pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

Oh what to do with a funny old Christmas. It’s one thing to not be in your own house on Christmas day and come back a day or two later to find the tree still standing – that’s perfectly fine and ordinary. It’s another thing entirely to leave before Christmas and not come back until spring! Leave the tree up and passersby will certainly start to talk by February. Ask the house sitters to take it down and well, I just don’t think I could ask someone else to take on such a job, especially when putting all the Christmas decorations away means one giant organising challenge from the limited storage spaces provided by city living.

So no tree. Something different then: embracing the love of vintage and travel with a Christmas display in vintage suitcases! And then when it’s time for us to head to the airport, we can pretty much just close the cases with all the decorations inside and worry about that when we come home in fourteen weeks!

You can see the full details of the decorations here as part of the Scissor Quirk blog party. (Scissor Quirk is the blog of the lovely Michelle Clement, designer of Sassafras Mix & Mend, amongst other things!) There are so many inspiring posts on her blog with a huge variety of guest artists, plus giveaways and freebies to download and discounts for shopping! What’s not to love?

And maybe it’s time for me to become a little less obscure about this long trip I’ve coyly mentioned here and there. One of the things that is awesome about having a fully online job is that I can work from anywhere. One of the things that is not awesome about The Boy’s field of work is that firms dissolve pretty frequently in this market. We decided to make that not-awesome thing into a truly awesome thing by taking a travel break before he starts back to a daily grind. We are doing what’s called an RTW trip – Round the World – but in a way, that’s a misnomer. Round the world sounds like you go pretty much everywhere, and at some levels of the RTW airline ticket, you can. At our level, it means you pick a starting location and you keep traveling around the globe in the same direction until it brings you home. We start in Thailand and will travel much of that corner of SE Asia, head through Malaysia and Indonesia, jump to Australia and New Zealand, then finish in South America, traveling from Santiago to Buenos Aires and then home to Londontown. It’s a lot – twelve countries over three continents in fourteen weeks – but it’s hardly ‘the world’. Still: I think it’s plenty for one journey!

We are taking less luggage than what you see in our Christmas decorations! Just one small backpack each, which has had its own challenges for me – both in getting a suitable bag for my dinky shoulders and in not filling it up with things that are not as essential as I wish – I can’t wait for my hair to be an absolute disaster from no blowdryers, straighteners or assorted tonics – oh my! It would appear I am slightly more girly than the average backpacker, but I am determined to make a cute dress, converse all stars and a backpack become a rockin’ look.

I am not at all disappearing from blogland or the internet! We are actually going to blog the whole trip, right here. Don’t tell him, but this may mean you get to see a bit more of The Boy on the blog, and it’s not often he does that unless he’s dressed as the Mad Hatter! I’m going to try to persuade him to put in an appearance now and again. (If you didn’t know, The Boy’s middle name is ‘too-cool-for-Facebook’ as he doesn’t do things with social accounts!) But don’t freak out: the crafty posts will continue too! I’ve prepared some projects that I’ve kept back to share with you over the next three months and more excitingly, there are lots of guest posts from talented crafters who will be showing you their favourite tricks and techniques. So instead of going quiet, it should actually be pretty exciting here on the blog! I really hope you’ll enjoy hearing from our adventures on the road.

But before we leave, I’ve been determined to soak up as much traditional Christmas as possible, and that includes Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland today! So I best go and grab a special Christmas coffee and don my red wool coat and sing a carol or two!

xlovesx

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_{©twopeasinabucket.com}

I did warn you that I had rather fallen in love with paper garlands this Christmas, right? Because here’s another garland with a step-by-step tutorial for you! This one is part of the Holiday Sharing event over at Two Peas, and you can find it here, including a PDF you can download to see all the steps for making the garland and the ornament with the bookpage.

If you create something (anything!) inspired by the project, you can upload it to Two Peas and enter a challenge. One entrant will win some shopping from the Two Peas store! Always fun to shop with free money, right? (I just spent some gift cards the other day and I felt like doing a dance to celebrate getting something for ‘nothing’!) You have until new year to enter the challenge too.

One little thing I’ve decided and wanted to pass onto you: from now on, I am only buying plain white paper flowers. With all the mists and inks I have on my shelf, I can make those white flowers any colour I would like! And for projects like this, it’s lovely to make just the right number of flowers. From one bargain pack of flowers, I had plenty and some left over. If I’d purchased coloured flowers, I would have had to buy a pack of red, a pack of green and a pack of cream. Misting flowers: it’s the way forward.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind for suitably beautiful paper flowers of any colour. But you know, just in general. With the plain flowers. Something like that.

