Memories by Christine scrapbooking

Day after the wedding- scrapbook layout

2011-09-08T13:24:00.000-04:00

Taking some design time off today (have you checked out my new printables shop?;) to take a peek into our wedding album. Here is the day after The Big Day. We celebrated at my parents' house, and opened up our wedding gifts just like it was Christmas morning;) That day was also New Year's Eve, so we headed downtown Chicago to celebrate with Matt's college friends (who just happened to be all in town for our wedding;) On New Year's Day, we flew back to Florida, picked up our then-puppy from the kennel, dropped him off with our friends, and headed down to Orlando for our Disney honeymoon:) What a whirlwind couple of days!

My wedding dress on my childhood bed at my parents' house.

Happy New Year! Sweet embellishments and a wristband from the bar...and our plane tickets.

Wedding gifts!

The key holder of our wedding night room.

Have a great afternoon:)
Love,
C:)

Wedding cards layout

2011-09-02T05:05:00.000-04:00

What do you do with cards? Keep them in a box, toss them, scrap them? I do a mixture of all three....looking back into our wedding album, I found some of my favorite cards from that day:

For a tutorial on how to turn these keepsakes digital, click here! :)
Oh yeah, and if you're in the market for custom designed cards (think holidays! They'll come up before we know it;), stop by my new shop, Chic Sheets.
Love,
C:)
Love,
C:)

sensory play with oatmeal and cornstarch

2011-08-29T15:06:00.000-04:00

When the weather is crummy over the summer, and I can't chill out with my feet in the baby pool sipping my iced mocha, I try to get creative with the kids inside.

One particular afternoon, we got cooking. Well, not really- ew, didn't you see the shaving cream? We got into some sensory play!

I got out some mixing bowls and plastic dishes, and the kids got to work...

Give it a little time- it will get messy!

I must say, this was crazy to clean up, If you blink once, your kids might just steal the corn starch RIGHT OFF THE COUNTER and coat the carpet with it. You'll have powder-y kids and furniture for a week, regardless of how much you scrub and vacuum.

But you know what? I'd still do it again (maybe NEXT summer;) because I had two very happy kiddos at the end of the afternoon.

Be sure to visit my new printables/blog design shop- it includes a household organizer with this printable right here- a cute way to keep track of playtime fun and projects with your kids!

Love,
C:)
Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

quilled sunflower greeting cards

2011-08-29T05:00:00.022-04:00

I have been on a roll with quilled stickers lately! Here are some greeting cards I made a loooong time ago that I forgot to post! They were part of an end-of-school gift for my kids' teachers.

For this cardmaking session, grab some cardstock, a paper punch, paper cutter, tape, and embellishments. Cards and envelopes are needed too;)

The bright cardstock is for the "greeting" part of the card.

I love the yellow peeking through these butterfly punches!

My paper cutter gave the edges a little bit of lining.

Ta da!

I can't say enough about these little flowers- they are adorable:)

Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

Our cork collection

2011-08-28T15:15:00.004-04:00

We have a lot of corks in this house. Like, a LOT. I started collecting them right after college, and my roommate and I racked in quite a few. When Matt and I got married (i.e. when we started having beer in the fridge), bottlecaps were added to our growing collection. My question to you is what do I DO with them all? I can't bear to throw them out....

I took a bunch of them and made a "cork" board...a few corkboards, actually. They turned out really cute.

The bottlecap ones left a lot to be desired though, although the colors are so cool.

I took the largest corkboard....

...and placed it on our cabinet top.

But still, that leaves me with about a million more corks leftover.
So what do you do with YOUR corks?
Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom

The Girl Creative

Altered canvases

2011-08-26T14:59:00.002-04:00

I LOOOOOOVE working with canvases. It's so much fun to create a layout on something I can hang on a wall or sit up on a frame (much durable than paper!) Here are some of my favorites- hope you are inspired!

I custom-designed this Christmas canvas for Katie over at Katie's Nesting Spot last year as a prize for one of Scrappy Gifts' online crops. I included her family picture in the middle before sending it off:)
To get the frame effect, use the back of the canvas . I lined the inside with black felt and red cardstock, then framed the outside with scrapbooking paper and embellishments.

