2012 December Daily (post:1)

Tomorrow is the official start to a project dubbed "December Daily". I hope to share the progress of my album daily if not close to that. So how about the cover?

For those of you who are unaware of what a "December Daily" refers to, its a daily journal that is semi made prior to the month of December so a person can capture all those little moments as they go by in a beautiful album with relatively little effort/pressure.

The holy grail of these journals is Ali Edwards and her journals. She leads the movement and has beautiful style.

As for the bits and pieces for this album...
*i ordered the Studio Calico December Daily add-on. I know. I have enough STUFF, but I thought it would be a nice treat.
*a few items from Cavallini. new "paper" tapes and an alpha stamp set will be great to throw in as i go, yet remain simple and travel well.
*in addition to the kit i ordered, i have some of my stash set asside. LOADS of Hambly, Teresa Collins and a little Basic Grey. Vintage doilies and lace.Paint Dabbers in neutral colors. 
**Last but not least i stockpiled Fujifilm INSTAX MINI film, obtained new memory cards for my little lumix (a faster and larger card finally) and phone (the old one seemed to have corrupted whatnots) and a new printer.

 {All I can say is YAY! for Amazon's FRUSTRATION FREE packaging options!}

Of course i have a pile of holiday goodies pulled from my stash AND the most amazing holiday kit from The Sampler to add in goodies as the month goes. The foundation pages (innards of the album) are mostly assembled, but i figured i would share those as i go. Kinda a before and after.I love the idea that this album could be considered DONE and allows to just record the memories as they happen... but at the same time, i can still go nuts and get crafty in it if the bug bites.

I do have to admit I am a little concerned at how FAT this album is already. Whoops. Eh, the album and I have this in common. We're both filled to the brim with love... (/end cheesey)

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

its the most BUSIEST time of the year...

I am looking forward to this coming month so very much. parties, crafting, traveling, eating, enjoying! December is FULL!

Speaking of full, I happen to know for a fact that the Dec2011 kit from The Sampler is beyond FULL! I even have a teeny sneak peak to share! check out The Sampler's blog for a pre-release GIVEaway!

I'm looking forward to using this month's kit in my december daily album that i've been working on. My foundation pages are just about done, but all of the goodies in the kit will be wonderful to toss in as the month goes on.

This week we get to not only start on those december daily albums, but also get to start working on Tim Holtz's 12 tags of Christmas (yes, there will be a "class" at Memories Live On to help recreate some of the spirit of the tags... and yes, i am fearful again this year of another 24+ hour class) AND we get to bust out the lego advent calendar! This year we have the Star Wars Advent Calendar. i can't wait to show the boy. he loved last year's!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

Who wants 'em?

Ok, its been super quiet around here these days because I have been super busy. working on a ton of projects to share non-the-less... BUT today I'm working on DEstashing a little and I want to share! RIGHT NOW i'm staring at these coasters I got in the SC December Daily Kit and I have no clue what to do with them other than give them to one of yall. So... WHO WANTS 'EM?!?!

So leave a comment, and i will random a number on the 1st when we're starting those december dailies!
Hope everyone finds this weekend treating them well!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

ps. The Sampler is hosting another GIVEaway as well! Be sure to check out the blog for more details! (its worth stopping by, trust me!)

The Sampler Nov2011 Kit: Seasonal Sweets! (read on for HUGELY AWESOME giveaway!)

The Sampler's November Kit (Seasonal Sweets) and all its yumminess is on display over at ScrapbookingSuppliesRus! AND there is a HUGE giveaway over on The Sampler's Blog! I HIGHLY recommend!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

The Sampler's 2012 Design Team Search!

 2012 

Design Team Search! 

We are on the hunt for new designers for the 2012 design team for The Sampler Kit Club! 2012 is going to be an amazing year, with amazing kits and an amazing team! Check out the call over at The Sampler's Blog and send in your application!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

back to diapering post #2

Well, they got here...

The gDiapers gBaby Bundle, Newborn Diapers made their way here. I also purchased 1 package of the gDiapers Cloth Diaper Inserts ... BUT, upon further research, I discovered that there are bundles that come with cloth inserts as opposed to the disposable ones which came with the bundle i originally purchased.You can find the bundle with the cloth inserts over at diapers.com.

 What came in the bundle?
If you read pretty well any ordering information or even the box you will find that the newborn bundle includes 12 tiny gPants (i.e. newborn sized), 6 small gPants (up to 14lbs i think), 6 small gPouches, and 80 small disposable gRefills.

So those are inserts? 

Yup. two kinds. cloth.... 

 

and the disposable/flush-able...

 

The cloth liner definitely looks/feels more comfortable but also puffier.they are both rather long for the newborn and small diapers. (photo: disposable liner over newborn diaper)

                           

the disposable liner reminds me very much of the stiff feeling of a conventional disposable diaper. Not a huge shock. The disposable liner, however, can be flushed apparently. The instructions which came with the bundle informed me that a soiled disposable liner can be torn open on one end, shaken into a toilet, swished around a bit and flushed. Handy swish stick included in bundle with clever quote included...

  

so what about the diapers?
when looking at the gdiapers system, the diaper itself consists of anywhere from 2-4 layers. the gPant is the diaper cover basically. the newborn diapers are pretty well one piece. the small (and subsequently larger sizes) are two pieces: a diaper cover and a pouch. 

the pouch is what holds the insert, so the newborn diaper is basically a pouch with the cloth cover already attached and the larger sizes have a pouch that snaps easily in and out of the diaper. i'm not really sure why...

in the next photo, the cloth liner has been folded in half to fit inside the pouches and fits lovely in both instances. without a proper baby to actually try these on, i am unsure if this will actually be the way we use the liners on baby.

apparently this example of layering is a just fine and complete way to diaper a baby, but most of the bits i have been reading about cloth diapering all recommend another layer when using cloth inserts, a liner. the liner helps contain & dispose of solid waste, prevents some stains and would sit directly on top of the diaper stack shown below. then insert baby, fasten diaper around said baby and off you go. easy huh? for the small and newborn sizes it is undeclared as if a liner is truly necessary. i plant to use them, but have not acquired said liners as of yet so no photos for you! (...yet)

 

 more photos of the newborn sized diapers...

i think this is the back of the diaper...the velcro straps are quite elastic-y which i think will be perfect for a newborn tummy. 

these snaps on the front of are a great feature to a mom who folded down conventional diapers with a first child. for those of you who haven't experienced "the first child" yet, often for the first few days to the first couple weeks you avoid the belly button/umbilical cord with pretty well everything so it can dry up, heal and fall off on its own. folding down the diaper and then attaching it to baby helps achieve this belly button avoidance. the gdiapers come equip to do this as well by using those snaps makes the front of the diaper an inch or so shorter. this should accommodate for belly button spacing. 

ok, that was bundle number one and an overview of what i learned that 1st day with the gdiapers. no practical experience, but it certainly makes more sense to have at least this system  in house and hands on. I feel more prepared to diaper a baby bum when the time comes...

Additional Items To Research & Purchase:
Diaper Liners
Diaper Laundry Products
Diaper Laundry Storage

who says Party Rock can't be pretty too?

despite being 6 months pregnant along with many other things that one does not expect out of a party rocker, I AM A PARTY ROCKER! at heart at least... in truth, my back aches entirely too much to do Party Rock justice. The Party Rock Anthem video, however, does...

BUT, to get a little cheesiness out of the way, i am actually inspired by these guys. i mean really, these guys literally Party Rock for a living. so i made myself a little reminder...

ok, so what if everyday i'm LITERALLY shufflin. still, everyday i'm shufflin.

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*