Write. Click. Scrapbook.

give.away.day. featuring LAWN FAWN STAMPS

Every now and again, a new company hits it big at CHA. This year, undoubtedly, one of those companies is Lawn Fawn. And in our pursuit to bring you all things spectacular for

we are thrilled and honored to introduce you to this hot new company!!

Just one year ago, Lawn Fawn launched with four stamp sets, but have quickly grown to thirty-six sets!! Lawn Fawn stamps are cute, whimsical, and even a bit quirky!! Their stamps feature original designs, with fonts that have been customized to perfectly coordinate with each set. And to give you the best stamp experience possible, Lawn Fawn stamps are manufactured in the USA with high quality photo-polymer.

This week Emily is helping us to embrace our inner cardmaker. And for cards, stamps are fun, easy, and repeatable!! Look at the sweet wonders that Kelly Marie, owner of Lawn Fawn stamps, designed.

Kelly Marie: Here is a card using Say Cheese, Hello Friend and Just My Type from Lawn Fawn. I paper pieced the polaroid for a fun look, and it is perfect for a sentiment on a card!

 

Kelly Marie: This card uses Say Cheese, Say Cheese, Too and My Silly Valentine (for the "you are"). It is a one layer simple card that looks really special!

 

Kelly Marie: This card uses Bannerific and shows how you can use Thickers (or other letter stickers) to add a sentiment to it!

 

Kelly Marie: This card using Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments. It is a fun way to let a favorite patterned paper and ribbon shine. The sentiment can be changed for any occasion. (This would be a cute "It's a girl!" card, too, etc.)

Adorable, no? Kelly Marie makes it look easy and her cards are so doable, practical, and darling!! Thank you, Kelly Marie for sharing your talent and cards with us!!

But, we hear a few of you saying that you aren't cardmakers, so maybe you don't need some Lawn Fawn stamps. What???? Of course you do. Stamps aren't just for cardmakers, they also make delightful embellishments and titles on your scrapbook pages!

To convince you, we asked Lawn Fawn to send a set of their brand new stamps to Elizabeth and Donna. We asked them to create three layouts with their stamp set to see if it could be done.

And the verdict? Aye! Aye! A big round of applause!
♥ Lawn Fawn stamps + scrapbooking = heaven ♥

Donna worked with the Say Cheese! set and Say Cheese, Too. Look how terrific her pages are:

Here are some thoughts from Donna:

Kelly Marie sent me both Say Cheese and Say Cheese, Too. 

All of Lawn Fawn's stamps are cute, but I think these two sets in particular are really adorable and useful.  I think for scrapbookers these two sets would be the most versatile as they could easily be used for both cards and scrapbook pages.  Just as a reference I would consider myself a beginner stamper.  I don't have any special markers for coloring my images and I generally don't do any special techniques.  I just use the stamps and ink.  I found the Lawn Fawn stamps to be of great quality, they stamped nice clear images.  I know that a lot of scrapbookers are scared to use stamps on their pages because they are afraid of messing-up an otherwise nice page if for instance they don't get a good image.  I tend to have this same fear and so I usually treat my stamps kind of like a sticker or a die-cut.  I will stamp on another piece of paper or cardstock and then either punch or cut-out the image.  That's mostly what I did with these layouts.  Also, I took inspiration from the name of the stamp set itself as well as the sentiments included in the stamps. 

 

All-in-all I had a lot of fun using these stamps.  My favorite images from the sets are the small camera and the smiley face - I know for certain they will get a lot of use in the future!

 

Elizabeth received the Bannerific set. Just look at all her variations on the banner treatments!

In the first layout, Elizabeth stamped and trimmed the banner from some white cardstock. In her second layout, she cut out the inside of the flags and placed fabric below, stitching them together at the end. And in her third layout, for this one, she stamped patterned paper scraps and cut them out to create a big banner. She notes that it wasn't particularly time-consuming because she could stamp five at a time, and that the cutting apart went very quickly.

Today, the dear Kelly Marie of Lawn Fawn (dear, get it? deer? fawn? teehee!) is kindly offering two sets of Lawn Fawn stamps: Bannerific and Say Cheese.

