January Kits from Up The Street

Happy New Year!  One of the things I was going to try to do in the new year was blog more often.  You can see it's going really well.  Hmph.
However.
What a crazy winter we've had.  The boys had put up a skating rink in the backyard this year and Friday was the first day they were actually able to use it.
When I left for work on Saturday, they were all out enjoying the day ... sunny ... not too cold ... perfect for outdoor activities ...

They used it a bit yesterday ... and now it has rained all night. 
I honestly don't miss the snow and extreme cold.  I think they should put up this rink every year if it means we'll have a mild winter :)
But on to scrappier things ...
January Kits from Up The Street ...
"Live in the Moment" ...

and "Little House" ...

Here's the funny thing about the kits ...
You'll see that "Little House" is absolutely crammed full of October Afternoon goodness.  I find that on a local level, for whatever reason, October Afternoon just doesn't sell.  I still order every line ... just small amounts of it.  But plunk it in a kit and it catches everyone's eye.  Maybe it's just this particular line that appeals to my local customers, but it's moving more quickly than the other side this month.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason this kit has been selling so well is the gallery.  Lesley and Sarah always create such beautiful projects, and this month was no exception.  Definately one of my favorite galleries of all time.  In fact, I've already had to remove one of Sarah's layouts from this month's gallery because it's been picked up by Scrapbooks Etc.!  I feel like a proud Mama :)
As for my scrapping mojo, I haven't had much time to play (big surprise), but I think I've also found myself in a bit of a rut.  I don't know if I just need a fresh batch of photos to inspire me or what.
I've been receiving daily e-mails from Creative Jumpstart 2012 organized by Nathalie Kalbach and have been trying my hand at some mixed media and art journaling.  I'm hoping this will help me get back to the scrapbooking.
I'll try to remember to take photos of my new projects today, but until then, here are a few layouts completed with the January Up The Street Kits ...

For the faux folder behind the photo, I just traced around the tab on a regular office folder and cut down my patterned paper to the size I wanted.

Once I had the bird stickers on the layout, they looked too yellow against the rest of the layout.  I just coloured over the yellow portions with an orange Copic marker in layers until I was happy with the colour match.

This looks like a lot of layers of paper, but in fact, I've "gutted" the backs (cut big portions away that are covered) to use on other projects.

I have so loved the wood Pink Paislee alphas from the last release.  I have now used all three fonts in different kits.  Hoping to see some new fonts with the new CHA releases! 

Hope you all have a wonderful week :)