Speaking of Christmas, here's another canvas I did last year. I folded paper around the canvas and Mod Podge-ed all the way around. The glossy finish is beautiful- it looks like a fancy wrapped gift! Add a few buttons, ribbons, and cardstock, and all it needs is a fun quote or picture for the center.

Here's another wrapped canvas I made, only with fabric. I fastened a snapshot of my friend's three beautiful daughters to the cardstock in the middle. This one was a lot of fun to make, and the 3D effect from the flower is awesome!

And finally, here is one of my most favorite projects so far this summer- my very first subway art!

So...guess I better get started on a fall canvas? ;)
Love,
C:)
Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

FYI:)

2011-08-25T17:08:00.000-04:00

In the past, I've read a million blogs through my e-mail subscriptions, and in an effort to combat the craziness of my inbox recently, I have been "unsubscribing" to them, because I've found that I enjoy reading blogs more at the computer, on the actual website, than on my phone's e-mail;)

So, if you have recently seen that I "unsubscribed" from your blog, PLEASE don't be offended! I am still following you, and still reading your posts...just not from my e-mail. Thanks! :)
C:)

quilled baby cards

2011-08-22T15:06:00.000-04:00

I have an aversion for buying cards at the store....there's something satisfying about making my own and sending it in the mail to a loved one. Although I will admit that the whole "making" process often delays me getting the card in the mail on time! I'm working on it...lol.

Here are some baby shower cards I made for some women in my moms group. I adore quilled stickers, and you don't have to do much else to the card because the quilled aspect is so beautiful.

A paper punch of baby footprints peeked through to a cute sticker inside.

Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

Embellished birdhouse

2011-08-22T05:12:00.023-04:00

Do you remember back in June, when we found this cute little baby bird? He or she inspired some birdhouse crafting at our house!

These embellishments are just perfect for this project.

Two coats of brown paint...

and because it needed some overall height,I coated a small box with spray adhesive and fake hay.

After embellishing, I sat it on top of the "nest".

And of course, E had to do her own birdhouse as well;)

(I'm afraid mine isn't as colorful as hers;)

Have a fabulous week:)
Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

ABC remember your Scripture please

2011-08-21T15:13:00.000-04:00

Embellished hanger to remember Scripture verses:

For us, school has already been in high gear for three weeks! Yikes! My daughter's preschool teaches them a weekly Bible verse to coincide with the alphabet. They send home a rundown of the weekly lessons with the verses:

To help her remember these verses (and to encourage myself and Matt as well!), I labeled some cardstock with alphabet embellishments to write in each Scripture verse as she brings it home each week.

I spray-painted a clothes hanger to display the cards.

Some quilled embellishments and a little ribbon finished the hanger.

I'm really excited to write in each verse so we can all hopefully memorize them and look at them more:) P.S. I plan to replace the older ones with the rest of the alphabet as the year goes on;)

Have a great week!
Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

Back to school scrapbook tag

2011-08-15T14:57:00.034-04:00

This month's tag challenge at A Crafty Kind of Truffle is "back to school." The deadline to submit is August 28. Have I mentioned before that I loooooove scrapbook tags? They are so fun, and so quick and easy to make.

My supplies.

I wanted the tag to center around an old-school blackboard. I cut out the corners of this cardstock with my scissors.

The background's colors and scribbles made for a cute, primary-school look.

I embellished with stars and, my favorite, buttons:)

The "blackboard" is adhered with foam tape for a 3D effect.

To make the tag aspect, I tied a loop of twine and threaded it through the paper punch. Make sure the loop is in back of the tag.

More black cardstock for the back of the tag.

I finished with a bow of twine (the part that had threaded through the hole punch). Are you ready for school?? ;)

Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

upstairs/downstairs baskets

2011-08-15T05:08:00.003-04:00

This isn't a new concept by any means, but it's a new one in our house! I made these upstairs/downstairs baskets out of felt and cardboard boxes. The printable is a Chic Sheets original;)- one of my first designs for the shop!

Two empty boxes...

Flip a box upside down and cover it completely with fabric. I used acrylic felt.

Once your fabric amount is sized, turn the box right-side-up and tuck the fabric edges inside the box, to line the sides.

Glue-gun the fabric down on two opposite sides of the box.

The remaining sides will look like this. Trim away excess fabric, and wrap the box lilke a gift, making sure the folds extend to the corners of the box. Fold the fabric up and over into the box, and glue.

