Savings Mini

I'm so excited to share my latest mini with yall!! Eek, it's my favorite one I've made this year I think!

The other day I was listening to a Paperclipping Roundtable podcast, #38 A Metaphysical Bandwagon. It was an episode featuring the lovely Shimelle. They were discussing how to use scrapbooking to accomplish a project or goal and it really inspired and helped me to come to a creative way of solving an issue of mine.

This mini is literally going to help me accomplish one of my New Year's resolutions (be sure to check back tomorrow for that post) and that is to save for my big purchases of 2011.

Thanks to Shimelle, Noell and the gang, I came up with the idea to create an envelope mini to stow away monies. Due to the wonders of online shopping, having money sitting in my bank account has just proved to be too tempting! I figure if I pull it from my bank account and put it in an envelope, it might stick around a bit longer and I can actually afford the few big purchases I so desperately wanna buy!

The mini is created out of some A2 envelopes that I got from Paper Source the other day. The color is persimmon and just so gorgeous.

I bought these Basic Grey magnetic buckles for a friend and didn't really know what it meant that they were magnetic. Or at least I didn't think about it. I just assumed they were ribbon buckles. But they turned out to be the perfect "lock" for my little saving mini!

Each envelope is decorated with a Hambly rub-on (they sent me a fun product pack for commenting on their blog the other day. Actually it's kismet! My comment was about Shimelle and Hambly being a perfect fit and look at me creating a mini inspired by Shimelle and using Hambly product!), a photo of what I'm saving for, a die cut $ symbol and a date for roughly when I'd like to have saved the money.

I'm saving for a new Macbook. My current laptop screen has a crack in it :( Plus, it's 4 years old. It's time for an upgrade.
I'm saving for some furniture for the apartment. There's only the couch in the living room at the moment. I need some new seating. Loving this geometric print chair from West Elm (where we bought the couch) and a comfy one from Ikea.

I'm saving for a trip to Istanbul. Work is sending me to the UK in March and I'm totally going to take advantage of my international plane ticket and taking some time to do some of my own traveling. Istanbul was one of the countries I so wanted to visit, but just didn't have the time or the money.

I'm saving for some new shades. My dad has this pair. Let's just say I nearly relieved him of his pair when I came home from Christmas.

I'm saving for a new camera. I'm half way there! I ordered this camera over Thanksgiving, but the site I ordered from was out of stock so they gave me the option to cancel. I just decided to save my money and put it toward Christmas. I so want it before my trip to Europe!!

And here's some money tucked away. I love my new little mini! I hope I can save some this year, and this little guy will definitely help with that. Happy Saving!

xxbesos

j.leija

Album 2009

Tada!! Here's my finished Christmas album from 2009. Linking up all the pages to previous posts and of course, you can click to enlarge all photos. I love the eclectic mix of colors and pages. Liked that there's 8 1/2 x 11 and 8x8 size pages included. Also love all of the random bits of ephemera. There's no rhyme or reason to the order of the pages and that, my friends, was perhaps the most liberating!!

Album Cover

Xmas N SA

Christmas Lights

According to Matt

Ma & Pa

Family of Trees

Doublemint Twins

Pocket page where I included all of the Christmas cards I received.

Box in a Box

Leija Family Christmas

First Christmas

Also had to include the Christmas ATC I received from the Young Scrappers swap!

Avatar on Christmas

Scrapbook Stud

Same Same

Riverwalk

2009 Recap

...aaaand it's done! I don't think I'll be creating a whole album for this year's photos. True be told, I didn't take many pics. But that's ok. The few that I did take were more than enough! (i.e. a family photo :D that's me smiling from ear to ear because it was the first time since my undergrad graduation party in 2007!!

Needless to say, I'm excited to scrap my this year's photos. But I'm not sweating it at the moment. I'm just trying to enjoy my much needed break.

xxbesos

j.leija

Avatar on Christmas

It's done, it's done!! This is the final page for my Christmas 09 album. It's only taken me a year ;) I used my Metropolitan kit from Studio Calico. Not sure what's from the original kit and what's from the Mass Transit add-on, but I think it's a good mix of the two.

