Project 365 Q&A

Holy cow. You guys are getting me even more pumped about Project 365, and I didn't think I could be more excited. But how cool is this!? So many of us -- thousands of us around the WORLD -- are in this together. Phenomenal.

Okay, tomorrow is the big day. Project 365 goes on sale and I have a hunch that many of you are getting anxious. You've asked a lot of questions. A lot of good questions. I want to be sure that you are as informed as possible. So let's get down to business.

Q: I've tried entering my name in the comments section of the give-away that you mentioned yesterday, but I was getting an error. Can I still be included in the drawing?
A: Yes. Leave a comment on this post if you want. I'll announce 3 (random) winners tomorrow before the kit goes on sale.

Q: When does the kit go on sale?
A: Thursday, January 1st at 9:00 am MST.

Q: Where do I purchase the kit?
A: Click here to take you right to the KOTM landing page. Note: Project 365 won't show up until it goes on sale.

Q: Will you ship internationally?
A: Yes, absolutely! You need to call this number [720.374.3628]. Unfortunately the web site is not able to take international orders at this time.

Q: What if I don't have internet access when I need to order?
A: Call the same number I just mentioned [720.374.3628] to place an order if you can't do it online.

Q: Will be there be enough kits, or will it sell out?
A: There is never any way of knowing the right amount of kits to order, so if you're certain you want this, don't put it off. That would be my best advice.

Q: How much does this kit cost?
A: $39.95 is the original price, and we're giving you 10% off, so you'll pay only $35.95 (plus shipping). That's like 70 cents a week to get a complete years' worth in a scrapbook. Just may be the cheapest scrapbooking you've EVER done.

Q: Is there an album with the kit? What about page protectors? Will there be enough of those?
A: Yes and yes. You'll see a complete list of all the kit components on the KOTM site and the KOTM blog. There are 54 page protectors (52 weeks in the year).

Q: What do I take pictures of, every day of the year?
A: That is entirely up to you, and your approach to this project! This is a very individual thing. That's the coolest thing about it. What do you want to capture in your life this year? I want a full picture of our family life so I'm keeping it random. My family and I will be taking pictures of anything and everything. Could be something we did that day, somewhere we went, what we ate for breakfast, or not even necessarily a "happening" but just something around the house or someone we love, etc. If you need ideas to get the wheels in your head turning, click here for a pdf with 365 picture ideas. Print it out! (This is in the January issue of CK, so you can tear it out of your magazine, too.)

Q: EVERY single day? Are you serious? Can I really keep up with that?
A: One of the beautiful things about this kit is its flexibility. You do not need to be so strict with yourself to photograph something every single day. Use the sheet protectors and the monthly dividers to display pictures on a weekly basis (just choose several pictures from each of the 52 weeks to print) ... or even a monthly basis. This does not need to be day after day after day.

Q: I am planning on doing this as a day-by-day project. But what if I miss a day, or even a whole week?
A: You have my permission to "cheat", my friend. For example, some of you may want to start this on the Sunday that just passed but you didn't know you wanted to do that until now. So what if you don't have pictures from the first few days of this week? Not a problem. Take pictures of "whatever" (something around your house, for example) and it can pass for being one of the days that already passed.

Also remember that this doesn't have to be 365 pictures in 2009. It's 365 snippets of your life this year. That means that some days won't have a picture, but rather a program from your child's school play, or a receipt from Target, or part of a piece of mail you received, or your hand-written to-do list, or a scan of your child's art. Get the idea? Just capture SOMEthing each day. And if you miss a day or a week ... just capture pieces from your life anyway, even if they aren't necessarily from "that" day. You can totally fill your "missed" days with pictures or memorabilia from other days.

Q: I really want to start on January 1st, so how do I do that, organizationally speaking?
A: One option is to do those first 3-4 days in the very first page (not a two-page layout). Personally, I'm a fan of introducing an album with a title page. If you are too, then I recommend filling those first few 4" x 6" pockets (before Jan. 1) with New Years resolutions or favorite quotes or your "theme" for the year or something like that.