All you need to do is stop by the Lawn Fawn blog (try not to get forever lost in the unbelievable cuteness!), or facebook page, or sign up to follow them on Twitter. (They are having a giveaway there, too, if you want to double your chances, you should participate there too!!) Then come back and leave us a comment telling us where you visited, and something you saw that you loved. And if you wanted to let that something inspire you to create a page or card, that would be even better!!

Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm PST. One lucky number will be chosen at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsibility to claim you lucky number before midnight Saturday. And for those who can't wait until tomorrow to know if you are the lucky number, Lawn Fawn stamps were just released at Two Peas in a Bucket. Go forth and shop!

{Day 3} Scraps and Inspired Designing

 

 

We've talked about why we make cards, what we need to make them, and today and Friday, we're going to talk about the how of making a card. Today we'll look at how to translate outside inspiration into a design, how to use what you already know works for you, and how to let go and create a simple card. Over and over again, the word simple came up. That makes me happy because I can do simple. I don't freak out at simple. 

 

First up is scraps. Nearly everyone mentioned that they use scraps for their cards. Much less daunting to cut up a small piece of paper than to cut into a nice big old sheet of 12x12 paper. I have lots of scraps. I think I could do this. :) Don't clean up after you've completed a layout is Sarah Hodgkinson's suggestion. Make a card with all the same things you know worked on the layout you just finished. Danielle Flanders , Angie Hagist, Shelly Jaquet, Kim Hughes, and Reneé Morris-Dezember all echo that sentiment. You don't have to rework something that already works, just create again with the scraps.

Next is design. This is another area that nearly everyone agreed on. START SIMPLE and have fun! Isn't the reason you are here, a fan of write.click.scrapbook, because you gravitate toward simple scrapbooking? I know that's why I'm here. Teri Anderson notes that your card style should be the same as your scrapbooking style. Clouds Shadler has some interesting thoughts on this:

First things first, figure out what your card making style is, this is key. There are so many places that can help guide your style - Card magazines, people who have blogs and share their cards, card classes etc. And yes, there are many different styles out there (don't be overwhelmed), for example- shabby, clean and simple, vintage, etc ... For me, it's mostly clean and simple ... Start there with a style, see what style appeals to you.

card property of Clouds Shadler

Rae Barthel agrees:

 Stay true to your creative 'style' when designing your card. You may love how a shabby chic/vintage card looks, but if you are a graphic scrapper by nature, it may be a challenge to pull off shabby!

Kelly Marie Alvarez, Angie Hagist, Valerie Mangan, and Allison Landy also encourage you to stay true to your style. It's OK to go simple. If you come to the end of your card making and feel like you need something more, it's also OK to add something at that point. Add some bling, flowers, scallops, or ribbon to fill out the card a bit more. Rae uses this technique a lot. Or a layer or two can work wonders like Mary Kay Seckinger shows us in the below example.

card property of Mary Kay Seckinger

Not quite fitting into design, but still kind of applying, is this fun suggestion from Sarah Hodgkinson, which I took to heart in the video:

I am all about corny sentiments. Sometimes the sentiment is my starting point (i.e., Love You Snow Much, Happy Holly-days, Happy Turkey Day).

And finally how about inspiration? Well if you were here last week, Celeste had a number of places you could reap inspiration from for your scrapbooking pages. The exciting news? You can also translate that inspiration into cards as well! Rae Barthel's thoughts on where to get inspiration is actually one I use often. Go through card magazines and online galleries. When I'm stuck in a tailspin, I'll pull out the Stampin' Up! catalog and just soak in the cuteness. My end results never look like any of the cards, but at least it focuses me on the task at hand. Kelly Marie Alvarez of Lawn Fawn advises you look everywhere for it:

I don't really have a go-to design, but I do tend to love scenes. I like to create little scenes in my cards, even with inanimate objects! It goes with my fun and cute style. Also, I think drawing from what you see around you in your home or in nature can help that design just come!

 Sarah Hodgkinson suggests if you need help with your color choices, head over to ColourLovers.com and check out the Palette section. Kimberly Neddo likes to carry a sketch book and gather design ideas from places like Hallmark. It makes total sense!

