Snowman Soup with Crate Paper

Hello everyone, I hope your all enjoying the run up to Christmas, not much longer now! So today I have something festive to show you that may inspire you to make some last minute gifts! I first came across the idea of 'snowman soup' on 'pinterest' so decided to have a go at it myself this year using it for my sons teacher gifts. So to make 'Snowman Soup' you will need the following:

• Clear cellophane bags
• Candy Canes
• Hot Chocolate Sachets
• White mini marshmallows
• Crate Paper Bundled Up collection (perfect!)
• A snowman or Christmas themed punch/die or stamp. Here are some ideas.

 I used the bundled up collection by Crate Paper and cut out some of the patterned paper to approx 8inches x4 inches to fit the width of my cellophane bags. 

I then put in a hot choc sachet, a candy cane and some marshmallows into the bags and folded the paper in half and then stapled it to the bag at each side. 

I then searched for a poem again on pinterest and typed it up. I printed it and matted them onto some bazzil cardstock. 

To finish, I added a sizzix snowman on top of a punched scalloped circle and embellished with some bling!

Merry Christmas to you all! 

Anna x

Documenting December

December is full of events.
We are busy catching up with family and friends, eating good foods, going to nice places and doing lovely things.
So why is it every year I struggle to scrap all this?
It's like my mojo goes off on a Christmas holiday all on it's own and comes back later in January, by which time I no longer have any interest in scrapping Christmas.
Because of this I rarely have any Christmassy LO's. As for December Dailys, forget it. I always start with good intentions and give up after just a few days.

This year I'm tackling it Project Life style and it's working for me.
Back in Feb this year I said I would attempt Project Life but in my own relaxed way and it really has worked. So I thought I would try this for December too and 'Yes', it's working!!

I have my first week completed already and I've prepped this week too.
Not bad.
There is however a lot to document in December so I thought I would add a couple of extra pages.
I will show you these today.
After all, not every page has to start with a new week number or date does it??

I haven't used PL cards for these two pages, instead I used a couple of cute 12x12 papers that were perfect for cutting up.
First is this one from Bella Blvd. I love this happy paper.

I have cut it to suit my page protector. Across the top and then the next 2 sections in to twos.

Giving me this.

 

 

You can now see how it works for me. I just rounded off the corners.

I have added some little gems for some bling. The Prima Marketing gems and pearls are my favourite for this.

I love the little packs they come in and they are such great value.

 

 

My next page was more about the story telling.

Again no week number.

I used this October Afternoon paper. Make it Merry.

 

 



Here's my page all about picking our Christmas Tree this year.

 

 

I had a silly story to tell and this paper was perfect for my story.

 

 

 

I was able to document our tradition of how we pick our tree.

And if your paper doesn't quite fit what you need it to do.....then you make it fit.

 

 

 

A pair of scissors and it's a perfect fit : )

 

I'm so happy to be getting some of my stories down on paper this year.

This to me feels so informal and there's no pressure.

Perhaps I will actually get Christmas 2013 documented after all.

 

I hope you are enjoying your December so far.

Lisa x 

 

 

 

 

  

Simple card and tag

We all need some quick ideas for those Christmas Cards .... here's an idea for you....

I picked up this simple and fun Christmas stamp from the shop the other day, the make is Inkadinkadoo.... I stamped it onto a kraft card blank and a kraft tag....taking my pencils I coloured in Santa and added colour to the background.... I then added stickles to the snow, fur and Santas beard....the snowflakes also had a hint of sparkle added..... the edges were then doodled to finish off the tag and card... matching card and tag and mighty quick too....

TFLxx

Xmas Card Workshop...

Tomorrow at our shop in Otley we shall be holding a Xmas card making workshop. We will be creating three very different cards, using a range of techniques. The workshop will be held Thursday from 10am -1pm and there are still a few spaces left. To inquire about booking a place, please email enquiries@papermaze.co.uk or phone the shop today before 3pm on 01473 892195.

                             

                                  

         

         

SN@P! - Project Life

Hello!!
I shared a LO with you earlier this month using the Simple Stories - SN@P Project Life cards. Today I am going to share a couple of Project Life pages with you that I've been working on.

I've used the same cards.
The 3x4 cards here, like these.

And this time I've also used a pack of the 4x6 cards here.
There are several different collections to choose from in both sizes.

They make the Project Life pages very easy to put together and as you can see here, very colourful too.

  I thought I would share with you today some of my tips when using these cards.

 

Using all the cards from the same collection makes it quick and easy as everything will match. I have mixed up some of the 3x4 and the 4x6 cards here by adding some of the smaller cards to the larger cards. The 'TODAY' card is a 3x4 for example that I've stuck down on a larger card. So are the 'Good Stuff' and the 'Monday' cards.

 

 

You don't have to use the journal cards as they intend you to do. There are no rules. This card here 'YOU' is a journal card for a list. I didn't want to write a list though so I used it to journal what we did on the children's inset day. Don't get stuck on writing what the card tells you to do. 

 

My next page.

 

 

 I bought some new Project Life Page Protectors this month. I love these from Simple Stories.

There are lots to choose from here.

Something I have just started doing is adding a staple at the top of each card. No matter which page protectors I've used, I've still found that the cards move around and some have fallen out. I didn't really want to add a staple, but at the end of the day. I've no plans to remove them and this way I don't have to worry about loosing any.

