Month: December 2012

Busy Blogger

Published by Sula H.

I have some exciting news to share with you! (And it’s also a little excuse for why blogging has happened so sporadically lately …) You see, I’m currently working at maintaining two blogs. Or we could say, I’m doing a double version of MistyHilltops.com. You ask why? Well, that’s what’s so exciting! I’m getting a new blog!!! That is: we are giving my current blog a facelift. A real deal, big fat facelift. My expert sister has decided to set me up with a more professional theme (thanks, dearest expert sister, you’ve made someone halfway around the world really happy!), and these days, I’ve been kind of busy trying to figure out everything with how that new blog works, how we can simplify things, and how to set up everything exactly according to my preferences. (Still working at most of all of that!) And since I actually also have a real life, a job, and a very active social life, maintaining two blogs means it’s either one or the other. And these days, it has been …

Freebie Friday: A Grateful Heart, Part 4

Published by Sula H.

Hello, hello, and happy Friday, scrappers! I’m excited to break into the ellies of “A Grateful Heart” with you today. The first part comes today, and the last and final part of this scrapbook kit will follow next week, so stay tuned. Let me know if something doesn’t work with the downloads. You can also still pick up the previous three parts (alphas and papers) in the previous freebie posts – just keep scrolling down this page. As always, I should add that this kit is for personal use only, and if you want to share it with anyone, send them this way so they can snatch the downloads from this website. Hope today’s part will help you get started on scrapping with this kit. So for now, I’ll leave you with my final note: Happy scrapping, and happy Friday, scrappers!  

St. Nicholas' Little Surprises

Published by Sula H.

It’s Saint Nicholas Day in many places in Europe, and that usually means it’s a happy day for all the children. On the night of December 5th, they will put out their shoes in front of their doors, and over night, St. Nicholas comes by and puts treats and little toys into their shoes or boots. So, at least, goes the legend. Of course, I’m far too old for Nicholas boots and stockings, and usually I’m the only one around here who cares or even knows about such things. But when I opened my front door this morning, I found a sweet little surprise hanging on that door knob. And as I happily gathered that little stocking filled with goodness, I thought to myself: maybe there’s more to St. Nicholas than I thought … Anyhow, I for my part am glad that someone in our community knows about St. Nicholas Day. I’m glad that someone cares for these things as much as I do … And so, to everyone young out there, or young enough …

Hybrid Hub: Christmas Cards 2012, Part 2

Published by Sula H.

I just mailed my batch of Christmas cards (and hope they’ll make it to Europe in time for the holidays) – yay! (Big sigh of release …) And while I’m waiting for them to arrive, I’m happy to share some more with you here this week. (And in case you’re wondering why my Christmas cards are so generic and don’t have any family photos etc. that’s because in that part of Europe where I’m from we don’t have the habit of mailing photo Christmas cards.) Supplies used: Deck the Halls Classic by Kristin Cronin-Barrow, white card stock, ribbon. Supplies used: This Life: December by Penny Springman, card stock Supplies used: Noel by Shawna Clingerman & Penny Springman, ribbon, card stock And since in much of Europe, today’s St. Nicholas Day, I wish everyone who cares about such things a Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Mailing Christmas Cards and Other Adventures

Published by Sula H.

  Doing simple things here sometimes can be a lot more complicated than you think it is. Mailing Christmas cards, for one. The expected procedure: You take your Christmas cards to the post office, label an envelope with the correct address (yes, you don’t use your own envelopes; they have to be provided by the post office here – that, I learned early on when I first got here). You place your cards inside the envelope, pay the appropriate amount for the postage fee and leave the post office with that deep sense of satisfaction that you’ve yet once more accomplished to do something successfully. So goes the theory. Now to the practice (the way I experienced it two years ago): You get to the post office, show the clerk your pile of cards and explain that you would like to mail them internationally. And that’s when the frown comes. Not at the word “international.” That’s not the difficult part, really. That frown comes with the statement that these cards cannot be mailed, because they …

That Book We Call December Daily

Published by Sula H.

If you’ve peaked over into my little Digiscrap Corner these days, you may have realized that the December Daily takes a prominent role in the discussions over there. Most of my friends here wouldn’t know what the December Daily is, unless I told them: “It’s that Christmas book I made last year!” And then a glow of acknowledgement would light up their faces and they would say something like: “Ahhh, yes! That pretty book, which is so much fun to read,” because all year they’ve studied last year’s DD album, laughed at the pictures, and remembered the various occasions. And of course, they love to discover themselves in the photos, because most of them are part of the story at some point. This year, I’ve been working on a new December Daily album, which means I’ve gotten into the habit of using my camera a little more often, and taking pictures more regularly than usual. So, of course, my friends have noticed it, and they started to wonder about it. But when I tell them, …

december daily, digital scrapbook album

Behind the Scenes: December Daily Twenty-Twelve

Published by Sula H.

Like every year around this time, all the talk is about the December Daily project. So, for today’s tutorial post I’d like to take you behind the scenes of my own DD project this year, sharing some of my thoughts and processes.   Last Year If you have looked at my DD album from last year, you will have noticed that all my pages were based on the same foundation page: photos on the left (stuck into photo pockets), journaling on the right side with two clusters of embellishments, the title, and the date info. I had created myself a foundation page template which helped me jump start each page quickly, and without having to spend much thought on composition, choice of papers, and placement, scrapping each page was a breeze. Even now, one year later, I still love how my pages turned out, and when I first started thinking about this year’s DD project, I was seriously tempted to just use the same template and format again. The thought of having two very similar …