 Supply list:

• blank card base
• scraps!
• journaling card or similar small block (if you don't have the same journaling card as I do, you can print a picture of a fish from the internet.)
• adhesive runner
• brad
• small alphabet stickers

 

 Directions:

1. Fold card base in half. 
2. Cut a rectangle to be framed by the card based (mine is about .5" smaller on each edge). Apply with adhesive.
3. Apply journaling card with adhesive.
4. Cut a small pointy triangle out of scrap paper for the birthday hat.
5. With a needle or pin, poke a hole at the top of the hat, insert brad.
6. Apply letter stickers to create your sentiment.

{Day 2} Tools & Products

I some how managed to delete my opening paragraph for yesterday's post. Luckily, my second paragraph made sense (according to trusted sources--I thought it may have been a bit abrupt, but my source said no, it was fine), but I wanted to briefly recap.

Because I'm a scrapbooker, people who don't paper craft assume that I'm a whiz at making cards as well. In reality, cards can cause me great anxiety. I think collective member Monika Wright put it best, " I'm always the one without a card to gift and I'm the scrapper in the family!" I was on twitter a while back (did you hear that Write. Click. Scrapbook. is on twitter now? We are writeclickscrap, come join us if you are so inclined...) and noticed a conversation between two of my scrappy friends about how card challenged they felt. I realized I was not alone. Being a bright girl, I decided to do something about my phobia and LEARN to make a decent card, and so, this week was born.

 

Today we're going to find out what tools and products card makers always go for. As a scrapbooker, you don't need to worry, you already have most of these things! Do I hear a collective sigh? :)

Here's what the ladies say we need and a little about why we need them:

• sentiment rub ons, stamps, and digital elements
  Danielle Flanders told me that she loves using rub on sayings or stamps for the sentiments on my cards. Usually I find that chipboard alphabets are too large for cards. If you don't have many rub-ons or stamps, print your own sentiment with your home computer. There are a ton of sites on-line with unique sayings for your cards! Reneé Morris-Dezember encourages beginning card makers to not limit yourself to just stamps...use digital products...stickers...any kind of embellishment that you just really {LOVE} ...if you really LIKE the product you are using...you will really LOVE the cards you make.
   
• punches, both shape and border
  Punches are my favorite tools lately for card making. It's so easy to add shapes to my cards and unique borders with punches. I love the detail they add, says Danielle Flanders. Kimberly Neddo agrees, Border punches are a great way to add dimension too.
  
• stamps
  Stamps can be a go-to supply for card makers, Kimberly especially loves the border stamps that easily bridge the height or width of a card.


• papers you love, but might not normally use on a layout.
  Teri Anderson: A secret confession for y’all: When it comes to card making, I totally flip for cute papers I can use on cards. Bring on those papers with big, goofy floppy eared bunnies. I am kidless and single. And I so don’t have a place for those things in my scrapbook, but I sure like to use cute papers for cards.
   
• foam adhesive
  Many of my respondants listed this product as an absolute must. Angie Hagist loves the dimension that it brings to a card.  Allison Landy said her cards, not just like her layouts, often don't feel complete unless there's some popped up element. 

card property of Angie Hagist

• embossing tools
  Another great way to add dimension to your cards according to Angie.
   
• coordinating lines
  Stick with a single product line or use a club kit or even a card kit. As in scrapbooking, anything that makes the coordinating of product easier is a good thing says Valerie Mangan.
  
  
• small scale papers (6x6 pads are great) 
  Valerie and Kim Hughes both suggest looking for small scale papers.  Valerie suggests you pick up a 6 x 6 paper pad or two. Many lines make smaller scale versions of their collections in this format. These are ideal for cardmakers.
   
• 3D products, especially chipboard 
  Here's an example from Allison Landy showing just how much dimension chipboard and 3D elements can add to a card. 

card property of Allison Landy

• pre-made card blanks and envelopes
  It might seem super obvious, but this is a suggestion from Reneé that I could totally get behind! 

• scraps (much more on that tomorrow)

Two final comments on tools and products before we get to the video:

Becky Olsen also recommends you only pull out a few supplies, so as to not overwhelm the process: 

When you know what you are working on, pull out just a few products that are inspiring to you, I have found that if I have too many options it will take substantially more time to filter through all of the choices, thus complicating your design process. After you have the base of your card designed if you think of a specific product that is the perfect add at that point that you didn't already include, get it out then.

And Mary Kay Seckinger suggests that you keep all your often-used card making tools out and handy, so it's easy to whip out a card when the mood strikes you. Very good idea!

