CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

I'm on my 3rd recipe of “What to do with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey”, and I have my stereo blasting out Christmas tunes. Is this the scene at your house? I'm sure many of you have been crafting and buying gifts for the holidays for quite some time. I always start out with good intentions and end up finishing projects and shopping into the wee hours a few nights before Christmas. This happens to me every year and somehow I always pull it off, then I say, “Next year I'm starting earlier” ... that's my Christmas Tradition.

Tradition is a very important part of the Holidays. My kids make sure that we carry them on every year. Even though they are getting older and I think to myself, maybe they won't want to do that this year; they are the ones that remind me just how important Traditions are. This Holiday season, continue the Traditions and start a few new ones. Traditions are memories, new and old.

May your Holiday and New Year be Merry!

Layout 1: CHRISTMAS BAKING

Supplies:

• Grandma's Cupboard Creatable by Lorie Lakey
• Cardstock, evergreen, gold, parchment
• Patterned paper
• Transparency by Hammermill
• Antique silver eyelets by Making Memories
• Paper Plus Tea Dye
• Varnish by Delta (optional)

Instructions:

1. Copy and paste to a workspace the baking utensils and flour sifter, I use Microsoft Word. Size the utensils to approximately 2 ¼'x 3”. Size the sifter to approximately 1 3/8”x 1 ¾”. Print onto parchment cardstock and cut out into rectangles.
2. Print a title or any journaling desired onto parchment paper. Place lettering on the right side of what will be a tag. Create the parchment tag 3”x7”. Tear one end and angle the edges on the other end to create tag. If you wish to tea dye the parchment do so at this time. Mat the graphics onto the evergreen cardstock. Mat the tag onto gold cardstock. Adhere graphics onto tag and place an eyelet at the top.
3. Place a 3” strip of pattern paper at the bottom of your layout on evergreen cardstock. Place a ¼” strip of gold along the top edge of the patterned paper.
4. To create the transparency, I scanned a photo of our home and changed it to black and white. I then added a black border in my Word program. Once printed onto the transparency, place a piece of gold cardstock behind it to give it a sepia tone. Adhere the cardstock using eyelets.
5. Arrange tag and photos onto layout and adhere.
   

Layout 2: FAMILY CHRISTMAS

Supplies:

• Antique Keepsakes Creatable by Jeff Goodsell
• Christmas Traditions Creatable by KaeLynn Winn
• Lettering Delights alphabet, Passport
• Cardstock, evergreen, cranberry, brown, parchment
• Gold eyelets by Making Memories
• Pine pipe cleaner
• Small circle punch
• Jewelry Hemp by The Beadery
• Fiskars paper edgers, stamp
• Wave cutting system by Creative Memories
• ColorBox Cat's Eye Pigment Brush Pad, Cocoa

Instructions:

1. Copy and Paste the paper rust background from the Antique Keepsakes Creatable to a workspace, I use Microsoft Word, and size to fit the page. Print 2 sheets onto parchment cardstock. Copy and paste the square poinsettia from the Family Tradition Creatable. Size one to 2 ½” and one to 2”. Create a title using the Lettering Delights Passport alphabet. Print onto parchment cardstock and cut out.
2. To create the envelope, trim the printed cardstock to 8”x10” and cut in half the long way. Make a pattern from plain paper to create a top and bottom flap for the envelope. Trace onto the printed cardstock and cut out. Using the Cat's Eye pigment pad, highlight the edges of all the envelope pieces. Adhere all the pieces together to create the envelope. Punch 2 small brown circles and attach to the envelope using eyelets to make the closure. Wrap the jewelry cord around the closure circles.
3. Adhere the poinsettia graphics onto evergreen cardstock and trim using the stamp edge scissors by Fiskars.
4. Cut 4, ¼” strips of evergreen cardstock and adhere to create a border on the cranberry layout. Adhere the envelope at an angle onto the layout.
5. Mat photos using parchment cardstock edged with the pigment pad. Double mat using brown cardstock. Create a photo tag and place a pine pipe cleaner through an eyelet.
6. Cut 4, 8” waves using the Creative Memories cutting system. Adhere towards the bottom right of the layout. Place photo tag over the left end of the waves and the large poinsettia stamp over the waves.
7. Arrange and adhere remaining photo, stamp, and title.
   

Layout 3: I BELIEVE

Supplies:

• Christmas Goose Creatable by Tammy Sherman
• Cardstock, light brown, red, green, white
• Paper Fasteners by Creative Imagination
• Jute string
• Printer's Lowercase alphabet stamps by Hero Arts
• 1” square black ink pad

Instructions:

1. Copy and paste the Santa and ornament graphics to a workspace, I use Microsoft Word. Size the Santa to 4 ½” and the ornaments to 4” and print onto white cardstock. Cut out the graphics and set aside.
2. Prepare your background for the layout by stamping 2 rows of squares down the right side of the layout.
3. To create the paper rolled mat that includes a photo and the Santa graphic, cut a piece of red cardstock 7”x7”. Wet the top and bottom edges using a small paint brush. Once it is good and wet, begin rolling the edges. To distress it even more, create a few tears and crumple it a little. Add a small paper rolled green piece of cardstock to the right edge of the mat. Paper roll a piece of red to use for journaling.
4. Mat remaining photos using green cardstock. Arrange photos and graphics onto layout and adhere. Use paper fasteners and jute to tie the ornaments together.
5. Using the alphabet stamps, add titles and journaling.
   

Layout 4: WOOL NUTCRACKER

Supplies:

• Victorian Christmas Creatable by Rebecca Carter
• Wool Scraps and sewing supplies
• Felting Needle
• Iron on tracing paper

Instructions:

1. Copy and paste the Nutcracker graphic in black and white to a workspace, I use Microsoft Word. Size to 7” and print onto typing paper in mirror image.
2. Cut pieces out to create a paper piecing pattern. Trace onto the iron on tracing paper.
3. Iron the paper to the appropriate color wool and cut out.
4. Iron pieces together onto an 8 ½”x 11” piece of black wool. Use a straight stitch to sew around the edges of each piece. Use various embroidery stitches to embellish the Nutcracker.