jamaica makes

xoxo

Ultra neon pink, XOXO laser cut-outs, perfect for hoarding. Or using, whatever. Get one here.

intro to december

This is the 8th year (I think) that I'm making a little December book along with Ali. In the hustle and bustle of December, it's nice to take a quiet moment and think about the details. And looking back, see those details turn into traditions.

The cover for this year's book was a bit of a conundrum for me. I loved how it looked on the indigo blue fabric I'm using for Dad's quilt but it didn't work with the color palette/favorite papers I'd already chosen. I kept trying different pattern papers from the Studio Calico Dec Daily kit, but nothing stuck. Finally, it occurred to me that I must have something in my stash. So I pulled out the drawer with my scraps and there it was... this beautiful creamy joss paper with silvery gold square in the center. Totally not Christmas but absolutely beautiful under the etched snowflakes in a frosty, winter white way. I painted the veneer with some neon pink nail polish to get that high gloss finish.

*PS. If you've been on the fence about buying a snowflake album, there's just 1 left. 

Intro page: I had a hell of a time getting the December veneer to stick. After I misted it with the Jubilee Huey (which is the world's most perfect green) it curled right up. A little rubber cement softened it up but didn't hold it down, despite a night under a heavy stack of books. Finally used my trusty herma and two tiny staples. The gold chipboard banner is doing an excellent job keeping it from rolling back up. 

Day 2: Making a List download from A Pair of Pears, scaled down and printed on kraft paper. I printed two and glued them back to back to make enough room for my whole list. It's fun to look back and see what everyone got. Looking at it now, I think I'll add one at the end of the gifts I've received too. 

breaking my own rules

The goat selfie. I was adamant about not using the word "selfie"—in any sort of serious, non-ironic way—until this billy goat proved me wrong. Besides the fact that I'm posing with a goat, this is the quintessential selfie. Right?

I've been obsessing over tiny goats for a long time, but a knee-high billy goat? One that stands still for ridiculous scrapbooker selfies and patiently lets a 2 year old brush him, only seals the deal. 

dear jj abrams

File this one under things that are important to me: not fucking up the new Star Wars movies. Considering what he did with Star Trek, I think we're in good hands. 

corner debate

Let's talk corners for a moment. If you use the traditional Project Life kits, you're most likely a rounder. The rest of us, doing our own thing, we've got a choice whether to round or not. Me, I've never rounded. I like the square corners. Which was fine until I started getting the Studio Calico Project Life kits in July. I tried to ignore the rounds amongst my squares, telling myself not to be so fussy about it. I love the cards, I want to use the cards. There's no way I'm not going to use them just because the corners are rounded.

It finally occured to me to put a piece of paper behind it that is as close to the color of the card as possible. It won't work for all cards and it may not match perfectly, but all you need is for it to blend in enough to distract your eye. Here are some detail shots from recent spreads. If you scroll down a few posts you can see that they blend in pretty well.

Just thought I'd share in case it was bugging you too. : )

*also, this is the best cat photo I've ever seen on the internet. I don't know where it came from but the first time I saw it I almost peed my pants laughing so hard. I'm still laughing, even now months later.