 Here's a supply list for you:

• pre-made card blank and envelope
• 2 sheets of 6x6 patterned
• scrap of white paper
• 6.5" ribbon
• sentiment sticker
• chipboard frame
• liquid adhesive
• cutting tool
• scissors
• boarder punch
• foam adhesive
• adhesive runner

 

 

Instructions for a 5"x7" card:

1. Cut a 4.5" x 5" piece of paper, adhere to base.
2. Cut a 3.75" x 5" coordinating piece, use a border punch on one side.
3. Adhere a strip of ribbon to the smaller piece, wrap around the back.
4. Adhere to the card.
5. Apply sentiment sticker to white cardstock, w/ liquid adhesive attach a frame around the sentiment. Trim.
6. Apply foam dots to the sentiment, apply to the card.

{Day 1} The Creative Process of Cardmaking

I decided to put a plea out to a number of known card makers, some are solely card makers, some do both cards and scrapbooking. I asked them three questions. This week is the result, we're going to take the "freak out" out of card {freak out} making! My hope is that by the end of the week, you'll have a number to tools in your belt so that you'll feel comfortable whipping out that card for little Johnny's teacher, the neighbor across the street, or your mother-in-law's birthday.

I took everyone's thoughts and tried to categorize responses into general areas that would flow through the week. Some days there will be lots of examples, others will be lots of me writing. I know there will be some overlap, I may merely touch on one idea today, but expand upon it in two days. I got so much good advice, I don't think you'll mind. And not only am I going to simply recite what I've learned, every day I'll have a little video of me (yes, me) making a card in less than 5 minutes, showing these ideas can be put into practice by even the most card-inept person. It's going to be a fun week, I hope you'll come back every day, including give.away.day. on Thursday (I know what we're giving away. hee hee!).

Today we're going to learn about processes: what drive them and what a few of them are.

Driving your process, I'm happy to report, is as individual as you are. There is no right or wrong way to start creating a card. It was split down the middle as to what drives the card makers' creative process. Some said they start with the card recipient in mind. 

Kelly Marie Alvarez says:

A card will just flow if you think about what that card-recipient loves. It will also bring you so much joy to create for that specific person, that the card making will just come!

Danielle Flanders agrees:

Keep in mind the person you are giving it to. For example, if it's a child's birthday, go with a fun design and bright colors! If it's a sympathy card, go with soft, serene, calming colors. ...The recipient will appreciate that you took the time to make them a special, one-of-a-kind handmade card from your heart.

Allison Landy echoes this:

Do you need an energetic or whimsical card for a child's birthday? Or, do you need a softer, sweeter design to wish someone a happy Mother's Day? 

 The other half said they let product drive them.

Valerie Mangan suggests:

Let a product or sentiment guide the project. Sometimes I’ll see a piece of patterned paper and inspiration will hit. Sometimes the words of a sentiment stamp or sticker will strike a chord. Start with something you love and let that steer the creative process.

Rae Barthel likes to start with the paper:

Choose papers that you LOVE and are eager to work with. I always let the patterned papers/products guide my card design. 

One card maker, Becky Olsen does both. She starts with the the purpose then moves onto the product (More on that later). 

Now we're going to discuss the creative processes of three different card makers. I love how different each person approaches the making of a card. I helps me see that there's not one right way.

Sharyn Tormanen advised me to think about a card as a mini layout:

Photo = embellishment/image, the sentiment = the journaling and the embellishments are the cohesiveness whether you use them for visual triangles or just because you're addicted to embellishments.

1. If you usually start your layouts with journaling - then begin with the sentiment.

2. If you normally start your layouts with photos - then begin with an image.

3. If you are big on the visual triangle, like myself - then translate that into your card.

4. If you embellish your layouts - then embellish your cards.

Shelly Jaquet, who before my email didn't consider herself a card maker (but trust me, she is!), gave me her process for design, as well as a few examples:

I guess I do have a go-to design; although, it is crazy complicated. Ok... just kidding about that one. My go-to card idea is one simple element with a greeting. Sometimes, I put that element in the center of the card, sometimes in bottom right corner.

card property of Shelly Jaquet

Sometimes, I use just a simple punched shape as the element… sometimes, I go crazy and make a more layered embellishment. After I have my one element/embellishment, I tackle the background of the card.

