Favorites from '08

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Some layouts...catching up on a few Chloe pics from the fall.

Cookies!!

Gotta love snow days! I don't know if I would have been able to do it otherwise, but yesterday I made FOUR batches of cookies, all with Chloe "helping" and being generally underfoot...

Here she is decorating the cookies; after dumping half the sugar on top, she proceeded to poke them all with her fingers...and I think she even sampled some dough!

Then the best part...sampling the goods!

Snow!!

It has been snowing here since Friday, and we're to have a white Christmas now for sure!! I wanted to bake lots of cookies today, but without being able to get to the grocery store, I am not sure I'll be able to get as much done. There maybe one recipe I have the ingredients on hand for, so that'll have to do. Here are some pics of D and the bear playing in the snow yesterday--so fun!

Stay warm!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

Here are the directions to making a mini-accordion book you can adhere directly to your page, providing room for lots more photos without the clutter:1. Cut two pieces of chipboard 4.5x4.5, two pieces of patterned paper 5x5, and two strips of cardstock 4x6.
2. Score the cardstock strips every 4 inches, overlap and glue into one long strip.
3. Cover the chipboard with the patterned paper, by gluing the chipboard to the middle of the wrong side of the patterned paper, folding in the corners first and then gluing the edges.
4. Place a 12" ribbon across the center of the back cover, then adhere the last square of the cardstock strip on top.
5. Accordion fold the cardstock, then glue the front cover to the first square. Embellish, and add pictures and journaling (you can use the front and back of the accordion strip), then adhere just the back cover to your page. Hold the book closed by tying the two ribbon ends across the front of the book.
And that's it! I hope you have fun making an accordion book, remember to be sure to load up your project in the ScrapGal gallery to get your points!

Here's a page I did last Christmas using the same technique:

Puppets!

I finished this set of three puppets for Chloe's Christmas present, aren't the just the cutest!? That's a rabbit in the middle, mouse on the left, and bear on the right. From behind:
I followed these instructions for the mouse from The Long Thread blog, but added arms and felt hands. Then I adapted the pattern to make the other two. I love rabbit's ears, although I think the expression on his face makes him look a little kookie ;)

more christmas goodies

Directions for making this wreath out of recycled ribbon spools are up at Galblog. I had seen a few wreaths made with circles of patterned paper, and looking at the growing pile of spools I have accumulated, I realized they would be perfect for adding some dimension to the wreath. It was fun to make, because the spools are all different sizes and widths, I think it lends itself to these whimsical papers. Plus, I wanted to make something "winter" themed that could stay up past Christmas.

Next are a couple of pages I made for the December Scrapgal Newsletter:

I loved looking through old Christmas photos, it was fun reminiscing and then picking these two to make layouts for. I also LOVE this Basic Grey paper line, it's not a Christmas line, per-se, but I think the designs work really, really well for holiday-themed projects. I love the non-traditional colors for Christmas that are popping up everywhere, I gotta say straight red and green are not my favorite combination, but add a little light green and turquoise, and I'm all over that!

Paper Ornament Tutorial

We’re making easy paper ornaments! These look great hanging from the tree, on top of a gift package, or as room decorations (especially large ones).

Here’s the list of Materials:
Patterned paper— 8.5x11 sheet
Scrap chipboard/cardboard
Bone folder
Circle template and scissors or 2” circle punch
Triangle template
Adhesive—gluestick works fine, I like Zip dry liquid glue
Optional: Ribbon, beads, charms, glitter, glimmer mist





Step One
Punch 20 circles from patterned paper. If you don’t have a circle punch, you can print the file onto an 8.5x11 piece of patterned paper and cut out the circles by hand.









Step Two
Using chipboard, make an equilateral triangle that fits perfectly inside your circle.
If your circle is 1” each side of the triangle will be .75”
If your circle is 1.5” each side of the triangle will be 1.25”
If your circle is 2” each side of the triangle will be 1.75”
If your circle is 3” each side of the triangle will be 2.75”





Step Three
Place the chipboard triangle in the center of each circle, and use your bone folder to score along all three sides. Fold these three sides up. Do this for all 20 circles.









Step Four
The next thing is to make is the top and bottom of the ornament. Glue the flaps of 5 circles together so they all touch at the top of the triangle and make a kind of hat. Do this twice.










Step Five
Make the middle by laying out the next 10, alternating triangles upside-down and right side-up and glue the sides to make a straight line. Then, glue the first flap to the last to make a circle, or tube.

Step Six
Glue the top “hat” to the top of the tube and the bottom “hat” to the bottom of the tube. Before you are finished gluing, you will want to run your ribbon through, making a hanging loop at the top.







Step Seven
When it is dry, add ribbon loops or bows to the bottom, or hang beads or charms from the ribbon. Add sparkle with glitter or glimmer mist, then hang up and enjoy!

toot

yay for this mention on the scrapjacked challenge website for this layout:

I had so much fun scrapjacking lalscrap (julie) I just love her style! Seriously, I think I do some of my best pages when I am lifting someone--using another for inspiration seems to free me up creatively most the time (funny, you'd think it would do the opposite), and I love adapting different elements to fit my style. fun fun fun!!

Here's a sneak peek of a little tutorial I am posting on Galblog Wednesday, be sure to check it out!

It's a fun holiday project that you can make using something recycled!

Holiday Organizer Tutorial

We’re making an organizer for all of your holiday purchases! There are pockets for recipes and receipts, as well as a place for you to record gift lists and expenses, all in a cute mini album. Using a wet erase marker, write down gift ideas for loved ones, keep track of what you have purchased and spent, even menu ideas for holiday get-togethers! Then wipe the pages clean and reuse for another season.
Here’s the list of Materials:
Patterned paper— I used the Wassail line from Basic Grey
1 5x7 naked album (7 gypsies)
Thickers (Red Jewelry box)
Blank Transparency
Adhesive—gluestick works fine, I like Zip dry liquid glue
Ink Pad
Embellishments: Ribbon, American Crafts Flair, Little Yellow Bicycle Sticker, Rub-ons, Brads, Flowers, etc.

Step One
Cut your transparency to 5x7” (or the same size as your inner album pages). You’ll need 6 transparency pieces all together. For the pockets, cut 6 pieces of patterned paper 6.5x4.” Round the top two corners. For some pages, I stitched the pockets directly to the album page, and for others I stitched the pocket to a piece of 5x7 paper before adhering it to the page. Cut pattern paper to cover the front and back covers of your album as well.

Step Two
Print out the following images on a lighter color patterned paper (I used the flip side of Snow Dust and Winterberry). Size them to be the same dimensions as the pages in your mini album.












































Step Three
Adhere the paper to the covers and inner pages. I used scraps from making the pockets to give the pages a pieced together look.



















Step Four
I used my sewing machine to attach the transparency over the printed pages, first stitching them together, then adhering the two to the album page.
































Step Five
Ink all the edges, and embellish as desired. I used Scenic Route date labels on the tabs to make dividers so I could keep track of gift lists by family, and Jewelry Box Thickers make perfect holiday titles!