Wrapping Up Christmas 2015

I spent some time over the past couple of days with my good friends Netflix, pretty papers, and glue.  It felt great to get our Christmas photos documented, there may not have been many, but they're all scrapped now.  I used a lot of Simple Stories Claus & Co collection, some Shimelle Christmas Magic, and Pink Paislee Yuletide goodies

This guy. He may be the least photogenic person I know, but he's all mine folks.  He can almost never pose for a photo without making a funny face.

Purchasing a tree from Ikea for a cool $20 has been our tradition over the past few years. It's like shooting an arrow blindfolded, and hoping to hit the mark.  This year, we hit it. We only had to sweep up needles a few times throughout the month of December.  Score!

My baby girl spent most of our Christmas Eve family gathering cuddling this fluffball puppy.  You've seen several photos of our little guy Wilson; this is his mama Brevae.

My whole heart is right here, in these three beautiful girls of mine (I guess the little guy Wilson has a bit of it too). 
Christmas afternoon, we snuck a quick moment to head downstairs and capture a quick photo of just the girls.  They are my very best gift ever, ever.

And with that, Christmas 2015 draws to a close.   The house has been de-Christmasized, and returned to it's quazie borning state.  The Christmas wreath has been replaced by the winter wreath, and we have hunkered down for the long haul of cold, and snow and multiple weekend practices in preparation for the Spring Dance Competitions.  Only 4 months until the snow is gone, the days get longer, and the grass becomes visible again. Spring can't come soon enough for this warm weather girl.

Thank you for stopping by today friends, here's to a fabulous 2016! Pin It

Silent Night

With the hustle and bustle of this team of year, one of my favourite things is to sit quietly with this guy, no tv, no music, and just the lights of the tree to keep us company.

I am glad he's such a cuddler in moments like this.

I used the cute new Wish Seasons to create this layout.  The ephemera pack, once again is my favourite.  So many great tags to choose from in all different sizes and shapes. And that striped paper, actually looks like it's been splattered with gold paint.  Gorgeous.  You can still get your hands on some of this collection in the Paper Issues store.  Use my code:SHERRI at checkout to save 20% off of everything you place in your cart.

Thanks for stopping by today friends, and a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

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A Christmas layout with Claus & Co

Can you tell it's been a busy season around here.  It happens every year; three birthdays, Christmas, church, New Year's Eve and extra dance practices, all add up to a very full few weeks to close out the year.

I scrapped for the first time in 3 weeks the other day, and it felt GREAT!

Simple Stories Claus & Co. collection has so many wonderful patterned papers I didn't want to use any of them up before I had all my photos for the season taken, in order to choose just the right combo of photo and patterned paper.

I took the opportunity with this layout to combine coordinating bits and pieces from past Simple Stories collections to complete my page.  The polka dot frame is from the I Am Collection, and the clips are from the Say Cheese II collection.

Because I usually do not scrap Christmas until after the big day, I tend to ration my Christmas collections.  Here, I've used the smallest pieces of patterned paper to preserve my stash, as well as a couple of tear strips from the bottom of 2 different pieces to add just a tad more colour to my page.

I'm anxious to use up the rest of this fantastic Simple Stories Claus & Co collection.

You can still get your hands on plenty of Christmas themed product right here in the Paper Issues store.  Use my code to save 20% off your entire order of holiday and non-holiday themed goodies.

Thanks for popping in today friends! Pin It

December Moments 2014

Have you managed to complete your December Daily?  There are many people who take it on each year, and my hat's off to them.  I'll never forget the first year I tried to hop on the bandwagon and document every day of our December.  Needless to say it was a massive failure, with not enough photos, that resulted in an unfinished album.  Since then I've tried a couple of other ways to document the Christmas Season around our home, and what I've found is that daily is just not for me.  I find that choosing to simply document the month as a whole works well for our family. There are so many days, where there simply isn't a photo, that choosing to document only what I find 'document worthy' relieves some of the pressure of having that perfectly well ordered album, with numbers from 1-25.

This gorgeous Pink Paislee album, and the coordinating Merry & Bright Collection was what I chose to work with this year.  

I was drawn to the fact that the album had these really fun transparency dividers, and canvas pages, giving it a mixed media feel.

I kept my title page very simple, using one of the kraft tags (sold out) from the collection, and a few coordinating pieces from my stash.  I stitched the alphas down to ensure they would stay in place for many years to come.  If you've ever received an order from the Paper Issues store, you'll recognize that red satin ribbon in a heart beat.

For me, Christmas begins when Starbucks pulls out their holiday cups.  I, in turn pull out the few that I have gathered over the years to use at home.

