Recording Christmas (Part One)

Hello everyone! 

Today Lisa-Jane is here to share her method of recording the festive season!

Over to Lisa-Jane:

There are lots of different ways of recording and scrapbooking your memories of the holiday season .... through a specific class or by just doing your own thing. I tend to do a bit of Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas alongside my own recordings of our daily festive events. For me, documenting the story side of things is really important for taking a breather at this hectic time of year and helps me to focus on what really matters.

Hopefully this post will give you a few ideas to help you to record your Christmas! 

For many Scrappers, including me, scrapping a whole 12" x 12" page every day at this busy time is liable to induce insanity so I'm going to share my process with you - it's worked for me in previous years and keeps me sane and the stress to a minimum.

I find that a little preparation in the set up can help speed things up immensely. Even with eleven days of December already behind us you can still make preparations, because it will definitely help whenever you start.

Firstly, decide on what type and size of album or book you want to create. There's lots of options ... from albums of various sizes and shapes to mini books or envelope books (and more!)
I decided on using divided Page Protectors for a number of reasons. If I only have the time or inclination to do a little story or crafting then so be it, but on those days where I have a lot to record or more time for prettiness then that can be accommodated too. Some days I will fill all the pockets but other days I can just do a part of a page and have a clean separation from the following day which I wouldn't be able to do with a full 12x12.

I also find it helpful to decide on a collection of papers or a colour scheme.

I happened to have the Winter Project Life kit which is identical to Crate Paper's Bundled Up Collection. I really didn't NEED any more Christmas paper and I tend to be a traditional red and greens girl when it comes to Christmas.  However, when Sarah showed me the gorgeous papers and embellishments I let out a very loud "ooooh!" (You know what I mean don't you?  You've done that too, right?!) The B sides of even the full sized 12x12 papers are subtle enough to work really well in small pockets so I knew this collection had the versatility I needed for my eclectic album this year. While perusing the papers I also noticed that some of the new Maggie Holmes collection called Flea Market went really well with it too so I added some of those into the mix.  The deep cream, aqua and range of pinks are a perfect compliment and will really help to tell my story on the days which are not so festive too.

 For speed and preparation, I clear everything away from my desk and just have out the things I intend to use for this project. In addition to the papers above, I went through my stash and picked out some other (sometimes very old!) papers in the same colours. 

Another idea is to select some crafting tools and punches or dies that you will use and keep them close at hand.

I chose a few punches to use throughout the album. This means I don't have to keep returning to my punch draw and deliberating over which one to choose. It also lends continuity to the project as the same shapes crop up across the pages. I find that having the punches out like this also helps to give me a bit of inspiration on what to do in my individual pockets.

 For an ongoing project like this I like to have a few containers for the different elements that I intend to use. I have a bowl of Washi Tapes, a bowl of buttons and embroidery threads and a little heart shaped dish of small items like snowflake brads, sequins and Studio Calico Wood Veneer Tiny Stars. I also have a cake stand with adhesives in the top.  In the middle I have festive trims, ribbons and Enamel Dots, and in the bottom tier I have doilies, stickers, Project Life cards and other plain cards cut to various pocket sizes. This means I can just grab what I need and not have to think too hard about what to use. I also have a little bowl of Bundled Up Ephemera which are so cute and you get so many in the pack.

I also keep a pink pot of my most used tools and a variety of plain Cardstock to hand, some of which I cut to size. And my desk wouldn't be complete without a cup of tea and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Inking the edges brings all the collections together and again adds continuity throughout the album.

Here you can see some of the other things I've added from my stash like some old music paper, stickers and gold printed vellum. The album to the left is the one I am using this year. Its an American Crafts Modern Album so I just need to fancy up the plain front however I see fit but that might be a job for the new year.

So, gathering together all your supplies and tools in one place is my tip for scrapping your Christmas.

If you'd like to see how I'm getting on with my album then please do pop back tomorrow for Part Two!

Are you scrapping about the festive season this year? How are you hoping to achieve yours?  We'd love to see some of your ideas too so don't forget to link up in the comments.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lisa-Jane x

Lisa-Jane is Mum to two small children and adores December and all things Christmas .... she blogs regularly at Inside My Head 

P.S. Want to join the SJ Crafts Design Team? See the DT Call HERE!

SJ Crafts Design Team Call!