  card property of Shelly Jaquet

I sometimes, create a simple background using stamps or other little things … sometimes, I keep it as plain as it can get with just cardstock. 

cards property of Shelly Jaquet

Finally, Becky Olsen shared her process with me, I think this is a great story about making things work for you:

I like to let the product "talk to me". If there are obvious design elements in the paper, or a color in an embellishment that I want to highlight, I work around those to choose the shape, style and size of the card. Often what I thought I would be working toward turns into something more interesting because I let the design process occur organically instead of deliberately. An example of this is a card that I was making to submit for a specific call; I really wanted to sew on it, so created all the other elements and then did the sewing last. I hated the sewing but loved the rest of the card and didn't want to start over so I used lines of miniature pearls along all the sewing lines to cover the stitching. I then saw the opportunity to add a pearl swirl and larger beautiful flower that I wouldn't have used otherwise. Of the few cards that I submitted, this was the one that was picked up for that particular call. It turned out much better than I could have envisioned it because I went with the flow and didn't freak out when it started to tank.

And now it's time for me to take a few of these ideas and put them into practice. I'd love to have you join me and post your cards to the Flickr gallery. Here's my supply list to make it easy on you. Gather everything, then hit play.

Supplies:

• cutting tool
• scissors
• scoring tool
• 3-in-1 butterfly punch or similar
• 2" medallion or circle punch
• liquid adhesive
• adhesive runner
• tiny attacher or stapler
• eyelet tool
• eyelet
• 8.5" x 11" sheet of white cardstock
• three sheets of cardstock or patterned paper (I used green, cream, and kraft)

  

And in case you can't see the video, here's the written instructions for you.

1. Cut sheet of white cardstock in half so it's 5.5" x 8.5".
2. Score at the halfway point (4.25") and fold in half.
3. Punch a 2" circle or medallion from kraft patterned paper.
4. Punch a green butterfly trio (save the two mini butterflies).
5. Punch a cream butterfly trio.
6. Attach the cream butterfly to medallion with liquid adhesive.
7. Attach with stapler the green butterfly over the cream butterfly. Lift up wings for dimension.
8. With eyelet tool, attach an eyelet above the butterfly.
9. Cut about 7" of twine, feed it through the eyelet hole and tie.
10. Attach tag to front of card with stapler.
11. With liquid adhesive, attach two small butterflies inside the card, then write your sentiment.

Scrapbooking yourself {day 3}

Welcome to day three! Today we are going to focus on the everyday things in life that you would like to remember.

During my 30th year on this earth, I made many "30" lists as I called them. My favorite type of "30 list" are the ones I made listing 30 things I wanted to remember about right then. And, yes, 30 things can be a lot to come up with, but I love that it made me really think about smaller things in life too. Of course you are free to list as many or as few things as you please, but I urge you to really think about the stuff that you put on your list.

In November of that year these were the things I wanted to remember about right then: that I had trouble concentrating, that I longed for Christmas, that love can be intoxicating, that breakfasts at the computer are yum, that fresh air can sometimes feel magical... See, not your typical list maybe?
I see it as a snapshot of then and there! I love that!

 

I have also done pages titled “right now” which are also bits of life, a time capsule if you like!

To make it easier on this layout, I used a list; right now I read, I eat, I drink, I love, I hate, I watch, I wish, I feel, I listen to, I want, I plan, I think. Go ahead, make your own!

 

Amy also did a currents page using pre made phrases.  

 

Our own Celeste Smith shares this cute page about what she loved right now (then!). Easy enough, right?!

 

Ally listed 45 thought on being 45! An awesome way to use the right now theme. And what a treasure to have later in life!

 

 

Here I quickly shared my daily stops on internet.

 

 

Christy has such a cute "right now" page!

 

There are so many other things that you can record about how your everyday life looks like right now. For example:

What you do when the kids are at school, if you are a SAHM.

When you have a free day, what do you do?

Describe a typical morning, but focus on you, not the kids.

Your night ritual.

What are the emails about that you get on an ordinary day?

Are there any TV shows you watch everyday?

Well the list can go on really.

I hope that you will join us tomorrow! It´s giveaway day!

 Lisa ♥

Scrapbooking yourself {day 2}

Hi there! I am glad that I didn´t scare you off with my topic yesterday :) Let´s get started, eh!

