After All These Years

Bazzill Basics Projects

So I kinda disappeared there for a bit . . . 

But I'm back and wanting to share with you my first few projects as part of the new Bazzill Basics design team! I love getting "assignments" each month from my design teams - helps me to think outside the box and push my creativity. Here's a layout I created matching Bazzill Basics cardstock with Pink Paislee's Bella Rouge collection:

In fact, if you head over to the Bazzill blog here I actually list the colours I used! Easy peasy!

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It seems I'm actually creating Christmas cards this year! Woot! It's been a couple of years! For the first couple of cards below, I used a sketch.

For my first example, I used the top section as a flap to fold over.

And the second example, swapping out some of the embellishments etc.

You can read more about the cards here.

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And finally, with the focus on the STUNNING foil board from Bazzill Basics, I created these two simple but stylish Christmas cards. 

Again, there are more details on the Bazzill blog post here. 

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Ok, so I think I'm all caught up on my Bazzill projects! I'm loving creating so much - I just wish there was more time in the day! Oh - and possibly a bit more sleep to be had so I could stay awake for longer! 

Are you finding much time to create this busy December?

Whitewash Wonderland

Something I look forward to at Christmas is my kids' visiting and getting their photo taken with Santa. I love the growing collection I have, seeing how fast they are growing up and realising that next year there will be an extra one in the photo! Eeek!

Recently I scrapped last year's photo, and wanted to keep to a soft, pastel colour scheme.

 

I used only cardstock from the Core'dinations Whitewash collection - I've been just a bit obsessed with it lately! But I love the soft colours it gives and how effective just a little bit of sanding is.

You can see in the close up photo below how the edge shows the core colour so easily.

For the panel down the bottom of the layout, I used a star punch to layer shapes punched out of the same cardstock. But with that little sand around the edges they really POP!

Now to work on this year's photo!

Thanks for visiting today and be sure to check out the Core'dinations blog for more inspiration!

 

Christmas Wreath in a Frame

It's just typical of me to be creating Christmas projects so close to the actual day! But my decor items get brought out each year so I know they will get plenty of attention in the long run! 

Inspired by an image I saw online, I wanted to create a sort of looped wire wreath, accented with stars. Sorry about the vague description! How about I just show you my project so you know what I mean?

I decided to create mine on a smaller scale and pop it into a shadow box frame. Honestly, I was really wanting to use the kraft coloured Seasonal Impressions cardstock! Isn't it a fantastic, subtle background???

I chose three shades of Gemstones cardstock for the stars, so they would have a slight sheen, and scattered them around my wire wreath.

Simple but cute! I can honestly see me creating more of these for different occassions such as Valentines or new babies. Just think of the colour combinations and die cut shapes you could use!

 

Christmas In A Sn@p!

Sadly my term on the Simple Stories design team has come to an end. My last post is up on their blog (you can find it here).

I am getting my Christmas on and filled this wooden divided frame with their 3x4 and 4x6 Sn@p cards! You'll see I've kept it quite simple but I just LOVE how bright and fun it is!

 

Seriously, the hardest part was deciding which cards to include as they are all so CUTE! If you do Project Life style scrapbooking, you NEED to check them out if you haven't already! 

 

 

I added a simple Christmas ornament from our tree as well as a few word/phrase stickers. To adorn the tree, I added small enamel dots and they were PERFECT for adding a bit of dimension to it.

 

 

Finally I added a banner with our family name and then went back and added some glossy accents here and there to a few of the elements on the cards. My kids love touching those "shiny" bits and I love it! 

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Designing for Simple Stories has been amazing - they are honestly SUCH a great company - very generous, encouraging and friendly and I'm kind of sad that my term has ended. BUT it has come at the right time with less than 3 months to go before baby #3 is born! Eeeek!

Core'dinations + Tombow Holiday Blog Hop!

It's time for another blog hop with inspiration and prizes from Core'dinations and Tombow - this time with a Holiday theme!  If you're following the blog hop order, you should have arrived here from Clare's blog. 

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Each year I create a tree ornament using a photo of my kids. It's so fun to see how much they've changed over the past few years! For my project today, I thought I'd share my 2013 ornaments with you as using Tombow adhesive made them so easy to create!

 

 

This year they are quite simple, made with two shades of Core cardstock with a punched, raised pattern on each. I can't give you directions to make the frame - I simply eyeball it once my photos are printed! Laugh!

 

 

I adhered the photo and frame layers together using my Tombow Stamp Runner and raised the punched circles for dimension using Tombow foam tabs.

 

 

For Noah's, I used a stripe pattern. YES I sanded each individual stripe and spot before adding them to my project - I love the distressed edge and extra dimension that the exposed Core edge gives!

 

You can see a couple of my previous years' ornaments here and here and here.

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PRIZES! Of course it wouldn't be a Holiday Blog Hop without prizes! And there are some amazing prizes being given away by Tombow and Core! Check them out in the picture below:

 

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To be eligible to win, please comment on each of the designers projects and don't forget to "Like" the Core’dinations Facebook Page and "Like" the Tombow Facebook Page. 

