Christmas in July with Double Trouble

This week I have a combined challenge for you- featuring Heart 2 Heart and our fun sister blog, Double Trouble!

Being in New Zealand, we do have our midwinter Christmas here and so I have been happy to sit in my craft room and create in this cooler weather.

For this card, I pulled out my old Merry, Merry stamp set that has just been re-released by CTMH, as I love the wreath! I stamped the wreath in Avocado ink and the pine cones in Toffee, and then added a bright Candy Apple sentiment.

I pulled out an old Christmas paper that had some holly springs in it, and then matted the wreath and paper on Kraft Paper.

My finishing touch was a bow made from burlap ribbon for the Double Trouble optional part of the challenge. What do you think?

Christmas Cutie card

I love the whimsical look of traditional holiday cards paired with cute elements, and I knew I had to create something cute when I saw the Crafty Catz "Too Cute" challenge.

Paired with some other challenges to get my creativity mojo going, I started off with a Kraft base and then layered up elements. I embossed the Kraft base with a woodgrain embossing folder for some extra interest.

This sketch made it easier for me to figure out the look I was going for- thank goodness for sketches!

The sweet little deer is a leftover embellishment from an old White Pines kit, and I used the new Stitched Circles thin cuts to frame my sentiment, which I stamped in New England Ivy ink.



Of course I needed to added some sparkle, so the last layer was created with some gold glitter paper.

I am linking up to the following challenges:
Color My Heart- Color Dare #320
Paper Players- Theme Challenge PP421
Crafty Catz Challenge- Too Cute
Just Add Ink #436- Sketch

Santa Photo Pocket Page

I am having so much fun with my December Daily album this year, although I am a bit behind as I have been busy enjoying the beuatiful weather! However, today it is raining so it was the perfect time to catch up on my album pages.

I also thought this particular page would go great with Bitten By The Bug 2's challenge of a Santa themed project made with the Cricut.

Here is the complete pocket page with our 2015 Santa photo. It was a bit of a mission to get the photo as I was taken to hospital with a tear in my leg muscle, but we got there in the end!



Here is a close up of the Santa from the Winter Frolic cartridge. The "All I Want For Christmas" sentiment is also from the Winter Frolic cartridge, and the camera and "smile" are from Artfully Sent.



One page down, 24 to go! I will be sharing more photos of my completed layouts in the coming weeks, as well as a video flip through of my December Daily when it is complete.

ABC Blog Hop- Y

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter Y. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their Y element will be featured in their post.

If you came from Catherine then you're on the right track!

For my Y, I chose to share my Yuletide Advent Calendar!

I cut 25 tags on my Cricut in Colonial White cardstock, then added paper from White Pines and a holly bough cut in Fern cardstock from the Cricut Artistry cartridge.



I numbered each tag with a smaller Colonial White piece and used Cranberry, Fern, Chocolate and Glacier inks to stamp the numbers using the retired Magical Day stamp set.



I perforated each numbered piece, and then wrote the daily activity on the underside. Each day, my boys can rip off the number and find out which Christmas activity we will be doing!



These tags are clipped on to my Black Frame using the Mini Clothespins, although I used a red clothespin for the current tag so that my boys will know which one to rip off.



The Yuletide Advent Calendar has joined my Christmas decorated area, along with my other White Pines projects. To see these White Pines projects, please click here.



Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Darlys of Crafty Happy.

In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy for a complete list of participants!

White Pines Wednesday 4

The last Wednesday of November is here, and so it is time for my final White Pines Wednesday feature!

I don't do a huge amount of Christmas decorating as my son's birthday is a week before Christmas and I tend to have his birthday decorations up, then take them down and decorate after his celebrations. However, I love little things to sit on mantels, shelves and cabinets, and so I set about making some cute little present boxes using the White Pines Paper Packet.

This stack of presents was made using the Artiste cartridge and cutting the standard boxes at &, 8 and 9 inches. I used one side of each paper for the bottom, and the other side for the lid.



I tied the boxes together using some of the Fern Thick Twine, and added a bow from the Glacier Fundamental Assortment on top as a finishing touch.



Now I have a cute stack of presents sitting on my shelf!


These might end up being a gift for a few people too, as they are super cute and easy to make.



I hope you have enjoyed my White Pines Wednesday series- you can catch up on previous posts here.

White Pines Australasian Blog Hop

Welcome to the Australasian White Pines Blog Hop!

f you have arrived here from Denise's Blog, Scrap Stamp Share then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

I have done 12x12 Papercraft Samplers for each season, as well as Valentines Day, Halloween and Easter. For some reason I did not have a Christmas one, so it was White Pines to the rescue as I set about creating a fun sampler for my home decor display.

Here is the completed sampler- lots of small Christmas themed squares that remind me of a patchwork quilt! The outer piece of paper is 12 x 12, with the Fern cardstock at 11 x 11. The Colonial White squares are 2.5 x 2.5, with the middle squares at 2.25 x 2.2.5 and the smallest inner squares at 2 x 2.



