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Christmas Layouts

Merry Christmas Everyone! This is Deb and I'll be sharing a few Christmas layouts with you today. I'm always at least a year behind in my Christmas scrapping. Once Christmas Day has come and gone and the photos have been taken I am pretty much over anything to do with the holidays! I take my tree down the day after Christmas and I don't scrap my Christmas photos until the following November when I start getting excited about Christmas again.

This year I'm going to make a point to write good descriptions in the meta data of my favorite photos so I'll be ready to go when it's time to scrap them. For those who don't know, pretty much any photo organizing software allows you to write a caption for each photo. I use Picasa to organize my photos and as far as I can tell there is no limit to how long a caption can be. I've written paragraphs for one photo. So next year when I'm ready to scrap Christmas 2012, I'll have all the fun details recorded with the photos which will make my journaling easier!

All of the layouts I'm sharing today (and my December gallery layout) were made with the Basic Grey Aspen Frost line. The colors and patterns are just gorgeous and there are lots of really fun embellishments. I really loved working with this line!

My December Daily 2012

Hi, Erin here. And there on the left, that's me and my friend Beth during a recent 5K. Yep, during the 5K. I truly do take a camera every where I go. And that picture is included in Day One of my 2012 December Daily.

My December Daily album is one of my favorite things I do each year. And as with most scrapbooking projects, I'm behind! But I don't mind. Once I start working on it, it seems to come together pretty quickly.

For this year's album, I'm using Crate Paper's Sleigh Ride collection. While I've gotten better at mixing and matching papers, patterns and lines over the last few years, when it comes to a project like this I love to use a coordinating line. For me, it makes the process easier and faster.

My album this year is roughly 6 x 8, with a few different size pages thrown in depending on the day and activity. My pages are actually 6 x 8.5 though, as I'm allowing room to bind it with my Zutter Bind-it-All once it's complete. Which explains why everything is a bit off center.

My Cover

Day One

Left:

Right:

Day 2

Day 4

Happy December Daily-ing!

Non Traditional Scrapping

Happy December everyone!  I'm sure many of you are knee deep in December Dailies, teacher gifts, handmade gifts for relatives, etc. I always have good intentions each October and November with ideas swirling in my head, but when it comes right down to it I drop the ball and hang my head in crafting shame throughout December. But that's my MO and I'm coming to terms with it at this point!

One thing I do notice about my holiday crafting is my use of not just non traditional papers and embellishments for holiday layouts, but also non traditional colors on my pages as well. I not normally drawn to holiday motifs unless they can be used for pages beyond the holiday so that's what I go with. Diane and Lisa were lent me some of their non traditional pages as well to showcase today.

One of the things I love to document about the holidays in non traditional color form are the details.  Those little things that make the holiday special in our home.  I love this calendar paper that came out a couple of years ago and used it as a back drop for all the decor and traditions around our house.  Yes, I did use green, but a non holiday green paired with yellow and brown too. 

Recently I created a layout about our little elf, Jed and all of his antics last Christmas season.  On this layout I used a true holiday red, but instead paired it with aqua blue and black rather than green or even silver.  I felt like it made it stand out a bit more with the darker colors.

courtesy of Pebbles, Inc blog

Christmas of 2009 I was obviously feeling a yellow and brown phase for holiday photos and created these 2 photos focusing on completely other subjects than Santa and presents.  I wanted to first highlight a tradition we started when my girls were little - making food for the reindeer.

That year also marked my oldest (7 at the time) getting to take part in the kitchen activities for our dinner.  She helped with the dessert and was quite proud of her accomplishment!

Diane took 2 of her layouts to the pink/yellow dimension here to document a much coveted toy and a ski trip.  I love the look of the blue, pink, green and yellows here.  The red Elmo really pops against these more neutral, non traditional colors instead of going with a red and green theme.

 

 Lisa is showing that not only do you not need to go with traditional holiday colors, but you don't need a lot of paper and embellishment to make a beautiful holiday layout to highlight your traditions and details.

 

So what are some of your favorite non traditional holiday color combos to use?  Do you prefer traditional holiday papers and embellishments or those that can be used for other purposes too?

 

 

A Layout and a Card

 

 Valerie here today. I hope I am not the only one, but it seems as if I'm always a year behind when scrapbooking the big holidays. Last year at this time, I was making layouts for Christmas 2010 and right now I'm working on all my photos from Christmas 2011. The one and only time I created a December Daily album was in 2009. I'd love to do December Daily again....maybe next year!

Lately, I've been having fun with Elle's Studio Exclusive Christmas Stamp set. I'm also slightly obsessed with gold everything these days.

The splatters were made with tarnished brass Distress Stain and aren't those Hardcover Thickers the greatest?!

If you are wondering about this new toy my son got last Christmas... My husband purchased a non-running mini bike last year and got it working. He was so excited to put it "under" the tree for our son Christmas morning. Our son was only two-and-a-half at the time, so he wouldn't be riding solo for a long time. My husband and his friends definitely had more fun on the bike this past year than Lucas. 

And now for a card. A SUPER simple card, but I love it and can't wait to write a little note and mail it off. The sentiment is from the same Elle's Studio set. If you're looking for a good white stamp ink, Stampin' Up's whisper white is my favorite.

Anyone else working on last year's Christmas photos right now? Link up in the comments—I'd love to see what you are creating!

