Giveaway: Christmas Paper Packs

A fun little giveaway for the Holiday Season :) (And my first time ever using a Rafflecopter for a giveaway - yay :)). I'm giving away two Christmas Paper Packs! These cute little packs are a delightful mixture of Holiday papers and bits & pieces. Each pack is chocked full of papers such as: new scrapbooking Christmas papers from top brands (Studio Calico, October Afternoon, Bazzill, Basic Grey, etc), vintage papers from hymnals, salvaged holiday storybooks, envelopes, doilies, tags, and much more.

These packs are perfect for adding fun details to your Holiday Album or Journal, or to Project Life. Or create some handmade Christmas cards to send to a loved one! 

Each pack is packaged in a 6.5"x9" clear cello bag and contains 30+ pieces and some sequins sprinkled in for good measure :) 

Can't wait to get one? Find them here in my shop. ***I will be closing my shop for the holidays on Tuesday, December 10 and will reopen after New Years :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

30 Days of Thankful

Happy November! Today begins a month-long project of documenting a gratitude each day - 30 Days of Thankful. Last year, I worked on this throughout the month and loved it. I shared a bit here on the blog, but mostly just kept a list of my thankfuls here in my workspace.

I keep a gratitude journal anyways, but I love a specific list that I keep throughout this month. A month that ends with Thanksgiving (for those here in the US), and is right before the Christmas season. It's a good time to focus on the gratitudes. The little and big blessings that come our way each and every day. I believe that even on the difficult days, there is always a thankful, even if it is tiny.

Won't you join me on this month-long project? Just keep a pad of paper and pen handy. Jot down a gratitude each day. Keep a journal. Create a mini album. Whatever you want it to be. Just go for it!

christmas goodies

Working on listing these holiday goodies in the shop today: preorders for the 2012 Holiday Journal Kit, an add-on paper pack, journaling cards and handmade epoxy embellishments :)

working on this

Christmas journal kits are coming along! :)

currently

currently, I am:

+ working on some more mixed paper journals for the shop. I am on a journal kick right now.

+ thinking I need to finish putting together the Christmas 2012 holiday journal kits.

+ looking around my workspace and am pretty sure it needs a good clean (no it doesn't always look like this ;))

+ thinking I have a lot of paper. is that possible? ;) maybe it's a good thing I'm on a journal kick. using it all up ;)

+ debating a meal plan for next week.

+ so glad we are having cooler weather. we had to turn the heat on last night. love it.

+ reminded that I like having four distinct seasons. and while I wish we had more snow here in NC (I know. yes, I like snow ;)), I'm just glad to have cold, which means lots of snuggling up, hot cocoa, and a warm, cozy home.

+ continuing to feel more and more like we are getting into a routine as a family of 5.

+ reminded that I like routine. spontaneity is great, too. but I like routine.

+ enjoying my little ones so, so much.

+ thankful for the blessing of my little (big) family :)

+ will be listing this journal and other similar ones (different cover tags) in the shop this week.

+ this post was inspired by this post by ali edwards 

(how many times can i put "this post" and "by" in one sentence? ;))

Yep, I'm still here.

Still getting into a rhythm with our new little one. Still waiting on sleep ;) Love our little (big?!) family of five. So, as I am holding my little one (while she sleeps :)) each evening when the house is calm and quiet, I've been pinning and favorite-ing these links. Enjoy!

+ Now that Fall is here, be sure to check out this checklist for photo prompts and ideas.

+ Loving this super cute vintage button necklace.

+ And these vintage style labels.

+ Love the simple reminder in this print.

+ Oh my goodness, are these little coin purses not absolutely adorable? Christmas presents, anyone?!

+ This yummy-looking bread is on the menu this weekend.

+ And so is this butternut squash tart.

+ Am thinking I will add this amazing tomato soup to the menu for next week (I don't normally like tomato soup. But this recipe is absolutely fabulous.)

+ Love this free download of a super cool vintage camera. DIY wall art!

+ Love this DIY Woodburning post. We used to create all sorts of fun things using the woodburner in my dad's shop growing up. SO much fun.

+ Really want to try this with my hair.
+ Love this branding - her business cards are sewn onto prints of her photography - brilliant!
+ If you're in to typography, this hilarious game is so much fun. And a great way to waste pass some time ;) (This game is fun, too!)
+ Am thinking I might have to make one of these in the future with my instagram pictures.
+ Might have to order one of these gorgeous scarves before it gets really cold.

P.S. I will hopefully be listing the new Everyday journals in my shop sometime next week. So excited about these :) And don't forget to grab an Autumn Journal if you've been thinking about purchasing one. I have several left and will ship them promptly so you can begin documenting the season :)

random-ness.