Q: What about those days that you have several pictures you want to showcase?
A: There is some 12" x 12" designer cardstock included in the kit, which of course coordinates with all the other album pieces. So if you want to do some creative scrapbooking, or include multiple pictures from any given day within your Project 365 album, you have that option. As for me, I don't think I'll do layouts. My approach to this album is that I want to keep up with it and it's a bit of a "scrapbooking experiment". I am just going to choose ONE picture or "thing" each day and get over it. : ) If there's something truly big and worthy of your time & creativity, then you absolutely can still do a theme album on that, or just do some full pages as part of your Project 365 album.

Q: Is it true that I really don't need adhesive for this?
A: Yes, I'm serious. This is the easiest kind of "scrapbooking" E-V-E-R. Another reason why it's a brilliant project for the non-scrapbooker. There is a pocket for each & every picture and each & every journaling block. Just slip your items in those pockets. No adhesive needed.

Q: Can I see what a finished layout would look like in this album?
A: Here's a real week in my life from last January (but with this new kit, of course).



Q: What about a title page and ending page, especially since the page protectors are divided? How will that work?
A: The kit includes designer blocks specifically for those pages that introduce and conclude the album. Once you put the pieces into the pockets, those pages would look like this (of course you can add any creative & personal touches you want!).





Q: What pen should I use?
A: One that is acid-free and archival. Not a ball-point pen. I really like the Pigment Pro from American Crafts and the Pigma Micron from Sakura. These pens can be found at craft, scrapbook, office supply, and art supply type of stores. Chances are, you already have something in your stash of supplies that works just fine.

Q: I am starting the project now, but obviously don't have the kit yet. What should I do?
A: No worries! Just be taking a picture, or collect something each day. You may want to also jot down a note each day (keep a small notebook handy) so that you'll remember what to write on your journaling block for each day. You do NOT need this kit to get started.

Q: Is this kit specific to 2009?
A: Nope! Totally flexible. Maybe you took a picture every day last year? This will work for you. Maybe you don't want to do this until 2010? No problem. Nowhere in this kit does it say "2009". And you do your own labeling of days (with the day stickers and date stamp that come in the kit).

Q: What will your process be for organizing & printing photos?
A: The most important thing is to do what works for you. Some of you may have a personal printer, and you'll want to print each day's picture ... each and every day. Some of you may not print more than once a month. For me, I am going to print in batches of about a week at a time. As for organizing, I am keeping my daily pictures in a folder on my computer (actually, an "album" in my iPhoto). They are labeled with their date (12.30, 12.31, 1.1, 1.2, etc.) so I don't lose track. Once I print them, they go immediately into the page protector pockets in the album.

Q: Explain how the journaling blocks are supposed to work.
A: Each day has a journaling block for you to jot down whatever you want. Could be the highlights of that day, a description of the picture or memorabilia for that day, an a-ha moment or deep thought, a quote from one of your kids ... whatever. You are getting a LOT of these in the kit. Plus, you're getting a bunch of tri-folded journaling cards that give you expanded room for lengthy journaling when you have more to say.

Q: What about vertical photos? The page protector photo pockets are all horizontal.
A: Yes, all the page protectors have horizontal pockets for 4" x 6" pictures. Statistics show that people shoot 90% horizontal. However, most of us will have vertical pictures that we want to include in our Project 365 album. Here are some options: 1) Just include the image on a horizontal 4" x 6" canvas (in Photoshop) and print it like that. 2) Include 2 vertical pictures, side by side (also in a photo-editing program). 3) Put vertical 4" x 6" photos in the pockets sideways if that doesn't bother you. 4) This is a fun idea: Try printing the vertical image as a 6" x 8". Cut it in half (horizontally) and place them one above the other in the page protector. 5) There are 8 vertical pockets in the page protectors (intended for the journaling blocks), but who says they HAVE to be for journaling blocks? Print your occasional vertical picture as a 3" x 4" and switch it up!

