Do they think I don't notice?

 I have a pet peeve. It's a small, rather unremarkable one. Ok, I have a ton of pet peeves but tonight I will just mention the one. I'm not even sure how to describe/categorize it. Movie props for American movies filmed in Canada.

Well, let me explain. So, for a long time I've enjoyed watching Christmas movies. I don't care if they're theatrical releases on TV, or made-for-tv. They don't even have to be any good. They just have to be Christmas-y. Maybe I'm just becoming a Scrooge, or I'm too tired, or more likely, I've already seen every movie made. This year I can't seem to sit to watch a movie for more than 10 minutes. What is bugging me so much? It's the props.

I have a running joke with my husband about movie props. Years ago I surprised him by my keen ability in telling if a movie was filmed in Canada, merely seconds after the movie begins. Finally I told him my secret. If I see a US mailbox within the first 10 seconds of a film, it is almost definitely filmed in Canada. They (whoever the movie people are) use it to set the scene. Watch a show filmed in the United States and you'll rarely see this. It's true... check it out for yourself. What I found irritating (besides the low budget quality of the movie, and the cheesy dialogue... ok, maybe I am a bit Scrooge like) is seeing all the inconsistencies in their "scene setting". The movie I watched tonight (for 5 minutes)  showed the mail box. Ok, so good, we're in the United States... phew, I thought we were in Ontario for a second there. As I'm staring at this mailbox, a lady wears a plastic bag as a hat. The plastic bag belongs to a retail chain called Dollarama, which is based out of Quebec. Then behind her, across the street is a Canadian post office truck. But don't worry, they've posted over the logo with American stars & stripes. On the building behind them, they've hung Stars & Stripes banners. Do they even do this in the States in December? Isn't that more of a 4th of July thing?

I found all of this so distracting, I couldn't follow the lame plot and so I turned off the TV. I'd rather scrapbook anyway.

Yes, I AM a scrooge!

I'll stick to Claymation and White Christmas for my holiday movies from now on.

Anyway, here are the layouts I've made this past week (Click to enlarge):

This sort of layout is WAY out of my comfort zone but I was trying something new. I'm not sure if it worked or not. Not very Christmasy but it is part of my December Daily.

Credits:
Holiday 2011 Template #4 - Simply Tiffany Studios (Tiffany Tillman's Holiday Templates 2011 Class at reneepearson.com)
Life is a dancefloor - Ju Kneipp & Laura Banasiak
Fairytale dreams kit - Mari Koegelenberg 

There isn't anything particularly exciting about the topic... just documenting my days.

Holiday 2011 template #10 (from her class at Renee Pearson)- Tiffany Tillman (Simply Tiffany Studios)
Snowy Day papers - MellyBird Designs
Winter Woodland kit - Lisa Sisneros

credits:
holiday 2011 template #13 - Simply Tiffany Studios (Tiffany Tillman)
winter's garden papers - nancie rowe janitz
sugarplums - nancie rowe janitz & aja abney
guilty pleasures - fei's stuff
joy & glee - sherrieJD
adorned - paislee press

This is a crazy layout... try not to get vertigo looking at it. I think it must be a tribute to my Grandma's bathroom at the time of the photos taken, which was a eyeful of bright pink. So, I guess it is fitting.


Credits:

Holiday 2011 Template #8 - Tiffany Tillman (Simply Tiffany Studios)Oh Joy kit - creashensSnowy Day Papers (and some elements) and Alpha - MellyBird Designs Peace & Joy kit - Nikki BoudreauHoliday Magic and Merry Merry brushes by Nancie Rowe JanitzSnowflake brushes by Julia Makotinsky (I think they're packaged with a kit... don't recall)

Ok, these two (a two-pager) are from two weeks ago:

My musings on past Christmases and how they relate to my life now.

Credits:

Peace and Joy by Nikki Beaudreau Designs (Guest Designer @ CatScrap)

Simply Tiffany Studios Elegant Holiday #6 template by Tiffany Tillman (at Design House Digital)

I did this a few weeks ago:

Merriment (Holly Jolly and Countdown paper packs, Solid Papers, Girl Stickers, Date Labels, Tabs) by MellyBird Designs @ CatScrap

52 Templates #5 by Simply Tiffany Studios @ DHDframes: Dirty Pockets No.1 by creashens @ CatScrapCookies for Santa word art by One Little Bird @ OScraps