Search Results for: blog holiday resolutions

Making New Year’s Resolutions

Yes, I am thinking about making a New Year’s Resolution.  I know, many people say when you do this, you are only setting yourself up for failure.  But sometimes, you just need something to get you kicked off in the right direction. This year, as with all years in the past, I am resolving to lose weight.  Oh, I know I can do it – I lost 30 pounds three years ago.  And then gained it all back within the stressful last two years of returning to the workforce, moving, and changing jobs twice. But this year, I need to … Continue reading →

Three Ways to Avoid Holiday Debt

It is easy to start racking up the debt during the holiday season. There are many demands on our money, such as holiday gifts, special events, travel costs, food, decorations, and other entertaining costs. We often get carried away when we spot the perfect gift or want to make it the best season ever. As you are planning, cooking and shopping, you might want to use the following strategies to avoid holiday debt. Start with a Holiday Budget In order to control holiday spending instead of letting holiday spending control you, you will need to set a budget. Start with … Continue reading →

March and Food Holidays

I love food holidays. If you have stuck around awhile you know that I often write about national food holidays. I think its fun and a great excuse to try a new food or recipe. As a homeschooling mom, I have a tendency to make lesson out of everything and enjoy themes. So, I guess monthly food holidays appeal to me on a few different levels. As I searched the food holidays for March, I came up with eight national food month long “holidays”. Eight is quite a bit. I often wonder who came up with all of this. Can … Continue reading →

Post-Holiday Scrapbooking

In just a few hours, holiday celebrations will give way to hangovers, a home that needs a good cleaning, and kids who don’t want to go back to school on Tuesday. Not exactly prime scrapbooking material. Still, just because Christmas and New Year’s are over doesn’t mean you should neglect documenting the rest of the season. Winter brings with it a litany of lovely scrapbooking opportunities. For example, you could design a layout of your kids participating in outdoor winter activities, such as making snowmen, catching snowflakes on their tongues, skiing, sledding or having a huge snowball fight. Another option … Continue reading →

Holiday Journaling

Now that most of the Christmas commotion has died down and out-of-town guests have vacated your home, it may be a good time to collect your thoughts for your holiday scrapbook. After a whirlwind of cooking, cleaning, wrapping and caroling, it’s nice to reflect on the memorable moments of the holiday and look ahead to the New Year. While some people find journaling to be an intimidating proposition, scrapbooks really benefit from unique perspectives. You will find that a layout can only be enhanced when you include your thoughts or commentary on certain events and photos. If you are struggling … Continue reading →

Insurance Related New Year’s Resolutions

We are nearly at the end of 2011. Now that the chaos that comes with the holidays is over, people start thinking about the year to come. Have you made any insurance related New Year’s Resolutions? It might be a good idea to reassess your insurance coverage. Right now, you are likely to have at least one or two insurance policies that do not require you to make any changes. For me, this would be my auto insurance policy. I did not purchase a new vehicle in 2011, and my husband and I didn’t need to buy a second vehicle. … Continue reading →

Organizing Holiday-Themed Layouts

I just spent an hour going through the Christmas photos I snapped earlier this morning. My goal was to select about a dozen or so to email to my mom in Hawaii, as she is trying to finish a year in review scrapbook and needs shots of the grandkids opening their presents. The rest of the photos will be featured in my holiday-themed layouts, which will be dramatically less elaborate than my mother’s page designs. Unlike my mom, I didn’t go wild buying a ton of new Christmas embellishments this year. Whereas I plan to look for scrapbook supply deals … Continue reading →

Preserving Holiday Memories

Christmas Eve is here. While it’s easy to get caught up in the celebratory madness, if you are planning to scrapbook the holiday, you want to remember to document the festivities. Grab your camera and snap your family and friends partaking in holiday traditions, including sipping hot chocolate by an open fire or baking cookies to leave out for Santa. If you are planning to make a massive holiday meal, preserve the recipes to add to a recipe scrapbook or at the very least, place the directions in a journaling block along with photos of the finished products and shots … Continue reading →

Ways to Save on Holiday Scrapbooking

Don’t blow your budget buying every seasonal scrapbooking embellishment you lay your eyes on. While the fantastically festive items are tempting to purchase, you can find slews of holiday-themed scrapbooking supplies for practically nothing if you simply take the time to surf the World Wide Web. For example, several websites offer free Christmas fonts for use on holiday layouts. Check out Fonts and Things, The Holiday Spot, Font River, Font Space and 1001 Free Fonts, and then use them to design your own customized Christmas scrapbook paper. You can either repeat a saying or quote in the font of your … Continue reading →

Holiday Organization

Christmas is one of the most popular events to scrapbook. However, with the tens of thousands of holiday-themed albums, embellishments, and paper on the market, it can be a bit overwhelming to keep straight. What’s more, if you give into temptation, and purchase even a fraction of the scrapbook supplies available with holiday themes, your craft room would likely resemble a war zone. In order to make the most of your Christmas-themed scrapbook supplies, it’s a good idea to create an organized method of storage. By doing so, not only will you be able to create gorgeous layouts with ease, … Continue reading →