Q: Are the photo pockets in those page protectors top-loading or side-loading?
A: Top.

Q: Will this kit be available in digital format?
A: No ... not yet anyway. Let's see how this one goes and if there's enough interest for a digital format, I'm all over it!

Q: Will this kit be available in future years, or is this a one-time thing?
A: This is an experiment. For me, personally, and for you. So what if you complete Project 365 in 2009 and just miss doing "main events" and layouts like you used to? Then you go back to your traditional approach to scrapbooking and all is well. And you've lost nothing. You'll still have an entire year preserved! But if this whole idea catches on like crazy, I would absolutely love to continue offering this as a product each year. So much of that depends on you, the customer & family historian, and what you demand. : )

Q: Are you really not doing your kids' albums anymore? Project 365 is it? What about all your sketches?
A: This concept of Project 365 (totally focused on just photos & journaling) is my new approach to our family scrapbooks. I will continue with our kids' albums in the traditional scrapbooking format (12" x 12" albums with layouts that highlight their baby-hood, milestones, personalities, schooling, birthdays, etc.) The long-term goal is for each child to leave home (many years from now, of course) with a short series of albums containing an overview of their entire childhood. I have also done "family" albums over the years, so that we have our own books to enjoy ... even long after the children are gone. This Project 365 is my new way of preserving our family memories in 2009 and so any "layouts" I do now, are going to be either for the kids' albums or the "catching-up" layouts that I want to do from this year and last. So my sketches will continue to come in handy.

And yes, the Sketch column in CK lives on.

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Click here for a pdf with more of my thoughts on Project 365, as well as great tips & ideas.

Oh! And I have to share another idea that "Happy Mommy" left in the comments ... a different approach to this album & a great idea. Know anyone getting married? This is an excellent gift idea for the new couple to record & preserve the first 365 days of their new married life together. Brilliant.

And I close with a comment from Michelle in Chicago, who said it best: "Your 365 project sounds like a great alternative to the pressure of being 'caught up' as well as a nice way to preserve what life is truly like day to day."

So many of you are making comments like this and I'm just so pleased that we're catching the vision!

tuesday's picture

Went to the mall with all 3 kids (no David) yesterday. First time I've done that since Crew was born in September. It's also kind of rare to find me in a mall in the first place. I just don't make it there much. Thank goodness my camera was with me. It goes with me everywhere. I just keep it in my bag (a.k.a. the Mother Ship). If you're not in that habit already, you will be ... starting now. Some of your best pictures will be because your camera happens to be with you when you're out & about.

Another day. Another picture. Another piece of my personal Project 365. I am loving this.

Added comment: The camera that I carry in my bag is the Canon Powershot SD900. My bag is called the MotherShip.

yesterday's picture & variation ideas

We have a lot to celebrate in the Higgins home. After a week of potty-training boot camp, we officially have another child out of diapers forever! This is happy stuff. So you better believe that became yesterday's "picture of the day" for our Project 365.



The sticker chart is Porter's idea, and he made it for Claire when we kicked off the boot camp last week. Such a supportive big brother.

So have you thought about your approach to Project 365? I'm sure many of you are doing the family approach, like us. We'll all participate (I'm sure I'll be taking most of the pictures & writing most of the journaling blocks), but it'll be a family effort. And our picture-taking will be all over the place. Totally random. Just whatever we want to capture each day. But as you get started with the project, don't forget about the other ideas ... different ways to approach capturing your year:

• All about a kid and what he/she does every day in a year

• Self-portraits

• Month-by-month review: Simply use the page protectors to slip pictures from each month into the album. But you don’t have to take a picture every single day.

• Weekly or monthly themes: Pick a topic to focus on each week or month. For example, one week might be pictures at work, another week might be errands, another might be clothes you wear, and then food you eat, and then technology you love, etc.

