Time - One Little Word 2016

Hello 2016! I love a new beginning, and nothing has shaped the start of a new year for me more than "One Little Word". I'm grateful to Ali Edwards for this concept, and for the workshop she leads. I signed up for the workshop for the first time this past year, and even though I didn't participate every month, my word was visible in a way that it never had been before. I'll be doing the workshop again this year and I'm looking forward to making it more of a priority. I've seen what my word has done for me, and I can only imagine what it can do for me with more nurturing.

The word I have chosen for 2016 is TIME. To be more accurate, my word chose me. In October I started seeking out my next word, but I struggled to find it. I began to wonder if I'd ever find a word to connect with. One afternoon, while feeling the stress of the daily grind, I took a break to practice my current word - still. In that quiet moment, my next word settled like a falling feather in my mind - time. It wasn't accompanied by any fanfare, mental fireworks or a spiritual awakening, but the peace I felt was a witness that "time" was the one.

I love that I was led to my 2016 word by my 2015 word. If I had not realized meaningful growth with still, I probably would have missed out on time. I have no idea what TIME will teach me, but I am excited by all the possibility.



I expect 2016 to be just as challenging, hard, and beautiful as 2015, but I know keeping my word visible will help me to cling to what I know to be important, increase in what I lack, and start 2017 as a better person.

How about you? What's your word?

Christmas Storybook Countdown + TIPS - Pink Paislee

Hello December! Tonight is the beginning of one of our favorite traditions - the storybook countdown to Christmas. For the past few years we have enjoyed reading a Christmas-themed book every night in December leading up to Christmas Day.

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Precocious Paper. I do receive financial compensation and products from American Crafts to develop certain blog posts, but all of the ideas and opinions are my own.

This is our first Christmas in our new home, and with the pretty gray walls, my old Christmas decor (mostly gold) wasn't going to work. Inspired by the current buffalo check trend, we are now going modern woodsy in red, black, gray, natural green elements and metallic silver. Deer and my beloved birds are a big motif, too. Anyway, since I'm taking some time to pull together all those elements, I thought a great place to make a quick, big impact with the new design was in our storybook countdown. Twenty-four wrapped books offer a lot of surface area to bring in patterns and colors, so I had fun shopping for a variety of wrapping papers and found several I loved. The sources are mentioned below each close-up.

white stripes (wedding) wrapping paper - Walmart

Yuletide metallic number, sequins, acetate tag

My silver and gold countdown numbers from last year weren't going to work, so I immediately turned to Pink Paislee's Yuletide collection. First of all, the metallic red numbers are GORGEOUS! I knew they would be the perfect centerpiece for my tags.

buffalo check wrapping paper - Target

Yuletide metallic number, envelope

plaid wrapping paper - Michaels

Yuletide metallic number, 3x4 card (patterned paper), and puffy stickers

Yuletide easily coordinates with my new color palette, and the embellishments were a ton of fun to mix and match.

modern plaid wrapping paper - Target Dollar Spot

Yuletide metallic number, gold foil label, sentiment sticker

Have you done this kind of countdown before? I've learned a few things over the years that I'm happy to share:

1. Time management. Before wrapping the books and then randomly assigning numbers, make a list of titles and estimate how long it might take to read them aloud. Look at your calendar and purposefully assign dates to books based on how much time you will have that day to read. You'll be much more successful in actually reading every day, and you won't be stressed out trying to read a long story after a busy night.

2. Borrow books from the library. If your collection is lacking, borrow books from the library. Be careful wrapping them, and pay attention to due dates. Perhaps include library books in the beginning of your countdown so they can be returned before Christmas break.

black/chevron reversible wrapping paper - Walmart

Yuletide letters, 3x4 card (patterned paper), Atlas silver Thickers

3. Include treats or quiet activities with the books. Sometimes the kids need an incentive to listen quietly, and treats do the trick ;). Sometimes the really good stories are long, and having coloring pages to quietly work on can keep hands busy while ears are open. If you're willing to put forth a little more effort, coordinate the treats/activities to the stories. For example, we read one book about a lump of coal. In that package I include chocolate candies that are wrapped in black foil to look like coal.

