Holiday Inspiration Photo: Paper Christmas Decorations

It’s the week of Christmas. You’ve wrapped all the presents and now you have all this extra gift wrapping paper left. What to do? How about incorporating some of that paper into décor for your house? You’ll be surprised at how versatile gift wrapping paper can be (unless, of course, you chose that Sponge Bob as Santa gift wrapping paper—that may be more limited). A few pictures to inspire you:

Here, I used gift wrapping paper as a table runner. I also used the same paper to decorate plain votive candle holders. More on that below.

I wrapped pine tree patterned wrapping paper around votive candle holders and placed them on cake stands to form a faux-Christmas tree.

Another take on the paper as decoration for votive holders, but this time I cut the paper out for the holder to sit in.

Tomorrow, I’ll have some more last minute décor ideas for Christmas (in case you’re still trying to figure out how to make your home look extra special for the holidays).

Christmas decorations

This is the best I could do with photos of my Christmas decorations. This is the first year I've really bothered with any and I made a little bit of an effort. Ideas I've copied or come up with: milk glass brooches as decorations (I don't quite have enough but I lost the will to buy more), roses with hairspray and glitter, painted white willow branches, with mirrored string, starched white doilies, ribbon and gold leaf, and fresh mistletoe. I also really like the dove garland which I bought from Traidcraft.

LDS Missionary Christmas Care Package Ideas

Today I mailed a few Christmas care packages to my son serving an LDS mission in Bolivia. About a month ago I asked him to send me ideas of what he might want or need. This year I wrapped each gift and put a mailing label on it with a scripture for him to look up. I looked up the correlating scriptures in the Topical Guide and the Bible dictionary. It was enjoyable for me, and I hope he reads them instead of tearing open all of the little packages first.

Gifts of Love and Inexpensive Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

For many, Christmas this year will be different. It will be frugal. It will be more thoughtful. It will be creative. Today I've been reflecting on how to put the true spirit of giving into our Christmas. How to give the gift of self. So I'm taking a moment to pause and really think about my loved ones and how to give gifts of love this year

Christmas Preparations

This Santa was weird... Jack came away saying, "He was mean..." Ah, good thing he's not the real one!


The family seeing the lights. It was packed!

Christmas is almost here! I can't wait. Jack has really gotten into it this year and is totally counting down the days. We wrapped most of his presents the other day and when he saw them under the tree he was so excited! I can't wait to see his reaction on Christmas Day! In preparing for the big day, we have baked sugar cookies and Christmas M&M cookies, gone to a few holiday parties, decorated Jack's room with lights and his very own 3ft tree, done the Christmas calendar (chocolate, paper chain and my family calendar), gone to see Santa, went and saw the lights at Temple Square and he has had a blast learning all the Christmas songs that he could. My favorite is that he loves Kurt Bestor. Jason and I were able to go see Kurt Bestor with some friends, but I really think we are going to take Jack next year. He loves listening to him and he pretends to play a trumpet anytime he is listening. He closes his eyes and really gets into it. He has Christmas flannel sheets on his bed and it just seems really magical this year. This past Friday, we took Jack on a "date." We had a gift card for Olive Garden so we took Jack to a "fancy" place to eat and he was so good. He sat and colored and we talked about Christmas and about Christ. We are trying to fit that in whenever we can. After dinner, we went and walked around Temple Square. It wasn't too cold and Jack really enjoyed being out on such an adult outing. I think he actually listened a bit to what we had to say about Jesus and he even listened to the narration they had for the nativity. It was a really fun night and made me so thankful for this little family of mine. Christmas is such a great time of year and having Jack enjoy it so much has made this my best year in a long time.

Christmas Rituals

Christmas Rituals

A few weeks ago, James took this image of the annual Christmas fair in Trier, Germany, a town which has been in existance since 16 B.C.E. As he walked the cobblestone streets with hot mulled cider, he envisioned the many generations who have attended this Christmas market in the medieval town square.
I've always postulated that we spend much of our adulthood trying to recapture or redo our childhood. And there is no time of year where this is more evident than in our holiday preparations. Rituals become all the more meaningful as we attempt to bake Aunt Conchetta's cookies or hang the ornaments we've accumulated over the years. For children, these rituals offer a connection to their family history. To my delight, instead of eschewing the annual family parties, my children look forward to the continuum they offer from one year to the next, from one generation to another. They hear the same stories, watch the same movies, and enjoy the same music, thriving in the stable predictability of the season.

