Hi there, Christine S. here starting off the third week of Artfull Crafts' Christmas Countdown.  This week is all about Home/Tree/Table decorations.  I made a home decoration/display with one of my favourite shape...stars! One can never have too many stars :).  Let me show you what I created, & I hope you'll like it as much as I do.


I've used the Wooden Star Tree for this project & is currently 30% off at the shop, with all papers from the Home For Christmas collection.


I went for a clean & natural look, inspired by the texture of the Laurel paper.  I wanted this piece to have a marriage of festive & Scandinavian look & feel.  It was easy to achieve with this lovely & versatile Christmas collection.  Now, let's have a closer look at each stars.


The first smallest top star has the Mistletoe paper & cut out pieces from the Laurel & Sugar Plum papers.


The second star has the Sugar Plum paper as well.  This is one of my favourite paper from this collection, it has a lovely & versatile print.


The third star has the Pinecones paper with pieces from the Poinsettia & Season papers.


The fourth biggest star has the Sugar Plum paper too.  Both sides of the paper you can pretty much use for anything & everything for your projects.  That delicious vine is from Prima's Midnight Kiss Victorian Christmas Flower pack.


Don't forget, there's also 30% off all Christmas Wooden Projects & Home Décor Items in the shop, including this Star Tree Décor! It's a great deal, so why not pick up some projects & get into the festive spirit.  Click here to see the range.  We hope you'll join in the fun with our Christmas Countdown too.  You can load your entries here.  There's loads of prizes to be won!

As always, thanks for dropping by & we can't wait to see all your beautiful creations :).

Cheers,

Christine S.

Hi everyone. Hope you are enjoying your last weekend of November. What that means of course, is that its ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!!

Only a few days and those of you keen to start your December Dailies can start taking photos and recording memories of December 2015.

Today I am sharing with you a couple of layouts I have made in preparation for the silly season. (I always get super busy over December in the lead up to Christmas, and often my best laid plans are put aside and I end up with no layouts done for Christmas) This is a great way to get some layouts done quickly. I use this concept frequently in my scrapbooking, especially if I am inspired particularly by product, but don't have the correct photos "just now". I find it quite liberating to make a layout with no expectations on the embellishments or papers matching the photos. ( I think I have mentioned this before )

So, with out further ado....

This layout is using papers from the Prima Victorian Christmas line.
I love the gold foiling on this paper. It is very subtle, and just adds a little pop of glitz and glam.
This page will house a photograph taken of my tree once I get it put up (tomorrow I hope!!!)
I have layered lots of papers up and added a little bling reminiscent of christmas lights. In the background I have used my favourite texture paste, and stamped with Tim Holtz Distress inks in the background using a pine tree branch stamp.



The second page I am sharing is using papers from Graphic 45 "A Christmas Carol"
I cut the middle out of this large busy background paper here saving the elements from the background to use on another project. I placed this cut frame onto a neutral background from my stash, and added a bit of texture to the background.
The intention is to use two photos here in a collage.....a larger photo in portrait orientation under the man and up to the  corner assemblage, with a smaller photo (3X4) which will tuck under the flowers on the left.

When designing pages without photos in hand, it is important to have some photo "blanks" to use in areas of your design and design around them accordingly.

It seems forever since I Blogged
life gets in the way of best intentions at times....But I have been busy working on some goodies for the 2015 Christmas Countdown and to make up for my lack of presence on the blog I am going to let you in on a free class lol
DON'T TELL LIZ!!!

