4x6 Photo Love: 2011 Review (Dec)

 This is the last monthly challenge for Two Peas 4x6 Photo Love with Shimelle Laine.  The challenge is to use 12 photos on one layout for the month of December.  This time each photo is on a separate pattern paper frame.  Each photo mat became a bit larger until the last picture is on the base cardstock.  I focused on a 2011 Review with each photo mat focused on each individual month of the year.  On the back of each month's photo mat is the journaling recapping the events of that particular month.  Each photo mat has an eyelet with baker's twine (brown & white) strung through it and all the string is stapled at the top of the base cardstock.  I added a few embellishments to the larger monthly photo mats and used rub ons for the monthly titles.  I used a numbers diecut as a mask on cream cardstock.  I used Tattered Angels red spray to create the mask.  It also left a little glitter on the page, making it sparkly.  All the photo mat pattern paper is Bo Bunny's Back to Basics including the 2011 number stickers.  The brown felt letters spelling REVIEW are old and I have no idea from what maker.  This layout was time consuming, but I am VERY happy with the results!  I am also very sad that 4x6 Photo Love is over.  Thanks to Shimelle & Two Peas for such a fabulous class!

Have you signed up for 02/2012 LOAD yet?

The first time I participated in LOAD it was called the MotherLOAD.  It was awesome!  Lot's of fun.  I did a blog post on my Tips to get ready for LOAD, go here.   Why should you participate?   Here are my top 10 reasons:
 1. It's Fun!
2.  You get daily prompts; helping you to decide what to scrap
3.  You will complete 29 Layouts!!!!  WOW!!!
 4. You get feedback on your LOs.  With a house full of men, I need some positive female feedback on my work.
 5. It's Fun!  (did I say that already?  Well, it is fun!)
 6. You will meet new people from around the world on the boards!  Cool!
 7. You use up old supplies, making room for new! Ha!
 8. You get organized!  At least I did (see the tips blog here
 9.  You get your creative mojo going on!
 10. BECAUSE LAIN EHMANN IS THE COOLEST!!!!!
Go to Layout a Day to learn more about February 2012 LOAD's theme and how you can sign up!  IT STARTS FEBRUARY 1, 2012!!!    And if you want to really see how excited I was the night before LOAD check out this poem I wrote, Twas the Night Before LOAD    See you in the Gallery!!!

Twelve: Personality

Big Picture Classes has a class called TWELVE.  The class is a 12 week class superimposed on a year long class.  We will scrapbook a total of 144 layouts this year, 12 per each month based on the following categories: Me, Holidays, Places, Everyday Life, Rituals, People, Inspiration, Personality, Things, Family Story, Season, FUN.  Each category is assigned a color, by me.  Personality is yellow.  I have hidden journaling behind the picture, but pull on the little yellow tab and there it is!  This is a picture of Walker eating Elk Jerky in Toronto, Canada at an open market.  He was sulky because we were shopping, but then brightened up when we found some elk jerky and a coke.  Being a hunter, he was thrilled to eat ELK!

Take Twelve: January/Things

Take Twelve by Ella Publishing is a monthly photography challenge to take 12 pictures on the twelfth day of each month during the year 2012.  The class gives you photo ideas, challenges and layout options.  I focused on THINGS for the month of January.  This also goes along with my class at Big Picture Classes called TWELVE. Twelve is a class where we focus on 12 different topics per month, including 'things'; therefore we will scrap 12 different layouts based on 12 different topics.  Here is my sketch of 12 things in the month of January 12, 2012, for Take Twelve and Twelve. 

12 Days of Christmas: Day 5

The challenge for day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas class was to use a Christmas lyric as the title of your LO.  I chose "soon it will be Christmas Day", showcasing two pictures from 2011 Christmas morning. I love Christmas morning. It symbolizes the love, craziness and excitement of the Christmas season.  Christmas morning is opening gifts, yelling thanks, eating candy & hot chocolate for breakfast, jumping up and running to hug someone's neck because you just got the PERFECT gift and it was a surprise!  I started this LO last week but put the title and tissue accents on tonight.  I like how it turned out.  I also completed the 12th day challenge, but I am not posting until I complete 6-11 this weekend.  This year the Mutz', mom and Richard came to my house for Christmas.  The very 1st time we had Christmas in MS at my house!  It is now the Twelfth night of Christmas with the season ending tomorrow on the Epiphany!  We celebrated with the last of the homemade macaroni's in chicken broth and a round of card games.  Merry Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 - 4

Day 1: Family Photo, but I did the annual Christmas Card

Day 2: Your Christmas Tree

Day 3:  Letter to Santa

Day 4: Christmas Decorations

Big Picture Classes offered a class entitled the 12 Days of Christmas. It began December 14th with a prompt with a photo topic and size suggestion and scrapbook materials suggestion.  You gathered your supplies and photos and placed them in an envelope marked Day 1, Day 2, and so on.  Then on December 25th, your First email with instructions on how to use your supplies to make the LO demonstrated arrived.  Each day a different instructor was responsible for the Christmas LO challenge.  I am inserting Days 1 -4 here.  I will upload the others as time permits, because I have my dad's family coming in to stay during the New Year's Holiday.  I am unsure how many layouts will be accomplished until everyone returns home.

Day 1 Challenge was to take a family photo and scrap it.  Well, we don't take a family pic, but I scrapped the annual Christmas Card and Letter.

Day 2: Was to take a picture of your completed tree and the decorating process.  May Flaum suggested a 2 page LO; so I took her up on the challenge.  I photographed 10 of my 11 trees (forgot the peacock tree).  I have never done this before. I like how it turned out.

Day 3 challenge was to capture your child writing a letter to Santa.  I forced Walker to write his letter.  I believe this might be the last year for a lot of Santa traditions.  I hope not!

Day 4 challenge was to take several pictures of the Christmas decorations in your home.  I was unsure about the suggested picture sizes, but I LOVE how this LO turned out!  I have never really completed a LO just about the decorations!  8 more days to go! I have been able to use up a lot of my Christmas scrapbooking stash.  This has been a wonderful feeling.  (However, I did purchase some Christmas sale items..oops) 

This has been such a fun class!  Merry Christmas! 

4x6 Photo Love: Erie Canal

Left page

Right page

Close up of Title & Journaling

Well, I failed at the Christmas Journal, but I decided to accomplish Shimelle's 4x6 Photo Love in conjunction with Two Peas in a Bucket 4x6 monthly challenge.  November's challenge was to use 11 pictures on one layout.  This was accomplished by inserting a 6x12 photo insert into the middle of a two page layout.  My 6x12 insert did not arrive in time; so I used a 12x12 photo insert w/ 6: 4x6 inserts, which allows a total of 12 photos.  I folded over the right side in order to accomplish the challenge.  There are 4 horizontal 4x6 photos along the bottom of the two page spread, 3 4x6 vertical at the top and 4 4x6 photos in the insert w/ 2 journaling cards.  I always love these challenges because they are so interactive!  Here is my attempt at this month's challenge, which was issued on November 30 and Due today, December 29th.  Nothing like waiting to last moment.  These pictures are from our summer vacation to Buffalo, NY & Canada.  We took an Erie Canal boat ride to view the lock system in action!  It was incredible!  Gates would lock in front of you and open behind you and the water would either flood in or out depending which way you traveled on the Erie Canal!  It is a spectacular feat of engineering!  This was such a fun trip!  We were all amazed by the Erie Canal!