Meeting Mr. & Mrs. Claus

***Linked up at Paper Issues***

Well it looks like, that it's not just us regular folks that stop by Walmart for some shopping during the holiday season...but Mr. & Mrs. Claus make a visit too.  :)  I just happened to be in line behind them one December day last year, and they both kindly agreed to pose for a photo.  Since I had not scrapped this photo yet, I thought it would be a perfect one to use with the Holiday Charm kit from The Paper Bakery.

I love the fun mix of Heidi Swapp, October Afternoon, Echo Park, and Teresa Collins papers included in the Kit.  And the wood grain sticker stars from Pretty Little Studio are so awesome!  I added a couple of embellishments from The Paper Bakery Store, including the wood veneer frame and Hey You Flair Button.

And while I'm here, I wanted to share a little project tip with  you...Utilize text on your patterned papers!  The map pattern on the Echo Park paper was fab, and I cut it to show the North Pole text on the paper.  I wanted to highlight it, so I used my CAMEO to cut the outline star and placed it around the words.  Then I used a smaller glitter star and added a pop dot to give it dimension.  And finally, I used the right here arrow, for added emphasis on the North Pole text.

You can also utilize text on your patterned papers by fussy cutting words and using them in your title or journaling or just for embellishing.  And don't forget, to check out the Manufacturer tags at the bottom of your papers.  Most of them are now printing fun phrases or patterns that can also be incorporated into your layouts or projects!

Creative Scrappers Sketch 256 | So Typical

Creative Scrappers teamed up with the Ladies from Paper Issues last week, for an awesome new Sketch by Jenny Evans!  I had some free time, the afternoon that the sketch was posted, so I sat down and got right to work on it!

 

Normally, this is one of the photos I would not use on a layout, but this one was too good to pass up!! It's almost impossible to get the three of them to take any kind of decent photo together, but sometimes I get lucky...obviously, not with this shot, though!  :)  Madison has her shoes off, Emma has her eyes closed and Reese is making his silly face.  Oh well, sometimes you just have to go with it and take the crazy photos with the good photos!

I stayed fairly close to the design of the Sketch, but instead of using solid Triangle shapes, I did an outline by cutting them on my Cameo.  I thought the Hey Kid collection from Pink Paislee would be perfect for this photo, with the fun colors, patterns, and embellishments.  I love the ephemera pack with this collection...so many fun pieces to use on your layouts!

I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow!!  I am going to try to not eat myself into a Turkey comma...so I will have enough energy for a little shopping and maybe some crafting here and there over the long holiday weekend!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper & Ephemera Pack:  Pink Paislee, Epoxy Stickers:  Freckled Fawn; Color Shine:  Heidi Swapp; Sequins:  The Paper Bakery; Flair Button:  A Flair for Buttons; Thickers:  American Crafts; Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico  

Let Your Heart be Light & FREE Christmas Printables

 ***Linked up at Paper Issues***.

I'm pretty sure, that most of us are into full blown Christmas mode at the point...or if you are a die hard, wait til after Thanksgiving kind of person, then you still have a few days to go!  :)  We have already decorated, and the Christmas crafting is in full swing...layouts, projects, and a December Days album!  Today, I wanted to share a Christmas layout with you, using the November Scrapbook Kit, Holiday Charm, from The Paper Bakery.  There is a great mix of Heidi Swapp, October Afternoon, Echo Park, American Crafts, and Teresa Collins in the November Kit.  And also some fabulous exclusives from The Paper Bakery!

  

I think I have developed a slight Star addiction recently, so I knew I wanted to use stars in a prominent way in the design of my layout.  Once I arranged my photos, I measured to add a circle in the background.  Then I removed the photos and drew my circle shape in the background.  I cut the stars from the Echo Park patterned paper and then placed them around the circle.  After my stars were adhered, I stitched around the circle with White embroidery floss.  And I couldn’t resist adding some of those yummy Gold sequin stars, that are available in The Paper Bakery shop!!

And don’t forget to stop by the Shop, if you are looking for some fun embellishments to use on your Christmas layouts, projects or PL spreads.  There are custom Wood Veneers and Flair Buttons, that are must haves!

AND...while you are here, I have a FREE set of Christmas Printables to share with you!!  I really do have a lot of fun creating these, and this set should be perfect for your holiday layouts or Pocket Scrapbooking pages!  I hope you enjoy using them and you can download the JPEG version HERE or the PDF version HERE.

