!!!!! December Calendar Blog Hop !!!!!

This is my first ever blog hop and I am excited to participate. If you are a blog follower, did you start at the beginning of the hop? If not and you want to participate in the full hop, here is the link to get started: Touched by a Butterfly.

If you visit each blog, you will end up with ideas to create a 2 page calendar layout for each month of the new year - TIMES 2 - yes, that's right - there are 2 offerings for each month! Also, if you visit and comment on each blog, there is some nice blog candy being given away: “The Grand Prize Blog Candy is a brand-new Designer’s Calendar Cartridge, donated by Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity. In order to be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on each and every stop on the hop, along with a way for her to contact you. She will choose a winner by random.org on the 31^st and announce it on her blog, as well as contacting the winner personally.”

I am also offering a small prize package here on my blog (a set of Month/year acrylic stamps and some small packages of gems and pearls to add a little bling to your layouts/cards/etc.). Leave a comment with a valid email for me to contact you, and I will choose a winner via random.org and post at the end of the hop! If you become a blog follower (or already are), mention this in your comment, and you'll have 2 chances to win.


Not sure if I did this right or not - this is my first ever calendar layout. So, without further ado, here is my October 2011 layout:


Here's a list of supplies used and some explanation of what I did:

Papers used include 3 different patterned cardstocks from GCD Studios Autumn Afternoon stack, 2 colors of Bazzill cardstock and various scraps from my scrap bin. I used a Tim Holtz distress ink pad- tea dye, a couple of different pens and markers, liquid glue and some foam dots. All cuts were made using the Cricut Expression and Sure Cuts A Lot. I created .svg files for use with SCAL2 to cut all of my calendar/layout components. I set each file up in SCAL2 as I cut it and the files are available for download via my 4shared account here. (password is "touaccepted")

My calendar page is constructed without a lot of tedious gluing of numbers/squares. I used the black cardstock as the base layer, cut all of my numbers out of a full sheet of green cardstock, then cut my "grid" into the top patterned paper layer. The only thing I had to glue was the centers of the various numbers/letters.

I made mini icons for several of the holidays/celebration days that occur in October - (National Golf Day, International Smile Day, National Fire Prevention Day, Columbus Day, Sweetest Day, Boss's Day, Make a Difference Day, United Nations Day, and Halloween) - you can use any combination that would apply for your layouts.

I purposely left the negative space at the beginning and end of the calendar - this space could be used for small photos or for recording notes about your monthly activities.

Here is the list of all of the participants - your next stop should be Belinda at Queen Bee's Musings www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com

1. January and April: Celeste at Touched by a Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/

2. January and September: Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper www.overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com

3. February: Christel at Scrappin' Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com

4. February and March: Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com

5. March and July: Diane at Crafting This Moment http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/

6. April: Bonnie at A Scrap Above http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com

7. May: Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/

8. May: Natalie at Timeless Legacy Designs http://timelesslegacydesigns.blogspot.com

9. June: Lisa at Lisa's Paper Butterflies http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com

10. June: Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/

11. July: Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com

12. August: Denise at Starlight Scrapper http://starlightscrapper.blogspot.com

13. August: Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/

14. September: Deb at If It's Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com

15. October: Rebecca at Creations with Becka www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com

16 . October: Lora at Notes From The Scrapbook Lady YOU ARE HERE

17. November: Belinda at Queen Bee's Musings www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com

18. November and December : Col at Col's Creative Corner at www.scrappycol.blogspot.com

19. December: Deb at Tidbit's Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com