And thanks to all who downloaded and spread the word about the Christmas single. It is much appreciated!

xlovesx

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Back in early 2010, Laura mentioned that a friend had started a new blog as a year long adventure in doing something new every week. That was Nick and his 52 New Things. I started reading his entries and told The Boy I was sure he would like the blog of Laura’s friend. ‘He’s doing one new and random thing every week for the whole year,’ I said.

‘Oh, you mean that guy from 52 New Things, right?’

Well, yes. And instantly my world had imploded: The Boy had just been reading along like you would read any blog and then presto, it was someone I had actually met in real life. Oh, the world is a funny old place.

Anyway, the reason I tell you all this is because now is when you can help make something amazing happen! One of the 52 New Things was to write and record a Christmas single in just 52 days, using the power of networking and friends to make it all happen. And the goal is to get to number 52 in the charts and raise £5,200 for the Alzheimer’s Society. They aren’t looking for giant donations: just sales of the song via iTunes at 79p in the UK or 99cents in the US.

Click here to buy this song in the UK iTunes Store
Click here to buy this song in the US iTunes Store

(If you’re in another country, search for artist 52 New Things on iTunes!)

All of the song’s proceeds are going to the charity – in fact, Nick has been taking sponsorship donations for all of the 52 New Things to support the Alzheimer’s Society all year long.

I realise this post has absolutely nothing to do with scrapbooking, unless I make a tenuous link between the nostalgic lyrics of the song being somewhat like the type of journaling we might write in our albums with photos from Christmas morning 1984, but it is a seriously cool project and I would love if you used that ‘share this’ button at the bottom of this post to spread the word about the song. Plenty of Christmas singles are advertised on posters and tv adverts – this song depends on people like us telling our friends. So share a link, download the song and be part of the fun!

Merry Christmas!

xlovesx

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_{The bottlecap card isn’t from the kit – look at the other three.}

I love to scrapbook.
I love the idea of making cards.

It’s just that when I make cards they don’t seem to come out quite right to me. It doesn’t come as naturally to me. Recently I figured that’s because when I scrapbook I start with the story I want to tell and probably some photos too – while a card is usually more design-centric.

So I have to tell you I am loving the card kits from BasicGrey. I only discovered them recently and these cards are actually from the kit they had out last year, which I bought in the post-Christmas sales to give it a try. But now consider me entirely sold on the idea of a kit that has a variety of cards but…
…the pieces are all the right size already, just punch them out and ink the edges if you want.
…the card designs are different so it doesn’t get boring like assembly-lining identical cards.
…there’s a card kit for each BasicGrey collection and all the cards are winners.

So if like me, you find it easier to scrap than make cards, or you’re looking for a great gift for someone crafty, these card kits really get a double thumbs up from me.

What’s your status with Christmas cards? Link us up if you’ve posted yours online.

xlovesx

PS: Today I made pumpkin scones inspired by Sharyn Carlson’s recipe and I must say they are divine. Not as sweet as a pumpkin cake or bread, and lovely warm with coffee.

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On Friday, Katherine and I braved the snow and cold for a night at the V&A to listen to a discussion with the amazing Orla Kiely. She spoke about her work process, her training, how she got started with her own label after working as a designer for brands like Espirit and about how she stays inspired, along with a bit about her new book, Pattern. The time went so quickly – I could listen to her speak all day I think! The presentation ended with this short played on the big screen, made to promote the spring/summer collection and shot throughout London by Gia Coppola.

“From London with Love” – Orla Kiely Spring/Summer 2011 from gia coppola on Vimeo.

I absolutely love it. Party because of the style in which it is shot and edited, and partly because these are places I see often and it makes me a bit sentimental. I think there is much inspiration here for still shots as well as video. The only drawback is that it does make me wish my legs were at least another foot longer, for tall mod girls always scream 60s London and a small part of me wishes I could do that! But short little me will forgive this.

_{©twopeasinabucket.com Click for layout.}

I’m not hugely into named designers but I love Orla Kiely’s designs – I have even scrapbooked my love for her bags (and her sample sales!) and I have long wanted to turn one of her notebooks into some sort of scrapbooking mini, though I have never moved further than the idea stage. One interesting thing she discussed was how it feels to see other designs which are a copy or largely inspired by her work, like the iconic leaves on a stem. She said she never minds, for it must be flattery, but she never likes the designs and can usually identify some element ‘they got wrong’, which I found sweet. What seems to some like leaves in a line to her obviously has very exact rules. I find simplicity intriguing when it comes to creativity: what makes some designers make ten different things makes others, like Orla Kiely, design ten variations on one idea. Food for thought!