So this whole kit thing...I don't think I'm good at it to be honest. I can't seem to confine myself to just what's in there. I added the Jolee's string of lights and some American Crafts letter stickers.
Did some misting with my silver and red Maya mists and used some Heidi Swapp masks.

And added a square of that gorgeous Dear Lizzy Christmas ribbon!

The inspiration from this totally came from the glasses. I've been waffling over how to scrap these for months now and the kit totally helped to push me toward a red/turquoise color scheme. And to break up one photo (of all my family members) into several smaller images.

Back in a bit with the whole finished album!

xxbesos

j.leija

P.S. Don't forget about my Christmas giveaway. See post dated 25/12 for details!

Sketch 234-Scrapbook Stud

Happy post-holiday Monday! I'm back with another Scrapbook Challenges sketch, my last of the year and as of today, my last as a design team member. I'm a little sad at the prospect of leaving the design team, but my 2011 is already shaping up to be a crazy one. And with all of the fun that's about to ensue on the site, well I just can't keep up. But I'll be around. The community over there is just too good to pass up :)

But on to the sketch! It's a goodin' let me tell you. I love the dangling stars Pam used.

I'm soooo happy that I finally scraped these photos of Matt scrapbooking [read the story here]. I thought about title-ing the page "Scrapbook Star" but figured "stud" was a better way to go. He's so proud of his scrapbook page!

I went to town with my punches and die cuts. Just kind of layered them around, then stitched through with red thread. The page come together quick and easy!

Only one more page left in my 2009 Christmas album!! I'll post the finished project tomorrow :) Hope your holiday hangovers are easy on ya this year!

xxbesos

j.leija

P.S. Don't forget about my holiday giveaway! See my 25/12 post for details :)

Tea Cup Cards

The last of my "Christmas" cards! They're for two very special ladies and I think maybe my favorites of the year! And yup, they're a few days late. But with the pre-holiday craze that ensued, I just didn't have time. Thankfully, these two particularly lovelies, couldn't care less about silly things like "on-time" Christmas cards. They love me for who I am...thank God!

I knew I wanted to make tea cup something, so when Papertrey Ink released their Warm Happiness Too line, I nearly swooned. As a former Londoner, I heart tea like nobody's business. I love all things tea!

I wanted these cards to convey warm and cozy like the sentiment, so I used plaid paper (think flannel blanket) and a pipe cleaner (or faux fur...??) to "log cabin" them up a bit. The Basic Grey Jovial line was the perfect line for this! Love the rustic/christmasy feel to it.

[Photo 2]

And somewhere along the way I got it into my head to make a circle card. I used one of my DVDs as a guide and hand cut it out of cardstock. I wasn't so interested in getting it perfect, it just adds to the handmade feel.

[Photo 3]

I distress inked the edges and stamped a friendship sentiment. And now I'm totally done with cards!! Blessing friends :)

xxbesos

j.leija

P.S. Don't forget about my Christmas giveaway! See my 25.12 post for details :)

Merry Christmas

Dearest Blog Readers,

Thank you so much for another year of your support and encouragement! Even though I haven't been the best blogger, I still love my blog and being able to share my creations with you all.

In honor of Christmas, another year of blogging, and a few new year's resolutions (more on this to come), I'm giving away a copy of Expressive Photography The Shutter Sisters: Guide to Shooting from the Heart. I just ordered this book and have languishing my way through it, savoring each delicious page.

I'll randomly choose one of my followers to receive a copy of this book. Or, if you're not into following blogs, please leave a comment on this post. If you're already a follower and you leave a comment, you'll twice be entered into the drawing for the RAK. Comments will close at noon, Friday, 31st December.

Books, RAKS and prizes aside, I hope you have had a beautifully holiday full of light! Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

xxbesos

j.leija

Christmas Printer's Tray

Happy Christmas Eve! I don't know about you, but I'll be relaxing for the next couple of days. It's nice that everyone in my household is an adult and equally inclined to relax with me. I think we're storing up energy until the children's brigade arrives at my grandmother's tonight. Some 15 children will inevitably squeeze themselves into my Nana's tiny house, attack the cat, and generally pillage the Christmas tree...

