Christmas Magic

I love how this kit from Two Scrapbook Friends turned out. The Fancy Pants line is so awesome!!! I think my favourite part would be the chipboard trees. I had to make one paper substitution, but I don't think it changes the overall look of the layout. The one I was supposed to use was more blue, but since it was missing I used one that was more green. I like how it looks, so I guess that is what really matters. The photos are all taken on Christmas Eve 2008. I love the ones of Sara and Samuel in front of the fireplace. I think they'd make an awesome Christmas card. Hmmmmm ...

I Scrapped My Tree!!!!

I've been wanting to do a layout of our Christmas tree for a couple of years now. I thought it would be nice to look back and see what it looked like over the years. Although my intentions have been good, I haven't always taken the photos to go with my plan. This year was different. Not only did I make sure that we took some pictures of the tree, we also took some close up pictures of some of the special ornaments. This cute kit of the week from Two Scrapbook Friends was the perfect layout to showcase those pictures. It was super easy too --- just cut a few trees from the Basic Grey Wassail paper; cut two strips for the top; cut the photo mats; adhere everything to page; add title, ribbon, a little doodling and dew drops. My kit was unfortunately missing some letters for the title, so I had to substitute Thickers by American Crafts. I made a couple of small changes to the layout from the instructions, but nothing that detracted from the original design. 

The ornaments showcased are just a few of the many beautiful ones we have on our tree.We have quite a few that have names on them like the elf and stocking. Some are purchased with the names already added, while others I have added the name after purchase. I have started a collection for Sara and Samuel so that one day they will have a tree full of ornaments ready for their first trees. The love ornament is one that we brought home from our trip to Frankenmuth. We found it at Bronner's and knew it had to become part of our tree. The scripture verse was a significant part of our wedding and thus holds very special meaning for us. The ornament of the two bears is one of the first ones we purchased together. It was in honour of our first Christmas together as husband and wife. Sometimes you just have to get those Hallmark ornaments to commemorate special Christmases. The ornaments pictured on the right side are just two examples of the special ornaments that fill our tree -- each one has the name of one of our family members. There is one for each person in our family, including those who have gone before us to the home of our Lord. When a new member of the family arrives we add a new ornament to the tree. They symbolize the love that surrounds our family. The top right one is my Daddy's ornament, while the bottom right one is Gary's Dad's ornament. Adding the name ornaments to the tree is a very special time for us. We even have ornaments for Sara and Sam's loving Godparents and Godsister. 

So there's a little peek at what our tree was like this past Christmas. Now that I have started I hope to be able to document the tree every year. I just hope I don't forget between now and next Christmas.

Another Christmas Layout

I finished another Christmas layout. This was a kit of the week at Two Scrapbook Friends. It uses yummy Scribble Scrabble papers. Santa's sleigh was cut from the Christmas Cheer Cricut cartridge. The photos are of our visit with Santa and Prancer at the Southworks Outlet Mall.

Christmas Star

I completed another two page layout yesterday. This one was a kit from Ninabrook Designs. The it was created using the Happy Holidays collection from Fancy Pants. The kit had me create a pocket at the top of both pages for tucking in the twelve cards that come with the collection. I added photos and journaling to those cards, and did a few extra things to embellish them than what the kit called for (like doodling and Stickles). I also changed the size and arrangement of the photos on the second page. All photos were taken on Christmas Day 2008. I love the way the sepia looks with the colours of the papers.

Here are the cards pulled out at the top so that you can see them better. 

These are the cards from the first page. 

These are the cards from the second page.

Another Layout

I finished my second layout for 2009. This one was a kit designed by the lovely ladies at Two Scrapbook Friends. I absolutely love the kits they design. The photos are of one of our Christmas Eve traditions. We read two stories - one about the birth of our Lord Jesus and the other called "The Santa Key". Then we hang the special key on the door and wish Jesus a happy birthday. I love this tradition.

This Week's Fresh Faces Challenge

Here is my layout for the Fresh Faces contest at WeScrap. This week we had to choose four numbers and then were told what our layout had to include based on those four numbers. I chose 1) use at least three photos on your layout, 3) sew somewhere on your layout ... either machine or by hand, 7) use at least 5 flowers, and 11) ink or paint the edges of your paper.

This was my first time doing machine sewing on a layout. In order to do it I first had to learn how to use my new computerized sewing machine that Gary bought me for Christmas LAST year. Better late than never lol. I zig zag stitched around the cardstock, then stitched the striped piece and the green piece of patterned paper. The sleigh was handcut, then Stickled, covered in Glossy Accents, then cracked. Stickles were also used on all letters except Santa.

The photos are of our recent visit from Santa Claus -- isn't he just the most amazing Santa? Sara didn't cry -- we were very proud of her for that -- but she did take a little while to warm up to Santa. Pooh Bear helped her to get comfortable enough to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas.

Voting for this week opens on Saturday and closes on Sunday. This week we are voting on Main Challenge # 4.

More from the Love Is In The Details Online Crop

Here are two more layouts completed for the challenges at Love Is In The Details. 

"Queen of the Castle" was completed for the Pick 3 challenge. Lori from LIITD sent me the little pink doll, the bling and a blue flowered thong -- yup a thong -- and I had to use them on a layout. From the thong I created the "blanket" the doll is on, the flower in the corner, and I used the elastic to frame my photo. I then used the bling to decorate those pieces.

"Eve of Traditions" was for the Traditionally Yours challenge -- I had to scrapbook about a tradition in our family. My layout is about one of the stories we read to our children on Christmas Eve called "The Santa Key". We read the story then together we hang the key on the door so that Santa doesn't have to go down our chimney.

Hope you enjoyed these layouts :)