, but for the record, she doesn't even like cotton candy. She does, however, really like suckers.)

December so far...

It's been super fun to read about your goals and/or plans for 2011. We are definitely sharing some of the same plans for the new year. I know for a fact that IKEA is in my future - I will be attempting more than one (hopefully) organizational project next year. I'd really like to organize my home, my photos, and myself, so that the time I have isn't wasted trying to a) find things, b) find photos, or c) find myself. :)

Dates are arbitrary of course, but the idea of a new year and a fresh start is so appealing. I'm feeling creatively inspired by photography. What used to frustrate me (and honestly still does a lot of the time) is starting to become super exciting. I am learning. Last night I was trying to understand something that I was reading about re-sizing photos, and I was so excited about the fact that I had just learned something new that I wrote in my notebook "learn, learn, learn" without even thinking about it. I'm weird sometimes.

I'm itching to try Project 365 again in 2011, but I'm starting small with a December Daily album this month. I made a conscious decision to ignore all those beautifully scrapbooked albums circulating the internet this time of year. I'm planning a very simple photography + word based album from blurb, and so far, I am on track. The first couple of days:

December 1

I had visions of the traditional "tree-decorating" shot as S was adding some of the last ornaments, and in truth, I have a few of those shots, but we had a little mishap, and this is what inspired me the most. I was especially proud of myself for not freaking out as I am wont to do.

December 2

Confession: I usually recycle the candy canes. I don't like them and D doesn't like them, so I've just been hanging the same ones on the tree year after year since no one eats them. Apparently they still taste pretty good though, because she's asked for one every day since.

That's it for tonight. I have more photos to share, but I also have a Christmas present that needs to be finished and submitted as soon as possible. More on that later too. :)

SCT-PageMaps Sketch Calendar Giveaway!

Just today, I received a package containing my new 2011 SCT-PageMaps Sketch Calendar! Before I decided to cut back on my scrapbooking, I contributed a page for Becky's June 2011 sketch, and I was so pleased to see it in print. Becky creates great sketches, as I'm sure you scrapbookers know, and this limited edition calendar has 26 never-before-seen PageMaps sketches that are so inspiring and easy to use. Seriously. (I think I might have to try them all whenever I manage to find the time.)

So, do you need a little inspiration to kick start your scrapbooking in 2011? Here's the answer:

At only $9.95, it's a sweet deal, and the best part is that a portion of the proceeds go to breast cancer research charities in the US and Canada.

You can order one right here at Scrapbook and Cards Today (order by December 14 for holiday gift-giving). 

AND....SCT has offered to give one of my blog readers a calendar! So enter my little giveaway pretty please by leaving me a comment here on the blog telling me what your plans are for 2011. (Nothing detailed, just curious as to what you all have in store for the new year.) I will pick a random (and lucky!) winner on December 17. 

Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of the holiday season! :)