Christmas in July

It is about time I posted some Christmas photos, right?  July seemed like a nice time to catch up on my holiday scrapbook pages.  I've been making them in Studio J because it is fast and easy, plus I can get multiple copies of each scrapbook layout for each of the kids'  memory books.

These are the pages I made from our Easter egg hunt.  You can see the blog post here.  This paper design was intended for Halloween, but the colors worked with my photos, so I used it anyway.

There were so many pictures from Easter that I put some on a second layout.  It was easier to tell the story that way.

Here is the 4th of July layout.  Check out the blog post here.  I chose this paper design because the red plaid matched my little guy's red shirt.  

If you haven't tried scrapbooking with Studio J, then let me recommend it to you.  After learning the ropes with your first layout, you will be able to quickly whip out lots of scrapbook pages in a short amount of time, and at a savings compared with traditional paper scrapbooking.  Plus you don't have to worry about printing your photos.  Just put the digital photos right on the page.  So easy.

Here are the 5 steps to finishing a Studio J scrapbook layout:
1.  Upload photos
2.  Choose a page design (search by the number of photos you want to use)
3.  Choose a coordinating paper design
4.  Customize by adding a title, journaling, and the cute stuff (digital ribbons, tags, stickers, etc.)
5.  Save and purchase (you get a high quality 12x12 print + a free JPEG file)

You can shorten the process by choosing pre-made layouts and just popping in your photos.  You can also get fancy and design your own pages.  The possibilities are really amazing and you will love the results.  Click here to get started.  You are going to love how easy it is to get caught up on your own memory books!

 

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Easy Retro Ornament From Paper Scraps

Each year we make some sort of hand crafted ornament from paper.  I try to keep them simple so that my small children can participate.  This year I decided to make a retro-style ornament from 1/2 strips of paper left over from other projects.  You'll need seven strips for the ornament on the right, and five strips of paper for the ornament on the left.  I used the Pear & Partridge paper from Close To My Heart.

 

For the seven-strip ornament, cut the smallest strip at 3.5 inches long, two strips at 4 inches long, two strips at 4.5 inches long, and two strips at 5 inches long.  Set them out as shown.  The is the order in which to glue them together.

Tools needed:  adhesive, paper piercing tool, and micro-tip scissors.

Using just a small (about 1/2 inch) of adhesive on the end of each paper, begin to stack the strips from largest to smallest...

...and back up to the largest.  Your little stack of papers will look something like this.  Poke a hole at the bottom and put in a brad to hold it all together.
 

I used cranberry brads and baker's twine for my ornament.  Green brads and baker's twine would have looked just fine, too.

Next, line up the tops of all the paper strips and glue them together.  Poke a hole, string through the baker's twine and add a brad.  Ornament done.  (Tip:  I used the point of my micro-tip scissors to make the top hole big enough for the baker's twine.)

This is me, walking to the Christmas tree to hang my ornament.  I love Christmastime.  This photo feels so festive.  Yes, that is a Santa hat and a paper airplane on the top of the tree.  The children were 100% in charge of decorating the tree this year.

My children made the 5-strip ornaments (like the one on the left) because the were a little easier to work with. 

For the five strips, cut one strip at 4 inches long, two strips at 4.5 inches long, and two more at 5 inches long.  Assemble in the same manner as shown for the seven-strip ornament.

 

The patterned papers from Close To My Heart are perfect for this type of project because there is a unique design on each side of the paper.  So no matter which way you turn the ornament, it looks great!  Here is one side of an ornament...

...and here is the other side.  A totally different look.

Here is my son's retro-style ornament.  He chose the green brads and baker's twine, plus a little extra dash of bling.

Merry Christmas and happy crafting!

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