Some random thoughts and updates for today :) It's summertime. And it's hot. And I am hugely pregnant with our sweet girl who will be here in a matter of weeks ;) And I am tired. 

I am trying to tie up loose ends around my home as well as with my shop. And am still working on a few more new journals here and there (because I don't have enough going on ;)). 

On adjusting to a new stage in life: I am trying to adjust to my little one (well, big one) being at kindergarten all day. Every day. He loves it. I love that he loves it. But there are moments when he'll say "I don't want to go everyday, I'm missing doing fun things with you and Joshua. Like playing in the sprinkler." (And, believe me, I want to tell him that I miss him so, so much during the day and that I wish he were still home with me and that I thought this day of him going off to kindergarten would never come. And that he'd be little forever.). I encourage him about how he is growing up into a wonderful young little man and that God loves him so much - and that he will continue to experience new things, discover new things, have accomplishments, make mistakes, have fun times and difficult times. I reassure him (trying not to get all teary) that we will still do fun things in the afternoon. Like playing in the sprinkler. And going to get ice cream as a family. Before dinner. :) And other fun things! 

On recording memories: I am constantly told that the days, months, and years fly by with little ones. And every single day I am made more aware of this. I try to remember and savor each and every moment - the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. I write things down. I try to capture them on my camera. And I remember why I create mini books. And I remember why I want to encourage and inspire others to keep mini books, albums, journals, or some other way of recording memories. There are so many things that happen and change over the days, weeks and years. I know that many memories will slip away as the time passes, but I do love to look back at what I do record. When I do, it is usually something that I had forgotten - a minute detail or a quote from my son. And it is wonderful to recall those things that had slipped out of my mind.

Days speed up as you get older, I am convinced. We love to look back through the mini albums I've made. I capture and record a lot of the good, but I also try to include the difficult (usually through a note tucked in an envelope and sealed with tape). I love to see how God has brought us through a trying time. And even when the plan isn't what I think it should be, He has been faithful to be there and to bring us through it and to grow us :)

Little ones. recording memories. blogging. etsy shop. how do you do it all? I have had friends as well as people from blogland email me asking me how I maintain my shop, my blog, and my home, all while having two little ones and being pregnant with our third. I quickly tell them "My blog is just a glimpse - a place where I post things that inspire me, the fun times in our little family and projects I am working on." (I've also talked briefly about balancing in my FAQ's - #14 and #15). I will say that I do most of my "work" (blog and shop) at night when my babies are in bed asleep. 

So, I spend a lot of my evening hours in my workspace (our babies go to bed at 7pm), while my hubby does work on his computer, or he'll pull over his big chair and read. It's fun to be together and chat and do what we each enjoy but still be together.

I also quickly tell them that at any given time, I may have two loads of laundry sitting by the washer. And two loads by the dryer that need to be put away (why is putting laundry away the hardest part!? Is it just me?! :)). And that the crumbs on the floor seem to multiply every 15 minutes. I think I could vacuum our whole downstairs every couple hours (I don't ;)) and fill up the vacuum canister. Every time ;) 

And sometimes, I just have to let things go, project-wise and blog-wise. I am great at having good intentions, but if you have been a close follower of my blog for awhile, you know that I have projects I've started and shared that kind of evaporate and disappear. Like Project Life. I LOVE the idea behind Project Life. I love it. I love looking at other's takes on it on blogs I visit. So many people have had such great success with it and I am SO excited they have their memories and life recorded that way. I invested a lot of money in the supplies for it. My hopes are to attempt it again next year. It just did not fit for me at this time and I had to let go of it.

And more recently, Card-a-Day. I actually only missed some of these. I just haven't caught up or shared here. Maybe soon? :) (During some of my random brainstorming, I contemplated doing a "mini album a month". But then quickly dismissed that idea to the back of my mind. Seriously. If I couldn't easily maintain a 10-minute card-a-day for 30 days, how would I keep a mini album a month? ;) I still love the idea of it, but can't go there right now ;))

Some shop and blog projects I am currently working on: 

+ I am almost finished re-doing and organizing my workspace. I had hoped to share it this week but it will probably be next week some time ;)

+ I started these minis for my shop several months ago and then completely forgot about them. So I pulled them back out and am working on them again. 

+ I am currently (slowly) working on Baby Journals. Paper has been cut. Envelopes and tags gathered. A couple more pages to add, fabric for swatches to be ordered. I hope to put these in the shop in the next several weeks. SO excited about the paper used in these. It took me finding several small online sources to obtain the papers (October Afternoon) because the line is discontinued (and seriously, not really anywhere to be found). So I think that makes it even more fun :)

+ Autumn and Christmas journals are in the very, very beginning stages. I have a lot of the decorative scrapbook paper (also discontinued lines!), but am working to collect other special papers to include. I am trying to be ahead with these since our little one will be here when I would normally start working on them ;)

Maybe I have too many irons in the fire shop-wise? Maybe not. That's how I roll. I get so excited about so many different things for my shop and like to bring them along all together (I won't talk about how I have ideas for a travel journal dancing around in my head ;)). It takes awhile, but I enjoy it.