• All About Me: For adult or child (what you wear, what you eat, what you love, where you go, who you hang out with, where you work, why you do what you do)

• Baby’s first year

• Use the kit as a regular photo album that holds pictures and journaling blocks. Doesn’t have to be sub-categorized into weeks or months.

• Circle journal for Multi-Family: Combine efforts with your siblings and have each family take different months. Put it all together in one Project 365 album and you have an awesome gift for grandparents!

• favorite photo a day (old or new)

• Home Sweet Home: Focus on every little detail of the place you call home, inside and out.

• Pregnancy

• Family Journal: The whole family is involved in Project 365 and contributing their pictures & journaling to the album. Leave the camera accessible to all. Even if it means your three-year-old is taking pictures of the floor. What a great way to capture everyone’s perspective! You could even set up a schedule so that you take turns for each day or week.

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Oh man ... I am SO in the mood to give a few of these kits away, even before it goes on sale this Thursday! Ready?? You know the drill. Leave your first name & where you live in the Comments below. I'll randomly choose 3 winners that will be getting their Project 365 on us!

Newsflash: There is now a blog dedicated to the KOTM program! Just in time for Project 365. Go check it out at www.kitofthemonth.blogspot.com and see an example Project 365 layout by Maggie Holmes.

for example ...

So if you're keeping up with my blog, you know that Sunday, December 28th was my day #1 for Project 365. That was yesterday (as I'm writing this on Monday). Many of you made it your first day also. Some of you doing it next Sunday. Some of you are starting your week on Monday so that a weekend can be viewed together. However you're choosing to approach this, I can sense your excitement.

I know I'm just repeating myself but remember: You do not need to have the kit to get started with Project 365. You just need to be taking a picture every day. Of ANYthing in your life. It could be the Christmas decorations that are still up, your kids working on a puzzle, the inside of your refrigerator, the trash sitting on the curb waiting to be picked up, your toothbrush sitting on the bathroom counter. A-N-Y-thing.

For example, this is my picture from yesterday.



Great picture? Not really. Do I love this picture? Absolutely. It's a piece of our life yesterday. It's our little world. It's video-chatting with my brother in Utah, a few of his kids, and my parents who happen to be visiting them right now. And it also happened to be Kevin's birthday.

Oh -- and what's even further telling, is the other "stuff" in the picture. As I'm taking the picture from my office chair, you can also see that I'm giving Crew a bottle, Claire is climbing behind me, I have my blog open since I was reading your comments over the weekend, my inbox is showing, etc.

This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Just take a picture of something that you are doing today. Take your camera to work, on your errands, to your friend's house. Or just snap around the house. My approach to this album is that it's a family effort. Even though my children are young, I'll be passing the camera over to them once in a while. David too, of course. And I'll get my kindergartner involved in writing. And our pictures? I'm thinking random. No theme, really. Just whatever strikes us day-to-day. A "total" picture of our life.

Maybe once in a while, we'll do a theme of the week. Like ... for a whole week, all of our pictures will be school-related or chores-related or people-we-love-related or prices-of-life related (keep receipts that week, take a picture of the gas pump, the McD's drive-thru menu, show pieces of a few bills, etc.).

I hope the wheels in your head are spinning (in a good way), and I also hope that you see this as a fun project that will NOT be overwhelming. A different and liberating approach to scrapbooking in 2009. If you're just now tuning in, scroll down and visit my recent blog posts about Project 365. And for those of you leaving comments, I'm not ignoring your excellent questions ... I'm going to address those soon (before the kit goes on sale this Thursday).

In the meantime, since so many of you are wondering the price, I'll tell you that it'll be UNDER $40.

we're getting close!

I'm so excited! Tomorrow is the day. I am choosing to start Project 365 on December 28th for one reason and one reason only: It's a Sunday - the first day of the week. And this coming week is the week that we go into a brand-new year. And since the design of this album is showing a week at a time, that's why I'm doing Sunday to Saturday. That way I can "bring in the New Year" in my first layout of this album. (Are you following me?)