 

December Daily Album

Hi Everyone! Katie here with you today and I'm excited to share my December Daily album. This is my first time completing a December Daily and I am loving it! I love pretty much everything about Christmas and have, for the past few years, gone on a total craft-a-palooza before the holiday. A December Daily album helps me to get some of that crafty energy out, and to use all the gorgeous, sparkly, shiny, beautiful Christmas themed supplies!

 

 

Supplies

For my album, I am using the sold out Studio Calico kit, the beautiful Sleighride line from Crate Paper, the vintagey-lovely Make it Merry line from October Afternoon, as well as various items from my stash. I was going for the vintage-sparkly-eclectic look, and I'm pretty sure I have acheived it so far! For the album, I chose Studio Calico's Handbook and divided page protectors. I love the 6x8 size, although I have made so many pages already it is nearly filled! Here's my cover, which I painted with gesso and pearl paint and then embellished.

I organized my supplies onto a tray with small bowls and a wooden crate for easy access.

Planning and Ideas

In planning my album, I turned to my trusty sources of inspiration: Pinterest and online scrapbooking galleries. By searching "December Daily" on Pinterest, I found a bunch of beautiful albums in a variety of styles. Since I was going for eclectic, I took bits and pieces from lots of different albums and put them together with my own ideas and what worked best with my photos. Each day of December, I've been making sure I am taking lots of photos of a variety of activities, from special things like Santa visits and chopping down the tree, to everyday things like coffee cups, holiday movies and decorations. I also made sure to plan a few special Christmas events with my girls, like seeing the holiday lights and hosting a North Pole Party. On the days that we haven't had an event, I've used vintage photos or instagram shots I've captured on my phone.

Pages

I created some of my foundation pages before Thanksgiving in order to make things go a little more smoothly once December began. I only got through day 17, so I'm planning on flying by the seat of my pants until Christmas. I realize this may not be wise, considering how busy that week before Christmas tends to be, but since it is the 17th today and I have no other foundation pages prepared, it'll have to do! Here are some examples of my completed pages so far. My favorite elements are the confetti pockets, the photo collages and the extra little details that add interest to each page.

As you can see, I've been busy enjoying this festive album! You may check out the entire album so far here. So, tell me, are you creating a December Daily this month? I'd love to see it! Leave me a comment with a link to your project!

and the giveaway goes to...

Congratulations, Kristy! Please send us an email to writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com, including your mailing address! We look forward to hearing from you.

Sunday Photo + Words

Click.

In November 2010 our gallery contained layouts with the theme Young me Now me. The idea for the theme came from the site with the same name where anyone can share photos that are recreating a scene from childhood as an adult. If you have a hard time understanding what I mean, here are few examples.

link

 

link

link

It got me thinking that it would be so much fun to do one of these now that the Holidays are coming up and many families see each other. Go check out the site to get some inspiration for more creative photos. Or why not just take a group photo infront of the tree with the same people. 

Lisa Ottosson

WCS alumni Elizabeth Dillow

Katie Ehmann shared this layout in the December gallery this year and I love her photos! 

So, my inspiration for you is to look through your old photos and perhaps you´ll find a fun photo to recreate! If you do, please share in the comments and in our Flickr group!

 

Pretty Paper, Double Duty

 

I love pretty paper. I love embellishments and stamps and washi tape and well, I love it all. And, lucky me, I have loads and loads of all sorts of goodies.

Hi, I'm Monika and I'll share just a few ideas to help you reduce your stash and actually use some of those goodies you've been hoarding for way too long.

My oldest son lives away from home, several states away, so this Mama decided to package up some items and put together a few little advent calendar goodies for him and his girlfriend this year. Because, after all, girls are so much easier to craft for!

I used some canvas bags from my Etsy shop and began embellishing them with washi tape, stamps, layered stickers and rhinestone gems all from My Mind's Eye. Just the perfect size for gift cards and chocoates. I like the stamped bags the most of all and can't wait to embellish more. Nest, I added some washi tape embellished shipping tags and a supply of twine to a tin, making it a gift that's cute and useful too. Yep, this one's for his girlfriend.

After adding lots of goodies from SEI to this repurposed mini art canvas, it has become one of our newest holiday home decor items. Adding the gold washi tape to the edges of the canvas was the perfect solution to hide the pattern that was already there and then all I had to do was just add layer after layer of pretty paper and die cuts. Going one step further, I even used a border die cut strip to embellish the front portion of my wood stand.

I hope you have as much fun playing with your pretty papers and embellishments as I have. May your December be delightful and full of joyful memories!

 

 

 

give.away.day. featuring OCTOBER AFTERNOON Make It Merry

Today we are excited to bring you a fabulous...

sponsored by October Afternoon. Their Make It Merry line is perfect for all kinds of holiday projects, with its mix of vintage and trendy patterns, including a subway-art-inspired patterned paper, a chevron-print patterned paper, and a number-print patterned paper:

Vivian used Make It Merry to create this elegant Christmas card:

Her card combines Make It Merry patterned papers (some cut with a Silhouette and folded into rosettes), stickers, brads, and a postcard. She added spray ink to the background cardstock for a fun touch.

Here's a closer look at the rosettes, complete with matching brad centers:

Vivian also created this card, previously featured on her blog as part of an October Afternoon Make It Merry feature:

One lucky write. click. scrapbook. reader will take home the Make It Merry collection kit:

To be entered to win, simply leave a comment on this post letting us know what makes it merry for you during the holiday season. Comments will remain open through Sunday evening. One lucky number will be selected at random and posted Monday morning. Be sure to check back to see if yours is the lucky number. You will have until Tuesday midnight to claim your number by email at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com.