CK Winner and Merry Christmas

I am excited to announce that Ann Marie is the winner of CK's Fast and Fresh Scrapbook Albums.

Congratulations Ann Marie!  Please email me at janamortondigital@gmail.com and we will get that issue of CK to you as shortly.

I just want to shift gears here a bit.  My heart continues to ache for everybody who has been directly effected by the tragedy in Connecticut.  I cannot even express my sorrow.  I have just felt so numb since this happened and the tears have certainly flowed freely over the course of the last week.  I look at Amelia my six year old and my heart hurts for those precious families who have lost their sweet babies as well as the amazing heroines who sacrificed their lives for their children.  The little things just don't seem all that important any more.

During this most blessed season, let us remember what a gift life is and to cherish the moments that we get to share together.  I want to wish each of you and your families a Merry Christmas!  Let us rejoice in the gift of baby Jesus.  God Bless You!

Creating Keepsakes - Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks

I am excited to tell you that Creating Keepsakes Fast and Fresh Scrapbooks Special Issue is being released today.  I just received my copy in the mail the other day and I was totally inspired.  It is filled with great ideas for completing all different types of albums.  I know these ideas will come in handy as the new year approaches and as I think about what projects I want to complete in 2013.

You can pick up a paper edition here or the digital issue here.

There is also a Sneak Peak that can be found here.

I know you will enjoy this issue.   Creating Keepsakes is celebrating the release of this issue with a blog hop.  I'm excited to tell you that I have one free copy of this issue to give away.  Please leave me a comment telling me what type of album you would most like to complete and you will be entered into a random drawing that will occur on Sunday, December 23rd.  

Make sure you stop by my other friends at Creating Keepsakes for additional chances to win a free copy.

Gretchen McElveen

Stacy Cohen

Autumn Baldwin

Kim Watson

Jing-Jing Nickel

Laina Lamb

Thanks for stopping by!

Teacher Gift Idea

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is make personalized gifts.  If you have been following my blog, last year I created a coffee tumbler for my father-in-law using a page that I had created.  You can find that post here with the instructions.

This year I decided to use this same technique to make tumblers for the kids teachers.  When I created the one for my father-in-law last year, I was only able to find the tumblers at Starbucks. This year I was thrilled to find them at Target.

I wanted to include my children in this project.  My girls love to create art and I love seeing what they create.    Amelia drew a picture of her teacher who we love dearly.

I had her use permanent markers so the colors were very vivid.  I thought she did such an awesome job.  I frequently scan my children's artwork and love to do creative things with it.  Here is the image that we created for her teacher.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

When you purchase the tumbler, there is an insert that you can pullout and scan in.  I then used the magnetic lasso tool in Photoshop to create the size and template for this image before adding products.

I printed them on photo paper so the colors would be brighter and I was thrilled with how they turned out.  I filled them with Hershey Kisses.  The girls were so excited to take these to school today.  I hope their teachers liked them.  It sure was a fun project to work on together. These make great gifts for anybody.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana's Jumpstarts - December

There is a new Jana's Jumpstarts up on the Creative Passion blog.  

I hope you play along and share your holiday traditions!

Creating Keepsakes January/February 2013

The January/February 2013 issue of Creating Keepsakes is now on sale and I'm so excited about this issue. This issue is loaded with fun and inspiring ideas.  You can check out this post for more information including the sneak peek.

I created this layout that is featured in this issue.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

I'm over on the Creating Keepsakes Blog today with a post and a free template.  You might want to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Days of December

I apparently took a blogging vacation and wasn't even aware of it.  Life has been crazy busy here.  Ellie's birthday is this week and we celebrated with a slumber party over the weekend.  It went really well but there always seem to be so much to do.  

We received over a foot of snow this weekend which was perfect for the slumber party.  It was so beautiful and the kids have had an absolute blast playing in the snow.  It is starting to feel like Christmas around here and I LOVE it.  I'm continuing to enjoy creating my Christmas album.  It is such a great snapshot of our lives right now with the mix of "normal days" and holiday activities. 

I hope you are enjoying the days of December.  My shopping is almost done, the fireplace is constantly going, the trees are covered in white, the slumber party is over and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks ahead.   Life is good!

CK Winner - Baby and Toddlers Special Issue

We have a winner of the Creating Keepsakes Baby and Toddler Special Issue.  

Congratulations to Mary Lou!!!  You are going to enjoy this issue.  Please email me at janamortondigital@gmail.com and we will be happy to get this issue to you.  

Days of December

I'm beginning to plug away on my Christmas album that runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day.  I'm so glad that I prepared everything in advance and that my simple format allows me to complete these in no time.  Here are a few of the pages that I've created for my album.

All products from Designer Digitals.

As I've been doing this project, I have noticed that my format has been pretty consistent over the last three years.  It would be fun to put all of these pages together in one album at the end of five years if I decide  to stick with the same system.  I like this system so much because it is so easy and I can stay caught up.

Thanks for all of the wonderful wishes regarding Creating Keepsakes announcement.  Your support and enthusiasm mean so much to me.  I hope you had a great weekend!