Twenty Twelve Christmas Card Album

This year I collected all the Christmas cards we received (including the ones Lily got from her school friends), and I stuck them to the wall near our Christmas Tree.

This isn't all the cards, but silly me forgot to take a photo of 

all the cards, before we took them down!

Once we took them down, I knew that I wanted to something with them (other than just shoving them in a box!) I actually made something a while ago for Lily's birth congratulation cards (you know the cards you get when a baby is born), and another one for Benji's first birthday cards (although neither of them are actually finished!) Anyway, with that in mind I made a little chipboard album for the Christmas cards.

I used the same paper on the front and back cover  (although 

now I'm kinda regretting it, that red chevron makes me dizzy!)

Close up of the title:

The album is pretty chunky, but I didn't want to leave any cards out:

On the inside cover, I decided to stick in one of the family Christmas photos we had taken, I think it will be nice to look back in the years to come and quickly and easily see what we all looked like. 

I also put in a little 4x6 plastic page/photo protector on top of the first card, so that I could also include all the little cards that were too small to be punched and added in by themselves.

I didn't actually use *proper* scrapbooking chipboard, as last night when I decided to make this album my local scrapbooking store was already closed, and I'm way too impatient to order things online and wait (espeically with all the public holidays between Christmas and New Years). So, instead I went to Officeworks and I bought a sketch album  (it was only $3.00), and the back of that was nice thick, sturdy chipboard...best of both world's really, I got the chipboard I wanted, and the kids now have some nice, thick paper to draw/paint on.

This is the book I bought, but there were a few different 

brands, I just got the cheapest, in the size that I was after.

30 Before 30: #4 Get Another Piercing/Body Modification

Less than a month into the start of this personal challenge, and I have already managed to tick one thing off the list. As part of my Christmas present, Ian said that he had been looking into getting me a voucher for another tattoo, but he wasn't sure what amount to get, as he didn't know what I wanted. After speaking to me about it, he said that he was still happy to do that, or if I would prefer he would pay for me to get another piercing.

I've always wanted my Labret pierced, and so that's what I got. It's only about 24 hours old, but I am in love and don't know why I waited so long to get it pierced.

Ian came in with me, and played official photographer (and hand holder!)

Marking below my lip for placement of the piercing:

These are all iPhone photos, so some of them may be a little out of focus, it doesn't bother me, I'm 

more than glad that we were able to get some photos of it being done.

Clamping the area:

The needle is through, and it's almost time for jewellery:

A selfie of the new piercing:

I will share my journalling page in the 30 Before 30 Journal in the next couple of  days.

Project Life 2012 - Week Forty Nine

Another week down, and I still LOVE this project. 

I can't believe that there is only 3 more weeks of 2012 to go!

Main Spread, without Extra Inserts

Main Spread, with Extra Inserts

What started off as a pretty quiet week, got really busy by the end of it...love weeks like that, where awesome things to see and do, just pop up!

We started the week with a picnic in the park and a walk to see the Christmas lights with some of Lily's school friends. It was such a great evening and the kids were all really excited (and well behaved!)

One of my good friends had a baby during the week, he was in a bit of a rush and came 5 weeks early, but from all accounts he is doing really well, hopefully I will get to meet him soon.

On Saturday, Lily and I were invited to a surprise birthday party for one of the little girls in Lily's class (the photo in the bottom left is of Lily, Grace and Imogen [the birthday girl] - they are all in the same class at school).

And then on Saturday night I went to Missy Higgins concert at the Fremantle Arts Centre. Up until about 4pm I wasn't even going to the concert, I rang my sister about something else, and she asked me if I wanted to go with her. So glad I did, Missy is an awesome entertainer - it was one of the best concerts I have been to this year!

And, finally on Sunday we went to the local outdoor markets, and while there we went for a ride in a fire engine. The kids even go to have a turn with the water hose!

Back of Insert One & Insert Two

The kids having a go with the water hose, they both loved it so much, and Benji especially didn't want to let go!

I decided to add in one of the Christmas cards I sent out this year, it's actually one half, as we made a mistake when writing it out, so instead of throwing it out, I cut off the bottom part (with the sentiments on it), and put it in the album.

Back of Insert Two

On the back of the card, I just wrote a bit about sending out the cards, and how even Lily used the same ones to hand out to her school friends (we both love Babushka Dolls). The washi tape is how I sealed up the cards I put in the mail, so I wanted to put a little on the card too.

Flip-Up Pocket

Normally when we go to concerts, I usually find some photos online of the concert and include that in my album, but with Missy Higgins' concert, I am very proud to say that I took that photo myself (with my sisters awesome camera). I took a whole heap of photos (over 100), and this one was by far my favourite.

Inside the flip up pocket, I added in our ticket, and a little about the concert, and I also included a photo of my twin sister and I at the concert.

I will be linking up with

Project Life 2012 - Week Forty Eight

I didn't post last weeks pages, as I was waiting to get a photo for it - we had Santa photos taken, and even though I rang up and double checked we would be able to pick up the photos within a couple of hours, when we got there to have the photos taken we were told that we could't pick them up for a week! 

Week Forty Eight

Main Spread, without Extra Inserts

We had a pretty quiet week, and stayed home a lot. The kids are happy to play around the house, and don't complain that when some days we don't leave the house (apart from going to school).

This week I used a journalling card from the CHERRY core kit, I thought it was pretty cute with the tree on it, and it matched the colours on the date card pretty well.

Main Spread, with Extra Inserts

Without the Monthly Divider in the way

I printed the front cover of The West Australian (our state newspaper in WA) from the Newseum website. A tip for people in the Southern Hemisphere, the front pages change over according to Northern Hemisphere (not sure which time zone, sorry) and so even though it's almost 6pm on Monday night, it still has Sunday's papers on the website. 

Back of Insert One & Insert Two

The Santa Photo / 

December Family Photo

Not a bad photo, considering that Benji had been whinging and saying that he didn't want to have a photo, right up until the photo was taken!

Back of Insert Two

Lily has been getting a little extra help at school with her writing. Since the start of term 3 she has been going out of class with another teacher in a group of about 5 other kids. Her teacher explained that it wasn't a big deal, and that normally a Pre-Primary (she is in a split class of Pre-Primary's and Year One's) wouldn't be taken out of class but there was an extra spot available and they decided to send Lily. Her main problem was that she was writing some letters and some numbers as mirror images, instead of the correct way around. She started going five days a week in term 3  - they did the same work that the rest of the class was doing, but just in a smaller group, so they every time she wrote a letter incorrectly she could rub it out, and write it the correct way straight away, instead of getting all the way to the end of her work, and then having to go back.

By term 4, she had improved so much that she had graduated to only going twice a week, and she will continue going for the next couple of weeks until the end of the school year.

I'm really grateful that her teacher noticed that there was an issue and arranged for the extra help.