One easy way to get started with scrapbooking yourself is to use the good old list method. Yes, list things about yourself! You can really go any way here, but from experience I know that it is far easier to list happy and lovable things rather than negative things. So, let´s go the happy way , shall we?! Go ahead and list things that bring you joy and comfort! Here are a few examples:

Here I have listed stuff I love, for example: good movies and love, vanilla scent and crisp sheets, calenders and photography, to laugh with children. I just let my mind roll and wrote down whatever came to mind.

 

 

25 things I never get tired of, for example: romantic comedies, happy mail, fresh air, eating chocolate, going to the library.

 

 

You know those tag clouds on blogs? Well, they can also be called categories, right? Well, one day I decided to make one about me; my life categories: everyday, depression, travels, kids, shopping, lists.

 

 

Bethany Crowell made a page listing 10 things that makes her happy. Such a fun page!

 

Lisa has listed things she loves, a lovely way to share things about herself.

 

 

Wow! Marnie shares a whopping 60 of her favorite things on ONE layout!

 

Just as a bit of help here is a pdf download I made with a list of things that you can list :)

Lisa ♥

Scrapbooking yourself {day 1}

 
Hi there! This is my very first hosting week here at Write. Click. Scrapbook. and I am so excited and nervous :) Anyway, here we go!

When I had picked out my week to host the blog I first decided on another topic, as I thought that would be easiest to me. But when I was going through my albums to find layouts to share, I noticed that I have quite a few layouts that are about me. Hm...I thought about it and decided on switching topics, so my week will be all about you! Because, honestly where are you in all of your family scrapbooks? I know many people that barely has one layout that describes the life that is lived by you, not you and your husband or kids, but just about you!

I am a person that thinks a lot about what other people might think or say, so my very first thought was gosh, do these many layouts make me egotistic? ! But then I said to myself that ok, I am egotistic if by that you mean that I want to record what kind of person I am for my daughter. Because I think it super important that she will be able to see who I was when I was younger, what I liked or what my quirks were. I know that many people lose themselves in the scrapbooking process, especially when the kids enter your life! But I am here to help you to add a bit of yourself to those precious albums!

First I just want to tell you about why I think that it is so important to scrapbook myself. I do it as a creative outlet, but mainly for my daughter. I myself, would love to know how my mother felt and thought when she was my age. What did she focus on and what brought her joy. I could ask her, but if her memory is anything like mine (and it is!) she´ll just remember the big events, and I firmly believe in recording small and everyday stuff!

I actually took parts of this post and used on my layout! I love that it is easy to use already written words to make a quick layout.

 

Our own Francine Clouden shares a page about her challenge to include herself in photos!

 

I also wanted to share a few layouts that are about you in different ways.

This one is about my nickname; Darling :) My sister used to sing me Oh my darling clementine when I was younger and it stuck. To this day all my family calls me Darling from grandmothers to brother-in-law :)

 

Amy Sorensen shares a page about her love of the outdoors.

 

Marnie Flores shares her quirks. Come on we all have them :)

 

I named my quirks layout, "I like it like that!"

 

Here our own Celeste Smith shares her hilarious food quirks!

 

Caroline Ikeij helps out sharing 12 things people should know about her!

 

Amy shares her toe knuckle talents :)

Ok, take some time to digest that you are actually going to be recorded :) and join me tomorrow when I give you some tips on how to get started!

Lisa ♥

ps. If this post sparks your creativity and you end up with a project, please share in the flickr group!

Thanksgiving Prep Week: Preparing Your Home For Gratitude with Ali Edwards

We know, we know, it's beginning to look a lot like December out there already, what with Hanukkah fast approaching and Christmas countdowns waiting in the wings—but we love Thanksgiving here at WCS and wanted to feature a few more inspired ideas you can tackle before Thanksgiving Day from some of our favorite creatives on the internet (and a few home-grown ideas, too). Today we welcome designer/memory keeper/author/blogger/wife + mama Ali Edwards to share her thoughts about preparing a home for gratitude. Enjoy!

As we prepare for Thanksgiving next week I’m busy thinking about the organizational details: planning a grocery list, deciding what and how much I’m going to cook, thinking about the atmosphere I want to create in our home, wondering what time family are arriving, remembering that our knives need to be sharpened, etc.  

