Practical Scrappers Winter Activity and Christmas Traditions layouts

The Practical Scrappers challenge this week was to design a layout around various winter activities or Christmas Traditions. I ended up completing two double page layouts this week that fit in with the challenge. Both layouts were done digitally using my new CM goodies. I hope you enjoy them and perhaps they can give you some inspiration for your pages.

The first layout is of my girls playing outside in the first major snowfall of the season. They had so much fun running around and chasing the dog. The first snow always brings excitement with it. For this layout I actually used a live template that Cathie Owens created using the new Winter Solstice Kit. I made a few minor changes and created a double page spread. I love the colours and textures of this kit and in my opinion it is a must have.




The second layout is about spending time with family during the holidays. My parents live 11 hours from us so we make the trek every year to be with them during the holidays. Last year we spent some time tobogganing and the kids had so much fun that I think it will be a new family tradition. Especially now that the kids are older and can spend more time outside even if it is cold.

For this layout I used the my new Primary Power Palette Christmas Additions along with the brand new Simple Start CD. This was one of Laurie Callisons fabulous templates. I love how it turned out and I really love how easy and fast it was to create. I think it took me about 20 minutes to complete this layout and most of that time was spent choosing which pictures to include.





Happy Holidays everyone and Happy Scrapping,
Cat

Winter Solstice Layout

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been pretty busy getting ready for Christmas and my daughter's birthday. I think I have everything pretty much under control now. I also received my CM content CD's last week and have finally had a chance to play. Here is a double page layout I created using the Winter Solstice predesigned pages. I love this collection. The cool colours and wonderful textures make it perfect for outdoor and Christmas pictures. I left this layout pretty much in it's original state. The only thing I changed was adding some 3D filters to the ornaments and titles. I also added a white photo mat to the pictures. Other than that the pages remained the same. It took me about 15 minutes to do this double page spread.





Enjoy,
Cat

Yet another reason why Creative Memories Rocks!

Hi Everyone,

I just need to do a quick post to share with you how wonderful Creative Memories is. You can probably tell I love CM just from the number of CM posts on my blog. Keep in mind I'm not a consultant just a very satisfied customer.

Well they have given me one more reason to recommend them to everyone I know. I ordered 3 content CD's for SBC+ 3.0 in the early afternoon on Monday of this week. I got my confirmation email right away and then I received a second email saying that my package had been shipped only 1 hour later! I was shocked at the quick service! I thought perhaps this meant they were just processing my order. No, they actually shipped it! I discovered my package in my mailbox when I got home from running errands today! Can you believe the service?! From the time I ordered until it reached my doorstep it took only 4 days!

I have always loved CM's fast shipping but this was unbelievable. Way to Go CM!

Now I can't wait to show you some layouts with the new content as well as some layouts off of the new Simple Start CD! Thanks for visiting ladies and happy scrapping! I'm off to play with my new goodies.

Cat

Gorgeous Winter CM Live Template

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. It has been a very crazy week. My youngest daughter is turning 3 on Friday and we are having her birthday party on Saturday so we have been busy trying to prepare for that. I am also in the middle of making 110 Christmas ornaments for my daughter's kindergarten classroom. I am just starting them and the kids are finishing them at school for their parents. Even a basic ornament ends up taking a lot of time though.

Today I thought I would share a gorgeous Winter Template that I downloaded from a wonderful website. I discovered Cathie Owen's blog a couple of weeks ago and it is loaded with tons of great information if you want to learn more about SBC 3.0.

I'm going to focus on templates today. It is amazing how versatile templates can be and how easy it is to make them your own.

Here is what the template looks like when I download it and before I add any of my pictures.




Here is what Cathie Owens page looked like when she used the template. Gorgeous isn't it?!



Here is my version of this template. I knew when I saw this template I wanted to use this rainbow picture I took last year but it wasn't winter themed. I just changed the template to suit my needs and I am really pleased with how it turned out. This template is so versatile and I love the look of stacked photos.