I made sure to have my oldest get some photos when she joined for friend at the annual Santa Claus parade downtown.  Again, I scrapped right onto the clear page, and paired it with a pocket page.  The 4x4 size is perfect for the photos I print at home with my Canon Selphy.  The journaling is done on this sheet of coordinating patterned paper from the Merry & Bright Collection.

It all begins with one single solitary ornament.

These silver word strip phrases, go so nicely with my trusty old label maker, great for a fun journaling element.

These countdown cards from the collection, are perfect for filling pockets to use up space, and also for adding some journaling.

So many cute patterns, of course I had to create a page to showcase as many as possible.

Don't you just love that itty bitty satin bow from the collection.  I'd like a few of those in all the colours of the rainbow.  It may seem a little silly to have my birthday photo included in my December Daily, but since this is not a daily, but rather a December Moments album, documenting our month including concerts, birthdays and all, it's all good.  This album is all about not having to follow any set rules, but creating pages my family is going to enjoy looking back on.  

Just love the canvas pages.  Flair button from A Flair For Buttons 

The tags really do get addictive for documenting the event.  Flair button from A Flair For Buttons

Our friends Will & Pao came over for games and snacks on the 23rd, and we did it all over again on the 24th with my husbands sister and her kids, including one birthday boy, and a soon to be married couple.

The snowflake is a cut file by 17 Turtles and the joyful frame is an old one from Studio Calico

The "magic" & "merry&bright" cut file is another oldie from Studio Calico. 

I still cracks me up that her arms are waving so fast you can't even make them out in the photo.  It was so fun to keep this secret for several months before she was able to open her "big' gift on Christmas morning.

That quote is a screenshot I captured off of Andrea Howey's IG feed, that girl has some serious talent. 

I thought it was a pretty clever play on words to use the last of the black glitter words on this journal card.

The best part of doing a December Moments album as opposed to simply a Christmas album is that you get to end on New Years Eve, a wonderful way to bid farewell to the old and hello to the new.  Incorporating a little gold from the Dear Lizzy Serendipity collection seemed like the perfect touch for the celebration.

And there you have it, another year in the books.  This is the first time I feel incredibly proud of each and every page of my December Memories album, and it all started with the gorgeous Pink Paislee products.  It's amazing how much creativity can be birthed by gorgeous product to get the senses overflowing.

If you're still working on your December album, and looking for a few more goodies to complete the job, hop over to the Paper Issues shop to get your hands on what's left of our Christmas goodies.  Use code: SHERRI at check out and save 20% off everything you placed in your cart.

Happy shopping friends,and all the best with wrapping up your Christmas memories. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Pin It

Christmas Smiles

Over the past couple of years I've have become more diligent about including more "real life" pages into my scrapbooks.  I want my scrapbooks to reflect a good sense of what life was really like for us through these years.  So often it's easiest to scrap the happy occasions, and fun moments and memories.  But, that's not all life is made up of over the course of the 365 days of the year, and I really want to be able to look back over the years and remember all that life was really made of: the good, the bad, and everything inbetween.

This photo of the Darwin and I brings a mix of emotions to my mind and my heart.  This past year was not all that we had envisioned for our family.  There were some ups, and many downs for both of us, but especially in his world.  This photo of us standing strong alongside one another, at this emotional time of year is such an example to our kids of what a healthy marriage is all about.  Not perfection, but love, and respect, and support in all seasons. It doesn't mean everything works out perfectly in the end, but is sure helps to sail the rough waters.

This photo and all the emotions it holds will find it's place among my Christmas pages. The joy of Christmas is ultimately found in HOPE, great big LOVE, and FAMILY, and I am so happy he's a part of mine.

The Silver & Gold Christmas set is such a beautiful compliment to the colours of the Pink Paislee Merry & Bright collection.  

I love how classy, and elegant they are.  The others in the set will likely find their way onto a New Year's Eve page in the very near future.

You can get your hands on these and other Christmas flair, including several new vintage styles in the A Flair For Buttons Etsy shop right here.

This will be my last post before Christmas, so on behalf of me, and my family, I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas season, in hopes that family will be at the center of it all. Pin It

17 Turtles Guest Designer

Today I have the privilege of guesting for my sweet friend Juliana Michaels over on the 17 Turtles Blog.

I had the opportunity to work with some fun Christmas cut files, she recently designed. Here are the layouts I created.

I just love that holly cut from the Merry, Merry collection.

The Christmas Cheer & Winter Wishes Cut File have these great 2x2 size polaroid frames that were perfect to use on this multiple photo collage depicting what the start of the Christmas season looks like around our home.

