December iWhatever Calendar and Desktop

Here we are, folks! Down to the last month of 2014! 

Is your phone ready for a new look?

Does the frame remind you of something from an old Christmas card? It came from Crafty Secrets' Vintage Christmas Digital Images and Ephemera. Wow! That's quite a mouthful! I've had that set for a couple of years and love it. I'm using one of the images of Santa for my Christmas cards this year. This calendar is going in the December Linky Party at the blog, and if I can figure out how to post a second item, I will include my card, too, in a couple of weeks. (I need to actually put some together first!) 

I had a great conversation with Sandy (the owner of Crafty Secrets) recently. I was having computer issues that carried over into my email and she called me to see what on Earth was going on! We talked for almost an hour! 

OK--back to December! Here is a calendar sized for your desktop, with lots of room for icons all around the edges....

...and here is a plain calendar if  you would like to design your own...

 Sometimes I still use the Coolibah app on my iPad to design these, but I am beginning to use Photoshop more and more all the time. Just pull in any background papers or embellishments you want to use and "build" it like you would if you were using paper. (Yes, I know that is an over-simplified explanation. One day I will get up my nerve to do a tutorial on using digitals. It's on my list. Along with forty-eleven other things!)

Here is something I might be able to cross off of my list. I've been playing around trying to come up with a solution for those pesky iPhones that blow up your pictures so much that they can't be used as a lockscreen. I thought maybe resizing the photo would work, but it didn't. Finally I decided to just put a big empty background behind the calendar, kind of like what I do for the desktop. I made one horizontal and one vertical. The vertical one fits perfectly on my iPhone lockscreen:

...but I thought the horizontal one might be better for smaller tablets, like iPad minis:

 I know it looks funny when you look at the whole thing--some of the embellishments are chopped off at the edges--but that won't show if the calendar is the right size. Please let me know if this is something you will use! It only takes a minute to add that background.

Now I must say goodbye and get to work on Christmas cards. In the interest of full disclosure, I send holiday cards. There are a whole lot of people who get all up in arms about that, like Christmas has a monopoly on glad tidings. Christmas is just one day! I want to wish everyone an ENTIRE SEASON of peace and happiness! Anyone who wants to hold that against me, be my guest. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

November iWhatever Calendar

I bet you thought I forgot. Nope...I just got too elaborate (Trying to make up for last month!) and couldn't finish last night! November's calendar is much prettier than October's. I guess you could say I feel dull and colorless when I get tired. :-/

 In November 2012 I used a font called Jane Austen because this is the time of year when I would love to spend a majority of the day on Saturday and Sunday wrapped up in a warm soft blanket reading one of Miss Austen's novels. I read that she once said the heroine of any story she wrote would always find her happy ending. So how can you go wrong?
For the past few years, I have read at least one or two of her books each winter (She only published six during her lifetime), then I watch one of the dozens of film adaptations. My hands-down favorite is Pride and Prejudice. I like two film versions of the story: one is a 1995 mini series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, and the other is from 2005 with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.
Last winter I went really crazy and read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Seth Grahame-Smith, who wrote Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, added some undead characters ("unmentionables") to the story. Honestly, doesn't it seem like that would be catering to a very small market? I mean, it was hilarious, but I just can't see that much cross-over between zombie enthusiasts and Jane Austen enthusiasts. I know, I know--I read both, but I'm kind of weird. Plus I was just back from a trip to Mexico with our boys, who were both reading zombie books on the beach! Well, it just so happens that there is now a movie version of this book being filmed, too! Go figure!
Back to the point....
 I used the Jane Austen font again in November 2013, along with some of the same colors I used in 2012. Now I've decided that I should just stick with that theme! So here is this year's version....

Of course I made a one for your desktop, too:

And here are the days and dates in case you would like to make your own....

We are in the process of moving from our old pc to one with MORE POWER! (This is where Tim Taylor grunts, "ARRRR, ARRRR, ARRRR!")  I can't wait until everything is up and running, but with some programs here and some programs there, it gets a bit frustrating. Maybe Andy will go straighten out all that stuff while I read tomorrow. ;-)

I hope you have a wonderfully cozy November! I'll be back soon with something fun. I just have to decide which fun something to do first!
Thanks for stopping by!

Not Exactly a Christmas Card

Has anyone else been thinking about Christmas cards? I believe I have decided on a design for mine this year. This card is a non-Christmas version of what I hope to do. 

