"Reasons To Smile" Mini-Album

As most of my girlfriends know that when I have a favorite anything, I kinda get a "bit much"...crazy...silly...sorta loud and I talk really fast. Ha-ha, I can't believe I just wrote that. Although, when I'm happy -- I actually don't mind if I kinda look ridiculous -- Life's too short, right?! Right! So, November 5th was a day I was looking forward to since it was announced a month earlier. One of my faves was coming to town & teaching a class: Reasons to Smile.

Here is the cover:

ScrapTalk: Almost 6! Mini-Album...Finally!

Three years ago I made an mini-album called "Almost 3" -- that was during a time when Joey was summing up his first year in an early intervention program, when we were first introduced to his challenges and then, diagnosis -- and everything in between. A lot of emotions and uncertainties that were very new to us...as a parent, a couple, a family unit... Documenting that moment in time was very important to me then...and fast-forward to the present time, soooo thankful I did. 

December Daily...

Ahh...finally I have a few pages to post. We've had a few setbacks early this month; Joey got sick back to back with first a cold and then, stomach flu. Yuck! He took 1-1/2 week off from school and therapy and getting him back to his normal-happy-usual-self took some time. Dave has been especially busy at work which means longer days for the both of us. We also discovered Joey has an allergy -- bleu cheese. Poor Guy. And well for me, I've been behind in all holiday projects: christmas cards, teachers & therapists gifts and this album...including the everyday stuff. I think, as a family, we've overcommitted ourselves with obligations, events, projects... Needless to say, I know it'll all be worth it when we look back at this month.

A lot to look forward to this week and next. Joey is having a holiday party at preschool; they'll be performing a song for the parents -- Jingle Bells. Monday begins his 2-week break from both preschool and therapy...We are transitioning him into a BIG BOY bed - Huge deal! And we'll be spending some time with Dave's brother, Chris & his family from Peoria (Illinois) and my family for the New Year! All good stuff...now onto my pages! :)

Day 1: Had to document my favorite tummy warmer! Gotta love them PSL's (Pumpkin Spice Latte)!

Day 2: Starting to get into the holiday spirit...Anticipating Dave arriving from the storage facility to bring home the Christmas decor!

Day 3: These are few projects I've started and haven't finished! Will create a layout in the next few days when they are!

Day 4: Getting ready for the Christmas tree's arrival... I even re-arranged our living room furniture. Change is good.

Day 5: Just photos around the house of the decorations I put up!

Day 6: I documented the 'good eats' Dave has been creating while at home. There's something to say about it being cold outside & not going anywhere...he makes some awesome dishes!

The second photo is where I keep the recipes!

Day 7: Ahh...Oh Christmas Tree!

Day 8: Is of our favorite room in the house. This is where we spend most of our time as a family -- it helps to be right next to the kitchen!  

Day 9: The best part of giving gifts is when I get to wrap Joey's... 

Day 10: It was one of those days where I needed to stop and take a break! So much was going on at one time...You can tell from my expression that I haven't quite found my happy place just yet!

Day 11: ...is all about Starbucks!! We have gone to our local Starbucks drive-thru so many times this month already....Crazy! 

Day 12: As a tradition, we trek up to the Santa Cruz mountains to chop our tree down! We were lucky this year with no rain but it was extremely cold out - 41 degrees!

...to be continued...

December Daily Album...

...is four days late, I realize.  I didn't expect this week to be so busy! During my usual "creative time", I would find myself exhausted and taking a nap. The good side is I've been really good about collecting daily things/documenting/carrying my camera with me wherever I go...so there will be pages I'll be working on pretty soon here...just not today unfortunately.  

I haven't even been able to peek at Jenny, Joce and Beckie's pages until about 15 minutes ago! Did I mention 'Crazy Week'...it has been? Christmas decor festivities will begin on Saturday morning. We are planning on making a trip to our storage facility to pick up Christmas goodies and hopefully by Sunday, our exterior will be well-lit with twinkle lights and our interior will smell like Christmas! Next weekend, we are trekking to the Santa Cruz mountains to chop our tree down; a tradition we do every year! Definitely looking forward to the weekend...

Until then, here's the cover of my album!

...to be continued...

Edited: I forgot to mention, I had purchased the album from Evalicious. She had already pre-cut the pages and put it together. She had bits and pieces of fabric, vintage dictionary pages, music pieces and these really cute-handmade-button-embellishments. I used her art journal as a foundation and changed it up as I went through my days of the month. She's brilliant; check her on etsy!

Almost 3!

I have three mini-albums I'm working on; two of which are gifts & very behind on. I have this habit of beginning one when I'm inspired by it...then I leave it (unfinished) when the inspiration has subsided temporarily...and then, I begin another project...  Joey has experienced so many milestones in just the past few months that I felt I needed to document it and most importantly scrap about it or else it'll just sit on top of the 'ideas-to-do-list'.  Have I mentioned Joey's baby album ends at  3 months old and resumes at age 1-1/2 years old?

I created this mini-album called Almost 3! -- the nice thing about this is I can still add more pages as we approach his 3rd birthday. All the materials I used are from my Scarlet Lime  kit. I really had a good time creating this album because all the photos and memories are still so fresh in my mind...and it's current!