4. Include books for every level of reader in your home. Having the kids read is one of my favorite parts of this tradition. To make it work for everyone, include books that are the kids' levels. For example, there are a few easy readers in our countdown for my first grader.

5. Want to purchase inexpensive books for your countdown? Try Thriftbooks.com. I bought at least a dozen new stories at this site last year and was very happy with them. I'm not an affiliate, just a happy customer. Used bookstores are great, too!

silver polka dot wrapping paper - Hobby Lobby

6. Provide a crate or large basket for unwrapped books to remain throughout the season. Your family will probably want to read some of the stories again, plus the Christmas books make great decorations.

I'm excited to read tonight with my family! Which reminds me, I need to get some cozy blankets and pillows ready. Oh - and the camera! I need a photo of us reading for the December mini album I'm making. Have you seen Pink Paislee's countdown book? So cute! I'll be sharing my December pages here on the Pink Paislee blog throughout the month. Thanks for visiting and have a great day! Tessa

The Magic of Christmas Blog Hop - DCWV and SVG Attic

Welcome to the SVG Attic-DCWV The Magic of Christmas blog hop! We are so excited to have you join us today!

At each stop of the hop we hope you will be inspired by the creativity of the design teams of SVG Attic and DCWV. You are sure to find many wonderful projects that will be at the top of your Christmas crafting lists!

I'm the first designer on the hop, so if you just happened across this post, please head to the SVG Attic blog to start at the beginning.

To me, the Magic of Christmas is found in the time I spend with loved ones. The get-togethers are my favorite part of the holidays, and what better way to make some funny, magical memories than with a Christmas photo booth?

Her little elf ears look a little like piggy ears here, but Addie adored playing with the elf props!

Addie didn't want Mama to take this picture by herself ;). The SVG Winter Fun Photo Props were the perfect accessories for my photo booth set-up! I especially love the Santa, Mrs. Santa, and the elf. So cute!

I created my backdrop with DCWV's Handpainted Holiday stack and cut the photo booth props from DCWV cardstock. I embellished the photo props with DCWV's adhesive bling sheets.

Now how about some blog hop prizes??

2 Christmas paper stacks from DCWV

$20 Gift Certificate to SVG Attic

1 Christmas paper stack from DCWV

What do you need to do to be eligible for these amazing prizes?
1. Become a follower and/or email subscriber of each blog in the hop.
2. Leave some comment love at each stop. You can do so until midnight on Sunday, November 29th to be eligible for the prizes.
3. If you do both of the above, check back at the SVG Attic blog and/or the DCWV blog for the winners on Tuesday, December 1st.

We would also love it if you would stop by the SVG Attic and DCWV Facebook pages and give us a "Like"!

Here is the complete blog hop lineup:

SVG Attic blog

Tessa (you are here)

Beth (go here next)

Cyndy

Piali

Angeline

Jodi

Tanya

Karla

Lisa

Yolie

DCWV blog

I hope you have enjoyed this stop on our hop! Be sure to head on over to the other stops for more Christmas inspiration. Comment and become a follower to be eligible for the prizes!

SVG Attic currently has all of their files on SALE for Black Friday/Cyber Monday! Stop by their website at www.svgattic.com to purchase their SVG files at amazing prices.  Also, DCWV papers are on sale at Michael's and JoAnn stores right now, so stock up so you can create all of the fun things you saw today!

Christmas Inspiration Board - DCWV and May Arts

Hello, hello! If this is your first time here, welcome! If you've visited before, welcome back! I'm excited to share with you my project for the DCWV and May Arts blog hop this week :).

I played with the Merry Memories stack by DCWV, as well as oodles of luscious ribbon from May Arts. I was going to make a garland, but I decided that all of the pretty tags I was making would make a great inspiration board.

I stretched two ribbons across chicken wire, then attached my tags with bullnose clips and binder clips. To embellish the various tags (cut from patterned paper and vellum from other DCWV stacks), I simply stapled bits of my favorite ribbons. I LOVE the texture ribbon adds, especially the silky gray ribbon and the mini pom pom trims!