Anything but a card with a Christmas or New Year theme............

that's all you have to make to enter the PfP mega Christmas challenge, (and use your Promarkers of course). I just can't stop making little treat boxes/bags, this will have to be my last one, as i still haven't wrapped any more gifts, (maybe i'll just buy some large gift bags to put them in instead).

For this little bag, I have used another WoJ stamp, Willow with gingerbread heart, from this years Winter collection. The bag and poinsettia were both cut on my Cricut.

Sarahscards Oct kit

Sarah of Sarahscards decided a couple of months ago to discontinue the Card making kits and just concerntrate on her fabulous Scrapbooking kits (along with all the other fabulous stash she stocks), so now lucky me gets a huge kit to make cards with!
The October kit is now beginning to find it's way to the subscribers homes (postal strikes permitting), so i can now share a few of the cards i made with the kit, which featured the gorgeous Pink Paislee - Amber Road, i have to admit it took me a while to start cutting into it, as the papers were so lush, but once i started i couldn't stop.

Passion for Promarkers week 27

For this weeks PfP challenge you can use any colours you choose, but the theme is vintage. I'm not sure if this passes as vintage, but it's my take on it. The image is Willow with Christmas candle by Whiff of Joy Stamps

Passion for Promarkers week 22

This weeks PfP challenge colours are Poppy and Forest Green, this colour combo just screamed Christmas to me. So i've made an easel Christmas card.

The image is Santa with Tree by Sugar Nellie and the sentiment is part of the ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS....PRINTABLE STAMP SET from The Cutting Cafe'. The holly is a Sizzlet die i've had for years and the berries are dewdrops. The fur on Santa's outfit is Polar White Flower Soft.

Passion for Promarkers week 23

For this weeks PfP challenge you can use any colours, but Helen would like to see animals somewhere on your creations.
I have used this cute little mouse, Milly singing carols from Digistampboutique, and Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses papers.
The 'fa la la la la la la la la' is part of the ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS...PRINTABLE STAMP SET from The Cutting Cafe'.

and the colours i used...............

Christmas treat bags

For the toppers on cute little Christmas treat bags i have used the Christmas All Around set from The Cutting Cafe'.
I used flock on the ducks body and my favorite thing at the mo, Polar White Flower Soft for the fur on his hat, which also features on the mittens. Again i have used my circle Nellies Multi Frame dies to cut the mats.
These are so quick to make, just print out the toppers, colour-in/decorate, and attach to candy filled bags!!!

Busy, busy, busy.

I have been busy beavering away in my craftroom and i've managed to make 11 cards this week, but i'm unable to share most of them just yet, but i can show you these two very quick and simple ones i've made today.

Middle of the week already!!!!

Hope you're all having a lovely Wednesday, i can't believe how fast the weeks are zooming by, i have three different projects on the go at the mo, and the deadline is looming for one of them.

I managed to finish this card yesterday, i took me about three days, as i kept pushing papers around, and leaving it for a while, coming back, changing my mind, but in the end i went with this.

The cutie image is Cupcake Chef Daisy, which is another of the soon to be available new stamps from Squiggle Stamps. There's been a delay in the delivery of the rubba, but i'm sure they will be here soon.

The 'kiss the cook' is part of the From My Kitchen printable stamp set from The Cutting Cafe'.

Prize sketch challenge!!!!

How would you like to win a £10 e-voucher to spend at Sarah's Cards?
Check out the Sarah's Cards blog for details on how you can win by submitting a layout using this months sketch.
The DT have produced some amazing samples, even i did a layout during our weekend away using the fab sketch, (my first scrapbook page in almost two years).
Here it is.........

Passion for Promarkers mega prize challenge

I really should be wrapping Christmas gifts today but i'd rather have a little play in my craft-room instead. So here's a simple little treat box i've just made to enter into the PfP mega prize challenge.
The cute image is Henry Mouse holding Christmas Wreath from Whiff of Joy stamps.

and the inside, mmmmm Lindor!

