Tuesday, December 31, 2013

January's Mr. Linky

Happy New Year!

Photo Credit 

It's hard to believe that 365 days of counterfeiting have come and gone ... and yet here we are, celebrating the arrival of a brand new year. On behalf of the whole Counterfeit Kit Challenge team I want to wish you a very happy, healthy, prosperous & creative new year!

Your final challenge of 2013 is to document your goals, resolutions and aspirations for 2014. 

Studies show that those who take the time to write down their plans have a much higher success rate when it comes to actually achieving their goals ... so let's get our journaling pens out and start 2014 off on the right foot! Make a layout, a Project Life spread, a tag, an art canvas - anything you want, so long as your hopes for the new year are clearly defined!

Here's a peek of the layout I'm working on ...


Thanks for joining us for our month of holiday challenges and inspiration. Be sure to swing by tomorrow for a brand new kit reveal! It's a great one!!! xx

Monday, December 30, 2013

Flashback Challenge

Here's a quick challenge that should be easy to draw inspiration from: pull out your favorite layout - it's okay to play favorites this time! - and draw inspiration from it.

I decided to use a layout from Christmas three years ago.  I really liked the dangling ornaments on the page and decided to go with that.


For my new page, I made large, oversized ornaments to hold the pictures and sprinkled on some sequins.  A little tulle and baker's twine and I'm done!  Now I just need to get the pictures printed!

Quick and easy and you'll have to Christmas pictures scrapped in no time!

Until next time,
Milissa

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Snowman Kit



IMG_8031


Here's a great winter time craft to prepare for the snow that may be coming your way.  Create a snowman kit so you'll always have the accessories needed to outfit the perfect snowman!  Check out the tutorial here from the "Make It" blog to find out how.

No snow in your part of the world?  Make a pretend one by stuffing some white garbage bags with crumpled up paper.  The kids will have a blast!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

2013 captured

As the December draws to a close, I like to look back at the year gone by and remember some of the details. Sometimes, we are so busy living each day with the ups and downs of regular life that we can lose track of the bigger picture. By taking each month and thinking about the highlights, I get a better feeling of all the little events that have built up to make the year.

Why not join me in going though your photo library for 2013 and picking a single photo to sum up each month of the year? By printing them out in a small format, it's easy to fit all 12 onto one page. If you just want to write a few words about the top highlights, then you can add that under each of the photos. If you want to add a lot of journalling, you could make your layout into a spread, or even use my favourite technique for adding a whole lot of journalling onto an additional 6x12 page.





I printed my photos 2.5" square to make three rows and kept the whole design really simple with just a few ink splats, a couple of embellies and a little twine so that the focus is on the title, the photos and the journalling block. I brushed a little gold mist around the photo mat to add a little depth and that was about it. No piles of layers and papers and clusters for me this time around. Just photos and words. Simple but does the job!

If you take the time to make your own 2013 captured page, it would be great if you shared over at Mr Linky (here).

Thanks for sharing our December with us. See you in the New Year!

Lisa

Friday, December 27, 2013

Indoor Snowfall


Leslie here again :~)

Although I love Christmas the calm after the storm is a delightfully quiet time that I look forward to. For me, January is "the white month" - pristine, usually snowy with the holiday cleared away & no social calendar to speak of. 

Isn't this glorious? The perfect picture of what January is to me.
 Pinterest link
Although the link does include patterns for 4 different snowflakes it doesn't connect to directions.

I decided this would be easy enough to counterfeit, though, with a simple metal wreath form sprayed white to serve for the framework to hang the snowflakes from. It appears that everything is strung with fishing line - the trick will be making that many snowflakes! 

I've already decided that I will have to hang it inside of a packing box to keep it intact from year to year.

Today's challenge is to make an old-fashioned folded & cut snowflake! Enjoy :~)

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Boxing Clever

So Christmas has come and gone and what's left? A huge mound of chocolate? More food than you could ever eat? 
And … a pile of empty boxes?
 