One box down!

While the kids were napping on Saturday, Matt ever so graciously lended his math skills for the basket lining. (We used an old sheet.)

Ummmmm. Yes.

He measured, I sewed. We make a good team;)

Two finished baskets.

Before I attached my signs to the baskets, Matt thought I was just trying to give people directions....hello, did he NOT remember the basket liners he measured??

The finished products:

If you are interested in this printable, it's part of my household organizer packet at my new shop. Love, C:)

Keeping it Simple Pinkapotamus Making the World Cuter Skip to my Lou Sumo's Sweet Stuff Craftomaniac Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Blackberry Vine Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy Me and My Boys ABC and 123 733 (sugar and spice) Night Owl Crafting Lil' Luna Sisters Stuff A Crafty Soiree Somewhat Simple House of Hepworths Paisley Passions Tatertots and Jello Designer Garden TidyMom Nurture Store Scrappy Gifts The Girl Creative

Displaying and keeping kids' school work

2011-08-14T14:55:00.001-04:00

A new school year is here, and that means a plethora of artwork will be making its way into our home! I love the fridge concept, but let's face it-I have two extremely busy artists on my hands, and we needed more surface area for their creations;)
I adore the bunting banner trend lately, so I made some paper ones of my own.

I kept it simple, but this is just enough for a little color pop under our kitchen desk. One board for E, one for J.

The third one is for a daily Scripture verse.

Once the artwork has lived out its fridge or corkboard life, it is either pitched or stored in a binder. I started this (incredibly disheveled) one last year, and it is bursting!

E's preschool teachers made a much nicer one last year. It included photos and handprints of how she'd grown over the year, and an incredibly sweet note from her teacher of how much she enjoyed having E in her class.

Ahhhh...here's hoping for paper stack-free counter tops this school year!
Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

iced mango mocha coffee

2011-08-08T15:08:00.001-04:00

This summer, I discovered a fabulous deviation from my original homemade iced mocha recipe.

Follow that same "recipe" (add by taste, not measurements;) of French-pressed cold coffee and chocolate syrup, but instead of regular milk, use coconut milk. It is amazing!! Add a splash of mango-flavored syrup and a (large) squirt of whipped cream and there you go! Enjoy:)

Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom

The Girl Creative

crayon frame

2011-08-07T15:16:00.005-04:00

This project has been in my head for years...I kept a crayon drawing that E and I had made when she was a toddler, and it was so cute that I wanted to frame it. I just needed to make the perfect crayon frame to match our artwork!

I started with a plain wooden frame in need of a makeover. (Like my craft room/kids' play area decor?;)

Here's the "art" that we saved, about two years later:) She had asked me to draw crayons, and I obliged.

Simple plan: buy a new box of crayons, hide them from the kids, and hot glue gun them to a frame.

Two things happened: 1. E discovered the brand-new crayons, and 2. I discovered that some of them would have to be broken to fit on the frame. Obviously, E was THRILLED to help:)

On with the glue gun action!

~~Because I ran out of crayons~~ Because I thought my frame needed an embellishment, I fastened a fake flower to the bottom corner.

I added an extra layer of crayons to the very top as well.

After deciding that my original flower didn't quite look right, I attached two smaller flowers with brads. The primary colors look so cute with the "school" aspect of the crayons!

Pop in the art, and we are set!

I seriously love it.
Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

Winner of Scrappy Gifts giveaway...

2011-08-04T21:26:00.003-04:00

...is Shari! Congratulations! Please contact Maryanne for your beautiful new frame!
Love,
C:)

painted wooden clock

2011-08-01T15:00:00.001-04:00

Remember my zebra printed bathroom back in June? Well, we have added an extra accessory: a handpainted (by my 4-year-old) wooden clock.

She was hanging out with me when I was collecting zebra accessories, and got it in her head that she also wanted to contribute to our downstairs bathroom.

She did the ENTIRE thing by herself- it was one of those DIY kits on clearance.

(all I did was add the batteries and clock hands.....)

(...but, let's face it, we won't be telling very accurate time with this clock! ;)

She even matched the zebra stripes of the bathroom. I am so proud;)

You know what? All mom bias aside, I really think it looks fabulous amid all the black, white, and turquoise:) Maybe I have a crafty blogger in the making.

