Happy Thursday!!! There is less than two weeks to Christmas! Are you ready? Our designers have some great products to get you in the festive mood! Let’s check out a peek!
From Tinci
From Snickerdoodle Designs
From JoCee
From Aimee Harrison
From Miss Fish
From Daglicious
From Lindsay Jane
Come back tomorrow to see all the new releases in the shop!
DIY Christmas Card Workshop
Woohoo! I’m on deadline today!! Things are looking up. Today’s tutorial isn’t necessarily scrapbooking-related, but it definitely uses digital scrapbooking supplies. It’s also not really in time for this year, but it can be a thought for next year. I’m going to show you how to make 2 personal Christmas cards from 1 sheet of cardstock. The resulting cards are 4 1/4 inches by 5 1/2 inches. You can get 50 envelopes that will hold these beauties at Michaels for $8 (Canadian, so about $5 in the US).
If I would have been thinking I could have skipped this step by putting the dimensions in reverse in the New Document screen. But I didn’t so I had to Rotate the canvas 90°.
Next I snapped a line across the centre of the page, and another from top to bottom. I used the Ruler and the Pencil Tool. To snap a straight line in a project, select the Pencil Tool and set the size of the line you want. I wanted these lines to be faint, so I went with 1 pixel. Line up the cursor with the halfway point along one side of your canvas. You can see a moving dashed line on the Ruler so you’ll know when you’re in the right place. Click once just barely inside the edge of your canvas. Then hold down the Shift key and move the cursor to the same spot on the opposite side and click again. It’s just that easy. Then do the same with the top-to-bottom centre point. These are guidelines for placement of elements and for cutting and scoring later.
Then I opened up the folder where I’d collected the objects I wanted to use. I have a photo taken several Christmases ago, a 3D snowflake from Lindsay Jane‘s Snowed Under kit and a mask from PrelestnayaP‘s December Wishes.
Working in the lower left corner of the canvas, I opened up the Shape Tool, chose the Rectangle, set a Fixed Size of 5.25 by 4 inches and chose a darkish green colour.
The resulting rectangle will fit inside the guidelines for one card. and by Simplifying the layer, I can make adjustments to it as needed because it’s now a Smart Object.
The next step is to add the mask. I resized it to fit inside the green rectangle completely.
The photo went on top of the mask and was resized to approximately the size I’d need. I want the deer and some of the illuminated snow visible later.
Clipping the photo to the mask is simple. Right click>Create Clipping Mask or CTRL/CMD>ALT>G for more recent versions of PSE or just CTRL/CMD>G for versions pre-15.
Final position tweaks included a little shifting and a little more shrinking.
I chose a gold colour from my photo to use for the sentiment. Here’s where all those amazing fonts you have in your stash will come in handy. You can make this text as personal as you want, even making it family- or person-specific. But it still looked like it needed something. So I CTRL/CMD>clicked on the green rectangle layer’s thumbnail to select the outer edges of the rectangle. Then Select>Modify>Contract.
I pondered for a nanosecond how much I should shrink my selection and settled on 25 pixels.
And then I added a Stroke to the new selection. Edit>Stroke (Outline) Selection
I then used the same gold as for the text and added my Stroke. The position for this isn’t a make-or-break thing, so don’t obsess over it.
Yes, I think that’s what it needed.
The final step for this card is to add a trademark to the back. I went with the green for this.
Knowing that it’s on the BACK of the card and should be readable with the card right-side-up, I Rotated the text 180°.
I’m going for 100% honesty here… I saw a card like this second one on Pinterest so I’m not taking credit for the idea. (Ignore the typo on the screenshot please!) I added a new blank layer to the stack and Loaded some watercolour Brushes. These are from a set of 20 free brushes from Brusheezy. I chose 3 shades of wintery blue for the brush area.
I layered the brushes, each on its own layer so I can make adjustments to just one – or all – if I need to.
For a bit of contrast I chose an aqua for the topmost brush layer.
I added in the snowflake and sized it appropriately. But it wasn’t quite enough by itself. So I added a Layer Style from Ooh La La Scraps‘ In the Frosty Air collection.
It still was missing something so I turned off the snowflake layer for a second and added a white paint splatter. That makes a big difference!
A few words and it’s pretty much what I was looking for.
A trademark on the back in the dark blue and it’s finished!