The top left corner features a Cricut cut holly leaves, ornament and wreath, all with cardstock. I love the touches of bling from the Red Enamel Gems and the Gold Fundamental Assortment.



I stamped the title over two sqaures and fussy cut it, then popped it up on 3D Foam Tape. I also stamped and fussy cut a Santas face. The pinecone corner was also double stamped- first in Cocoa ink and then  again in Fern ink for some interest. The Christmas Tree is from the White Pines Complements.



Cricut to the rescue again for the word art cut from Glacier cardstock and the star cut from Cocoa Cardstock. I also added a little present button from the White Pines Assortment. The sweet singing animals are from the White Pines Complements, and I stamped the reindeer from the Reindeer Bells set and coloured him in, adding a red nose of course!



The red bow is from the Cranberry Fundamental Assortment, and the ornaments are stamped in Cocoa ink using the White Pines Scrapbooking WOTG stamp set. The Ho Ho Ho is from the Santa Claus stamp set and stamped in Cranberry ink. I Cricut cut the candy canes. The ornament is from the White Pines Complements, and I finished it off by adding a bow with the Fern Thick Twine.



The finished Papercraft Sampler is hanging in my hall entrance, ready for Christmas!



I love the pop of colour it brings when you walk in the door, and it matches in well with my other Christmas decorations. See that matching box set down at the bottom? Come back on Wednesday when I will share details on how to make it!



I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Katrina's Blog- All things Papercrafty.

To see all of my other White Pines inspired projects, please click here.

White Pines Wednesday 3

Today for my White Pines Wednesday, I am sharing a quick card that was inspired by Lisa Plummer.

I used the soft papers from White Pines to create this fun Christmas card. The stamp set is the retired October SOTM, Twinkle, which I stamped in Black ink then went over with Fern, Cranberry and Desert Sand inks to colour the lights. The sentiment is also from the Twinkle stamp set. The gold sequins add a finishing touch and make this card fun!



I also created a simple version with only two coloured lights and no sequins, to make the production line even easier.



Come back on Friday where I will be sharing another White Pines project in the Australasian blog hop! You can also see my previous White Pines projects by clicking here.

White Pines Wednesday 2

Today's White Pines Wednesday features a fun banner I created using my Cricut and the White Pines papers.

The pennant was cut using the neutral tree patterned paper, which stands out against the whiteness of my wall. I then cut the next layer in Fern cardstock, then used another of the White Pines papers for the rounded squares. The letters were cut from Cocoa cardstock.



I attached each pennant using the Fern Thick Twine to keep with the colour scheme.



This banner is now hanging up above my other Christmas decor, which you will get to see next week on my blog.



If you have Design Space, you can download this banner file here.

See you next Wednesday for the next edition of White Pines Wednesday!

White Pines Wednesday 1

Christmas is coming, and the CTMH White Pines range is perfect for documenting those special seasonal moments. I like to plan ahead, and so today is the first of my White Pines Wednesday posts featuring ideas with this beautiful range.

I know I will have lots of photos from Christmas Day, and so I have already prepared a double page layout using the White Pines Paper Packet. This layout is Pattern Eleven from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2.



The Cranberry Fundamental Assortment have adorable wooden pieces that add a fun touch to the left hand side of the page, and I added some of the Red Enamel Gems as well. The Christmas tree was stamped using the White Pines Scrapbooking WOTG stamp set on Fern Cardstock with Fern Ink, and I cut this out from the Artistry cartridge. I added a star to the top of the tree from the Gold Fundamental Assortment.



I love the new White Pines Complements stickers and accents such as these presents and the ornament, which I have jazzed up using the Fern Thick Twine and Cranberry Fundamental Assortment.



The plastic accents in the White Pines Complements are a great flat addition to your pages, and the Dec 25 and floral sticker add interest to my journal box. I have also added a Glacier Fundamental Assortment wooden arrow to point towards one of the photo boxes.



The reason I have added the arrow is because I have made this particular photo into a waterfall series using Flip Flaps Small Assortment. This will be great for a series of photos such as opening presents, seeing my Dad dressed as Santa, or an unexpected moment. This could also be used for hidden photos or journalling if wished.



Here is the full layout with Flip Flaps ready to be completed after Christmas Day!



Be sure to come back next Wednesday, when I will be sharing one of my favourite Home Decor items using the White Pines range.

Merry Christ-Moose!

I am getting into the swing of my Christmas cards early, as I will be having surgery early next month and so I need to be prepared for Christmas before then. Playing along with challenges helps me to get my cards done quickly, and so today I have combined the Merry Monday and Just Add Ink challenges.

I do not have any moose stamps, but I found an adorable moose banner in my Cricut files, and the card quickly came together in my mind.



I paired this with the tree paper from the White Pines paper packet, and added a sentiment from Holly Jolly Christmas stamped in Fern ink. The sketch also inspired me to add some Fern Twine to the card. I popped the moose banner up on 3D Foam Tape and I was done!