With so many different designs in one package, these cut files are a great deal.  You can get your hands on the Christmas Cheer & Winter Wishes cut file here in the 17 Turtles Etsy shop.  The Merry, Merry cut file can be found here.

This was a real treat, I want to thank Juliana so much for having me.  For more close up shots and, more inspiration, and even a few freebies, head over and check out the 17 Turtles Blog.  You can snag these, and the rest of her fabulous cut files right here in the 17 Turtles Etsy shop.

Thank you so much for stopping by today friends! Pin It

Guest Designer - Fancy Pants Designs Part 1

I had the privilege of guesting on the Fancy Pants blog last week.  I may or may not have squealed a little when I get the request.  As many of you know they are one of my absolute favourite manufacturers in the industry, so it was a real treat to get to play with both the Oh Deer and the True Friends Collections.  And let me tell you, they are incredibly generous, I more than enough goodies to play with.

Although I am not a traditional crafter by nature, the Oh Deer ephemera package, totally inspired me to create a Christmas project that the girls could use during the Christmas season.

I used my 50% off coupon and picked up this double sided easel from Michael's to create a Christmas countdown calendar for the kids to fill out starting today.  They are pretty excited to take turns using different coloured chalk to write in the number of days.

I used varying layers of 3D adhesive to create a sweet little scene in the bottom corner of the chalkboard side.

On the whiteboard side I did something similar in two corners.

There were so many pieces in the package that I just kept working with it and created this layout.

How cute is that chipboard holly?

Trust me when I tell you that is was hard to use up this vintage looking white button.  I kind of just wanted to hoard if for a season or two.

I'll be back later in the week to share with you my True Friend projects.  Thanks for stopping by today friends! Pin It

Oh Deer **Product Spotlight**

It's that time of the year where the sights and smells and sounds of the Christmas season are making their appearance all around us.  As the Christmas collections were being revealed the Oh Deer Collection by Fancy Pants made the short list in my books for cutest collection.  There are so many sweet elements to it I just had to create a project designed to use as many embellishment pieces as possible on one page.

This page using tiny prints of each of my girls showing off a favourite gift from last year allowed to me use a combination of several pieces from the button set, the ephemera pack, and the 6x6 pad.

How about you?  Have you started on your December projects?  Would you like a chance to win some of this collection for yourself?  If so, hop over to this post on the Paper Issues blog, and leave a comment telling us what your favourite holiday movie is.  One winner will be chosen to receive this collection of goodies courtesy of Paper Issues.

Winner will be announced in my next Product Spotlight blog post on the Paper Issues blog on November 26th. 

This is the first of several Christmas projects I have completed over the past few weeks.  I have been keeping a little secret, that I'll soon be able to let you in on *wink*.

In addition to this cute collection, there are still several Christmas collections available in the Paper Issues shop. Use code:SHERRI to save yourself 20% off your goodies.  And remember all orders over $60 prior to discount ship for free within the US.

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Pure Joy - circa 2010

It's "Anything Goes" today at Use It Tuesday.

We are encouraging you to use up your scrappy stash, and choose anything thing you like as your theme for the week.  I think it will be so great to see the wide variety of projects our members will share with us this week, with such a wide range of themes, product, subjects, manufacturers, etc. to choose from.

I decided to create a Christmas layout in Summer.

While cleaning up my old laptop, I came across these photos that I had bookmarked to scrap two years ago, when I bought this Crate Paper - Peppermint collection.  I had completely forgotten about them.  The photos are of the girls opening some of their favourite gifts that year.  I managed to capture some really great expressions on each of their little faces.  I love that this moment is forever captured on this layout (and not still stuck in my computer)

I still had plenty of Chic Tags Christmas tags left from this past Christmas also.  Together, the pair worked perfectly for this layout.  That intertwined circle cut was made using my Cameo.

That Christmas tree flair is two years old by Evalicious, and the "smile" one is actually a fairly new one that I won from Panda Eight Designs.  Martha creates some gorgeous flair, you know I'm a sucker for flair.  I suggest you check out her Etsy shop.

So what stash do you still have laying around that needs to make it's way into a project?  Can I interest you in a Christmas layout in summer perhaps?  Hop over to the blog to see what the rest of the DT created using their stash this month.  You're sure to be inspired.

Don't forget about our Design Team call.  You still have a few more days to get your application in to join these lovely ladies.  Heather and Siobhan lead a great team, and what better way to use up your stash than by joining in a couple of challenges every month?!  You can get all the DT call details right here (just scroll down to the bottom of the page).  Good luck to those who apply! Pin It