Christmas Layout by Mendi and cards by Christine

Are you ready for some scrapbooking? This is where my first love of paper crafting started, so it will always sing brighter in my heart than other paper crafts. I am not sure what I love more the happy papers or the cute grin, both are equally heart warming, right? Don’t forget to pop over to her blog because she has many wonderful goodies there.
Mendi says “For this layout I let the adorable stickers and patterned papers that came with Echo Park Happy Holidays collection inspire my design.  I was sad to realize some of the collection stickers weren’t the right size for my needs and I couldn’t find a way to fit the larger tree print paper on my layout, but with the help of Lori’s cutting files I was able to capture the same feel by diecutting similar trees and creating my own diecut snowflake banner.  I love the result.  The colors just feel happy!”
 Cutting Files already used from Lori’s Shop:
Thanks Mendi this layout is adorable!
Next up I have some adorable cards by Christine. She used the Matchbox gift card holder for the base of her cards as well as the Echo Park This and That Christmas collection, designed by Lori.
Look at the different ways she finished off these cards. I love that she used ribbon and brads for these two cards and give each of them a different look.
Christine says “If you need a couple of gift card holders quick but want them to look like you took hours to make, then the Matchbox gift card holder is just what you need.  They are super easy to cut out and put together and they look adorable and oh so fancy.”
Just plain brilliant I say, easy and cute, my favorite combination.
She also has some more pictures and instructions on her blog, so be sure to head over and check it out. Thanks Christine! Love these.
Hope these amazing projects help inspire you this Christmas season.

Christmas Village by Guest Designer Melanie Fink

Today we have guest designer Melanie Fink, of The Paper Retreat, sharing with us this amazing Christmas Village. Can you believe it is ALL made out of paper? She did such an amazing job.

Look at all the amazing detail she has added.

Personally, my favorite is the Christmas tree in the window, there is also a blackboard inside the school. Can you see it? Melanie this is stunning. Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us. You can check out this project with more detail on her blog here. She has added so many detailed photos and instructions, go check it out and leave her some love. Thank you Melanie. These are amazing!

On this project, Melanie used the following files.

Christmas Village
3D Christmas Tree 3
3D Christmas Tree 5
Scalloped border from the Simple Borders set
School name banner and house # shapes are from the 14 Labels Set
Holly leaves from the Christmas Icons Set 2.  I used these leaves to create the wreath on the school as well.
These can all be found in the Lori Whitlock Shop.

Glass Etching with Joy

Today Joy is sharing with us another way to use the word art titles Lori has in the shop. I absolutely adore her project. What a fun way to showcase type, which I also love.  Joy says,

“I love working with Lori’s files in a number of ways.  They’re great for paper, fabric, vinyl, paint, just about anything you can think of!  Today I used her Christmas Word Art Vinyl 2 file .  They really are perfect for working with vinyl!  Instead of just applying vinyl to a mirror, which is a cool project on its own, I used the vinyl as a resist and added Armour Etch glass etching cream.  I let it sit for about 20 minutes…or so…actually, I ate dinner and lost track of time but then I got back to it!  I washed the cream off, removed the vinyl and voila, I had this awesome mirror.  I added washi tape around the edges to add a little color.  Don’t hesitate to try a glass etching project.  Just do what I did, buy your mirror at the Dollar Store.  Now with all that money you saved on a mirror, you can shop for more fun files!  See, I’m always thinking!  LOL!  Happy crafting!”

here is another view, no the words are not white, the light just reflects differently, creating a different look. Joy this is adorable. Thanks for sharing. Go check out more detailed instructions on Joy’s blog.

Christmas Love by Natalie and Joy

I love Friday, don’t you? One of my favorite things is have 2 projects to share with you!

I have wanted to make these ever since Lori created this file,“Candy Shaped Box”. I was so happy when I saw that Natalie did it too! She made these adorable party favors for each member coming to dinner. They served double duty as table decorations, place cards and party favors (or should that be triple duty?). What a great idea. For more info head over to Natalie’s blog

 

 

Also to share with you today is this adorable sign/plague that Joy created. She used the new “Naughty is Word Art Title.” Before adding the vinyl, she painted the wood with paint and glitter (a girl after my own heart) and made it sparkle for Christmas. As always Joy has wonderful tutorials about how to cut and add vinyl to any project, so don’t be afraid to try. Her blog will lead you through, step by step.  Thanks ladies, your projects are beautiful!

Christmas Village by Christine

I have always wanted a Christmas Village in my house, but I could never find a safe place to put one, until now. Look at what Christine has created. By making these out of paper, I wouldn’t worry about the table being bumped and/or them being knocked off (I have some rambunctious boys.) I love that she created such a beautiful decoration out of paper.

Christine says “The time to decorate for the holidays is upon us and I am adding a few new things to my home decor this year.  This sweet little Christmas Village is one of them.  Every little bit of this village was made with files from Lori Whitlock’s shop.
The three buildings that I used are the house, church, and tall house.  I cut out the building outside pieces on the two houses twice so that I could have the roof and the sides of the houses two different patterned paper.  There is a second bottom piece in each of the files that is the base of the house.  Each of these were cut out of yellow cardstock so it looks like lights are on in the houses and church.”

I love the detail she has added to each little house.

“I used many different files to decorate the buildings.  I really tried to think outside the box, using files that were intended for other purposes than what I actually used them for.  The best example are the shrubs next to the houses.  They are actually Lori’s Clouds file.  I did trim a little on the bottom so they were totally flat on the bottom edges and then I adhered some flat and others with foam adhesive.”

Christine shares MANY tips on how she created these buildings on her blog, so go visit and leave her some love. Adorable as always Christine!

Shapes used