In the midst of all those logistical details there’s another thing on my list: establishing my attitude of gratitude.

For me, establishing an attitude of gratitude begins with a simple choice: a choice to wake up on Thanksgiving morning (or any day) and greet it with a long, deep breath and a short “thank you” for all the blessings in my life. Taking just a few moments to center and focus myself and set my attitude before anything has gone right or wrong can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of my day.

It’s a little like an old-fashioned clock that needs to be wound; we all need to be reset from time to time.

 As many of us know all too well, the chaos of the holidays, the anticipation, and the dynamics of family can add up to one big overwhelming mess of expectations packed into however many hours of non-stop fun.

It’s your attitude towards that mess that potentially makes all the difference.

My thought for you this weekend: establish an attitude of simple gratitude as you begin your day and then again anytime throughout the day when you need it most.

When it all gets too chaotic, too noisy (my personal issue), too rambunctious, or you look around and see all those things you wish you’d done in advance…in those very moments where your attitude may be heading downhill make the choice to turn it around and be thankful for those very things you dislike the most. Reframe the situation for yourself and rather than get frustrated, get thankful.

In my own house when things get off-kilter I plan to close my eyes and…

• Choose to be thankful for the noise because it’s often a sign of celebration.

• Choose to be thankful for any awkward or uncomfortable family moments as those are signs that we are all so very, very human.

• Choose to be thankful for the rambunctiousness and wrestling because that’s a sign of life.

• Choose to be thankful for all the things left undone because in letting that expectation go I free myself up to be more present in the celebration with my family.

I think one of the things I’m most thankful for is that I have a choice in terms of my attitude. I get to control it for better or worse. So here’s to low-stress holidays, good food, and peaceful interactions. May your day be infused with the spirit of thankfulness and may you not need too many attitude adjustments. 

You may download this special message of gratitude by clicking below. Happy Thanksgiving!

Download AEdwards_GratitudeQuote

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Ali Edwards believes in capturing everyday life with photos and words and creating scrapbooks from those moments that often pass by in an instant. Author of four books about scrapbooking, she currently designs digital scrapbooking products for Designer Digitals and stamps for Technique Tuesday, and teaches workshops for Big Picture Classes. She invites you to participate in her signature annual project, December Daily, this holiday season. Read more about Ali at her website, Ali Edwards Design. 

Thanksgiving Prep Week: Autumn Leaves From Lovely Design

We know, we know, it's beginning to look a lot like December out there already, what with Hanukkah fast approaching and Christmas countdowns waiting in the wings—but we love Thanksgiving here at WCS and wanted to feature a few more inspired ideas you can tackle before Thanksgiving Day from some of our favorite creatives on the internet (and a few home-grown ideas, too). Today, we welcome designer Sharilyn Wright (and her daughter, Adelaide!) of Lovely Design to share a beautiful idea for Thanksgiving décor. Enjoy!

 

The past several weeks, Adelaide and I have been spending many hours out and about and gathering. Acorns, chestnuts, pinecones, pretty twigs and branches, and so many beautiful Autumn leaves. It was out on one of our gathering expeditions that it occurred to me, studying the make up of a leaf, that we could possibly recreate our own leaves using a little bit of wire, paper, and paint.

To make our own Autumn leaves, we first went out on a walk all around our neighbourhood and gathered up a variety of fresh leaf samples, in all types and sizes. We brought them home and together traced about 2 dozen out onto sheets of 80 lb drawing paper. I then cut a few out, and got my daughter painting.

To paint the leaves, I had 3 bottles of acrylic paint which we had picked up at the dollar store: red, orange, and yellow. (although, really you would only need red and yellow.) I squirted a little bit of each paint colour onto individual saucers. I then cut up dollar-store sponges into 1/2" - 1" blocks, and showed Adelaide how she could dab a little paint onto each sponge and use them to dap and mix and blend colours all together to paint a leaf.

I found at first it was good to give her a big leaf to paint, so she would have lots of room to experiment and check it all out. I placed several real leaves alongside of her, and together we examined them closely. I showed her how not one leaf was a solid, single colour—each was many colours blended all together: red, yellow, orange. And I also encouraged her to try to do her best to cover all of each leaf so that no white would show, just like a real leaf.

