Is it gone yet??

Is Christmas done yet?? Well, after downloading the pictures from my camera's memory card, I am quite convinced that it is. Between photos of projects I did for gifts (and I didn't photograph all of them...) and the photos we took of the Christmas season, there were 314 photos to be moved around. Yikes.

I looked back at the photos I had taken and thought about what kind of projects I had done this year. I have done 15 mini albums and one 12 x 12 album. I didn't count the cards and DT projects or the pages I did for my own family. It was a productive and busy year. (Can you hear the pride in my voice???? hee-hee.)

Below are two photos from an album I gave as a gift. The recipient has a daughter that plays soccer, so I added some soccer pages. When the album is folded up it is approximately 6x12. There are two sets of binding rings (Zutter) on each side because the book opens on both sides. (Making the album approximately 18x12 inches.

This photo is of two 6x12 panels. They work together to form a layout. The mats for the photos were run through my Sizzix Big Kick using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The soccer ball on the bottom right was an Accu-Cut die that I used from the workroom at Archiver's. The grid behind the photo mats was done with magic mesh. (I don't really know the brand name, sorry Peeps.) I is a canvas mesh that I layed on the cardstock and then dabbed green Makine Memories craft paint over it. Then I moved the mesh and it left this negative image. It reminded me of grass and a soccer net. (Yep...that's me. All about the symbolism.)

This photo is of the album with all three panels open. The panel on the left is the same as the left panel in the top photo. The right panel in this photo is the back side of the right panel in the top photo. The middle panel was underneath the right panel in the first photo. Confused yet?? The soccer girl is a die cut from the Quickutz Silhouette and the word "life" is a Making Memories rub on.

I was so pleased with how this album came out. It was fun and funky. I love that! I will have more photos of this album in the days to come. It has some really fun "features" to it. I have enough photos of all those gift albums to last me a couple of months of blog posts. (aren't you lucky!??)

Well, Peeps, I hope you had a great Christmas and now are anticipating heading into the new year. I am excited to see what it will bring! At the Gem house, we always pray that it will be a good year with good health and that God leads us to make wise choices. We found out last week that my DH's employer changed health insurance carriers. That is always a big, big deal for a family that has two people that have a rare, chronic illness. On another note, however, my DH graduated with high honors with his accounting degree in December. He has worked 2 1/2 years to get to this point. Now we are just trusting God to provide the right job for him.

Hope you have a great New Year's week. I still have a list a mile long to do before the kiddos start back to school here at the Gem house. They are at loose ends because of all their free time. Next week we will be getting back on schedule with school to do every day. This mom is not sure she is quite ready for that! yikes!

Be safe out there and thanks for stopping by!