I saved the file as a .png so the printer wouldn’t need to add a white background to everything. To turn this into cards, I’ll load up my printer with white cardstock and print several copies. Using my guillotine cutter I’ll cut the cards apart on the top-to-bottom guideline and score then fold along the side-to-side guideline. I choose to print my sentiments for the inside of the card on resume paper (it’s a bit fancier than regular printer paper) and trim to fit the inside of the folded card. Word art would be perfect for this! Another option is to use a sentiment stamp and ink in a colour to match the front of the card. All that’s left is to sign them, pop them into their envelopes and mail them!
Whew… two weeks until Christmas Eve! Better get on that!
Hey scrapbook friends. Hope you are enjoying your December and are grabbing the Daily Download from our Featured Designers. Kristmess Designs and Aimee Harrison Designs teamed up this month to bring us a gorgeous kit.
I had a chance to ask them a few questions. Let’s see what Kristina had to say.
How long have you been designing?
Almost 15 years.
What made you decide to design?
I have been designing my own papers and such for years, long before I ever had a computer and when I got one I just started doing it on that one thing lead to another and eventually I started selling the kits I’d made.
What do you use to create your designs (program, additional tools, etc.)?
I use Photoshop and Affinity Designer on my iMac mainly, I also use Procreate on the iPad for drawings and watercolour stuff. I also use Affinity Photo and Designer on the iPad too although that is all fairly new to me.
Describe your design workplace.
Unfortunately I live in a very small house with 3 kids and no spare rooms of any kind so my desk is in a closet in our bedroom, the door came off and the desk went in, it’s a bit cramped but once I’m in my little bubble I don’t really notice.
What motivates and inspires you as a designer?
Oh loads of things, things I see when out and about, stuff the kids do, that sort of thing.
What is your favorite kit currently in your GS store and why?
My favourite kit is usually my most recent one and usually changes as I make a new one! It’s hard to say an overall favourite but I suppose right now it is my Reverence kit, only because it is the first kit that I made primarily using my iPad. I was travelling at the time I drew the ballerinas and made the most of the kit. I am still learning my programs on the iPad so that was quite an achievement for me.
What was your first job?
The first job I ever had was working as a waitress in a restaurant near to where I grew up, whilst I was going through college.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Lot of people actually, with my husband’s line of work I meet famous people on a regular basis. I also worked on cruise ships and there were quite a few famous folks came on the cruises.
What are you reading right now?
I am afraid to say I am not a big reader, I am dyslexic and find it very difficult and time consuming to read. I read only things I have to and try to avoid the rest.
What is your favorite quote?
“My spelling is wobbly, it’s good spelling but it wobbles and the letters get in the wrong places” by A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
What is something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?
Get organized!
You have your own latenight talk show, who do you invite as your first guest?
No idea, sorry.
If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?
I think I probably only have 3 apps on my smartphone! I don’t use it all that much, except for making phone calls of course. Now lets see, I think I would keep FaceTime, Transit (local bus schedule) and Mail.
If you could have someone follow you around all the time, like a personal assistant, what would you have them do?
Oh the housework, most definitely! I can’t stand doing housework and I would LOVE to have someone do that for me!
Would you rather travel back in time to meet your ancestors or to the future to meet your descendants?
Ancestors for sure!
What commercial jingle gets stuck in your head all the time?
Believe it or not I can’t think of one off hand, I guess I don’t listen to much in the way of commercials!’
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick?
Hmm, Fanta cos that would make it Fanta Sea!!
Thanks Kristina. I loved your answers. Make sure to check out her GingerScraps store, her Facebook Fan Page, and her blog.
Are you grabbing the Daily Download? I just love this Sneak Peek!
The party’s on
The feelin’s here
That only comes
This time of year
My favorite part about this time of year is the classics that come onto the radio, into the commercials, and all of that goodness!
Each year, the designers take the classics and turn them into their own new classics, and I just love seeing how the layouts turn out! We can’t wait to celebrate this holiday season with you!
Remember when you spend $10 in the store, you get a great new collab! Templates abound, trickling around like leaves.
I love seeing things from past Christmases, so this is a perfect kit!
Remember, if you complete 10 challenges, just ten, you get a free kit as well!!
Anyone else craving Gingerbread, Hot Cocoa, and Candy Canes right now?
