Christmas Memories

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!

Gingerbread Fun

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

HO HO HO! It’s just two more nights until the big day! Where did December go? Today I’m sharing a layout that documents Maddie building her gingerbread house last December. She had a blast putting it together, but I think she enjoyed eating the candy best of all!

I chose the Gingerbread House Two cut file from Confessions of a Paper Addict (COAPA) as the main focal point for this layout. The whimsical lines in this cut file reminded me of the fun I had with Maddie as she decorated her gingerbread house. The cut file comes in SVG format, so I used the trace function in Silhouette Studio to trace it before ungrouping it to backfill the sections. I also find that using the Fill section to colour in each piece facilitates a quicker process when preparing to cut.

The main paper line for this layout is Hot Cocoa from American Crafts. It came in a paper pad of 48 papers. I used this paper collection in November 2019 to make a Christmas Album for a class at ScrapFest. It also has a whimsical feel and was an excellent fit for this cut file. I chose the kraft paper with the snowmen and falling snow for the base page of the layout. The red paper with snow falling, black paper with snowflakes and black paper with peppermint candies were all used to construct the gingerbread house cut file. I fussy cut the peppermint candies to fit the scalloped border of the roof and the pinwheel candy to the left of the front door. I chose an embossed white paper for each section laden with snow. I turned to glitter papers from My Favorite Things paper collections to back the windows and fill the wreath. For added dimension, I used pop dots to add the wreath to the front of the house. A red acrylic dot from doodlebug design worked perfectly for the doorknob.

The Christmas Tree to the right of the gingerbread house comes from Memory Box Inc. It is called the Flowering Christmas Tree. I slid it partially behind the gingerbread house and wrapped some of its limbs in front. I added rhinestones to the centre of each flower to complete the Christmas tree.

All of the snowflakes in this layout came from a collection by Sizzix called Snowfall Thinlits Dies. This set was made exclusively for Stampin’ Up! a couple of years ago. It is an extensive set of snowflake dies in multiple sizes. I’ve used this set multiple times and have never regretted the investment. I purchased them through a good friend and Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, Margie Stares. Check out Margie’s Stampin Up! blog for lots of inspiration. To enhance the magical feel of this layout, I added rhinestones to each snowflake. The final touch was adding the title using doodlebug designs teensy type letters in white. I chose the round letter stickers to mimic the falling snow and snowmen on the patterned paper. 

I appreciate you stopping by today and hope you’ve found some inspiration for your Christmas layouts. May your holiday season be full of magic, incredible moments and lots of love!

Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!