Calling all procrastinators!
This post is for you!

I can procrastinate with the best of them!

I needed Christmas cards for 4 girls that I work with but with all the craziness of the season I have been putting it off thinking that I would find some time somewhere.
But of course I did not find that time. When it finally came down to the wire, I had to come up with something.

Last night I gave myself a little challenge.
I started watching a rerun of King of Queens (love that show!) and told myself that I had to finish all 4 cards before the end of the show.
So I grabbed a few blank cards, adhesive, 4 holiday chipboard embellishments, a few scraps of paper, & brads (a current staple of mine) and went to work.
And before the end of the show, I was done!

Now these cards are not going to win any awards or anything but they are cute, simple, and handmade. And it took me less than 30 minutes!
So if you are still in the need for some holiday cards, here are a few ideas for ya!

Supplies: Cards (DCVW); Patterned paper, chipboard embellishments, brads (KI Memories, Festive line)

Have a Merry Christmas!
gretchen

I absolutely love the gallery here at Memory Makers - there are so many incredible projects and layouts to browse through.  Since Christmas is only 4 days away I decided to share some more of my favorite Holiday projects in the gallery!

This layout of Sue Petterson is simply gorgeous!  I am so envious of the way she can scrapbook digitally! 

This card by JackieAnn Williams is so adorable!!!  I love the scalloped edge and the little snowmen, too cute!

This layout by Flor R. is just stunning - the colors, the glitter embellishments - WOW!!

How awesome is this layout by Sandra Stanton?!  I loe the way she embellished the photos with the lights and ornaments - I love the entire design!

And last but not least this layout by Carola Tolleson is simply stunning!  The little stars, the silver embellishments - SO gorgeous!!  I love it!

I hope you all loved these layouts as much as I did - I am definitely ready to get back into my scrap room and create!!

Sometimes you just want to wrap a present in an extra special way and that is what I did with this one for my Mom. She loves vintage artwork especially old fashioned paintings and drawings of children, so I went on line and found this beautiful black and white drawing of "little red riding hood and the big bad wolf". The black and white drawing printed out on cream cardstock looked beautiful on the plain paper, all I needed to add was some bright red ribbon, a tag I cut out using my Cricut die cutting machine and some letter stickers. I know she will love it and she can keep the picture too! I know this time of year gets busy but sometimes taking the time to wrap a present in an extra special way is worth it!

This is my last post for the week - so I want to wish everyone a very blessed Christmas, have a wonderful week with your family and friends!

I love adding sparkle to homemade holiday decor. This is a fun little wreath to add some holiday cheer to the second level of my home. I made the wreath from cardboard that came in a shipment of scrapbook goodies. You can use an old box, or any material that is sturdy. I used my Creative Memories circle cutter to make a circle. I picked up some tinsel from Target (a good time to get those holiday decorations on sale). I cut a length of the tinsel to wrap around the circle that I thought would be enough and stapled the end piece to the back once I had covered the frame. Then I looked through my stash on hand and added some fun sparkle elements and embellishments. The final step is to add a piece of ribbon to hang and volia! :) This is a good way to use supplies on hand and to recycle!  Have a wonderful and blessed holiday!

Products Use: Adhesive (Scrapbook Adhesives Square Pop Dots);Gems (Heidi Swapp); Letters (K & Company);Pattern Paper (Hambly, Paper-Source and Sassafrass Lass) Misc:Angel Punch (Michael's);Fabric Flowers,and Tinsel (Target)

I love the Christmas season for many reasons.
One thing in particular that I enjoy is having the chance to think, evaluate my life, and reflect.
I know this can go on during the rest of the year but it seems like Christmas always brings that out in me.
And of course I have to scrapbook about it!

Here is the layout I created for 2008.
It is not necessarily Christmas-y but it does document my thoughts & feelings!

(Supplies: All supplies from August Jenni Bowlin kit.
Patterned paper, Bingo card, cardstock stickers: Jenni Bowlin Studios; Glittler alpha stickers: Making Memories; Pearls: Kaiser Craft)

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

Merry Christmas!
gretchen

I can't believe there are only 9 days left until Christmas! If you're like me, you're still running around and trying to get things ready. I'm still making Christmas cards. This one uses one of my favorite supplies - vintage sheet music. I can usually find it in the local thrift shop. I love looking at the words in the songs to see how I can incorporate them into my projects. When I found the music for Silent Night, I KNEW I had to use it on a Christmas card.

I created the card and decided to cut the words from the music and use them as my sentiment.

I layered half of a chipboard snowflake, and a part of an embellishment to make the bird's wing. Then I added a star jewel to the top of it.

And here is the finished product:

Check garage sales or used book stores for sheet music. There are lots of scrapbook papers that have music printed on them as well. To make them look vintage, add some brown ink to the edges.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! ~Anabelle

(Supplies: Patterned Paper-K and Company, My Mind's Eye, Sheet Music, Die Cuts- K and Company, My Mind's Eye, Glitter- Ranger, Jewels- Darice, Chipboard-K and Co.)

End rolls are what print shops call the left over paper from a newspaper or flyer print run. Most print shops are happy to give them to you for free! There are so many things you can do with the paper and it's a wonderful way to recycle. I like to use them for making my own wrapping paper, not only are the weight and width just right but they take paint and ink perfectly. Here are a few examples of what I am doing for my Christmas wrapping paper: (I found that working on your kitchen table is the best - plus you are right by the sink)

This first one is done with a Heidi Swapp snowflake mask and some Maya Mist. I did both red and a little green mist on this one. Just lay the mask down and spray away!

I used a doily on this one, I thought that the center of the doily would be the perfect spot for a big ribbon bow! Just use your doily like a mask.

Here are the finished presents:

I am always the last to start on my Holiday cards - it never fails!  While I love handmade cards, I stink at making them LOL!  I typically like to give out cards with gifts for a little personal touch.  Here are two that I have made so far:

They are both very simple and easy to make!  I simply cut out shapes from the patterned papers and used them to embellish the cards.  A little bit of bling and viola!  I loved these Making Memories and October Afternoon papers - so gorgeous!  

(Supplies Used:  Making Memories Patterned Paper, October Afternoon Patterned Paper, Basic Grey Patterned Paper, Bazzill Cardstock, Making Memories Glitter Alphabet Stickers, Studio Calico Nadyia Alphabet Stamps, Paper Valiese Decorative Pins, Studio Calico Rip Strip, Gems, Scotch Photo Stickers, Xyron Create A Sticker Adhesive)