    Among my digital Christmas images from Crafty Secrets is a vintage Santa that I really want to use on the front of my Christmas cards, but since it seems a little early to post Christmas stuff, I decided to try out my design using an image from a Crafty Secrets pre-printed cardstock sheet of vintage photos. (Yes, they have "hard copies" of some of their images, too! They are moving to digital only, so most of the printed items they have left are marked down. A lot! Go check out their Linky party at the Heartwarming Vintage Blog to see if anyone else is thinking about Christmas cards!)

I kept it pretty simple--I don't want anything too complicated since I will need to make so many. 

    

First I cut a brown mat with a deckle rectangle Nestie and adhered the vintage photo. Then I embossed some pearlized paper with these beautiful autumn leaves. 

   

I had planned to put some sort of Thanksgiving sentiment on the card, but then I came across "happy together" from the SU! set A Dozen Thoughts. Perfect! All that's left is wrapping some ribbon and twine around the leaf-embossed paper and layering everything on top of a card. I used Cajun Craze for the card. I know that's not a very Christmas-y color combination, but the dark brown, brick red, and cream looks nice with the Santa image and this photo. 

See?! Nice and easy! So.... What kind of card are you planning for the holidays?

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Free October Calendar and Desktop

Wait just a minute! What happened to September?! 

Did we just completely skip a month? 

Wow! 

Don't get me wrong--October is a perfectly lovely month. There's Grandma's birthday, Friday night football, marching band competitions, and...and...hmmmm....

No--October really IS a lovely month. I'm just a little bit (totally) bummed out that the summer months came and went without giving us much summer weather! 

Here in southwest Missouri we have beeeeauuutiful foliage every fall, and the colors are just beginning to change. 

In honor of autumn, I wanted to do something that felt warm and cozy, but I didn't want to use the reds, golds, and oranges everyone always uses for fall decorating. So I went monochromatic instead. (Quite out of the norm for me, right?) These are the browns of hot chocolate and creamy coffee drinks. Both with whipped cream on top, of course!

Here is a calendar for your iWhatever:   

 And here is one for your desktop, with lots of open space for all those icons that keep accumulating:

And if you would like to design your own calendar, here are the days and dates I used:

I hope to be back in a few days with some pictures from our booth at AvaBelle's. See you then!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Free September iWhatever Calendar and Desktop

Have you ever had a job that you enjoy so much that you don't even think of it as a job? I have been fortunate enough to have had TWO jobs like that! I taught preschool for twelve years, beginning when the boys were little. Cole rode the bus to Honeytree after school each day and Michael was able to spend the day at preschool with me, becoming one of the most well-prepared kiddos ever to enter kindergarten. I only worked 20-25 hours each week, so I still considered myself a stay-at-home-mom.

My other "non-job" was working with the color guard--you know--the girls that spin the flags and rifles in marching band. I started with the band one year after I started at Honeytree and stayed there for sixteen years. I remember one evening during my first year of band camp (Go ahead. Think it. I know you're dying to!) I was cleaning up after dinner and I just kept giggling because I couldn't believe that I was being PAID to do something that was SO MUCH FUN! Eventually, waking up at 5 a.m. each day, along with the daily dose of drama (TEENAGE GIRLS! UGH!) took a toll on my nerves. My boys had graduated and weren't marching anymore--yes, they were both band nerds like their mama!--so just less than two years ago, I retired my marching shoes.

I want to clarify something here. In our town, "Band Nerd" and "Band Geek" are monikers that are hard-earned and worn with pride. The Houn Dawg Marching Band (NOT Marching Houn Dawg Band! There IS a difference! Think about it.) has a decades-long history of success. The kids who stay in band from sixth grade through high school are the students who learn what it feels like to work for something and achieve it. They know how it feels to be part of a team that works together and WINS! (Stepping down from my soap box....)

Now you are probably wondering what all this reminiscing has to do with a September calendar. Honeytree always waited until after Labor Day to start school, so September will always feel like The Official Back-To-School Month for me. Back-to-school feels like yellow--for school buses and happy faces, blue--for bluebirds, red for apples, and green for The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Yes, those were the building blocks of our first few weeks of lesson plans. 

So...when I was looking for inspiration for September's calendar, I thought of back-to-school colors.

This is what I came up with....

