Christmas 2017 Scrapbook Page

This is the scrapbook page that I created with a few photos from our Christmas.  All of my scrapbook pages are very simple, but this one may be the most simple one yet!  

I always begin my scrapbooking process the same way . . . by laying out all of my photos.  What I noticed was that there were a lot of patterns in the photos (in mine & DeDe's sweaters, in the rug, etc).  So I knew then that any embellishments would need to be "quiet", so they wouldn't compete with the photos.  As I looked though my Christmas-themed patterned paper, the one that I thought would work best was this simple black/white paper from the Merry Little Christmas collection.  Then it seemed natural to use black cardstock as my background.  My photos took up most of the room, so the only other element I used was the journaling tag.  At first, I was just going to have a block of white cardstock for the journaling, but then I thought that cutting off the top corners to make it look like a tag, would give it more of a Christmas look.  The red tinsel trim added a festive touch.  And that's it!  I am pleased with how it turned out.

SIMPLE STAMPING TIP #24 - Use narrow strips of patterned paper to border your scrapbook pages. 

As you can see, scrapbooking doesn't have to be time-consuming or expensive.  I hope that as we begin the new year, that you will feel inspired to put some photos into a scrapbook!  

Christmas Scrapbook Pages

This is the page that I made with our photos from last Christmas.  All of these photos make me smile, every time I look at them!  Christmas seems like a "magical" time for children and the photos that we take at Christmas capture that excitement.  Just look at that photo of Lincoln in the photo at the top left side of the page . . . he was absolutely thrilled to get a Bumblebee transformer!

Even if you are not a scrapbooker,  I encourage you to do something with at least your Christmas photos, so that your family members can look at them in years to come.  Last Sunday, Pete took this photo of Caitlin, looking through a  small album of Christmas pictures of when she was a little girl.   I love that Evie is getting a glimpse into her mom's childhood!  This is why I make scrapbook pages!

Making a scrapbook page of your Christmas photos doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming.  Simply print your best photos, mount them on a page, write a line or two of memories, & add a few embellishments.  The easiest way is using patterned paper.  

SIMPLE STAMPING TIP #5:  Cut "un-necessary" parts out of photos.  Arrange photos on page and fill in empty spaces with patterned paper.

Here are the paper collections that are in the current Stampin' Up catalogs:

Quilted Christmas

Merry Little Christmas

Merry Music

Christmas Around The World

Year of Cheer

Be Merry

Any of these papers would look great paired with YOUR photos!  Let me know if you would like to order a pack, so that you can make your own Christmas scrapbook pages.

Small & Simple Gift Bags

It's nearly that time of year when most of us are thinking  about gifts.  During the holidays it's nice to have small & simple gifts on hand to give away to people such as:

• someone who has invited you into their home
• someone who recently did something kind for you
• someone with a birthday, who is not expecting a gift from you
• an elderly person who you are visiting
• neighbors
• your child's teachers or other "helpers"
• your hairstylist
• delivery people

For these "small & simple" gifts, I like to give chocolate candies, tea bags, packets of apple cider or hot chocolate.  Of course, there are all kinds of other gifts that would be enjoyed as well.

Today's "simple stamping tip" is one that I shared a few months ago:  

SIMPLE STAMPING TIP #6 - - - Make your own gift bags using patterned paper.

These bags were quick and easy to make, with the Gift Bag Punchboard.   It punches out bags in a variety of sizes, from up to 3 5/8" wide and from 4" to 10" tall.   

Another reason I enjoy making these bags is because it is another way to use patterned paper.  The bags at the top were made from the Painted Autumn collection.  I am always surprised at how much "milage" I can get from one pack (12 sheets) of paper!  I bought a pack of this paper a couple of months ago and have made countless cards (many of which you've seen here on my blog) and scrapbook pages.  I am down to just a few scraps, but luckily I had enough to make a couple of bags.

Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper

The second set of bags were made from the Merry Little Christmas paper collection.  I have to admit that this is not an item that I would have bought!  But I won it in a contest for Stampin' Up demonstrators.  Black just doesn't seem like a traditional Christmas color to me!  However, I think that the black & white buffalo plaid has a nice winter look to it and I also like the floral prints that are included.

Merry Little Christmas Designer Series Paper

If you would like to get started on some hand-crafted packaging or cards this holiday season, let me know if I can help!