Get It Scrapped! | Photo Backgrounds

Last week the Creative Team shared inspiration on the Get It Scrapped! Blog for working with over-sized photos on your layouts.  There are some great ideas for layering journaling, titlework, embellishments, and even photos on top of your larger sized photos.  I don't have a large format printer, but was still able to print an 8x10 photo to use on my layout.

 
With the hot Summer temps finally starting to mellow out, we like to get outside for a little play time each day.  I used this photo of our son holding his football, and printed it out on my home printer at 8x10 size.  Because he was the main subject of the photo, I had a lot of surrounding space with the grass in the photo.  This gave me multiple areas for adding my embellishments, tags, and title to the "white" space on the photo.  One of the best tips for using large photos, is not to over think your design.  Let your photo be the highlight of your page and add your title and a little embellishing and you can create a great page in a short amount of time.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper & Tags:  Elle's Studio; Wood Veneers, Sequins & Spray Mist:  Studio Calico; Star Paper Clip:  Two Peas in a Bucket; Flair Button:  A Flair for Buttons, Thickers:  American Crafts
 

Silhouette | The Chase

Today, I am stopping in to share a layout that was on the Silhouette Blog this week.  I have been referring to this layout as the "Frankenstein" layout in my head, ever since I made it, because I used so many different products on this one!  :)

It’s easy to customize shapes from the Silhouette store to create unique designs for your projects.  I wanted to use the Concentric Circle Template/Background on my layout, but without the square around the circle shapes.  I ungrouped the shape (and sometimes you also have to Release Compound Path), and removed the outside square.  Then I was able to draw the larger circle back with the circle too, to complete my shape.

I also altered one of the arrow shapes, by adding and welding the word “the” to the line part across the arrow.

I also love to save scrap pieces of paper, that I have used to cut other shapes on the CAMEO.  I saved a piece of patterned paper, which I had earlier used to cut circles and tucked it in behind my layering.

I love that so many people can use the different shapes from the Silhouette store and come out with completely different looks, just by making small alterations here and there!

Shapes:
Concentric Circle Template/Background
Arrows

Supplies:  CAMEO; Patterned Paper:  American Crafts, Crate Paper & Chic Tags; Wood Veneers & Flair Button:  The Paper Bakery; Acrylic Letters & Slide Frame:  Crate Paper; Tags & Rub-Ons:  Chic Tags; Spray Mist & Sequins:  Studio Calico   

  

American Crafts | Paper Christmas Ornament

***Linked up at Paper Issues***.

Earlier this week, I shared a tutorial on the American Crafts Blog, for creating a Paper Christmas Ornament.  We all know, that this time of year can get a little pricey when you are decorating your home and buying Christmas gifts for family and friends...so why not dig into your scrappy supplies and create your own home made Christmas ornaments and decor??!!

Begin by cutting your 12x12 sheet of paper into 3x3 squares. This will give you 16 squares and you will use all of them to create the cones for the ornament.

Next, roll your paper squares into a cone shape and secure the corner with a piece of clear tape along the backside. I flattened the skinny ends of my cone shapes to keep them from making the center of the ornament too bulky.

The easiest way to begin placing the cones is to cut or punch out a circle shape. I cut my circle at 4 inches and then began placing the cones in a cross shape to make sure I end up with an even edge once all of the pieces were in place.

Continue to fill in the next open space with a second cross shape.

The final cone shaped pieces will need to be placed in the open spaces over the top of your base cone pieces. This will fill in the empty gaps and help create some dimension on your ornament.

I wanted to add some layers to my ornament, so I cut the leaf shape on my Cameo and added some sparkle to it by applying Zazz Glitter Glue over some of the leaf shapes.

Once the glitter glue has dried you can assemble the pieces of your ornament. I also added to some Zazz to the holly leaves die cut shape for extra sparkle. You can attach a ribbon bow to the backside of your ornament for hanging it on your Christmas tree.

This ornament can be a great addition to your own Christmas decor or make a great gift for family or friends!

Supplies: Santa Stripes (366099) - Peppermint Express, 6x6 Paper Pad (366119) - Peppermint Express, Glitter Glue (27411) - Zazz, Gingermint (366107) - Adhesive Layered Embellishment, Figgymint (366108) - Die Cut Cardstock Shapes, Ribbon (366117) - Premium Ribbon

SC Lifted Class | Hey Gorgeous

I am still in progress of keeping up with the Lifted class taught by Lisa Truesdell at Studio Calico.  So far, I have completed two layouts based on the class, and I wanted to share my newest page with you today.  This layout was based on a color scheme from one of Nicole Samuel's layouts.  I also took inspiration from the circle design she used on her layout.

