12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 - 4

Day 1: Family Photo, but I did the annual Christmas Card

Day 2: Your Christmas Tree

Day 3:  Letter to Santa

Day 4: Christmas Decorations

Big Picture Classes offered a class entitled the 12 Days of Christmas. It began December 14th with a prompt with a photo topic and size suggestion and scrapbook materials suggestion.  You gathered your supplies and photos and placed them in an envelope marked Day 1, Day 2, and so on.  Then on December 25th, your First email with instructions on how to use your supplies to make the LO demonstrated arrived.  Each day a different instructor was responsible for the Christmas LO challenge.  I am inserting Days 1 -4 here.  I will upload the others as time permits, because I have my dad's family coming in to stay during the New Year's Holiday.  I am unsure how many layouts will be accomplished until everyone returns home.

Day 1 Challenge was to take a family photo and scrap it.  Well, we don't take a family pic, but I scrapped the annual Christmas Card and Letter.

Day 2: Was to take a picture of your completed tree and the decorating process.  May Flaum suggested a 2 page LO; so I took her up on the challenge.  I photographed 10 of my 11 trees (forgot the peacock tree).  I have never done this before. I like how it turned out.

Day 3 challenge was to capture your child writing a letter to Santa.  I forced Walker to write his letter.  I believe this might be the last year for a lot of Santa traditions.  I hope not!

Day 4 challenge was to take several pictures of the Christmas decorations in your home.  I was unsure about the suggested picture sizes, but I LOVE how this LO turned out!  I have never really completed a LO just about the decorations!  8 more days to go! I have been able to use up a lot of my Christmas scrapbooking stash.  This has been a wonderful feeling.  (However, I did purchase some Christmas sale items..oops) 

This has been such a fun class!  Merry Christmas! 

4x6 Photo Love: Erie Canal

Left page

Right page

Close up of Title & Journaling

Well, I failed at the Christmas Journal, but I decided to accomplish Shimelle's 4x6 Photo Love in conjunction with Two Peas in a Bucket 4x6 monthly challenge.  November's challenge was to use 11 pictures on one layout.  This was accomplished by inserting a 6x12 photo insert into the middle of a two page layout.  My 6x12 insert did not arrive in time; so I used a 12x12 photo insert w/ 6: 4x6 inserts, which allows a total of 12 photos.  I folded over the right side in order to accomplish the challenge.  There are 4 horizontal 4x6 photos along the bottom of the two page spread, 3 4x6 vertical at the top and 4 4x6 photos in the insert w/ 2 journaling cards.  I always love these challenges because they are so interactive!  Here is my attempt at this month's challenge, which was issued on November 30 and Due today, December 29th.  Nothing like waiting to last moment.  These pictures are from our summer vacation to Buffalo, NY & Canada.  We took an Erie Canal boat ride to view the lock system in action!  It was incredible!  Gates would lock in front of you and open behind you and the water would either flood in or out depending which way you traveled on the Erie Canal!  It is a spectacular feat of engineering!  This was such a fun trip!  We were all amazed by the Erie Canal!

December 1st

Today is the 1st of December 2011.  I am beginning "Journal Your Christmas"  with Shimelle Laine.  I don't know how often I will finish a 6x6 page, but I hope to write down something about Christmas every day.   And maybe I will post it here.

Christmas Layout: Shimelle

One of the last challenges Shimelle posted on her Christmas Crafting Weekend was the sketch of the week but with a Christmas twist; make a Christmas themed layout!  Yahoo!  It was fun!  I now have a one page Christmas layout ready to go; just add pictures!  And on top of that, we used one of those pesky framed pieces of Pattern paper!  I never know what to do what those papers!  Aagh!  Well imagine Christmas pictures where these Niagara Falls pictures are located!  All the chipboard embellishments are from Crate Paper!  The framed pattern paper is sassafras!  These are not my typical Christmas colors, but I like the slanted tree against the pics and all the embellishments!  And yes I cut my paper incorrectly; hence the cut and re-tape together on upper left! It's a fun LO!  And this Christmas Crafting Weekend with Shimelle Laine has been incrediblly wonderful!!  Thanks so much Shimelle!

Make a gift tag!: Shimelle

Make a gift tag was the next challenge on Shimelle's Christmas Crafting Weekend!  Well, since many of my presents have to travel/be mailed for Christmas, I really like the old fashioned (1980's) sticker tags!  Peel and stick! Easy Peasy! BUT, I thought, "Tags would make great place setting cards, and if they wanted they could hang on the tree or toss!"  So, I made two place setting cards.  One for my mother and the other for Walker, that way if we decide not to use for place settings designations, then I can stick them on at least one present! Ha! I do plan to tie around the napkins at each place setting.  The glue on the green tag is disappointing!

Make a Tag!: Shimelle

Christmas Crafting Weekend , Shimelle Laine, is a blast!  Another challenge issued this weekend was to Tag it UP!  Make some tags!  Use them as a garland, on scrapbook page or just get crafty and make some!  I made three!  I am happy with how they turned out! I dry embossed, embossed with the heat gun, used ink and some old Christmas papers.  In addition, I used stickles on a "tag" I cut from a larger 12x12 piece of paper.  I also added some ribbon and flower embellishments!  Since I am happy with how they turned out, I plan to send to my ScrapHappy friends these 3 tags for our Holiday Tag Swap!  I hope they like them!

Round Center Card: Shimelle

Shimelle's next challenge on her Christmas Crafting Weekend blog was to create either a card or scrapbook page with a circle image as the center.  I chose to make a card and I went simple!  i used a giant chipboard embellishment "Ornament" as my center.  The holly pattern paper is so old, I have no idea who makes it.  I plan to add the sentiment "May your holly-days be Merry and Bright!"  I hope this meets the challenge.  I like the simplicity of it!  Love using up the scraps!