I started feeling kind of like I was stuck in a rut because I have a pretty basic pattern for my calendars. Then I realized I use the same basic pattern because I like it! I like flowers, I like sparkles, and I like swirls and greenery. I haven't heard any complaints, and until I do, I probably will not deviate far from said pattern! 

Here is a calendar to pretty up your desktop background....

And if you would like to make your own, here is a plain Jane calendar that is just begging for some flowers, sparkles, swirls, and greenery! Go forth and make it beautiful! (Sometimes I get a little carried away.)

I have some ideas rolling around in my head, so I hope to be back next week. Until then....

Thanks for stopping by!

Free August iWhatever Calendar and Desktop

***Saturday August 2nd***
I'm back. I wasn't happy with a couple of things, and it was bugging me so much that I had to go back and fix them. Then I couldn't have you all still walking around with inferior calendars, so I had to share the fixed ones with you here!
 So...now the iWhatever calendar has a piece of kraft paper behind "August" to help it show up a little better and the background paper and the frame on the desktop are a little different. I feel much better now. I know--I'm weird that way. I guess it's my own little form of OCD.
I don't want anyone to feel like you have to delete the previous versions and replace them with these new-and-improved versions, but if you don't...well....
************
Does everybody know what time it is?! Yep, it's time to freshen up that stale old desktop screen or homescreen on your phone or iWhatever with a new calendar! I think by now you know the routine, so here you go! This one is for your small-ish screens...

...and here is one for your desktop or laptop...

I would love to stay around and share some fascinating story about my amazingly interesting life, but I AM POOPED! So, sadly, I must sign off and head to dreamland.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stand-Up Mini Album

Ok. I said I'd be back with a project, didn't I? It took longer than I expected to get fully inspired, but this is a sneak peek at the finished album. It's 5x7, so it will fit in an envelope for mailing (with a couple extra stamps. Mine turned out quite thick.) If you want to see the whole thing, you'll just have to stick around and read the rest of my post. ;)

I started with a plan and even took a picture of my supplies to share with you here. Then I shifted gears just a bit, so instead of the pic, I'll just give you the list of what I actually used:

• Two sheets 12x12 heavy pink cardstock for the body of the album
• Three sheets 12x12 heavy white cardstock for the frames
• Glitter cardstock (a girl has to have her glitter, right?)
• Punches for embellishments--I used flowers, a flourish, and a paisley
• Ribbon and jewels or brads
• An assortment of dies for cutting frames--I started with circles and squares but decided rectangles and ovals were a better fit. 

From one piece of pink I cut a 7x10 strip and scored it down the middle, so I basically had a 5x7 card. From the other piece of pink I cut a 7x12 strip and scored it at 5 inches and 10 inches, so I had a 5x7 card with a little 2 inch flap. That flap will connect the two pieces later. 

But first....

I folded both pieces and ran them through the Cuttlebug in a paisley pattern embossing folder. I used paper with a white core, so I sanded the embossing a little to make it pop. 

Next I adhered the two pieces together using that two inch flap, so I had a four page accordion album. 

Don't worry about the flap--we will cover it up later. 

Now for the frames. Using a variety of rectangular and oval Nesties, I cut frames for each of the four inside pages and the cover, as well as a solid piece of white (not in the picture) to serve as the back of each frame. I used a Dotted Swiss embossing folder on one of the two matching frames and the thinner oval, and I layered the two ovals together to make one frame. 

I adhered a strip of ribbon across the front--long enough to wrap around and tie a pretty bow. Then I placed all the frames. 

Remember that extra two inch flap on the back? I cut two 5x7 pieces from my strips of leftover cs and

adhered them to the back. Then I added a piece of lined paper, die cut to match the frames, for journaling. 

Now for the embellishments! I cut a 'J' for the front because this is going to a new baby whose name starts with 'J.' Then I punched several flowers, flourishes, and paisleys from the glitter paper and some of the scrap pieces of white. I scattered those among the frames, and this is what I ended up with:

I know it's basically just an accordion album, but with the extra layer on the back, it's stable enough to stand up and use as a table top frame. Now I think I'll try one in landscape orientation. Hmmmmm....

    No, I didn't make a horizontal version already. I was so focused on making this stand up that I didn't even consider hanging it on the wall! How cute is that?!

Ok. That's it for now. Time for me to go work outside. 

Thanks for stopping by! See you in a few days with the August calendar!