Cardboard is beautiful
especially when exposed
Revealing the ridges
hidden beneath

Like Teak or Oak
its moving color and texture
are alluring

I like my cardboard in large pieces
The larger, the less limited
the potential

Cardboard is experimental
Cardboard is gold
Cardboard can be cut
And Cardboard can fold

I found a piece of cardboard today
and breathed my fingertips across it's surface
inhaling the hair-like filaments it grows
listening to the harmony it sang

Cardboard is beautiful
especially when exposed
Cardboard can be cut
and Cardboard can fold

***
T. Curtis 12/22/2008


Inspired yet? Here are some great ideas on how to recycle those boxes...




WALL ART

MONOGRAM

If you need some ideas on how to get rid of that huge mound of Chocolate, I would be happy to share my address!!!!

Wishing you the most fabulous of Boxing Days - until the next time





Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Do it yourself gift wrapping



My sister's gift this Christmas is a rather large box picture frame which the store kindly wrapped in brown paper.
Before I unwrapped it to re-wrap I thought "Why not just decorate that paper?"
So out came my Kaisercraft stamps and some black ink.

 
I simply stamped all over the brown paper parcel.
I chose the holly & berries and the bauble stamps, but others would work just as well.
Here's the finished gift.
The ribbon is wired so it stands up from the parcel.
 
I'm sure my sister will appreciate that I designed her wrapping myself.
 
Happy Christmas from Julene
 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

'Twas The Night Before Christmas ...

... which means neither you nor I have an awful lot of scrappy time left!  I'll bet that you have plenty of photos to scrap though.  And all being well you'll have plenty more by the end of the festivities.  So how will you scrap them?  A mini-book perhaps?  Or a multi-photo page?

Here's a lovely sketch from Scrapbook & Cards Today's winter collection to inspire you:


Not a fan of double page spreads?  No problem - just pick half the sketch - like this:


I'm sure you'll agree tha, with a little adaptation, either half of the following sketch would make a brilliant single page layout:


If you need more seasonal inspiration, check out the rest of the winter collection at Scrapbook & Cards Today or pop over to Becky Fleck's December Pagemaps.

If a mini-book is more your style please pop over to my blog today where I've posted some instructions for making a word mini-book ready to fill with photos ...
Merry Christmas from Jemma!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Christmas by the Nativity

Hello, dawn here,
and we hope that your Christmas 
season is beautiful.

Your challenge today is to use
the Nativity in your crafting.

I made this LO using a card from my
Auntie.
It is a gorgeous, interactive card
and one that I wanted to keep and remember.



If you'd like to see more about this page
and another Nativity project used in a completely
different way,
please come over to my
corner of the blog world
right here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


Sunday, December 22, 2013

Recycled Holiday Fun

Good morning everyone, I'm Angela and I'm hoping your day is a bright one. My children are home for the school holidays and waiting excitedly for the Christmas celebrations. So often this time of the year can be an extra expense on an already stretched budget. My children want to do things in the waiting time and we turn to some recycling for free pre-Christmas activities. I rescue items that would have ended up in landfill and the children raid the recycling bins in the kitchen corner. We make decorations, toys and anything else we can think of.

My challenge to you today is to check what you are throwing away, rescue something from it and either craft something yourself or set the children to work making something special.

Here are some ideas, I'm sure you could find hundreds more.

Have some fabulously creative recycling fun and be blessed.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Christmas Colors - More Than Red & Green

I don't know about you, but red and green are two of my least favorite colors to scrapbook with!! It's not that I have anything against them, I just don't find them easy to work with and I don't have much of either color in my stash.

In case there are others out there who struggle with the traditional holiday colors of red and green, today's challenge is to make a Christmas/winter layout or card using the color palette seen in this mood board ...

Photo Credit 

Here's the layout I came up with ...



