Layout: Christmas Eve

This layout killed all of the scraps I had from the December Scraptastic kit.  I literally have 1 piece left - a 2x3 piece of paper.  That's it.  It felt really good to really kill the kit.  I got 7 layouts of out of, which isn't shabby at all if you ask me!!  The next Scraptastic kit arrives today and I'm SUPER excited about it!!

I couldn't figure out what to title this page, nor did I have any letter stickers that really went with the colors.  I'm OK with it not having a real title.  I can always go back and add one later if it really bothers me.  This layout is missing something (other than a title) and I can't really put my finger on it.  I'll figure it out eventually.  This is probably my most boring layout.  It did serve its purpose, though.  I wanted to use up the rest of the kit, and there really wasn't much left to begin with.

I'm going to try my hardest to stop taking photos of my layouts with my cell phone.  Honestly I'm just being lazy.  My D-SLR is sitting right next to my desk!!  Like I said before, one of my New Year's resolutions is to learn how to use that thing - and actually use it instead of letting it just sit in its case.  I also finally installed Lightroom (which I've had in my possession for a year now) so maybe that will help serve as motivation.  My iPhone photos really are just terrible.

Layout: Merry

I lifted this layout from a member of the Scraptastic Club design team.  I absolutely loved it.  I had quite a few tags left that I didn't know what to do with and this layout was perfect.  And Leah was thrilled that I used the gold vellum Merry for her layout :)

Layout: Silly Hats!

I challenged myself to do this in an hour so it's pretty simple, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

This year for my parents' Christmas card, they wanted everybody to take photos of themselves in silly hats.  My parents found their silly hats in New York City, and while they didn't purchase them, a very nice stranger offered to take a picture of them wearing these Dr. Seuss inspired hats!  Honestly - this is probably one of my absolute favorite pictures of them together.

I'm really starting to get the hang of using the liquid pearls, and I kinda got a little "pearl happy" on this one.  There are worse things to overuse on a layout (like my disaster with too much splatter paint the other day - it looked like I killed a Smurf over card stock).

Layout: Ready for Santa

I experimented with cutout windows on my background. I'm really pleased with how this turned out!  I'm also taking a shot at photographing specific portions of my layout. 

I do have a D-SLR that I'm not entirely sure how to use.  I understand the basic concepts (obviously) but getting the advanced settings right drives me absolutely bonkers.  Also, our house only gets good natural light in one room - the upstairs bathroom (which isn't an ideal place to photograph anything you'd like the public to see).  So I'm left with the only (artificially) well lit room in the house - our dining room.  The lighting in there is VERY warm....too warm.  So until I can get some good shots, these will have to do.  I don't care what anybody says - iPhone 4S photos are just terrible.  I guess that means I have a decent New Years Resolution - learn how to use my D-SLR without spending my entire income on accessories for it.  My fiance would not be pleased if I had TWO expensive habits.  If anybody has any tips for me, let me know in the comments!

This layout is of our finished tree.  All of the presents are out and we are absolutely ready for Santa.  We don't make gingerbread men, but Santa does get a plate of snicker doodles and fudge!

Layout: Hung With Care

I decided to take a shot at Scraptastic's December Sketchy Thursday challenge!

I used the December Home for the Holidays kit (with a couple small additions from my stash).

Our Christmas card photo from 2012 was of us hanging our chihuahua Lily from the Christmas tree.  It's always been a favorite of mine...

Layout: Really, Luke?

Here's a layout I did of Luke the cat.  Contrary to popular belief, Luke is a girl.  This was the first layout I did with the Home for the Holidays kit from Scraptastic.  I really love this kit!!!  I have at least 5 more layouts to do (based on the photos in my pile) and I'm sure I'll have MORE photos by the end of December!!!