To Theme or Not to Theme
I apologize for missing my deadline. I got caught up in a Christmas sewing project and by the time I came up for air it was almost bedtime. But I didn’t totally forget about you!
When I was looking in the Forum at the December Challenges I was drawn to the Mini Kit provided by Neia Scraps. Although it’s called Christmas Spirit and has a Christmas-y theme I knew I would be using it instead to scrap one (or more) of my DD’s wedding photos (from July) because the palette is PERFECT for them. So I downloaded the kit and created a layout that has nothing to do with the kit’s theme. And that started me thinking about how often others might use a themed kit for a layout about something completely unrelated. I do it fairly often, and figured we could talk about that a bit today. (Note to Glee… the light source is almost directly centred over the layout, but slightly left and up. The frame is holding the paper star down but the points are free.)
For this layout I used a Valentine’s Day kit, the GingerBread Ladies‘ collab Smitten, to scrap a dog photo. (I know, I do a lot of layouts with my dogs front and centre. What can I say?)
Then I took a (very quick) tour through the Gallery.
Gingerscrapper dshepard created a layout with a kit from Magical Scraps Galore with a candy theme; it’s called Sweet as Candy. The subject of her layout is a visit to a theme park.
This pretty example from honeybee was created with Harvest Sunrise from Mag’sGraphics. No harvest anywhere in sight… but lots of love!
Then I found this cute layout from snojewel about pirates. She used a motivational kit from the GingerBread Ladies called Love Yourself.
And then I found this one from teamkobza about a fun day she had with some little people, although I doubt they were in Iowa. The kit she used is Travelogue Iowa from Connie Prince.
So here’s a challenge for all y’all. I’d like you to create a layout using a kit with an obvious theme but about something unrelated. It’ll broaden your horizons!
I’m too flabbergasted to really think of anything to put here. How is it already December? Where did 2020 go? This time next month, I’ll be going “HAPPY NEW YEAR”.
Can someone please slow down time?
It is the First of the month, and that means the reveal of our new Buffet!!
Don’t forget to check out the Buffet Bundles, one easy click to add bundles of Buffet goodies to your cart, and an amazing value too!
The designers all had their own take on what the colors and theme said to them! I love the variety!
The designers definitely each made the palette their own and came up with some gorgeous designs, each unique but working so well with the other designers’ creations
The CT did such a great job showing how well all of the kits blend. They all did wonderful work!
This is just a few of the layouts.
Remember when you spend $10 in the store, you get a great new collab! Templates abound, trickling around like leaves.
I love seeing things from past Christmases, so this is a perfect kit!
The Monthly Mix this month is SO pretty. I just love the colors of Winter Gala! It was created by Connie Prince, Lindsay Jane, Word Art World, and Trixie Scraps.
This fall will be remembered with snow before Halloween 
Let’s take a look at the full kit from November. As a coffee lover, I love this so much. I’m actually drinking my second cup of the day as I put this post together. Fun fact – I didn’t like coffee until I met my husband. I blame my late father-in-law for my addiction to bold coffee.
When I saw the preview for our December kit, I gasped. Kristmess Designs and Aimee Harrison Designs have gone together to bring us this gorgeous kit.
Remember, the download is kept up for 5 days, and then it is taken down. If you miss pieces, the kit will be available for purchase on the first day of the following month.
This month, we don’t have just one designer guesting! We have TWO! How lucky are we? BUT! Before we get to that, we just got word that one of our previous guest designers is staying with us PERMANENTLY! Welcome to the TEAM!!
Our first Guest Designer is Christie, of Scrappin Serenity!
This is what she told us about herself:
Hey y’ll! I’m ChristieDawn (aka Scrappin Serenity). I’ve been married to my amazing husband, Michael, since 2005, and together we have 2 wild and witty kiddos, Haylie (who’s 12) and Hunter (who’s 11). We live just outside the Nashville, TN area. Most of my time is spent watching my kiddos in all their activities; Haylie plays catcher in softball and sings in the choir, and Hunter just started band (he plays percussion) and loves Gymnastics! When the kids aren’t keeping me busy, I scrapbook and design! I started scrap-booking just after Hunter was born and then started dipping my toes in designing shortly after that.
Here are just a few things available in her store:
She even has a GREAT sale going on:
Our second guest is just as awesome! Hannah of La Belle Vie Designs!