Would you like to join our Design Team?

Don't worry, the current Design Team aren't going anywhere right now, in fact I'm delighted that they've all just agreed to stay on for 2014! However I would like to expand the team so we are on the look out for another talented crafter (or maybe two!) to join us. The DT spot will initially be for a 3 month term (February - April 2014), with the possibility of staying on longer term.

Interested? Then read on for how to apply!
Don't worry if you've never been on a Design Team before - previous experience is absolutely not necessary! But you do need to be UK based and have your own active blog!

What we'll ask of the new Design Team Member(s):

• Create projects/layouts and write at least two blog posts with clear photographs from each Design Team package of stash.
• Upload these blog posts to the DT blog by a set deadline (we'll tell you more about how to do this once appointed!)
• You must be prepared to post on your own blog with links to the S J Crafts shop and blog to coincide with your DT posts going live. We will also require that you have the SJ Crafts button on your blog sidebar.
•  Actively participate on the SJ Crafts Facebook Page and assist with the positive promotion of SJ Crafts on any social media / forums you belong to. (eg: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, UK Scrappers). We will be looking for someone with a strong online presence!
• You must be passionate about crafting! Our main customer base is scrapbookers, so we would prefer that  you enjoy some form of memory keeping, but other papercrafts like card-making or home-decor items would be helpful.
• You must be able to work to deadlines, work well as a team and encourage and support the rest of the DT.
• We are planning some special online/blog events during 2014 and should you stay on longer you will be asked to participate in the planning, promoting, creating and writing for such events.

What you receive for being on the Design Team:

• You will receive a generous amount of papercrafting goodies to work with and to create projects/layouts for your DT posts.
• Sometimes you will be sent additional items to use for special online/blog events.
• A generous DT discount to use at S J Crafts for your own shopping throughout your DT term.
• Links back to your own blog from the shop blog - both in our blog sidebar and your blog posts and special mentions on the SJ Crafts Facebook page and Twitter feed
• You'll also get lots of encouragement and support from Sarah (SJ Crafts owner) and the rest of the team and hopefully you will enjoy the experience of being on the team.

Still interested? Yes? Then here's how to apply:
Send an email to dtapply@sjpapercrafts.co.uk by Monday 6th January 2014 11.59pm GMT. 

Your email should include:

Your Name

A little bit about you and your crafts (eg: what crafts you have experience in, how long you've been crafting, any current/past DT teams etc)

A Link To Your Blog

Details of (and if you can include links to) any Social Media/On line Forums/communities you participate in.
Photos and brief details of 3 of your craft projects which best showcase your craft talent (see below)

We would like you to include in your email application photos of 3 different projects (1 photo of each project only). If possible please ensure your photos are no bigger than 700pix square. If you want to show us more photos (such as more pages of a mini-book or detail shots of a scrapbook layout) then please provide a link to the blog post or online album where we can see the photos. Please don't attach more than 3 photos to the email. 

If you have written tutorials and/or tips on your blog in the past then you can include a link to one or two of these as well.

The new DT member will be contacted in the middle/end of January so they can be ready to join us for the start of February.

As I mentioned at the start please don't be put off if you've never been on a DT before or applied - We're so looking forward to hearing all about YOU!

Sarah x

December's Six Cards On The 6th!

Hello and welcome to December's Six Card's on the 6th!

This is the last post in our series that's all about getting those Christmas cards made in time. You can link up your own cards at any time throughout the month, and at the end of the series one link-up from all the posts will win a pizza box stuffed full with scrapbook stash! 

 As you may have made most of your Christmas cards by now, this month we'd love you to link up even if you just have one or two cards to show us - or maybe you've made a few tags for Christmas presents? Let us see!

Today we have inspiration from Louise and Lisa-Jane, who have put some festive 6x6 pads to good use!

Louise:

The countdown has commenced and I have a long list of things that I need to do before the big day. Thankfully my Christmas card making has been under way for a while now which has all been down to the 6 on the 6th challenge. I have really enjoyed making a few cards each month!  

The cards I am going to share today have been made using the Teresa Collins Santas List 6x6 pad and stickers sheet. A perfect Christmas collection!

 I've already made cards with Christmas trees, snowflakes and holly, so this time I wanted to use stars.