So. All of this to say that I love to create. I love the gift of creativity. I love to record memories. I love to put journals together that others will use to record their memories. I love to make journals about my little (growing) family that I love and cherish so much. I love the moments with my hubby and little ones that become memories each day. I love to work at the balance between loving my family well and to have a creative outlet. I love that I have to remind myself that I need not stress over letting go of a project if I just can't do it. I love that I have friends that keep me accountable for keeping my family and home first. And that in the end, if my blog and shop are ever getting in the way of my family, then I need to re-evaluate. Immediately :)

experimenting with watercolor pencils

I received some watercolor pencils and paper for Christmas and have been experimenting with them here and there :) I know they aren't the real watercolor paints, but (even though I was an art major in college) I've never been great at painting ;) So to me, these are great ;) 

I didn't really know what I was doing - I just kind of went for it and drew some stuff with a pen. And then colored it with different colors. I added water with a small paintbrush and loved watching how it changed the texture to a much softer and delicate feeling. I'm thinking this could work well in a journal page - maybe make a border around the page with pen and then color it with watercolor? Anyone else use watercolor pencils? Any ideas or techniques you use?

I am loving the quote "Make Something Good Today" - I got a new notebook at Target that had that written on it. Love it. :)

............................................................................................................

May is almost here! Are you interested in advertising your blog or business on my sidebar for the month of May? Go here for more details and feel free to email me at: thecreativeplace (at) gmail (dot) com :)

............................................................................................................

paper goodness: etsy sources

I am always on the lookout on etsy for paper packs or other mini album paper related goodness. If you search through my favorites, you can find several that I have found and am currently swooning over ;) 

Most of my paper that I acquire is from antique stores, craft stores, consignment shops and even the occasional yard sale. However, I have also purchased a few packs on etsy here and there and today I am sharing a few of my faves. 

1. saturdayAMvintage - Scrap Pack New and Vintage Papers. I LOVE her paper packs. Each 5.5" x 7.25" pack is a great combo of new and vintage papers and each piece is in perfect condition. Lovely little snippets of old ads, office type papers, maps, vintage sheet music and more. I love these packs so much that I ordered 2 within a couple weeks of eachother ;)

2. jamaicamakes - duly noted. uncut. Amazing pack of pages from her fabulous collection of journals, notebooks and notepads. Some new pages, some vintage. All with tons of character and perfect to use in making a mini album. I used a lot of papers from this pack in this little journal I made for my hubby awhile back. These packs aren't always in stock, so I check her shop every now and then in hopes of grabbing one :) (Image below is from her etsy shop, jamaicamakes)

3. iloveitall: Pocket Mini Book: DIY Album Kit. I was wanting this super cute kit for Christmas, and my hubby got it for me :) It is a sweet kit with a ton of gorgeous papers - from solid cardstocks to patterned scrapbooking paper to some found office-y type papers. Also included are some cute embellishments and a binder ring to put it all together. I'm still trying to decide what I want to use it for :)

4. janicewallace - paper pack - A cute and very inexpensive grab bag of mostly found and vintage papers. Also got this pack for Christmas :)

So there you have it. A few sources of where I find some of my goodies that I use in my journals, mini albums, paper-related projects, etc.

I also sell unique (and fabulous ;)) large packs of new and vintage papers in my shop. These packs contain over 50 pieces of paper goodness and are packaged in a 9" x 11" clear resealable cello bag. They are chocked full of new papers like scrapbooking papers, calendar and notes pages, graph paper, as well as vintage papers including maps, advertisements, sheet music, flash cards, playing cards, papers from ledgers, school books, books and children's books. And if you're looking for a smaller pack, I have some 6.5" x 9.5" packs available here.

Holiday Journal 2011 :: Finished.

Yay! My holiday journal is complete. I am in love with how this journal turned out. Love it. Some of the pictures didn't print that well (printed at home, which usually works well, but my printer was acting up ;)), but I'm still happy with it. I blurred out a few photos for privacy reasons, but I feel like you still get the idea of the layout of the page. I plan on adding a few more photos to the back of when my sweet in-laws were here the day after Christmas, but am calling it finished for now :)

For the patterned paper on the left, I printed out a sheet of this free printable wrapping paper.

For Day 18, I printed this gorgeous free printable by Emily of Jones Design Company, found (via pinterest) here.

Go here to see the first half. So glad to have another one of these finished. I loved looking back through this one from last year (2010). And this one from the year before (2009). It's neat to see how my style and approach have changed each year. I'm loving it :)