American Crafts December Gallery | Christmas Magic

One of our local towns does a tree lighting every year, and we love to take the kids.  They have Mrs. Claus (because Santa is very busy at the North Pole) and the the kids love to visit with her.  I snapped some photos of each one of them as they sat with her and told her what they would like for Christmas.  And I knew that the Peppermint Express collection from American Crafts would be perfect with my photos.

 
I used two fun techniques on my page.  The first, cutting a shape and backing it with vellum, and adding sequins behind it on my page.  And the second, adding some Glitter and Gold.  The double sided adhesive paper from Silhouette is so awesome.  I cut several snowflake shapes and then adhered them to my page.  Once they were in place, I sprinkled over it with some of the Silhouette Glitter to give it some sparkle.

I hope you've had a chance to get some Christmas photos scrapped this year...and that you've had a chance to pick up some of the Peppermint Express collection.  It would also be great to use in your December Days album if you are working on one this year!

Supplies:  Jolly Greetings (366101) - Peppermint Express, Cocoa Lane (366096) - Peppermint Express, 6x6 Paper Pad (366119) - Peppermint Express, Jinglemint (366110) - Dimensional Stars, Twinkle (366104) - Thickers, Fabric Bows (366201) - Polka Dot Party

Other:  Sequins & Stickers:  American Crafts; Die Cut Machine, Double Sided Adhesive Paper & Glitter:  Silhouette America; Color Shine:  Heidi Swapp
 

Life.Paper.Scrapbook | Hello World

It's time for our new Sketch Challenge at Life.Paper.Scrapbook!  This month's Sketch gives you space for two photos or you can change things up like I did!  That's the great thing about using Sketches...you can use them exactly as is, or change them up to fit your needs.

We visited one of the local forts in our area, back in November, and of course I had the camera on hand.  I will admit that I spent most of the time in a nervous panic waiting for one of the kids to find some way to injure themselves...especially when we climbed to the top level of the fort.  Not a big fan of heights, but the view definitely was beautiful.  They had one of the viewing machines and even though we never put the money in, the kids insist on looking through the lenses.  I really loved this photo of our middle daughter taking a peek through the view finder.  She was too cute with her hood on and Hello Kitty backpack!  I decided to use it for my page, and made it a larger photo to fit in place of the two landscape photos on the Sketch.  Even though we didn't travel far, for this adventure, I thought it would be a fun idea to go with a travel theme on this page.  So I grabbed the Travel Girl collection from October Afternoon and mixed it with a little bit of American Crafts and Chic Tags.  Instead of working with the tags from the Sketch, I decided to go with a state cut file and layer it up with a few cut files and embellishments.  And since I went with a larger photo on this page, I decided to cut part of my title right on the photo using my CAMEO.  I really liked this technique, so I think I will definitely try it again!

We would love for you to come over and play along with us!  Don't forget to stop by the LPS Blog and check out the amazing inspiration from the Design Team!  And you can win an awesome prize from this month's Sponsor, Pinkfresh Studio!

Pinkfresh Studio is a fresh online shop committed to provide very unique and fun products. They offer their own exclusive range of washi tapes including very unique ombré prints, trendy shaped enamel stickers, brad stickers and fresh press cards in fun colors. Their ombré print washi tapes with beautiful airmail print and Aztec print are sure to make your paper crafting projects pop.They recently released their 1st ever stamp set called “Delightful tales”. But they don’t stop there, they are about to release their another fun product and it is going to be color blocked wood veneers in 3 different shapes (triangles, hearts and arrows).

Supplies:  Patterned Paper, Stickers, Tidbits, Sprinklers, Miscellany  & Doodads:  October Afternoon; Patterned Paper, Phrase Stamp & Thickers:  American Crafts; Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico; Tags:  Chic Tags; Expoxy Sticker:  Skipping5; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye

American Crafts December Gallery | A Cuppa Love

***Linked up at Paper Issues*** 

It's time to spread some Christmas cheer, using the adorable Peppermint Express collection from American Crafts!  Since we live so far South our Winter temps usually don't get that cold.  But sporadically during the season, our temps will go down to the low 30's or 20's, which is cold for us!  So when those days come, the kids love to have hot chocolate...but I really think it's more about the marshmallows than the hot chocolate!  During one of our recent colder nights, I snapped a couple of photos of our oldest daughter enjoying her cup of hot chocolate.

I love the patterns in this collection, and wanted to mix several of them on my page.  I also wanted to use a large cut file for my background, but still have the patterned paper show trough.  This circle star pattern was exactly what I was looking for.  Once the star file was cut and layered over my patterned paper, I backed some of the star shapes with papers from the Peppermint Express 6x6 paper pad.  I didn't want to cover a lot of the background on my layout, so I did a small cluster with my photos, title and embellishments.  I finished off my page, by adding some of the American Crafts Christmas collection available at Target.  The phrase stickers and sequins add just the perfect touch to your Christmas layouts!