This page took me about 10 minutes to complete and the only reason it took that long is because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in terms of embellishments.

I have linked Cathie's blog to this post so if you are interested in her template please visit her site and have a look around. I would also love to see what you create with her template so please share with the rest of us and if it is okay I would love to post your finished projects here so you can see truly how versatile and fun templates can be.

Enjoy, and have fun crafting everyone,
Cat

Digital Christmas ornament layout

Hi Everyone,

Here is a layout I finished earlier this week. I decided I wanted to attempt something different. I find I create quite a few Christmas layouts and they all start to look the same after awhile. For this layout I wanted to turn my pictures into Christmas ornaments. I really like how they turned out.




Recipe:
Paper- Stampin Up chocolate chip for the background with a faux texture added, Stampin Up digital DSP from the Jingle Bell collection (used the scalloped cutting tool in the CM software), Real Red paper to mat the ornaments
Accessories- Tag from Jingle Bell digital kit, Stampin Up real red digital grosgrain ribbon and bows, Pink stitched square freebie (I changed the colour to white)

Christmas Card #4

Hi Everyone,

We have had a busy morning in our house and the weather has decided not to cooperate so things are really crazy around here. Here is another one of my Christmas cards that I am sending out this year.



This card was extremely easy and quick to make but has lots of sparkle and shine. I really love this simple clean look. I used night of navy and whisper white cardstock and included lots of layers. For the snowflake blocks I embossed them with iridescent ice embossing powder to really add sparkle.


Recipe:
Paper- Stampin Up cardstock in Whisper white and night of navy
Ink- Close to My Heart Denim
Stamps- Stampin Up Serene Snowflakes, Close To My Heart Holiday Warmth
Accessories- Snowflake Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Stampin Up Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder

Enjoy,
Cat

Christmas card #3

Here is another Christmas card I thought I would share with you all. This card was made using the snow swirled stamp set from Stampin Up. It is super easy and I love the little bit of sparkle from the Rhinestone Brad in the centre. I found this idea on Splitcoast stampers and had to case it. I'm sorry I can't remember who the original creator was but if you head over to splitcoast you will be able to find it. I did very little to change this card from the original.



Recipe:
Paper- Stampin Up old olive, night of navy, bashful blue, and whisper white cardstock.
Ink- Stampin Up bashful blue and old olive classic ink, Close to My Heart Denim ink
Stamps- Stampin Up snow swirled
Accessories- Stampin Up clear rhinestone brads, Ribbon from my stash (purchased at Micheal's last year)

I also wanted to share one of the pictures I will be putting in my Christmas cards this year. We didn't get a family photo done but I did want to include pictures of my girls. My two oldest are in school so they had their school portraits which I am going to include. My youngest didn't have any professional pictures taken and now it is too late to get them done and back in time to send out with my cards. I decided to dress her up in her Christmas dress and snap a few photos myself. Once I had a picture I was happy with I imported it into SBC 3.0 and created a 4x6 layout which I will cut in half to make two 3x4 inch pictures for my cards. Now I will have a picture of each of my girls in my Christmas cards this year.



As always, I would love to hear what you think of any of my projects. Comments are welcomed and cherished. Thanks for taking a look.

Enjoy,
Cat

A wonderful digital layout by Lynett Rock!

Hi Everyone,

I recently received an email from a very talented scrapbooker, Lynett Rock. She wanted a copy of my stitched template that I had posted on my blog earlier and she sent me a finished copy of her scrapbook page. It is gorgeous and I just couldn't wait to share it with you. She managed to complete this in between classes! That is how quick these templates can be. If anyone else would like a copy of the stitched template just leave a comment and I would be happy to email it to you. Just a note, these templates will only work in the Storybook Software as they are .page files.

Thank you so much Lynett for sharing your wonderful creation!



Lynett used the Creative Memories Best Buds digital kit to finish this layout. The colours and papers in this kit are gorgeous. If you don't already have this kit I highly recommend purchasing it. The kit isn't very expensive and it is one of my favourites.