 Now let's see what you create using pinks, pale blues, minty green, white/cream, gold and purple!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Flip A Sketch Challenge

The idea behind this challenge is really simple:  take a sketch that is intended for a page and use it for a card. Or, if you are not a card maker, make a tag.  You can use the tag as an embellishment on a layout.  I love doing this when I get really stuck.  It gives me a new perspective - and, well, challenge.  Plus, sometimes I might see a sketch I really like but I'm just not in the mood to do a full page,

Here is the sketch I'm going to use for today's challenge.
Layout to Card Sketch: Creative Scrappers #253
Here's my card, because who can't use a last minute Christmas card right about now, right?


 And just for kicks, here's a birthday card made using the same sketch:

So, do you want to see a tag?  Of course you do (and even if you don't I made one for you anyway!)

This will look super cute on a page layout I have in mind!

A few tips when looking for a layout sketch to convert to a card:
  • You'll want a single page sketch.
  • A sketch with fewer pictures isn't necessarily better - you can always switch out a picture for an embellishment.
  • A card is just a scaled down layout so size matters - too many small strips or pieces on a sketch will mean less pieces on a card versus a layout.
  • A sketch is just a guideline - give it your own flair!
If this sketch doesn't work for you, feel free to find another.  These are some of the sketch blogs I follow:

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Washi Tape Ornaments/Gift Tags

Looking for a fun and easy craft to do with the kids?  Break out your collection of washi tapes and start creating with this super simple tutorial from cherishedbliss.com

Washi Tape Ornaments made with wooden tags via cherishedbliss.com #christmas #ornaments #washitape

Remember to think outside of the box with your washi collection.  Sure, red and green work great for Christmas, but light blue and red, gold and white and even turquoise and red are great alternates.

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Scrummy Plätzchen

Hi again, Lisa here....

Moving to Germany more than 12 years ago, there was a lot to learn about German  Christmas traditions and I remember being very inspired to absorb as many as possible in those first years.

One that jumped out at me and which was a great place to start learning some crucial German vocabulary was baking Weihnachtsplätzchen (Christmas cookies/biscuits). I used to bake a lot and so I went crazy those first few years trying out so many recipes and amazing everyone with my productivity as well as increasing all our waistlines. I had always baked a little at Christmas but they really take it to another level over here with so many different types and many of the recipes were totally new for me.


I've calmed down a bit these days and limit myself to a handful of tried and trusted recipes that everyone loves and, most importantly, are relatively easy to make. Even when the crazy season is upon us.

I'd like to share my favourite Plätzchen recipe with you today - one that I was baking long before I moved here but has effortlessly settled in among the more traditional German types such as Spritzgebäck or Zimtsterne.

Black Pepper Chocolate Cookies. Oh my, these are heaven! I think the recipe is Swiss originally and is super easy to make and to adjust to your own personal taste:

Black pepper chocolate cookies
  • 150g butter
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I think the original recipe calls for less but I always use more, much more! I love the kick that the pepper gives these rich nibbles)
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (adjust to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I leave this out personally)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 200g castor sugar
  • 1 egg - lightly beaten
  • 150g flour and add about 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (we can't get flour with baking plain powder already added here in Germany so if you have self-raising flour, leave out the extra baking powder)
  • pinch of salt
  • 75g cocoa
 Preheat oven to about 180°c
  • Line baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  • Mix together the butter, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla until smooth.
  • Add in sugar and beat until creamed.
  • Add egg a bit at a time mixing in fully before each addition.
  • Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
  • Mix to the egg/sugar mix and form a dough.
  • Cool in the fridge for about 30 mins.
  • Either form small balls with your hands and flatten them down on the baking tray OR
  • Roll out the dough (it will be very sticky so you will need lots of flour) to about 1/2 cm thick and cut out using pretty snowflake cutters. (I do this)
  • Place on baking tray giving a little space between each one (though they don't spread much).
  • Bake for about 10 mins or until the biscuit has just turned a slightly darker brown (difficult to see as they are so dark to start with!) or they appear to be becoming firm to the touch.
  • Leave to cool for a few mins before transferring to a cooling tray.
  • Dust with icing sugar for a great Christmas look.
  • This will make anything upwards of 30 biscuits depending on thickness and shape. Store in an airtight container - they keep for a couple of weeks very well.
  • I tend to add more black pepper into the recipe as I like the bit of a kick this gives the sweet chocolate biscuit. This recipe is very easy to adjust to suit your own taste - we like it hot round here!
  • The thicker the dough/ball, the less crisp the biscuits will become. Experiment with the mixture to find what suits you best.
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do. This is a firm favourite in our house and I have been making them for more than 30 years!


