Christmas Countdown

Holly Jolly

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Oh, the magic of Christmas! Our hometown has record snowfalls, which gets me in the mood for all things Christmas. Last weekend, our youngest grandson, Ben, had a heartwarming visit with St Nikolaus at their city park in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. It was a truly special moment for him.

Folklore in Austria tells the tale of Krampus, a devilish-looking character who beats badly behaved children with a birch rod. Krampus is everything a nightmare is looking for! Ben is terrified of Krampus, as he reports his teacher told him that Krampus “steals” children! However, Ben also knows that St. Nikolaus rewards children who are good with gifts, so visiting with St. Nikolaus was a welcome reassurance that all will be well this Christmas.

I created this layout using Paige Taylor Evan’s Sleigh cut file, which is Design ID #456879 in the Silhouette Design Store.

I used various papers to back this cut file, including red and white glitter, cardstock, and different patterned papers from the Simple Stories—Simple Vintage ‘Tis The Season collection. Once I completed the cut file, I adhered it to the layout on white fun foam for added dimension. Small red enamel dots from Carta Bella completed the sleigh. The background paper for this layout comes from the Simple Stories Country Christmas collection. The specific page is called O Christmas Tree.

I wanted to mimic the Christmas lights in the trees surrounding Ben and St. Nikolaus. To achieve this, I modified the Garland cut file, Design ID #1233064, also found in the Silhouette Design Store.

I cut off the upper edge and loops of the design to achieve a more accurate likeness to the photo. I cut two copies of this file to reach the 12′ Garland length. I used silver cardstock, light gold cardstock, and vellum to complete the lights. Next, I added a few silver stars above the lights to enhance the feeling of the evening.

I found the remaining elements in the Simple Stories—Simple Vintage ‘Tis the Season Floral and Bits & Pieces ephemera packages to complete the layout. I used a Sharpie pen to add details and the date to the bottom right-hand corner.

I wish you all a little bit of magic this special holiday season. May 2025 bring us all much happiness and joy!

Thanks for following my scrapping journey. Until next time, stay safe and healthy. Happy Scrapping!

Christmas Fun

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe that we’re only nine days away from Christmas! I love watching my grandchildren get excited about the end of school and the break at Christmas. They love to be involved in the preparations and anticipation of Christmas day. Last year, Owen made a beautiful gingerbread tree to help decorate the dining room. He did a great job and had so much fun decorating it. It was such a special memory that it deserved a unique page in his scrapbook!

I was looking for an excuse to try the recent trend of paper folding, and this project presented the perfect opportunity. To create this gorgeous tree, I cut strips of paper 3″ long by 1″ wide in each of the coordinating patterned papers from Photoplay’s Kringle & Co collection pack. Each strip was folded in half, lengthwise, and adhered with strong double-sided tape. Then they were secured to the background using the same double-sided tape. I ran a bone folder over each section at the top to ensure a good stronghold.

I embellished the tree with a variety of Bits & Pieces Snowflakes from Taylored Expressions. The star at the top came from an older collection of Basic Grey‘s chipboard pieces. It was painted yellow and embellished with gold glitter. The banner in the top right-hand corner was created using a die-cut from Your Next Stamp from the Fishtale/Banner set. I use this set quite often and the versatility it provides. The paper banner was adhered to fun foam for dimension and also embellished with a few of the snowflakes as found on the Christmas tree.

The Christmas Fun title comes from Peartree Cutfiles and includes a second option called Holiday Fun. Once again, it is a wonderfully versatile cut file that can be used for many layouts over the years. Once the cut file was resized to fit my project, it was backed with the back-side of the Snow is Falling patterned paper from the Kringle & Co paper collection.

To complete the layout I used a couple of the present stickers found in the main Kringle & Co paper pack and adhered them to the bottom left of the Christmas tree. I added the date using doodlebug design inc‘s black teensy type number stickers.

Creating the Christmas tree was a time-consuming part of this layout. However, it was well worth the perseverance, I am thrilled with the result! Once it was completed, the rest of the layout came together quite quickly. What new skill will you add to your scrapbooking toolkit this coming year?

Thanks for checking in today, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!