The Magic of Christmas

Scrapbook layout created for Scrapbook Nerd's Countdown to Christmas  -  THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS -

Hello friends,

I am back with a new entry to the Scrapbook Nerd's Countdown to Christmas series.   Since we understand that many times the holidays are a never ending list of to dos; one of them being buying presents for family and friends.   I am sure most of us have had to visit the mall during those busy hours, trust me it happens to me every year!  So we  (my kids and i) make it a date, which usually includes visiting the Christmas tree display in the mall, and taking a few snapshots.  I used one of this snapshots to create quick layout  for the series.

For the background of this page, I am using this beautiful sparkly paper from My Mind's Eye's Sugar  Plum, collection.   Since it had a large church image on it, I decided to cover it with different Christmas tree cut-outs.  I used the So Very Merry cut file designed by the Cut Shoppe for Scrapbook Nerd.   All the tree cut-outs were then backed with papers from Snow and Cocoa collection, and some white vellum.  A few machine stitches secure the papers together, and adds interest  to the page.  I simply lined the trees along the lines provided by the designs on the page,

The title was created using the Cut Shoppe's Christmas Magic cut file.  To maintain uniformity on the page, I cut the title in white cardstock. and used a gold marker to color the edges of the cut-out,  The title was then placed covering the church image on the paper.

Since the picture was taken with my phone (an old blackberry), the quality is very low, but the colors in the tree are the same as the ones in the paper, so I just kept the picture in color, and chose to keep it small (3x4 in) to avoid noise.  I layered some papers from the Snow and Cocoa collection, and used pieces from both collections to create small clusters around the picture.   I added a few lines of journal in a small space under the title.  Here is the complete layout:

I believe this page took no time to come together, and i was able to rescue one of my phone pictures for this project.  I hope this serves as inspiration to document all your pictures from the holidays.  We are almost at the end of the Countdown to Christmas series, make sure to check Scrapbook Nerd to see all the entries to the series.

Thanks for visiting, and see you all around!


Material used:

Patterned paper and chipboard sticker - Sugar Plum collection - My Mind's Eye
6x6 paper pad, cardstock stickers, puffy stickers, ephemera, glitter card stock snowflake stickers - Snow and Cocoa collection - Crate Paper

JOY

Scrapbook Layout created for Scrapbook Nerd's Countdown to Christmas -JOY-

Hello friends, 

As the Countdown to Christmas continues at Scrapbook Nerd, I have been working on scrapbook pages that can be put together in a short amount of time.   Our goal with the countdown is for you to enjoy your holidays, and find inspiration to use the small craft time to document all those Holiday memories.

If you follow my blog or my work, you will know that we love our fur-baby just as much as we do our kids.  So during the holidays, I make sure he also receives his presents, and  capture him interacting with the rest of the family.   For this project, I pulled a picture of my baby wearing his Christmas present ( a red reindeer sweater!).  He wasn't to thrilled at the beginning, but warm up to the sweater after a few days.   I kept the picture in color, and layered papers from My Mind's Eye's Comfort and Joy collection -available at the Scrapbook Nerd store-.  I created  a large cluster at the top corner of the picture using tags, chipboard stickers, and die cuts from the collection.  A smaller cluster was created at the bottom of the picture with die cut pieces from the Comfort and Joy collection, and word stickers from the Tim Holtz small chat Holiday collection, and a clear sticker from Crate Paper's Bloom collection.

I matted the picture on a beautiful wood grain paper from the Comfort and Joy collection.  Since the paper had this snowflake images, i decided to create a large title and incorporate the snowflakes.  For that i used the newly released Tinsel Town cut file (the word Joy), and welded a few snowflake images from the Sweater Weather cut file;  both cut files come from the Cut Shoppe.  I cut the image on white cardstock, and backed the snowflakes with white vellum.   To add dimension to the title, I used foam adhesive to attach it to the  layout.  A few details in the center of the letter O completed the page.  Here is the final layout:

I love the contrast of the colors in the page (i am a sucker for wood grain papers!).    It took  very little time to put the page together once I created the title.   

During the holidays don't forget to photograph your pets, whether they have a sweater or not, they are part of your family.   Also using a large title, helps to speed  up completing a new page.  

I look forward to seeing you all soon!.  Remember to visit Scrapbook Nerd forum and Facebook page to see what the rest of the DT is creating.

Thanks for visiting today!

Materials Used:

Cut file - The Cut Shoppe

Patterned papers, die cut pieces, chipboard stickers, tag - Comfort and Joy collection - My Mind's Eye

Word stickers - Small Chat: Holiday collection - Tim Holtz - Idea-o-logy

White card stock - Michaels

Clear sticker - Bloom collection - Crate Paper

Glittered card board sticker - Snow and Cocoa collection - Crate Paper

Gingerbread Love

Scrapbook Layout created for Scrapbook Nerd's Countdown to Christmas  - GINGERBREAD LOVE  -

Hello there!

I hope you all are getting ready to start a new week!  

It is  rapidly starting to look a lot like Christmas, and I love it!   For the next two weeks, Scrapbook Nerd's Design Team will be posting ideas on how to maximize your Holiday experience, and create beautiful memories along the way.   Since i am all about capturing and documenting my every day life, I am starting my contribution with some tips on picture taking, and how to put together a quick layout.

Since we are always on the run (even more so during the holidays), I decided to go for a quick layout.  For that i chose to create a grid design using 2 in. paper squares -I am using the new Illustrated Faith "CHRISTmas" collection that I picked up from the Scrapbook Nerd store -, and gluing them in the middle of my card stock.  I chose to hand stitch the lines along the diagonal of the squares, but you could machine stitch it, or just leave it simple (let's just say this page came together in less than an hour while i was watching my son's soccer practice)

I pulled  a picture of my daughter's first gingerbread house (she was just about to turn 5 in this picture), and layered some of the same papers behind the picture.  The clusters were created with pieces from the collections's ephemera, paper tabbies, paper clips, tags, stickers, and 2x7 in paper cut aparts ( i bought the entire collection from the Scrapbook Nerd Store to document pictures of my kids and the littles during the holidays).

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Like i mentioned, this page came together in a flash.  For the title, i used some old rub-on stickers from my stash (this i always have handy for my traveler's notebook/diary that i carry with me at all times).    Once we landed home, I simply glued the pieces of the picture together, added my journal lines and a few gold ink splatters.  Here is the final layout:

I love the simple and striking result of this page.  Don't forget to take pictures of your  loved ones, and yourself as you prepare for the holidays.  Remember that it does not matter what camera you use, as long as you capture the moment.  My only advice this time will be to try and keep the picture simple, try to find good light (flash in photos is not that flattering),  the subject you are shutting does not have to be in the center of the picture, and above all print your pictures.

I hope you visit Scrapbook Nerd forum, and Facebook Friends and Family page to see what the rest of the dt has created.  Also visit the Scrapbook Nerd store to check this and the many collections Barb and Joy have in their shelves.

I will be back shortly with some new inspiration!

Thanks for visiting today!

Materials used:

White cardstock - American Crafts

Patterned Papers, tabbies, tags, 2x7 cut aparts, ephemera, cardboard stickers - CHRISTmas collection - Illustrated Faith

word sticker - Small chat collection - Tim Holtz - Ideaology

Alpha rub-ons -  Michaels

Gold ink - Smooch spritz