Anyway -- you can start Project 365 whenever you want (ideally on the first day of the week). Many of you will also want to start on Dec. 28th. You do NOT need to have the kit to get started with the project. All you need to do is just be sure you're capturing at least one thing each day. It could be a picture, a receipt, a piece of mail, whatever. Keep these things in a safe spot until your kit arrives.

Remember: The Project 365 kit goes on sale January 1.



I still have more information & ideas to share before the kit is available. Of course I welcome any questions you may have. And feel free to leave a comment if you're starting on Sunday as well! It'll be fun to see who's on-board together.

merry christmas.

project 365 kit contents

You guys need to go enjoy being with your family & friends today, so I'll keep this short & sweet.

call-out

Just a little shout-out to Christine! Your sweet husband, Jason, wanted to do something special for you for Christmas. Something to show you that he really pays attention to what inspires you. So he found a way to get in touch with me and ... well ... here we are. So hello to you! I hear you're just the best wife & mother ever and from what I can tell, you are very, very loved. Merry Christmas, Christine!

understanding the concept of project 365

Hope you enjoyed your weekend! Our family got a little snow fix a couple hours up the road and into the mountains a bit (Flagstaff, AZ). We may be in the 60s right now, but snow isn't too far away.



Crew stayed pretty toasty warm with lots of layers (3 hats should do it!). Here's the little snuggly bug snoozing in my arms while Porter & Claire were sledding and playing in an igloo with their cousins.



You guys have great questions about the Project 365 kit. I will soon be addressing those specific questions with a little Q&A. Today I wanted to further explain the concept of this project, this kit.

It’s a simple idea, really. Perhaps you have heard of this before. Maybe you’ve even done this yourself. Preserve a piece of your life every day this year. Can you imagine the end result? Really – I want you to imagine it. What an awesome representation of your existence.

A note to the scrapbooker: Project 365 is not another scrapbooking project to add to my list. Rather, this is actually replacing my traditional way of scrapbooking for the past 15 years. This is truly revolutionary for me as a scrapbook artist and family historian.

If you’re like me, there has always been so much focus on events, trips, and “favorite” pictures. But what about all the in between stuff? The everyday stuff that really is our LIFE? The pictures we take around the house “just because”? What happens to all of that? THIS IS IT. This is how we show a truer representation of our life … and, of course, the “big” stuff too!

A note to the non-scrapbooker: I can’t think of a better way for you to get a scrapbook without actually scrapbooking! Are you excited!? Do you get it? You literally are slipping things into page protectors. That’s it! Could it be any easier?

This is fantastic for anyone – male or female, adult or child, single or married. Never touched scrapooking in your life before? No problem. No skills needed. Seriously. Oh, except the ability to slip things into page protectors. Can you handle that?

Back to everyone: I tried this concept of taking a picture every day last year. After being frustrated with not being able to find the perfect way to store and display my photos, I knew this would be the next kit I wanted to develop! The Project 365 kit is custom to highlighting a week at a time for a full year.

Getting involved in this project will make you even more aware of your blessings, your priorities, and your surroundings. Don’t think you do anything worthy of photographing? Think again. What you think is mundane and ordinary is actually a collection of very cool & unique factors of your life. Not someone else. YOU.

Still think you’re life isn’t worth recording? Then let this project be the motivating factor to get out there and do something! Go for a walk (with your camera). Host a dinner party. Fly a kite. Try a new restaurant. Re-decorate a room.

Like I said, this is revolutionizing the way I scrapbook and already feel so liberated with this new approach to preserving and recording my family’s life. Are you with me?

great gift idea

Taking some of our favorite fudge to a few friends & neighbors and I'm thinking I need to do this FAST before I dig in and eat it all myself. Love this stuff (you can find the recipe here).

Speaking of gifts, some of you have mentioned that you want to give the gift of Project 365 this holiday season. GREAT idea! So here's the deal: Since it doesn't actually go on sale until Jan. 1 (no pre-orders, sorry) ... here is a beauty shot of the whole kit. Print this out, wrap it up, and put it under the tree or hand it to a loved one. This is great for scrapbookers OR non-scrapbookers who wish they scrapbooked. : )



The cost of this priceless gift? Under $40. Now, that's merry.