I plan to leave this at my gift wrap station throughout the holidays. It will be easy to pull a tag off the chicken wire and add it to a gift bag or wrapped box.

I hope you enjoyed all the DCWV & May Arts projects this week! Be sure to visit the DCWV and May Arts blogs for more inspiration :). Have a fantastic weekend! Tessa

Love Today - Pink Paislee + Video

Hello, November! My first project share this month is on the Pink Paislee blog today. Using the Memorandum collection, I put together this layout, as well as a process video.

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Precocious Paper. I do receive financial compensation and products from American Crafts to develop certain blog posts, but all of the ideas and opinions are my own.

I loved bringing the collection's bright colors together. You know my favorite color palette is red, yellow and aqua, so I had a lot of fun making this.

You can see the video on my YouTube channel here.

On a side note, if you'd like to follow along with my Attitude of Gratitude project this year, I'm using mainly Instagram to document my daily thoughts and you can find me on IG here. I love this format because it combines pictures and words, which is great for my Grateful Memorydex Spinner.

I'll share how my family is contributing to the spinner soon, and I'll follow up with a video of the completed project in December. I'm going to be posting weekly round-ups of my photos and thoughts here on the blog. I'll be sharing as I go on Facebook, too.

Do you love November as much as I do? Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

September Memory Planner Pages - SRM Stickers

Hello! I'm saving the "how I finally gave in and became a planner girl" story for another post, but I have to say - I finally stopped resisting and I am so glad. Today I'm sharing my September pages from my Heidi Swapp Memory Planner.

This planner is reserved for my "Thirty-Four Things" project. I realize I still need to post that here, but I enjoyed my "Thirty-three Things" project so much that I decided to do it again. These birthday resolutions have helped me focus on what I need to work on, and the planner helps me to document my progress from day to day.

Every day I write something specific to that day that goes along with one of my goals. Sometimes it's recording how I was cognizant of a goal while we were enjoying family time. Sometimes it's how I took a step towards accomplishing a goal. Sometimes it's encouraging myself to work on something specific. And then I decorate it with pretty stuff.

After completing the first month, I am really excited to keep going all year long. I used the Heidi Swapp Memory Planner accessories for the month of September. I also used washi tape, a few other stickers, and some other Heidi Swapp product. My favorite addition to the "kit" I worked from is my stash of SRM Stickers.

I love SRM's stickers because they have clear backings. You can cut them up and layer them over other things. From sticker stitches to seasonal themes to huge numbers, I used SRM on every single page.

You can read more about the stickers I used, including links, on the SRM Stickers blog today.

I thought it would be fun to do a flip-through video every month for my YouTube channel. If you'd like to see September's pages, here's that video. I point out all the SRM Stickers and you get a slide show of every page + details:

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Grateful Memorydex Spinner - Pink Paislee

Hello! While I may be a bit behind on several things (ahem...like posting to this blog...) I am excited to be ahead of the game when it comes to this year's Attitude of Gratitude. Instead of making a mini album or journal like in years past, I am going to be filling the new Heidi Swapp Memorydex spinner with my daily thanks:

 This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Precocious Paper. I do receive financial compensation and products from American Crafts to develop certain blog posts, but all of the ideas and opinions are my own.

Inspired by the alphabetized tab cards in Heidi's line, I decided to organize my blessings by letter. To get things set up, I created a note card for each letter of the alphabet with Heidi's large, polka dot minc alphas. I foiled them in gold to match the gold accents of the Memorandum collection from Pink Paislee:

There is plenty of room left to add more cards and photos as November happens. I love this format because it is so easy to make additions. And, because it's organized alphabetically instead of chronologically, I don't feel like I have to stick to one thing a day, or keep anything in order by day of the month.

I have already added several extra dividers and cards from the Memorandum collection. The back of every card is empty so that I can use those spaces to add more embellishments and journaling. I'm going to try to take a photo a day and add those, too. Heidi's dies make that so easy!

If you'd like to read more about my spinner, check out my post on the Pink Paislee blog here. Also, you can see a piece-by-piece flip-through on my YouTube channel here.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day :).