Happy New Years Eve!   As we prepare to say goodbye to 2013, and welcome in a brand new year, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share my cover page for my 2014 Project Life album.

I knew I wanted to try something different with my cover page this year.  I love the look of the slide page protectors and even played around with them a bit in my December Daily album.   I decided to use this format for my intro page for 2014.  I plan to place a Project Life Design A page behind it with (hopefully) an enlarged photo from New Years Eve, preferably in black and white.  We'll see how it goes!

I decided to keep the theme neutral for this page.  I had so much fun pair papers from Elle's Studio's You & Me, Saltwater, Penelope, Cameron, and the wood veneer "joy" piece is from the Noel Collection.

The various other embellishments, such as the star and camera veneers and the circle badges are by Studio Calico.  The "winter is here" circle tag is by Elle's Studio.  The "You are here" stamp is by Elise Blaha Cripe. 

I hope you have a wonderful and safe New Years Eve!  Here's to a fabulous 2014!!  Cheers!

Project Life was created by Becky Higgins as a way to simplify how you document life and preserve memories. Photo pockets used in my Project Life are created by Becky and can be found here. You can read all of my Project Life posts here.

Oh Christmas Tree! Wood Veneer	Noel Bits and Pieces	Noel- Paper Collection Pack	Penelope Paper
Saltwater Paper	Cameron Papers	You & Me Papers

InLinkz.com

Project Life Week 50: Finishing Strong

This week's Project Life covers the week of December 9-15th.

Today I wanted to share a few ideas on finishing strong for Project Life 2013!   True, I still have the two remaining weeks of December yet to document (along with one week in November, and one in October), but hopefully these ideas will encourage us as we complete 2013 and move ahead to 2014!

December is SO busy, and with the addition of working on December Daily, I knew i just wanted to do a brief overview of this month in my weekly spreads.  I used a few specific ideas to (quickly) complete this week.

1.  Journal directly on photos.   I used the American Crafts Slick Writer (in black and white) to write directly on a few photos in this spread.  It helped tremendously in cutting down time spent putting the spread together.

2.  Use photos to completely fill the 3x4 pocket.  I did this on both the right and left sides of the spread.  This really helped me to keep it simple.  No journaling, embellishments... just a photo.  Sometimes simple can be the strongest statement! 

3.  Filler Cards.   Yes this might sound strange.  But filler cards, from a design standpoints, breaks up the flow of photos, and offers a focal point for your eye.   The Elle's Studio Card (from our December kit) accomplishes this on the left side, as well as the cream and gold card by Studio Calico on the right page.

4. Simply Journal.   There are times when I feel like i need a photo or ephemera to go along with my journaling, but this is simply not true!   Use your 3x4 or 4x6 pockets to simply journal!  I used journaling cards from the Elle's Studio December kit to journal in both pocket spaces.   I also used one pocket to list the highlights of the week.

December Kit	Nov 2013 kit	Noel- Paper Collection Pack	Noel Lil' Snippets- Labels
Noel Bits and Pieces	Let it Snow! Wood Veneer	Merry & Bright Wood Veneer	Cameron Tidbits

InLinkz.com

December Daily: Days 17-20

Today I am sharing Days 17-20 in my December Daily album.   

This was the last week before school ended for Christmas Break, so we were VERY busy!

December 17:   I decided to write a little bit about our morning rituals before school in december: wake up, find the elf ("fishpan") , open the next door of our advent calendar, and sort gifts under the tree.  You wouldn't believe how much joy two little people got from these things.

December 18:  Jordan had angel day in Kindergarten and Jonah had their Happy Birthday Jesus party in his class.  I added a snowman (Olaf?) that Jordan drew!  The labels are by Elle's Studio.   I added Studio Calico wood veneer stars and sequins in the final pocket and stitched it closed. 

I did a page and a half for both December 19 and 20.  I trimmed a page protector in half to add the half page on the right.

December 19th was the last day of school for the kids.   They have a wonderful tradition in the elementary school where they sing carols in the hall before school starts.  I was able to go in and see it and it brought tears to my eyes.  Nothing is more wonderful than hearing 100's of children signing Silent Night!

Later that evening we attended a Christmas Party.  The label and journaling tag is by Elle's Studio.  The  music note transparency is by Websters Pages, the badge is by October Afternoon (their December Daily kit from last year), and the December tab is by October Afternoon.   The gold numbers are all by American Crafts.

On Friday the 20th Todd and I went to a Party!  The Star transparency is by Studio Calico, Wood veneer stars and journaling card/tab by Elle's Studio.

 Thanks for swinging by today!  You can see all of my December Daily posts here.

Our Christmas

It was a wonderful Christmas here at the Hufford House-- the celebrations seem to continue through the New Year, but I wanted to share a few photos and words from Christmas.

Christmas Eve:

We attended candlelight service at my sisters church on Christmas Eve.  It's a tradition to go out to eat afterwards with my family, and then spend the night at my parents.  I love that we still do this!  It makes me feel like a kid again.

We had a fun game night at my parents Christmas Eve.  Twister was a riot!

We discovered Jonah is pretty much the human pretzel.

I love the magic of Christmas Eve!

Christmas Morning:

Santa came!!!

A Barbie house and R2D2 robot were the big gifts this year!

We went back home quickly to change before lunch with the extended family at my uncle and aunts.  Someone wasn't happy about having her picture taken.

But she perked up once she saw her cousins :)

I just love my husband and so thankful for him.  :)

Almost all the cousins were there on Christmas-- we got a photo of all of us with my Grandma-- this is just so special to me!

This Christmas we know of so many friends who were hurting as a result of deep losses and heartache through out the year.  As we celebrated Christ's first coming, I was reminded more than ever of how MUCH HOPE we have in the fact that He is coming again.  His birth, death, and resurrection on Earth provided the way to be right with God.   One day He will return not as a child in a manger, but as King of Kings and Lord of Lords-- He will wipe all of our tears, heartache, and sin (and the enemy) will be defeated forever.   Come Jesus soon!

We hope you had a Merry Christmas! xo.