Susan's Favorite Holiday Project!

Hi everyone!! It's Susan's turn to share her fabulous holiday project. I think it's neat how she scrapped it!! You are going to love it! Make sure you read below the page to learn more about it!



1. Why is this your favorite Christmas project? What is the story
behind this?

These photos are just random pics of all the things that are special to me…special ornaments, traditions, and time spend with my children and grandchildren.


2. What helped you create this page? What are some tips for creating this? What is your favorite part about the project?

In order to include so many photos, I decided to do a collage of all my favorite photos. I used a 2 inch square punch to punch the photo that I wanted to use and to have all the photos the same size. My favorite part of making this layout was gathering all the photos and looking through all my pics. . . it brings back so many wonderful Christmas memories when I sort through my photos.


3. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I LOVE the smells of Christmas. Every year I comment to my family that I should make some of our favorite treats during the year and not just at Christmas. Maybe that’s what makes them so special – we only have them once a year! I usually make peanut brittle, caramel corn, divinity, M&M cookies, cheese straws, peanut butter cornflakes. . . ahhhhh…the list goes on!


4. Anything else you would like to share.

I’ve always heard that the true spirit of Christmas is giving, and for me it is. I love giving gifts and seeing the surprise and excitement on the children’s’ faces is one of the highlight of my Christmas. I’ll admit that it gets more difficult to find gifts for my children as they get older, but I still manage to surprise them occasionally! The grandkids are easy. . .they love EVERYTHING!

Thanks for sharing your project for our readers, Susan!!

Julie's Favorite Holiday Project!

It's time for another contributor's favorite holiday project! Today is Julie's turn!! I know you will see why it's her favorite. I love it so much! Listed below the project is the story behind the page, so enjoy reading her answers!



1. Why is this your favorite Christmas project? What is the story behind this?

I'm fond of this particular holiday layout, of my niece and nephew, because it reflects their true personalities and their love/hate relationship.


2. What helped you create this page? What are some tips for creating this? What is your favorite part about the project?

I think the page came together so well because of the papers - I love them! Cosmo Cricket has always been one of my favorite manufacturers. They have fun designs which work well with my style of scrapping.


3. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

As for my favorite holiday tradition... the movie White Christmas. For me, it's not officially the holiday until the tree is up, the house smells of freshly baked cookies and I've settled in on the living room floor to wrap gifts and watch my favorite holiday movie. I sing along with the gang, muse how they will ever save the Inn, wish Vera Ellen would just eat a sandwich already and, as always, cry during the "we'll follow the old man" finale.


4. Anything else you would like to share.

Wanna know a secret about the project? In order to achieve a child-like script, I wrote with my left hand (I'm a rightie). A tip? For easier control when inking edges, use one of those triangular shaped makeup sponges. I buy them in bulk! Check your Dollar Store.


Thanks for sharing your project with us Julie!!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday!

Wreath Template for Photos!

I just thought of this today! The idea came from a frame my mom had that was in the shape of a wreath but held photos like this! Print this out and you can use it on just about anything: layouts, cards, altered projects, etc. You don't have to use the photo spots for photos, feel free to use papers or embellish the center!
Here is the template!



And here is just the photos if you want to just use this design!


Here is the digital template is layers!!
http://www.4shared.com/file/185493632/7d94195/pc_wreath_template.html


Please send me an email at scrappingpam73@yahoo.com if you use this!! :)

I am Featured on the Creating Keepsakes Magazine blog!

I was so excited when CK asked me to contribute to their blog! I share two projects about finding inspiration from holiday decor and there is a sketch there for you to use! :)

You can read about by clicking here.


Here is the template you can use to crop your large photo:

And the full-sized sketch!


Here is the digital template in layers!!
http://www.4shared.com/file/185513237/8b9685a2/pc_christmas_template.html


Thanks for letting me share!!

Stitching Tutorial by Suzanne

Inspired by the amazing layouts I saw online that included stitching, but not knowing where to start (I couldn’t work a sewing machine to save my life) ~ I picked up one of Bazzill’s In-Stitchz templates:

I really loved the look of the flourishes and made this wedding layout:


I was hooked! Inspired by a sketch I found, I needed a circle background stitched. I tried one of my circle cutter’s templates to create it, but it wasn’t quite big enough for what I wanted. After playing around in Microsoft Word, I figured out how to make my own and here’s how it turned out:



Using, the 2007 edition of Microsoft Word, this is what I did:


Open a new document, select Insert > Shapes. Look at the possibilities! For this next layout, I am using the arrow.


After selecting the arrow, you can change the size by clicking Format and on the far right, entering your width and height. This allows you to customize your template to fit your specific layout.


I needed my arrow to be 6” long. You can then change the look of your shape using the colored dots. The green dial allows you to rotate your shape, the blue dot allows you to adjust the size of your shape manually, and the yellow dot changes the feature of the shape, but not the size (it will make the triangle portion of the arrow narrower, for example). Once you have the desired effect, we are going to change the outline.

Instead of a solid outline, you want to select Format > Shape Outline > Dashes > and the 4^th option.



You will also change need to change the spacing between the dashes. Select Format > Shape Outline > Weight > and either 4 ½ or 6


Print out your template, trim and position on your layout.


I place a piece of craft foam under my layout and use a pushpin to pierce the holes.


Then, stitch with a needle and coordinating embroidery floss.


Here is the finished layout (from my school wedding shower).


Use your imagination to put shapes together to make more involved templates, like this Christmas tree.



Happy Holidays! ~Suzanne

Introducing Our Featured Artist for Dec. 18!

I am super excited to announce our featured artist today!! Wohoooo!! She applied to be a featured artist and I was so excited when I got her email. Her work is really fabulous and the detailing in her stitching is so inspiring! I think you are going to be so excited to learn the technique she has for us today ... so here is the featured artist, Suzanne!! Read below to get to know her!

Hi! I am so honored to be a featured artist ~ thanks Pam! My name is Suzanne and I am a 27 year old newlywed, dog mom and first grade teacher from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When I’m not in the classroom or spending time with my family, you will find me scrapbooking. I love this hobby for so many reasons: taking pictures, recording memories, the awesome products, fun tools, and the creative outlet it provides. I recently started a blog to share some of the inspiration I have found on so many others.

Don't forget to check her out blog!! Much later on today I will have something really cool to share. I asked permission from Suzanne to post something later during her day. So check back mid-day! Next up is her fabulous technique. You are going to love it!

Two Examples of Pages Using Templates!

If you haven't already noticed, I'm a big template fan. Actually, I'm more like a FANatic of Pam's templates. I use them pretty frequently, so I thought I would share a couple of layouts with all of you today.

Here's an idea to think about when using templates:

You don't have to use the exact dimensions that are indicated on a layout. For instance, I took some of Pam's templates and incorporated it into 12x12 layouts.





Remember, that templates are sort of like guidelines. You can use them exactly the way they are, or you can alter them to your wildest imagination. Let your creativity run free and try something new!

We want to see what you can do with Pam's templates. Email them to ......... scrappingpam73@yahoo.com .

Thanks so much for looking!

Hugs,
sarah.