I have used the Kaisercraft Silver Bells collection and I am thinking this has to be one of the nicest Christmas collection that have been released for a very very long time....
This Layout that I have created using the Silver Bells papers and goodies could be made from any collection for any reason....so why not have a go with the following instructions
Instructions:-
Remove all advertising banners - keep the ones from the Kaiser papers
Use 12x12 white cardstock for the base - distress
Using the Carol paper (with bauble side facing) and the left side remove a lengthways piece  6 1/2  x 12 - distress top left and bottom sides only wet the right hand edge and roll round a long paintbrush or similar object that's the same size top to bottom turn  round  paintbrush as shown in above pic - set aside, it will stay in position when totally dry
Using the remaining piece of Carol paper and the opposite side facing - distress the top right and bottom edges only
Using the Baubles paper and the pink side facing remove a strip to measure 5 x 12 - distress top, right and bottom sides
Add the 3 layers together as shown so when placed on the white cardstock they leave a small border of white showing
OPTIONAL - Before adding the layers to the white add chipboard between - to lift and give dimension
Using the frosty paper (possibly from the small paper pad) cut a strip to measure 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 - distress the top right and bottom edges tuck just under the pink distress edge about 1 3/4" from  the top edge - adjust as required
Using the Joy paper remove the large whitish frame from one of the panels and remove the inside piece - replace with a 5x7 photo - add to chipboard
Add the photo piece but don't adhere the outside edges until you are completely happy with placement - add a small "L" shape of greenish paper to the top right side of the photo
From the Collections pack use the "Christmas Moments" tag - cut in half add the piece with words to the top as shown and the other piece to the bottom completely opposite
Use the pink arrow from the Collections pack and add to the right side as shown - add 3 little bling pieces to the top of the arrowhead
Use the "Christmas" from the Collections pack - add to chipboard to lift if you wish and add in place above your chosen word to go on the bottom right corner as shown
In the Collections pack is a small tag with a Santa on it - I have fussy cut the Santa and added him to the right side of the turned piece - add the rest of the tag to the top  right hand corner of the photo - add some twine to it
FLOWERS well as some of you may know I love flowers so go on add as many as you would like - I know Liz has a lot in the shop that will work beautifully for this layout
I did remove the yellow stamens from the large Poinsettia and I added some white ones then covered each one in stickles to make them pop and give that Christmassy feeling to the flowers
I have made some come over to the right side of the turned paper so it flows a little better - do you see Santa poking out?
Lastly I have added some more stickles to the baubles on the left top of the layout to also make them pop

Easy ... so go on grab yourself some paper and create a special layout for this Christmas and with that in mind you should be able to get the perfect photos for the layout rather than making the layout suit the photos
http://www.artfullcrafts.co.nz/Kaisercraft/Collections/Silver-Bells

Here is a few extra photos to help you achieve this


There is also a card I made using the Silver Bells Collection and it is basically made the same as the layout
for this I used White cardstock as the base - Believe paper for the top and the advertising strip saying "Santa Claus is coming to town"
Create your turned piece as with the layout and add the flowers and doily as shown - along with some silver netting and some "straw"
on the inside I have created the insert piece using Good Tidings paper - cut a strip to fit nicely inside the card base  and add a nice saying to the insert - whether that has been stamped or using one of the pre printed panels from the Joy paper
Make the card as large or a small as you wish
Silver Bells Paper Collection





Ok that's it for this blog post - I hope everyone is looking forward to the challenges set for the next few weeks and most of all it gets everyone excited about Christmas - remember it doesn't have to be an expensive time of year
a little thought and some amazing handmade gifts can be made - keep watching you might get some crafty ideas!
Until next time
Take Care and
Happi Scrappin'

Hello again! It's Lisa here, and today I have three layouts to share, all made using different Christmas-themed ranges. However, all three pages aren't what I'd call overtly "Christmassy", so I think they show the versatility of the papers. Have a look and see what you think. :)

The first two are made using Kaisercraft's Holly Jolly range, which features red, green and kraft colourways-- very on-trend. For my first layout below, I've added a few touches of gold as well.


The second layout also features a few gold accents, but is mostly based around the red, green and kraft. I've also added some ink splatters, and a word strip cut from the bottom edge of one of the 12x12 sheets. Quick and easy and festive, without being over-the-top.


My final layout is made using the gorgeous Claus & Co line from Simple Stories. This one's probably my favourite- I like the clean, graphic style of the papers- lots of text, polka dots and other fun elements. Again, I've added touches of gold, along with green and some more ink splatters. Washi tape and a fancy gold doily also make an appearance. :)


And that's it! As you can see, Christmas-themed papers can be used for a lot more than just Christmas pages, so they're well worth checking out. Have a look in the Christmas store, and don't forget to upload your own lovely creations to the gallery to be in to win some fabulous prizes!

Thanks for looking, and I'll see you again soon.

Cheers,
 Lisa :)

Hi there, Christine S. here posting a memorable Christmas layout with the Home For Christmas collection.  For 2 years in a row my youngest daughter balled her eyes out as soon as she sat on Santa.  I reckon we have a very good chance of getting her to look at the camera while sitting on Santa this year.  She's a lot friendlier now so fingers crossed!

I fussy cut a line of the presents and popped them up on foam adhesive for extra dimension.


I also fussy cut out a row of the lights, and placed them at the top of my layout.  The gold doily is from Studio Calico, and is from my stash.


I just love the passion that Shimelle has for scrapbooking, and designing her own products.  Here is a video of her sharing her collection.