To start I cut a silver glitter circle and a slightly smaller vellum circle for each of the six cards. These were layered and placed onto a background patterned paper. 

Then on top of each vellum circle I wrapped a circle of either tinsel, wire or twine. These were adhered with Glossy Accents.

Using a die cutting machine I cut six stars... or you could use a template and cut them out by hand.

To make them 3D I scored from the tip of each point across to the other side. By creasing the score lines to create peaks and valleys the star comes to life!

As I wanted the star to appear as though it is hanging...I threaded some cotton through one of the points and a silver bead. The cotton was fixed to the back of the background paper to hold it in place.



Here are some close up photos so you can see a little more of the detail:

Oh.....Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!

Lisa-Jane:

I've recently been using the Bo Bunny Elf Magic 6x6 Pad to create some really colourful cards. The beauty of this collection is that the designs are so bright that you don't need to add much more to make a striking card.  Also there are some more traditional designs too for a more subtle feel.

I made 2 ranges of cards and chose 3 of each to show you here. 

The top row were made by cutting 5x5" squares of paper a third of the way down, and then swapping two pieces over to make 6 cards out of the 3 original squares. I covered the join with some glitzy trim and added a few sequins (inspired by Jennifer!) and a little arrangement of punched shapes with a pre-made topper:

The second row were made by matting 5x5" white card with slightly smaller papers from the pad. I then attached a strip of coordinating paper and some festive trim. I coloured some stamped images and matted them on coordinating paper before adhering them over the trim with pop dots. 

You can see what a range of looks you get in the Elf Magic collection, especially when you change up the embellishments too!

I also made some cards from the inch that I trimmed off by layering the strips up in a tree shape - even the children helped!

I've loved doing this series because I have a lovely little pile of cards that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

Merry Christmas!

Didn't Louise and Lisa-Jane make some fabulous cards! Do you have a Christmassy 6x6 pad that you could use on a couple of cards or some tags? How about trying Louise's idea to make some 3D stars, or Lisa-Jane's tip to hide paper-joins with glitzy trim? 

Now it's your turn! Link up your cards below for a chance to win the pizza box full of stash (prize will go out in early January). We can't wait to see what you create! Jennifer x 

Christmas Scrapping with Large Photos

A very Happy December and Season's Greetings to you!

It's Lisa-Jane with you today!

I absolutely love this time of year!  I can't wait to start scrapbooking my memories of this Christmas, especially because so much happens that it is easy to forget all the little details.  This is what happened with these photos.  They were taken last year when the children went to visit Warwick Castle with Daddy and Grandma.  While I was scrapping these, I had a real "pang" because I couldn't share the day with them, yet I couldn't remember why I couldn't be there.  Eventually I worked out that I was at a crafting retreat which felt like it was more than just a year ago and I realised that it was so important to get things recorded while they are fresh in your mind.  

I am using Crate Paper's Bundled Up collection for this year's Christmas memory keeping (I'll share more about that with you next week!) and I wanted a double page right near the start of my album to symbolise what Christmas is all about for me .... My two children!

I was recently inspired by this Pin and remembered that I had these two large pictures,  featuring my daughter in one and my son in the other alongside a jolly Santa. I thought the photos would be ideal for a striking entry early in my Christmas journal.

With larger pictures, especially ones so busy and orangey as these are, they needed a calm background with very little reds and pinks so I used a sheet of Noel 12 x 12 Paper from the Bundled Up Collection. The polka dot woodgrain was perfect for my base and I mounted the photos and the Christmas Trees paper onto cream puff bazill cardstock.  Then I brought out the pinks and reds in the embellishment clusters.

 The Season's Greetings label, the tree, ticket and pink snowflake in the picture above are all from the Bundled Up Ephemera pack, as are the tickets and the aqua snowflake in the photo below.  Little packs of co ordinating embellishments make it very easy to build up little groupings for interest and added spots of colour.

With large photographs, you can really let your photo do the talking by keeping the rest of the layout quite minimal, which of course makes for a pretty quick page too - all important at this crazy busy time of year!

Let the photos take centre stage!!

Have you started any festive craft projects yet?  Link up in the comments or tell us about it - we'd love to come and take a look.

Bye for now

Lisa-Jane

xx

Lisa-Jane is Mum to two small children and adores December and all things Christmas .... she blogs regularly at "Inside My Head"