And your next stop on the Holiday Hop is Jennifer's blog!  Enjoy!

Core'dinations + Christmas

I have officially started creating projects for Christmas!  You might recall I created a cute Christmas countdown a little while back (see it here). Well . . . I loved using the embroidery hoop as my "frame" and have been wanting to do more to create a cluster on my wall for Christmas. A trip to the craft store was in order and I purchased a few different sized hoops.

Here's my next one:

 

 

This is a great project for using up scraps of Core'dinations! I dug through to find a few colours to work together, cut strips and started assembling my "tree"! 

Of course, this being Core cardstock, I couldn't leave it plain! I had to emboss and sand the strips in various designs to add even more interest.

 

The background is from the fabulous Kraft-Core Seasonal Impressions collection. Instant Christmas! 

The starts were die cut from Core Couture Glitter Cardstock for a bit of sparkle! 

This little tree was so easy and fun to make - here are a couple more ideas:

• For the front of your Christmas cards! These will be easy to mass-produce.
• Get the kids involved - maybe adding the stars or other embellishments to the pre-made trees. 

 

Thanks for popping by and hope to see you back here soon! 

 

Christmas Countdown

I don't know exactly how many days until Christmas (I'm too afraid to count them!) but I recently had the opportunity to play with the 'Believe' papers from Heidi Swapp and got a start on my first Christmas project!

I decided to create a fun countdown frame using an embroidery frame as the base. I actually added calico to the frame first and then glued the patterned paper onto it, to make it nice and secure. 

Can you see that fun embossed cardstock banner under the journaling card?

 

 

I punched the numbers 1 through 25 from a sheet of patterned paper and I'll attach velcro dots to the back so I can change them.

You can never have too many Christmas countdowns around the house right? 

You can check out my post on the Core'dinations blog here and while you're there, check out all the other inspiring projects using Core and Heidi Swapp!

 

Simple Stories + December Daily!

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Simple Stories December Daily blog hop! You should have arrived here from Emily Lanham's blog. 

I'm so excited to share my December Daily plan with you all! I say plan, because it's still a work-in-progress, but I've completed a lot of the foundation to this project that will hopefully make it a breeze to finish, come December!

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Firstly, the cover! I love embellishing mini album covers! Of course I've used a Sn@p 6"x8" binder and the Handmade Holiday collection.

I've layered it all up, in my usual style, raising some elements on foam dots and adding in some twine and chipboard for texture.

My album will consist of one page and one divided page protector per day. I've simply alternated one of the Handmade Holiday Sn@p pages and page protectors ensuring I have enough. 

I haven't added to these pages yet as I intend to do it as I go throughout December. I think my album will be photo + story heavy, rather than lots of embellishing.

Here's something I have prepared ahead of time:

I've created my numbers for each day! I'll add them to my album as I go. Here's a closer look at the layered designs I've created for my numbers. 

I've used the numbers from the Countdown Stickers sheet, the ones shaped like a banner and simply trimmed the top and punched a hole in them so they were like tags. Cute??

In order to have just one side of each page/protector per day, I added an extra protector to the front of the album and have embellished the very front as a title page of sorts.

And those little pockets in the divided page protectors are so much fun to fill up with bits and pieces!

Up the top left, I've added some confetti (mix of punched circles, sequins and tiny stickers stuck front and back). I've stitched the top of that pocket closed. On the right hand side, I've popped in a bingo card that I've splattered lightly, and a glittered star over the top.

 

And down the bottom, I've added some typed journaling to the left hand pocket and part of a doily to the right.

Of course, we all know that one of the best things about a blog hop (apart from all the inspiration of course) is that there's usually some fabulous prizes up for grabs along the way! Leave a comment on this post, and as many other blog hop stops along the way as one lucky commenter will receive a December Daily Sn@p prize! And there will be other random prizes given as well!

Your next stop on the blog hop is Guiseppa Gubler's blog.

There is full blog hop list on the Simple Stories blog here if you get lost along the way! 

Thanks for hopping on by today!

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And for all the Aussie readers, don't forget that Anna's Craft Cupboard stocks the entire Simple Stories range INCLUDING the new Sn@p, 6x8 binders and Handmade Holiday collection!

Easy Christmas Advent Calendar

Hello! It's all systems go for Christmas in the Lindner household! 

I have my Advent Calendar up on the Greatest View blog today. I created it in one afternoon using the small bags from the shop as my pockets for each day. 

I've used some label stickers and number stickers from the new Sn@p Collection (Simple Stories).

So head on over to the Greatest View blog to take a closer look!

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I'll be back later for a fun blog hop - it's December Daily time!

Simple Stories + Christmas Ornaments

I am so determined to be organised early for Christmas this year, so I can relax a bit and soak up the magic with my kiddies. I've already got a head start by creating this year's photo ornaments and up on the Simple Stories blog, I've included a mini tutorial for you!

So be sure to head on over and check it out! 

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I've been working on loads of Christmas projects this past week so I will be back in a couple of days to share more!