  

I made this layout some time ago and it features the original recipe with all my comments and changes marked all over it! Why not capture a favourite recipe on your page today? Don't forget to share over at Mr Linky if you do. Come on, make my mouth water!

Lisa

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Watch the Little Birdie!

Now y'all thought this was going to be about photography, didn't you?
I'm Leslie & I am careful every year to keep my suet feeders stocked for the sweet birdies that stay around all winter in the cold climate here in Michigan, USA. We get quite an assortment of woodpeckers, plus chickadees & nuthatches. I can pass many an hour with binoculars or a camera focused on my feeders.

Some cardboard cut into a festive shape, spread with peanut butter & rolled into bird seed is all you need to give your birds a happy holiday! I'm going to use a packing box & tear the outer layer off to expose the corrugated parts - they should hold the peanut butter better :~)
 

This is a great project for "kids" of all ages. 
Make sure you hang it where you can watch the fun.
And don't be surprised if you attract a squirrel!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Christmas Charades


Good morning/afternoon/evening (delete as necessary) Forgers...

Lesley here with you again and I have a little game to play with you today.
Everybody knows the game Charades, right?
 You know, the one where somebody mimes a book/film/play etc 
and the audience have to guess what it is...

Well, today, I'm the mimer and you will be my audience.

Wanna' play?

Let's go....
(Make your choice by clicking on a link below)


Film                 Book                   Song
     


Thanks for stopping by today and I do hope you will play along.
If you do, don't forget to Linky your creation as I would love to see how this little game has inspired you.

Until the next time...



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Christmas Door hanger


I've used a Kaiser wooden hanger but you could use cardboard for this.
You could also vary the shape to suit your needs.
I will let the pictures do the talking.........

Don't forget to sand around the edges to make your cutting edges smoother.


 So for around 15 minutes of fun, you can have your own door hanger.
Maybe you could do one with your child's name to help Santa find them and hang it on their bedroom door.

Have fun
Julene


Saturday, December 14, 2013

Tagxedo New Year

I have mixed feelings about Christmas cards.  I love to receive them, but when those first early ones arrive I'm envious of how organised some people are.  I procrastinate each year and when I finally start writing them I feel guilty at the way I'm rushing them out.  I know some people donate to charity instead of sending them, but I do love to hear friends' news in their enclosed letters and I'd be sad if we all gave them up.  Every year I cut down on the quantity we send out to save a few trees (not to mention postage) and then feel terrible when I open a card from someone I've axed from my list.

That's when New Year's cards comes in handy.  How about this one I made using Tagxedo:


You simply type your greeting into Tagxedo and let it mix things up for you.  The words are sized in order, so I actually typed in
"happy NewYear Wishing healthy a you"
Note the lack of space between "New" and "Year" - normally in Tagxedo you make a non-breaking space by typing "New~Year" but that left too much of a gap for my liking.

The other non-default settings I used were:

Respins:
Shape = Horizontal Cloud
Theme = Happy Brights
Font = Euphorogenic
Orientation = H

Word:
Remove Common Words = No
Combine Related Words = No
Combine Identical Words = No

Layout:
Normalize Frequency = Yes
Allow Replication = No

I played around with the layout until I got one I was happy with and printed it out directly onto card (after cropping the Tagxedo frame away in Picasa).

Here's another take on the phrase with a different word order:

"NewYear happy Wishing healthy a you" with Blulola theme
If you pop over to my blog today there are some ideas for more multi-lingual Tagxedo cards (and there are plenty of other Tagxedo card ideas there too)


Jemma