I loooove doing crafty stuff with my kids- especially giving them something creative to do while I work on my blog projects. I try to plan out something at least a few times a week for us to make or do. Stop by my (brand spanking new!) design shop for a printable to organize your family fun:)

Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

preschool and toddler worksheets and toy bins

2011-08-01T05:03:00.002-04:00

For some odd reason back in May, I pictured us being BORED this summer. Really??? Now, August is here and the kids will be starting school, the leaves will be turning before you know it (sniff sniff), and I can say that we were definitely not bored for the past two and a half months.

However, in our downtime, I did prepare some bins of workbooks and toys to keep everyone entertained. I purchased these workbooks for my preschooler at the start of summer, and she's been doing a few sheets each morning. She loves it, and my toddler loves coloring next to his big sister.

I also grabbed up 5 dish bins at Target and had E decorate them.

One late night, I sorted through EVERY SINGLE toy and game in our basement and family room. I switched some around, and placed the majority of them "in line" for these bins. Each weekend, I filled the bins up with a few "new" toys, and the kids got a new bin each day of the week. At the end of the week, those toys were brought back to the bookshelf for a different assortment to be played with the next week.

Everyone loved this system! While I admit that we didn't do this EVERY single week, the times when we did, the kids acted like it was Christmas- "new" toys and games to use!

It also really started up board games again in our house- we hadn't played any all winter, and this summer, we've been playing a game almost every night. I am awesome at Go Fish....Matt kicks butt at Candyland.

I designed this printable to organize my kids' play and learn activities throughout the summer. It's now available in my shop as part of the household organizer packet.

Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Women Living Well
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

Household organizing printables

2011-07-31T20:45:00.003-04:00

It's almost the start of a new school year, and there is something about August that makes me want a fresh start on life- no matter how old I get;) LOL.

I've been doing a worksheet/binder system for about 6 months to keep track of life: housework, events, bills, budget, etc. I gave my plain old Word document a major makeover, and the new and improved version is here for you, too!

This household organizer packet (available at Chic Sheets, my new shop) has original, chic designs to help keep you organized all school year long. It includes printables for a daily schedule, household chores, "in case of emergency" info, monthly budget, family and children's events and play activities, and even "upstairs" and "downstairs" labels for baskets (to keep the clutter away!)

Head over to Chic Sheets to start your household binder, and to start your school year off right!

I recommend printing out 40 "week of" and "family activities" sheets and sticking them directly into your binder. This will get you through 9 months of school.

Print out 9 copies of the budget worksheet. Once next summer starts, you can print out more:)

Only one copy of the "upstairs/downstairs" printable is needed.

Two of the emergency printables- one for your binder; one for your fridge.
It wouldn't hurt to have an extra one for your spouse for his wallet or office as well.

If this seems like a lot of paper, then just save the PDF file to your computer and add text to keep you organized via your laptop;) Just make sure you save the original blank copy first!

And also included in this packet are printable calendar pages for the 2011-2012 school year!

These pages can go into your binder as well, or hang them up on the fridge, bulletin board, etc.
I can attest that I designed this system for myself, to make myself a better and happier wife and mom. I've been using these worksheets and maintaining a binder for 6 months, and I am so much less stressed, more centered, and overall a much more "together" mama.

Enjoy and good luck!
Love,
C:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine
Confessions of a Stay-at-home Mommy
Me and My Boys
ABC and 123

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Women Living Well
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom
Nurture Store

Scrappy Gifts
The Girl Creative

Christmas in July recap aka December 26th

2011-07-31T00:00:00.002-04:00

Christmas in July is coming to an end- today is the last day to link up! It's been a lot of fun revisiting these magical December memories, and I am walking away with TONS of ideas for this upcoming holday season! Thank you everyone who has participated:)

Love,
C:)

Last day to link! Please grab my "Christmas in July" button or at least link back with a text link.

Copy and paste the URL to your post, not your blog.