Oh, and I know you're wondering how you start this album with the New Year when you won't have the kit yet. No worries. I'll be back in touch to tell you how.

top 10

Top 10 Reasons you want to do Project 365

10. Incredible value. We’re skipping the “middle man” so that we can bring this directly to you, the consumer – giving you a better deal. Yay for that.

9. The finished album literally can be a time capsule of an entire year. How fantastic is that?

8. Your photography skills will improve since you’ll be getting your camera out a little more often.

7. You’ll be among thousands of others involved in Project 365 in 2009. Cool sense of camaraderie among all involved in the project. Get your friends to join you with this New Years Resolution!

6. This can be one of the most uniting activities for your family this year as you combine your efforts to preserve your memories in 2009 … as a team.

5. In this age of digital photography, this is a great excuse to get many of those pictures off your computer and into a tangible book for all to enjoy year after year after year.

4. Can you hear it now? Those compliments will be rolling in! “Wow, how do you stay so organized!? What a cool display of your pictures! What a great record of your family!”

3. Sure, you can do your own version of Project 365, but good luck finding sheet protectors and pre-designed journaling cards that are custom to fitting a weeks’ worth of photos & journaling on a layout (times 52). Did I mention what a great deal this kit
is?

2. Cool design. Not too feminine. Not too masculine. And it all looks fantastic together. You don’t have to shop around for papers and elements that coordinate. And all the pieces come in stylish storage boxes, which can be used later, too.

1. As a scrapbooker who has been trying to keep up with products and techniques and layout designs and trends … this is one album that is completely stress-free of decorative scrapbooking! Think of the hours and hours of time you’ll save. And yet … you’ll still have a scrapbook in the end.

Keep coming back. I'll be sharing more information about the kit, showing you everything that it comes in it, explaining the concept, passing along ideas & tips, and you KNOW there's going to be a give-away, don't you?

holiday tip of the day

Got a lot of envelopes to lick? David's big contribution to our Christmas cards this year, was sealing all the envelopes (oh - and fixing the temper tantrum that our printer had at one point). Know what smarty-pants did? He used a foam craft brush, got it wet and used THAT instead of his tongue.

There you go. A tip from David. : )

This is BIG.

Oh ye people who tune into my blog. I have an announcement: As a scrapbooker of 15 years, I am no longer scrapbooking our family albums. Am I done with scrapbooking? Absolutely not. I will continue to do individual & personal scrapbooks for each of our 3 kids. But I am taking a whole new approach to preserving our family's memories, beginning on January 1st.

So what is it that I'm doing, you may wonder. I would LOVE to tell you, because this is something I'm so excited about, and I want YOU to join me. See this? This is called Project 365 and it's the January kit of the month. (Project 365 is not on the web site yet.)



While the end result is a "scrapbook", this is not about decorating and designing pages. Heck, you're not even going to need to use adhesive for this! Project 365 is about 2 things: Photographs. And journaling. (And not even that much journaling! Quick notes & anecdotes.) This project will be the absolute, very best representation of your family's life (or your personal life) in 2009. Hands down. And the best part? It's so easy! Trust me.

So much more to share, and I can't wait! So keep checking my blog all week for updates & more about this concept and this project. Project 365 goes on sale January 1. Until then, let's enjoy the holidays and get excited for our new, revolutionary way of "scrapbooking" in 2009. Are you with me? :)

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By the way ... Are you a blogger? THIS is something you need to check out. Go to bloggled.com and learn about what they can do for you. They're doing a huge promotion right now and you can be eligible to win something really cool ... like a Cricut machine or, HELLO -- an iPod Touch. I love my iPod Touch. NOT a blogger? You can still head over and be eligible to win, so that's cool. Oh - and you need to enter TODAY.