I have just put this file up on 4shared.com if you are interested in getting a copy of the live template please visit this link All I ask is that you leave a comment.

Another Polar Expressions Card

Hi Everyone,

Here is another Christmas card I made with the Old Olive, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip colour combo as well as the Polar Bear stamped image from Imagnisce Polar Expressions collection. I also added the felt flurries from Stampin Up. I love these snowflakes. They are so detailed and pretty.



Recipe:
Paper- Stampin Up Cardstock in Ruby Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, and Whisper White
Ink- Jumbo Java Chalk Ink, Stampin Up Chocolate Chip
Stamps- Polar Expression by Imaginisce, Hero Arts handmade for you clear acrylic stamp set
Accessories- Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons in Ruby Red, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Stampin Up Scalloped Border Punch, Stampin Up Felt Flurries, Gold Brads, American Crafts Ribbon snowflakes in circles.

Enjoy,
Cat

A new look for me.

Hi Everyone,

I was doing a little blog hopping the other day and happened upon a wonderful blog. One of Janet's blog entries was offering a free photo mask. This mask was gorgeous and I knew I wanted to try out the mask on one of my own layouts. Well here is my finished product. I am super happy with how it turned out even if it is a completely new look/style of scrapbooking for me. My digital layouts still tend to be very traditional in look and feel. This layout has a definite digital look and I think it packs a punch. I would love your feedback. The best part of this layout is all of the elements in it are freebies from various sites!





Recipe:
Background paper- "brown cardboard" from the "Simple Pleasures Mini Kit" at Free Digital Scrapbooking.com
Overlay- "Funky Overlay" Digital Freebie from Creative Memories
Digital Elements- stacked vintage photo frame from Designer Digitals freebies and Janet's Thankful photo mask.

I hope you have as much fun with this mask as I did.

Happy Crafting everyone,
Cat

What a Difference a Day Makes.

Hi Everyone,

Well, I know I said that it really wasn't looking like Christmas. Well I was wrong. Yesterday we got some snow and the temperatures dropped to seasonal for this time of year so it really is looking like Christmas out there now.

Today I wanted to share my Practical Scrappers submission with you. Again I used my favourite colour combination of the moment. Last year I purchased some ski slope designer series paper from Stampin Up and I just love it. I thought I would try and use up the rest of my stash for this year's Christmas cards.

I decided to do a shaker card. These cards are super simple to make and create a wow factor. Kids especially love them. My girls are constantly getting a hold of this one and giving it a shake. If they keep it up it won't be in good enough shape to send out.

To make this card I cut a 2.5 x 2.5" square of Chocolate chip cardstock and ran it through my cuttlebug using the curly label movers and shapers die. Then I cut a piece of 2x2" whisper white cardstock and stamped my sentiment on it. To create the window I glued a 2x2" piece of acetate on to the back of the brown piece of cardstock. Then I put Close to My Heart foam tape around the opening on the brown piece. You can use the edges of your stampin dimensionals too but foam tape is much easier. It is important not to leave any holes in your border of the glitter will fall out. Once you have your border of tape around the opening fill your little "dish" with glitter. Now you need to put a "lid" on your "dish". Take your white piece of cardstock with your sentiment on it and adhere it to your brown piece of cardstock using the foam tape border. Make sure your sentiment is lined up with your opening. Now you have created a shaker pocket to add to your card. It really is easy. Especially once you have done it a few times.

If you have any questions please leave a comment or email me and I would be happy to help you out.

Recipe:
Paper- Stampin Up cardstock in Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, and Baja Breeze, Ski Slope Designer Series Paper, Acetate
Ink- Stampin Up Real Red
Stamps- Christmas Punch Set by Stampin Up
Accessories- American Crafts snowflakes in circles ribbon, Stampin Up curly label movers and shapers punch, Stampin Up scalloped edge punch, Close to My Heart foam tape, gold glitter