 

 

I've mixed the cards up again here. I needed to trim some down. The '14-19' card had the left side cut down to make it fit, but I then added it here to make the smaller card larger.

See the 'details' card. That has the rest of the card above stuck on the right side so it fit the larger wallet. I've done this a few times on this page.

 

 

And if you are struggling to find space to journal, why not journal around the outside of your cards.

 

 

I hope you have found these hints helpful.

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Lisa x

 

 

 

 

 

Papermaze November Kit

Have you seen the new monthly kit is now available online here?

This month, it is packed full of pretty Prima and Kaisercraft goodies but it is not only for Scrapbookers. As you can see below, there are loads of smaller elements within the kit that are perfect for cards or other paper arts.

 

 

Here is the scrapbook page I also created using the kit, and there were still plenty of papers left to do much more!

This is what the kit laid out looks like. All this for only £10!

 

 

Simple Stories ~ Say Cheese :-)

When I first saw this collection by Simple Stories I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! As a family of Disney fans we have been on several trips over the years and I always keep my eye out for Disney scrapbooking products. However it is quite unusual to find new and unique Disney scrapping products here in the UK. As this collection has not been made by Disney itself, it does not include images that fans might expect to see in a 'Disney' themed collection (the mouse himself for example) due to copyright. But its fantastic and has been created by Simple Stories based on their products and style that we know and love themed around a Disney trip but also functional for other day to day layouts too. Take a look at some of  the phrases on the expressions cardstock stickers below and hopefully you will see what I mean... 

   

Having just recently returned from a holiday to Disneyland Paris, of course I am going to be using it to scrap our photos. I really like the style of square photos that is quite popular at the moment so this was the base for my first layout. (I also discovered the other day that photo counters in supermarkets can now print your pictures square too)! Anyway here is my first layout using this collection...

I have brought most of this collection, including some of the project life style papers and I am planning on combining my album with some traditional layouts along with some project life pages too. 

In my opinion this collection is fantastic and a long time coming too, I've never seen anything similar. This collection has proved to be very popular worldwide and several scrapping stores have been selling out fast, but you can still find it here at Papermaze! 

Anna x

Advent House

With Christmas fast approaching what better way to get you in the mood than by making a great advent house calender....

Come and join us on 23rd November at the shop workshop where we will be making this:-

I have painted my drawers with pearlescent paint which is throwing back the flash, but, you can decorate your house how you wish - everything you need will be provided in class - but, if you have a favourite paintbrush, pair of scissors or colours you specifically want to use please feel free to bring them along - you will need to bring a packed lunch, beverages and biscuits will be provided...

Pop along here to book your place...

Hope to see you on the 23rd..

SN@P! - The Scrapbooker

The first thing I would like to ask you today is ''have you seen the SN@P!  ranges by Simple Stories'?

If you haven't, you have been missing out.
I've been a big 'Simple Stories' fan for quite some time now. The SN@P collections though just top them all.

I'm talking layered stickers, badges, brads, lables, lots of alphas, pockets, chipboard the list goes on, for me though the best bits are the little 4x3 cards. The ideas are endless for these.
There are a few to choose from. In each of the 4x3'' packs you get 24 double-sided cards. They look like this and cost just £3.99 per pack.

      You can view the collections here.

Don't be mistaken in to thinking that these are just aimed at those who scrap Project Life style.
These cards are so versatile and are suitable for the 12x12 scrapper, the card maker and for other projects too.
Today I have a LO to share with you using these cards to show how well they work with scrapbooking.

 

 

I love the balance of the 4 cards here. The 2 with the design and the other 2. One allowing me to include a photo and the other for the journaling.

 

The LO can now be jazzed up a little.

 

 

I've continued to use the 4x3 cards to add other points of interest within the LO.

I took this 'Thursday' card and cut down and rounded off the corners with a punch.

 

 

This half circle was also cut from one of the cards. On the reverse of this particular card were lots of little cameras, so I've cut one out and added to this card too.

 

 

One of the attractions to these SN@P collections for me are the fun colours. I just find them so fun to work with. Add a background that contrasts like this dark blue and it's just all so easy to work with.

 

I picked out these yellow thickers that matched and added a little red stitching.

 

 

 

I had so much fun making this.

You can view the SN@P collections here.

 

Have fun!!

 

Lisa x

how to get the most from your dies....

I'm always looking for more ways to use my dies.... the majority of them are a big investment and I need to ensure that I get my moneys worth!!

So, after re-doing my storage for my plastic stored dies I had loads of plastic wallets left over, so I had the idea of creating my own stencils and masks.... so I started by cutting the acetate so that I had flat sections to work with and selected the below die....

I tried to cut the pictured die using the acetate - but, it wouldn't cut.... I tried it with loads of shims, tried to cut thro' the pieces but it just wouldn't work.... not sure if its me or that the die is too thin and intricate to cut acetate.... not one to give up, I found some more packaging and cut out some snowflakes using the alterations die...

the heavier die worked well.... using the acetate and some texture paste I added some snowflakes to a tag..

I then painted the tag using acryllic paint

ummmm - I then added my mask again and painted my snowflakes, gave the tag a spritz of glimmer mist and added some stamping...I then stamped out Father Christmas and a saying onto cardstock, coloured and inked the edges then added same... the tag was finished off by adding some ribbon, a tassle and pearl and gold edging.

TFL