In short, there are two cool services that they can offer: backing up your blog (it's too easy to accidentally delete your blog) and ... this is what I'm really stoked about ... they can make a book out of your blog for you. LOVE that. Can't wait to try it myself. I think this is especially cool if you keep an ongoing journal-style blog about your family's life. Wouldn't that be need to have it in book form? And also give copies of this to your kids or other family members? Yeah. Super cool. Anyway, head over to Bloggled and learn more.

baby scrapbooking

For those of you who missed this earlier ... there is a digital version of my baby kit. You can go here for the scoop and to create your own digital baby book in the land of Shutterfly. And I also wrote an online article (click here) that walks you through the photo book project, layout by layout. I share tips and insights to help you along.

Speaking of baby scrapbooking, check out Jessica Turner's blog today. She has a great video clip showing how she has put her son's album together so far ... and a cute little accent and, AND ... she has one of my baby kits to give away! So head over and enter your name in that drawing.

the halls are decked

In the spirit of spreading a little holiday cheer, congratulations to Shanon! The winner of Candice's online class is Shanon Gibson of Dornberg, Germany! Shanon, e-mail me and I'll hook you up (bhiggins@ckmedia.com).

Speaking of holiday cheer, my new favorite Christmas decorations are these frames scattered throughout our Christmas tree.



Got them on clearance after Christmas last year, at Pier 1 Imports. I put some favorite pictures in them and just love how it totally adds personality to the tree. You could do this with ANY type of picture frame! Just tie some ribbon or invisible thread or something to the back so you can hang them from tree branches.

The "floating" ornaments above our kitchen bar has changed a little bit this year. Same concept (see Dec. 7, 2007 post) but new ornaments. Again, took advantage of the after-Christmas sales last year and scored awesome deals on these, all from various stores.



Added note: I believe these are called eyelet screws and you can find them at your local hardware store.



We just screwed these into the ceiling, tied a piece of invisible thread to it (found at your local craft or sewing store) and hung the ornaments from there. When I change the "floating ornaments" for each season, I simply snip the thread right at the ornament, leaving the thread in place and then tie the new ornament to that existing thread. Make sense?

christmas countdown & a good cause

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

The ultra-talented and super-sweet Candice Stringham is doing a fun & inexpensive class over at jessicasprague.com that you should check out! It's a 12 days of Christmas countdown garland project.



How about let's give away this class to someone! Are you in? Add your name & where you live to the comments and I'll randomly choose someone to enroll in Candice's class for free.

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GOOD CAUSE

Scrapbookers are women known for their generosity and for rallying behind a cause. Cocoa Daisy wants to help the international scrapbook community join together during the holiday season to do what we can to help alleviate hunger both here in the US and in their home countries. In light of this goal, Cocoa Daisy will be sponsoring an internet food drive. If you're interested in participating or getting more information on how you can contribute, go here. And hey, there will be prizes, too. This runs now through Dec. 20th.

back from vacation.

I've been away from the ol' blog for good reason. Enjoying life. So much going on the past week. We enjoyed the company of so many friends on Thanksgiving ... truly enjoyed that day (complete with the kids jumping in the pool!). These are the place cards Porter and I made together. I scanned in his art for each type of "person" (dad, mom, boy, girl, baby) and went from there.



The next day, we packed up and left for California. We surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland and had a really great time together and with some good friends that came too. Loved the perfect weather. Cool enough for jackets in the morning and evening.



And just as soon as we came back and got to work on mounds of laundry, we had Porter's birthday party. Our backyard was all boy that afternoon. So much fun. And these were the party favors we put together SO fast. Because holy cow -- there was no time to really do much else before the party. They're just little cellophane bags that we filled with candy and then I did quick bag toppers similar to the place cards. Porter's scanned art and simple text.



Now the halls are decked for Christmas (pictures to come) and we are deep into the throws of the holiday season. Speaking of the holidays, if you need an appetizer idea for an upcoming dinner party, I posted a new recipe.