Christmas is almost here

Oh my goodness, I don't know about you but there is still so much to do to get ready for Christmas.  I cannot believe we have less than a week to go.  Why do we put some much pressure on ourselves.

Well now is a great time to do some crafting, I find it a great way to relax or de-stress.  I must have been having too much fun crafting this time with the ScrapPacks as I did more layouts than would fit in the newsletter, so here is the extra layout that I created.

On this layout I used the Christmas ScrapPack from Better Scrapbooking - available from the online shop (click here to order yours).

 I used the Authentique Joyous collection Decorate pattern paper for the background then added some Bazzill Celery cardstock and a strip of Authentique Joyous collection Intent pattern paper across the page. I also double matted my to photo as the family along the bottom were listening to her classical guitar playing - one of our family traditions at Christmas.  There were no die-cut titles about listening to guitar music so instead I used the Sleigh Bells Ring, are you Listening? die-cut for a bit of fun.

The big vacant area in the top left corner is so you can either add some journaling or a larger title that you have cut out using your own die-cut machines.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and an even better 2014.
I am looking forward to sharing lots more ideas and tips next year.
So until then, everyone have a safe and happy holiday, wherever you are

File Folder Mini Book

File folders are proving to be really popular in scrapbooking.  You can use it on your layout to create more space for photos and to give an interactive element to your layout.

But here is a fun way you can use a couple of file folders to create a sweet little mini album for yourself to give to someone special.

To start with you are going to need:
2x File Folders - you can either have them the same size or one smaller than the other.
1x Scrap cardstock - mine is 5 3/4"x 2 " (it needs to bit a bit shorter than the smaller file folder - or file folder of choice for inside pages of your mini book)
Adhesive

Take the scrap piece of cardstock and fold it in half
Adhere this scrap piece of cardstock to the back of the smaller file folder as shown.

Now you have your mini album cover and pages.

Now you can go ahead and start adding photos and other fun embellishments.
I will show you how this turns out later this week, but this has been fun so far.  Have fun making mini books using file folders.