Friday at last!!!

I'm so glad it's Friday, that means i can have a lay-in in the morning, as i won't have to get up to do the school run. I'm still trying to catch up with my much needed sleep after last weekend, so hopefully i'll feel more with it next week.
I have managed to make a card today, actually this is the second one i made today with this image, i hated the first one, so took the image off it and made this one instead. I'll show you the reject too, so you can see what i mean.
This cutie image is another one of the coming soon stamps from Squiggle Stamps, isn't she adorable?
The sentiment is part of the DRESS SHAPED CARD TEMPLATE - CUTTING FILE AND INVITE SET from The Cutting Cafe'.
This one was the keeper,

This is the one i rejected.

I welded the castle from Paper Dolls dress up to a square from George cart using the Cricut Design Studio, so the castle is actually the front of the card.

Sarah's Cards.....

.... fabulous November kit which features the Crate Paper - Season Collection, is now starting to arrive at the homes of many crafters, so i can now share a few of the cards i made with it.
I have posted before (way back in September), where the tutorial can be found on how to make these flowers, but for those who missed it and have asked about how to make them, it's here.

Passion for Promarkers week 25

For this weeks PfP challenge you can use any colours you choose, but you must follow this sketch.

The cute image i've used on my card is the soon to be released Oscar on a sledge stamp from Squiggle stamps.

I covered the punched out snowflakes with Twinklets Diamond Dust, and i've used fun flock for the white 'fur' bits.

Passion for Promarkers week 26

This weeks PfP challenge colours are Marsh Green and Burnt Umber. I've used my favorite image from the Whiff of Joy winter 2009 set, Willow with Santa's Stocking, and made an easel card, i love these and i'm having to stop myself making all my cards easel cards at the mo.
The sentiment is part of the CHRISTMAS CARD INSIDE GREETINGS....PRINTABLE STAMP SET from The Cutting Cafe'.

close-up of the sentiment

and the colours i used are

Craftytemplates time!

It's that time of the month again, when the Craftytemplates email with this months templates are being opened by all the patiently waiting subscribers.
The kit which compliments this months templates is just stunning, with a gorgeous mix of blue, brown and silver. Check out the whole contents of the kit here.
Here's one of the cards i made using the kit and the cute bird on the branch template. I made the large rose with the handmade paper in the kit, using the tutorial linked on a previous post.

To answer Bonnie's question, the kraft card blank was part of the Craftytemplates December kit, but Leo also sells them in packs of five with matching envies here.

Single purchase kits.

Sarah's cards has some of the December scrap kits available for single purchase, so if you've never tried one of their kits before, now is the perfect time. If you like the kit, why not drop a BIG hint to your loved ones, that a Sarah's Cards scrap kit subscription would be the perfect Christmas gift, plus you'll also get a 10% discount on all other items purchased from the website too, bonus!!!
Check out the design team gallery here, and see the amazing work the team have done this month, including plenty of non-Christmassy stuff too for those of you who don't 'do' Christmas!
Here's a few of the cards i made using the kit.

I also made this door hanger

We played with paper too.

Here's a couple of the cards i made this weekend, yes we did do some crafting too, lol. I even made a layout, which i haven't done for almost two years.
Both images are from this years Whiff of Joy Winter stamp set. I have also used the one of the Oval and Rectangle Nellie's Multi Frame dies, which you can find here.

Fabulous weekend!!!

I've just had the most fantastic weekend with Sarah, Lianne and the Sarahscards design team girls. I've not laughed so much in ages or eaten and drank so much in one weekend, or had such late nights, or should i say early mornings lol. The whole weekend was perfect, and i have come away feeling really sad it had to end, but i have made 11 new friends, who are the friendliest/funniest and most talented bunch i've ever met. I can't wait until the Sarahcards retreat in March when we will all meet up again. This is where stayed..........

Anyway back to what i came on here to post. This weeks PfP challenge colours are Grass and Canary, and i've only just managed to make this quick card in time.

The image i've used is Snow Pals from Squiggle Stamps.

As promised....

here's the pictures of the mini book the ladies at my crop made this weekend. I made this quick and simple sample so they could see what the finished article would be.