But I digress. Here's my first stab at these printer's tray things! I think they're cute and had to approach it with the mindset of making 12 different ATCs (artist trading cards).

I really wanted to work in a traditional Christmas color palette, reds and greens and golds, since everything else I've been doing is not the typical Christmas colors. It was refreshing and got me into the Holiday spirit!

xxbesos

j.leija

25 Cards

Just a few cards for all of the amazing men in my life. I went for a less frilly, non-girly version. These Tim Holtz embossing folders are the coolest thing! Threw some cardstock into my Big Shot with the folders, rubbed some chalk ink over the embossing to give it a grungy feel and added a some die cuts and a banner.

Oh, and the 25 is a free digi element from Ali Edward's blog.

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketch 233-Box in a Box

It's Monday again, you know what that means! Another Scrapbook Challenges sketch!

And yes, apparently December is all Christmas on the blog. I don't mind, I love this holiday so much. I've had this pile of photos in my "to scrap" folder for...well, 12 months now. I'm glad they're finally scrapped!

It was Matt's and my first Christmas together, so I went a taaad bit overboard on all of his gifts. That doesn't mean I spent a lot of money, I just got creative with the packaging and the surprises. Like with this one, I wrapped one box inside of another box inside of a bigger box! Each box had a theme and its own card. [Check them out here] I think he liked it. That smile makes it seem like he did :)

I took a few liberties with the sketch but it's my favorite from this month by far. I distress inked the edges of three squares of kraft cardstock and layered them on top of each other, tied some baker's twine around them and made my own "bow" out of folded circles.

I love the graphic look of text and I also love mixing letter stickers with my own handwriting. I think they make my page!

xxbesos

j.leija

Magic of Christmas Cards

This year's Basic Grey Christmas line is absolutely gorgeous! I had to put as much of it on one card as possible. I weaved 1 x 3 inch strips of patterned paper together and added a Christmas diecut cut with my trusty Slice. It's been awhile since I'd busted that tool out!

I also did a bit of heat embossing using a Papertrey Ink stamp. It's from their Tree Trimming Trio set. The perfect finishing touch!

xxbesos

j.leija

Gingerbread Cards

Back with another batch of Christmas cards! I have no idea where I found this holiday sentiment but I instantly loved it. I mixed a lot of different Christmas lines and used an unconventional Christmas color scheme, played with my punches and some stamps, viola!

xxbesos

j.leija

Happy Chanukah Cards

Happy Hanukah or Chanukah or Hanukkah, or however else its spelled!! And yeah, I know I'm a bit late in posting this =/ but at least I got them to the recipients in time...I hope! They were my first stab at a menorah.

Meh, they're a bit wonky. But I think the boys will forgive me. Best Wishes Josh and Jon! I'll never forget our J^3 (cubed) trips! Love you both!

xxbesos

j.leija

Fancy Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas!! It's that time of year again, time for Christmas card giving. I love love love making Christmas cards. And last year they were such a hit, I've felt the need to one up myself and go for gold ;) Not only are there 50 people on my card list, I've decided to hand make them all and to use different designs.

These are the first two cards I made this year. I actually made them way back in October, as part of a 2Peas challenge. It was their 15/30 challenge. Make a card in 15 mins and then make a card using the same design in 30.

I'm calling these my fancy cards. It has to do with the ribbons and the sequins.

This was my 15 min card. I used a kraft card and stamped a Tattered Angels design using Versamark ink. Then, I cut a strip of 7 Gypsies Conservatory paper and tied a piece of ribbon around the card. I stamped Merry Christmas using Brown Chalk ink and "distressed" it using Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink. Added a little sequin star and viola!

For the 30 minute version, I stamped the same design but heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I layered two different color ribbons and then altered the color of an American Crafts chipboard frame using Peeled Paint distress ink. I stamped the same Merry Christmas and backed it behind the frame. And for the finishing touch, I used a beautiful beaded poinsettia.

Two very lovely women in my life will on the receiving end of these cards. I hope they like them! Happy Cardmaking!

xxbesos

j.leija