This month's scrap party is sponsored by....

homemade gift tutorials

2011-07-29T23:32:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone:)
Reposting my tutorials of homemade gifts from last year- enjoy! Be sure to check out the links from Christmas in July for more awesome ideas. Happy crafting:)

Football headbands

Birthday scrapbook

House collage

Bookmarks

Candle votives

Wedding and shower gift ideas

2011 calendar- printable

Gift card holders

Prayer jar

Thanksgiving scripture printable

Just a few more days to link up your Christmas in July projects!
Have a great weekend:)
Love,
C:)

Scrappy Gifts Christmas giveaway

2011-07-28T17:01:00.000-04:00

Maryanne here again from Scrappy Gifts! What fun ideas Christine has shown this month!
I have a giveaway for you, but first here's some things going on at Scrappy Gifts!
Love to scrapbook and need ideas? Share your ideas with others! Check out my link party: Scrappy Saturdays. Doesn't just have to be scrapbook layouts; it can be altered items, cards, mini books, etc.

Need to find time to scrapbook more? Get motivated and join in on my Online Crops at my Blog Frog Community to get some of your scrapbook projects done. Prizes, Games and Challenges. Next one is

	Thursday, August 11 at 2:00pm - August 16 at 11:30pm

RSVP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147716465303315 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the GIVEAWAY! Christmas in July!
Winner of the giveaway will receive this 8x10 Framed Christmas themed Scrapbook Page. You can put a favorite Christmas photo in it or write over the frame with a Christmas wish list for Santa!

Here's how to enter!

REQUIRED:

What's your favorite Christmas idea shared here at Memories by Christine's Christmas in July, whether from Christine or on the July Link Party?

OPTIONAL EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a extra comment for each)

Follow Scrappy Gifts publicly through Google Friend Connect
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Giveaway closes on Sunday, July 31st at 11:59 P.M. CST

holiday decorations tutorials

2011-07-27T05:00:00.001-04:00

Good morning! I'm reposting my Christmas decorating tutorials from last season- enjoy and happy crafting! P.S. This is the last week to link up for Christmas in July:)

Mini paper ornaments

Christmas trees for kids' rooms

Christmas canvas

Decorations around our home

Alternative Advent wreath

Monogrammed stocking boxes

Scrappy Advent calendar

Love,
C:)

Packing away Christmas decorations for next year and staying organized!

2011-07-24T09:55:00.005-04:00

Christmas in July is coming to an end. We have soooooo many decorations.

....and so much to pack away!

But very slowly and surely, it gets done.

Make sure you have your packing and labeling supplies at hand, and that the kids are distracted playing with new toys;)

I did my best last January to stay organized with packing away our decorations. I diligently labeled boxes with the contents and the room it belongs in, and numbered the boxes.

Disaster! LOL- it was nice to see our "regular" decor coming out of the Christmas boxes as I switched everything out.

I saved a tray of ornaments needing to be fixed and/or needing pictures inserted. As of right now, I haven't touched any yet, and they are still waiting in my craft room...

Good bye, Christmas, until next year (or after this Thanksgiving:).

This is the last week to link up your Christmas projects! I have really enjoyed celebrating the holidays with you all this summer:)

Keeping it Simple
Pinkapotamus
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac
Graphics Fairy

Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Design
Blackberry Vine

733 (sugar and spice)
Night Owl Crafting
Lil' Luna
Sisters Stuff
Women Living Well

A Crafty Soiree
Somewhat Simple
House of Hepworths
Paisley Passions

Tatertots and Jello
Designer Garden
TidyMom

Scrappy Gifts
Naturally Me Creations

Born Again Crafter
The Girl Creative

Christmas decorating- small details around the house

2011-07-21T13:14:00.000-04:00

Good morning! As I mentioned yesterday, I LOVE our home around the holidays. This past year, I really tried to spend extra attention to the little details of Christmas decor. I found that a little bit of extra tinsel or evergreen garland can go a long way! Check out these examples- what do you think?

Now it's your turn! Link up any Christmas crafts, traditions, DIY gifts, recipes, etc. Can't wait to see what you've got! Please grab my "Christmas in July" button or at least link back with a text link.

I will feature my favorites throughout the month on Twitter and my Facebook page (so follow me to see if you are selected!) Have fun!

Copy and paste the URL to your post, not your blog.

This month's scrap party is sponsored by....

If you want to advertise, just place my button in your sidebar for the entire month (and let me know!). I'll gladly link back to you in each Christmas-themed post for this month.

Love,
C:)