While Addie happily painted away, I used a glue gun and wire cutters and began to cut and glue wire "spines" onto the back of each leaf. When the glue dried, I found that I could bend and shape each leaf to look quite real. With a bit of trial and error, I found that a thinner wire around 16—18g worked best for these leaves. I glued and collected up a bunch of paper leaves in this manner, and bent and worked the wires until they looked authentic and were ready to be painted up. As Addie finished up her first practice leaf, I was ready to pass her the leaves I had ready-to-go.

Note: After seeing how the paper leaves dried - quite solid and stiff, I think that it is important to bend your leaves into shape first before painting them. I found that if I bent the wires when the paint was wet, the paper could tear. And if I bent the wires when the painted leaves were dry, then they could crack.

Painting leaves kept Adelaide very occupied and busy for almost two hours. Together we ended up making about 15 or 20 leaves in this manner, and so it was time for a break. Leaving the leaves to dry, we headed to the forest to find a nice branch for them. By time we had returned, the leaves were mostly all dry, and I found that they had dried quite solidly—surprisingly, they weren't very fragile at all. Happy with the results, Adelaide and I selected some of the prettiest leaves and I used bits of brown florist tape—which I had purchased ahead at Michael's—and taped leaves to the branch, one by one. Placed all together on a branch, Adelaide's leaves really do look quite real! At the very least, they do not look like they were painted by a three-year-old. Adelaide was thrilled and we are both very happy with the results of our project.

These painted leaves are so lovely and can be used in many ways—taped onto a branch and kept in a vase as we have, or perhaps all along a branch for a Thanksgiving table centerpiece. I think it would be nice for perhaps each member of a class or a family to paint their own leaf, and write their names on them to make a family tree. Or even woven into a garland for a door frame or window. All around a wreath. Or even just to keep as a single leaf, tacked to a bulletin board to keep for always. I think that it may be nice to make some more leaves in spring or summer, all green and yellow and happy.

Sharilyn Wright is the owner of Vancouver, Canada-based Lovely Design, where she creates gorgeous address file boxes, beautiful posters, and other one-of-a-kind treasures. Her work has been featured in Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, The Washington Post, ReadyMade, and other design publications. She is both a full-time mama and a full-time maker of lovely things, and believes firmly in including her daughter in her creative space. Please visit her shop and blog to learn more about Sharilyn!

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So much of our Thanksgiving memories are wrapped up in the things we make—from pies to pilgrim hats, it is a creative holiday that builds upon a foundation of a cozy home full of those we love. By including children in your Thanksgiving preparations they'll feel a sense of pride when that beautiful table is set. So grab some paint, go find a few branches buried under the leaf pile (or snow!) and get those children working on their contributions to a homemade Thanksgiving to remember.

Thanksgiving Prep Week: Book of Thanks from Eighteen25

We know, we know, it's beginning to look a lot like December out there already, what with Hanukkah fast approaching and Christmas countdowns waiting in the wings— but we love Thanksgiving here at WCS and wanted to feature a few more inspired ideas you can tackle before Thanksgiving Day from some of our favorite creatives on the internet (and a few home-grown ideas, too). Please welcome our first guests, the girls from Eighteen25. Enjoy!

Two years ago we started our Book of Thanks.

Every Thanksgiving everyone takes a turn writing what they are grateful for in it.

We especially like what the kids have to add to the book.

 

We also make sure we gather together, put the camera on a timer and snap a quick shot of us all.

 Jennifer, Jamie and Jodie are the sisters behind Eighteen25, a popular crafty blog that showcases each of their own little crafty talents, lots of fun inspiration, and a free download every now and then. They were born and raised (and still reside) in Vegas, where they get together as often as possible with their children (11 between them!)

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Let this terrific project from the Eighteen25 sisters make your Thanksgiving celebration a little more special. Set up a little card table or set your book on a coffee table and be sure to have a few pens and crayons ready to go beforehand. Appoint a few "plants" that can explain the project and remind guests to add an entry to a blank book, specialty album (this project features an album from Once Upon a Family) or even a plain white mat that can later be framed. Making sure someone else is doing the reminding is crucial if you're the hostess, because you might be a little busy in the kitchen... Make sure your camera is ready and accessible (and tripod if you have one!) and know that you've just created a priceless snapshot in time that can become your family's newest tradition, too.