Supplies:  Cocoa Lane (399096) - Peppermint Express; Santa Stripes (366099) - Peppermint Express; 6x6 Paper Pad (366119) - Peppermint Express; Accents & Phrase Stickers (366106) - Remarks; Dear Santa (366095) - Peppermint Express; Iceplum (42276) - Remarks; Gingermint (366107) - Details; FIggymint (366108) - Bits; Frosted Forest (366100) - Peppermint Express; Fox (53414) - Thickers

Other:  Wood Veneers:  Recollections; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye; Phrase Stickers & Sequins:  American Crafts  

Silhouette Advent Calendar

***Linked up at Paper Issues*** 

On Monday, the Silhouette Design Team shared their versions of the Silhouette Advent Calendar.  I loved how each of the Team members used the shapes from the Silhouette Store and from the download card that comes with the Advent Calendar, to create their own unique designs.  You can purchase the Limited Edition Advent Calendar HERE and it includes the 20 shape Download Card, Solid Wood Frame painted White, and 35 hanging clips.  Here is what I did with calendar:

I had fun mixing the shapes from the download card with some shapes from the store.  I used 5 basic shapes on my calendar, to get it finished in a timely manner, but you can adjust it to fit your needs and time frame.  To help save time, I worked in an assembly line format, by first getting my main shapes cut.  Then I cut the snowflake shapes and numbers and added those next.

I also wanted to add a little sparkle to some of my shapes, so I used the double sided adhesive paper to cut a circle outline to fit around the scallop shapes.  Then I sprinkled over the adhesive with the Gold Silhouette glitter.

 
Supplies:  Die Cute Machine, Advent Calendar, Shapes, Double Sided Adhesive Paper & Glitter:  Silhouette America; Cardstock, Patterned Paper, Sequins, Phrase Stickers, Sequins & Twine:  American Crafts

Get It Scrapped! | Same Print Mixing

***NOTE:  This article will post on the Get It Scrapped! Blog on Thursday, December 5th.***

There are a ton of different patterns to choose from on your favorite patterned papers.  But, sometimes it's fun to mix same print patterns and today at Get It Scrapped!, the Creative Team is sharing inspiration for mixing two or more print patterns that all have the same motif but with that motif varying in size and/or color.  Here's a look at what I created for the assignment:

After a recent trip to the beach, we stopped at a local ice cream shop to get milkshakes for the family.  I chose a collection that would work with my daughter's photo and that also included a pattern that was available in different sizes and colors.  The diagonal stripes help add energy to my layout and I worked with a Black and White stripe and a Teal and White stripe to add contrasting colors.  The stripes also vary in size, with one being thinner and the other thicker, which helps to give a fun visual interest to the layout.  And I used a White cardstock background, to keep the mix of diagonal stripes from overwhelming my layout.

To see more inspiration on mixing same print patterns, make sure you stop by the Get It Scrapped! Blog!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper & Tags:  Elle's Studio; Thickers, Baker's Twine & Date Stamp:  American Crafts; Washi Tape & Wood Veneer:  The Paper Bakery; Flair Button:  A Flair for Buttons; Mini Market Stickers & Buttons:  October Afternoon; Candy Dots:  Skipping5; Spray Mist:  Heidi Swapp & Studio Calico

Chic Tags | Homemade

***Linked up at Paper Issues***

Merry December 2nd, everyone!  I hope everyone enjoyed a great Thanksgiving weekend, enjoyed some good food, and got to spend plenty of time with your family!  Today, I am back in the swing of things with a new layout for the Chic Tags Challenge Sunday Sketch It Out.  And since we are now officially into December, I just had to use the amazing Good Tidings collection for today's layout.  Veronica definitely rocked it with this Christmas collection and all of the amazing tags, awesome patterned papers and touches of Gold on the rub-on stars and letter stickers.

I used my CAMEO to cut a star shaped background, that I layered behind my photos and then I used the positive star shapes in place of the chevron on the Sketch.  Can you tell I am addicted to stars...star die cuts, star wood veneers and star rub-ons!  HA!  I do like to repeat a motif, using different items on my pages though, so the stars worked perfectly for a Christmas layout.  I layered a piece of vellum behind my title and used those awesome Gold letter stickers and then hand stitched through them for some added texture.  I am also addicted to using vellum on my pages!!

We would love for you to play along with the new Sketch challenge!  You have until NOON on Saturday, December 14th, to link up your layout on the Chic Tags Blog.  You don't have to use Chic Tags products, but we love it when you do!  A random winner will be chosen, to win a fabulous Chic Tags Grab Bag!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper, Tags, Rub-Ons, Stickers, Letter Stickers:  Chic Tags; Color Shine:  Heidi Swapp; Flair Button & Wood Veneers:  Recollections; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye; Vellum:  Fynmark

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!