She’s actually a former designer of ours! Welcome back!
Here’s more of what she had to share with us:
Hi there, I’m Hannah! I’m the designer behind La Belle Vie Designs. I’ve been creating templates, kits and other digital goodies for just over eight years now (hard to believe it’s been that long!). When I’m not designing I love to bake, read and spend time with family. We live in Minnesota and even though I’m not the biggest fan of our winters around here, I don’t think I could live anywhere else.
I used to have a shop here at Gingerscraps so I’m so excited to be returning for the month of December! Lots of fun things planned – I hope you’ll enjoy what I have in store for you!
And this is just a snippet of what she has in her store:
Remember, if you complete 10 challenges, just ten, you get a free kit as well!!
Anyone else craving Gingerbread, Hot Cocoa, and Candy Canes right now?
Turkey Coma time has commenced, and so has the sales! Take advantage and get so many kits to get you through … oh, a couple of days at least.
Enjoy some shopping, without having to leave your home, and enjoy the amazing sales!
This fall will be remembered with snow before Halloween 
Remember, if you complete 10 challenges, just ten, you get a free kit as well!!
Everyone has a bad day! At least this kit makes it a little better!
Hybrid Pillow Box
Have you ever wished you could customize your gift boxes and make them really personal for the intended recipient? Well, have I got a treat for you! And once again, the credit goes to calgirl (Steph). She found a printable template online for a pillow box and thought I could bring you a great seasonal tutorial for doing it digi. I thought it would be a lot more complicated than it ended up being, and I even managed to come up with a layered template for your crafting pleasure. You can grab it here: Dropbox
The template is on a letter-sized canvas so it can be printed on standard (inexpensive) cardstock. You can easily resize it a bit bigger or a lot smaller, and really make it your own. When you’re ready to print it you can either turn off the top (instruction) layer or delete it altogether.
So, go to your stash and decide what you’re going to use for your special pillow box… papers and embellishments for the occasion. I used Aimee Harrison’s A Rustic Christmas kit. Turn off that top instruction layer for now, or go ahead and delete. You’ll know what to do without it.
Drop your paper on top of the bottom layer. You’ll still be able to see the guidelines.
Then Clip (right-click>Create Clipping Mask or CTRL/CMD>ALT>G) your paper to the template.
Using the guidelines, add in your embellishments. If you’ve added a tag or a label, pick a pretty font and type in your sentiment. What could be better than NOT to need a tag or label? Once you’ve got your clusters and what-have-you in place, add in your shadows. All that’s left is to print it, cut it out from the cardstock, score it and fold it up. A little dab of glue along the very top edge to hold it together and you’re DONE! You can use a bone folder, or a stylus or a totally dead ballpoint pen to do your scoring. If you’re worried about the guidelines showing on your finished box, you can decrease the Opacity of that layer down to barely visible. Or… If you want, you can put the guidelines on the back simply by flipping over the paper and running it through the printer again. Just turn the rest of the layers off and everything will line up perfectly.
I make jewelry for gifts, and I think this would be a perfect way to present them. In a custom box with my signature on it! How many ways can you think of to make this work for you??
Halloween, Christmas, and Thanksgiving have an almost equal amount of love for favorite holiday!! I accidentally forgot TRADITION in the question, so we’re going with that!
So, basically, y’all love the fall time of year (unless you’re in NZ or AU. Then, PLEASE! Be safe!). I’m guessing it’s because of the colors! Halloween is dark and mysterious. Then you get the nice muted reds and browns, and yellows, and greens. Then you get CHRISTMAS! Blues and silvers. Reds and greens! How can you not love that! The blues and silvers also work for Hanukah. That’s the only other December holiday I know!
Speaking of Thanksgiving, what’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? And if you don’t celebrate, any holiday/celebration food!!
This fall will be remembered with snow before Halloween 
Remember, if you complete 10 challenges, just ten, you get a free kit as well!!
Everyone has a bad day! At least this kit makes it a little better!
Happy Thursday!!! We are one week away from Thanksgiving! I can’t believe how fast the year has gone!! Our designers have been hard at work to bring you some excellent new releases! Let’s take a peek!
From Dagilicious
From Tinci
From JoCee
From Lindsay Jane
From Aimee Harrison
From Alexis Design Studio
