Once Upon a December... (OUAS)

Supplies: white snowflake paper by Studio Calico; red patterned paper by Magnolia; flair badge, die cuts, label, large alphabet stickers, & all other patterned papers by October Afternoon; mini alphabet stickers by Authentique; white button by Blumenthal Lansing; thread by Singer; Liquid Pearls & Distress Stain by Ranger; snow texture paste by Deco Art; pens by Zig; upcycled wrapping paper, star wire, tabletop confetti, & calendar page.

ETA: I won the "spotlight feature" at Once Upon a Sketch with this layout.

Now that my 2010 album is complete, I can relax and have a bit of playtime.  I was inspired by the prompt this month at Once Upon a Sketch, which is "December means..."  I created a layout called "December Romance." 

Below you can see an image of the sketch for this challenge. Instead of using just one photo, I collaged together four little, cropped photos, plus some Christmas papers and die cuts.  I united the whole assembly with a distressed, hand-stitched paper heart.  I think that this collage, which is the centerpiece of the layout, sums up the sweetness of December "date nights." 

My journaling [which I hope you do not find cheesy] says: "Our 'date nights' in December are usually simple: we hold hands and cuddle while looking at the tree and listening to soft, instrumental music.  We de-stress after our busy December days.  To some people this might sound like a boring way to spend Date Nights.  But Scott and I love these 'dates!'"

I tried to incorporate lots of Christmas-related found objects into my layout. 

Stars--my favorite "outer space" symbol--are also a great symbol of Christmas (what with the Star of Bethlehem and all), so I used some shiny, star-sprinkled wrapping paper to create my page border.  This is used wrapping paper--I think that the wrinkles and unevenly-cut edges give it charm.  

I also upcycled star wire, tabletop snowflake confetti, and a December calendar page in my design.

I used snow texture paste (which reminds me of stucco) and an old box to make my snowflake embellishment. 

To represent the music that my husband and I listen to on our "date nights," I used an old disc (it's actually a dud DVD, doubling for a CD) as an embellishment.  It too got a coating of snow texture paste, embellished with tabletop confetti, Liquid Pearls, and Distress Stain.

In fact, Liquid Pearls and Distress Stain make a few different appearances around the page.  It's true--the mixed media bug has bitten me!  :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog to look at my layout.  It's almost 2013, so I wish you a happy and healthy New Year!