 
I still think it's important to explore different designs and step outside of the box once in a while with your page designs.  It definitely helps to keep you from getting stuck in a rut and I think it keeps your inspiration fresh.  This page had several elements that are outside my normal design:  the b&w photo; the diagonal circle design; and the White background with a focus on 4 colors only.  

I remembered this cut file from the Two Peas digital cut files and I knew I wanted to use it on this layout.  The pie chart circles were perfect for adding the pops of color from the Pink Paislee Hey Kid collection.  Once I had the pie charts backed with my papers, I had fun "decorating" them with different tags, cut files and embellishments.  

And, I was pretty excited to be asked by Danielle Flanders if it would be okay to share my layout on the Pink Paislee Facebook page.  I, of course, said YES, that would be awesome!  And I was even more surprised to see that they updated their cover photo with my layout.  Very exciting!

So next time you are feeling a little deserted in the mojo department, try something totally new or maybe just a little new.  I think it can definitely help to get your creativity flowing again!

Supplies:  Cardstock & Date Stamp:  American Crafts; Patterned Paper & Ephemera Pack:  Pink Paislee; Tags:  Elle's Studio; Resin Flower & Love Paper Clip:  Freckled Fawn; Cut Files:  Two Peas in a Bucket & Studio Calico; Flair Button & Sequins:  The Paper Bakery; Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye; Button:  October Afternoon 

Hello Autumn

It's hard to believe, that we will be celebrating Thanksgiving next week!  Our plans are still a little fuzzy for the holiday.  I have found that it is getting harder and harder every year to have set plans with family members, who are getting together with other sides of the family or going on trips during the Thanksgiving holiday.  But I am still grateful, that I get to spend time with some of the family...and of course enjoy some yummy Thanksgiving turkey!

And in honor of the upcoming holiday, Get It Scrapped! is sharing an article for layouts inspired by a Thanksgiving Tablescape.  I love the idea of using home decor for inspiration for layouts, and here is my interpretation of the assignment.

Autumn is my favorite season, and I love taking photos of all of the pretty Fall colors, including pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch.  I used inspiration from a Children's Thanksgiving Tablescape to create my layout.

 
I loved the neutral color created by the Kraft paper over the table and then all of the pops of Fall color, that decorated the table.  I used a neutral background colored cardstock, and then incorporated the other colors from the inspiration image onto my layout.  I also took inspiration from the Fall Triangle banner in the background, and I used my Cameo to cut a Triangle background to layer behind my photo. 

Supplies:  Cardstock:  American Crafts; Patterned Paper, Chipboard & Thickers:  Basic Grey; Thickers:  American Crafts; Font:  Pacifico; Wood Veneers & Spray Mist;  Studio Calico; Printables:  ashleyhortondesigns.com
 

You've Got a Friend in Me

Yesterday, our new Sketch for November 17th, went up on the Chic Tags Blog.  This is a multi-photo Sketch, but you can interpret with any amount of photos you like.  I really had a lot of fun with this Sketch, and as you can see, I decided to only use one photo.  But I was able to keep the design of the Sketch, by adding some fun tags from the Happy Place collection on each side of my photo.

 
I actually mixed all three of the new Chic Tags collections on my layout...Happy Place, Schoolhouse and Good Tidings...and they are all available for purchase in the Chic Tags Store.  There are so many pieces to each collection, with the addition of the 12x12 papers and the fun clear tags!  And the rub-ons with each collection are so amazing!  I can't get enough of those Gold star rub-ons from the Good Tidings collection.  LOVE THEM!  I actually did something on this layout, that was a first for me...removing the Nozzle from the Mister Huey's spray mist and using it to "draw" the circle shape from the Sketch.  I've seen this technique used before and thought it was really cool, but was too chicken to try it.  This time I just thought "why not?" and gave it a try and loved the way it turned out.  Always fun and eye opening to try new things!

You can also play along with the Sketch challenge by heading over to the Chic Tags Blog, once you complete your layout and leave a link to your post on the Challenge Sunday | Sketch It Out post by NOON on Saturday, November 30th.  A random winner will be chosen to win a Chic Tags Grab Bag!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper, Tags, Clear Tags, Rub-Ons:  Chic Tags; Thickers:  American Crafts; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye; Color Shine:  Heidi Swapp; Spray Mist:  Studio Calico; Vellum:  Fynmark