HO HO HO HO

There is something so magical about Christmas when you see it through the eyes of a child! When my boys were little that was my favorite part of the year - seeing their excitement and enthusiasm for, as Caleb used to say, “Critmas.” As they got older and weren’t as excited even though their stepsisters were all about the holidays, and I admit I had to readjust my expectations. Now that we have a baby in the family, precious little Asmerelda, we once again are experiencing that wonder - and she’s even working her magic on her uncles, who suddenly are willing to do festive things when she is around. There’s just something about a little one and the magic Christmas.

Scrapbooking Tips

Have you ever just wanted to try something new? Spice up an old routine? That’s exactly what I did when I created the following layout. As a scrapbooker I have my sweet spot - I know what type of papers I like, what photo arrangements I gravitate towards, and my embellishing style. But I just wanted to try something new just for the sake of trying something new.

I had used large die cut files before but in an intricate, careful way. My primary purpose in scrapbooking is preserve the memory in the photos, but I wanted to create some bold layouts playing with lots of pattern paper focusing on the die cut first.

I had already scrapbooked a layout of Azzy being visited by Santa, but when I saw this Ho Ho Ho Ho die cut by Paige Evans, I knew immediately I had to use the photos of Jim, I mean Santa, with Azzy!

Using the Becky Higgins Project Life app, I resized my photos to 3x4 - which puts two pictures per 6x4 print. I chose four of my favorite photos.

I laid the die cut over the photos and with a pen traced the outside line of the “O’s”. I then carefully cut inside my pen lines. I added my adhesive to the back of my die cut and then carefully positioned it over the photo. When I was happy with the placement I pressed down and adhered it.

I followed the same procedure to cut the holly berries and leaves in the center of the page. To add some visual interest, I used a dotted red paper for the berries.

In another attempt to push myself past my ordinary design techniques, I chose a bold pattern paper from Bella Blvd to fill in the “H’s.” This paper came in a Christmas collection, and I gravitated to the non-traditional color of pink because I was scrapbooking pictures of a baby girl.

Another pattern paper I also wanted to incorporate was the plaid paper. I decided to use it as a border for my layout. I carefully cut out a 9"x9” square from the center of the plaid paper so I could use it on another project. I trimmed down my solid sheet of card stock to 11 1/2” by 11 1/2” inches.

The hardest part of this layout was deciding which color to attach my die-cut to. Sometimes I take a photo of the different options and see how it looks - and if I really can’t decide, I’ll send the pictures to my mom and ask her opinion.

Because this page is so busy, I opted not to add any journaling. It was pretty obvious what was taking place in the photos. If I choose not to add journaling, I will date the back of the layout which helps when it’s time to put it in an album!

I had so much fun putting this layout together, I will definitely be incorporating large die cuts into more of my layouts.

Supplies used:

Cardstock - Bazzill, Hobby Lobby & The Stamps of Life

Pattern Paper - Bella Blvd

HO HO HO HO die cut - Paige Evans - Silhouette Design ID: 393249

Foam adhesive