The most mysterious mention in the presentation? Orla Kiely has designed a car for Citroen that will be available in the new year. She described it as a car for girls, and said she took much from the idea of a cozy home interior for kitting out inside the car. I told Katherine I may be happy to not have a car right now but I have a feeling I shall pine extensively for whatever bit of lovely this car may be!

And then we had books signed and people watched a bit at the gallery. I have only started to soak in the book, but so far I am in love. Both the words and the photos translate hugely to crafting, if you like to take thoughts from one genre and apply them to another. So lovely.

xlovesx

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I’ve asked some lovely crafters to share some projects with you now and then over the next few months. I know you will love all their ideas – each one has inspired me as they were created. Today I’m happy to share a super guest post by SJ Dowsett, who will show you how to make your home a crafty Christmas wonderland with paper supplies you already have on hand. I know you’ll give her a warm welcome! Enjoy.

Punches are back in fashion big time, and with the vast array of beautiful shapes around, there is not excuse not to invest in some to make pretty decorations for both scrapbooking and your home. After all – they are a craft stash investment – or so I keep telling my husband!

This time of year most of us are planning our holiday decorations, trawling the stores for something new and pretty to show off how much we love the festive season, but why not trawl your own craft drawers? Pull out some punches, and get creative. An inexpensive way to decorate combined with your hobby. Win!

For me, punches are ideal – they cut out a perfect shape every time and whilst I do love hand cutting every now and then, there is nothing quite like the perfection when it comes to a punched butterfly or leaves or perfectly round circles!

So today, join me in making some decorations. First up, gather all your punches (or your friend’s punches) and a selection of paper that you think would work well when punched. You may like smaller prints or solid colours.

This bauble can hang from the tree or a garland and it’s made with just a circle punch. The steps are easy. Start by punching eight circles, all the same size.

1: Fold each of the eight circles three times, creating a triangle space in the centre.
2: Take four circles, and glue together.
3: Repeat this stage for the bottom half.
4: Add in some pretty hanging twine, tucked inside between the two halves.
5: Glue the two halves together.
6: Add dimension paints or bling to decorate if desired.

If you buy coordinated paper sets, like a collection pack or a 6×6 paper stack, these look great with a mix of patterns all in the same collection.

This place card couldn’t be easier. You will need a brad (small metal one would be best). if you have no brads, a needle and thread would work just as well to secure the centre.

1: I used a cute scallop circle punch, and punched out five circles. You could use other shapes for a different look.
2: Take your brad or needle, and poke a hold through each later
3: Gather the layers – and connect with the brad or cotton.
4: Crumple the top flower up round the brad
5: Repeat this step for each layer till the flower has all its layers gathered.
6: I added some flower centres in – but you could add glitter or even leave it plain.

You can attach it to a place name card with a glue dot, then just add the names and quickly make your table go from ordinary to something extra special.

This folded flower is another ornament made with just plain circle punches. Circles are so versatile when you start layering and folding!
You will need eight medium punched circles and eight smaller punched circles (to create into cones), plus two medium circles and one medium circle put aside to act as a base and a top.

1: Fold eight medium circles, and eight smaller circles into cone shapes:
2: Cover the two plain left over circles in double sided tape.
3: Stick down the eight larger cones – and add some wet glue for extra strength. (add some hanging string at this stage too)
4: Adhere the second plain circle on top.
5: Take the smaller cones – add some tape or glue to their back and glue down. – use the last circle shape you have punched to glue on top to seal.
6: Decorate with mini punches, hand cut shapes or bling.

This button wreath is perfect for the tree or for making gift tags for a crafty friend. I used the Martha Stewart button punch for this, plus a flower.

1: Punch out 12 buttons.
2: To create a back plate, I punched a large circle, and using scissors, cut out the middle to form a ring of card.
3: Using a foam dot, stick each button down to the paper ring (make sure you don’t cover the button holes) – as you stick them down, over lap the buttons.
4: Sew the buttons to the ring of card using twin, like bakers twine.
5: Add some detail, with perhaps holly or like I have done, a double punched flower.
6: Add some bling for detail.

This paper rosette is made with border punches and a circle punch.
To see a great way to make these, check out Shimelle’s recent video where she shows you in great detail how to create the perfect concertina.
(Let me tell you right now that SJ taught me how to make a rosette like that – I had always made them a messier way with squares instead of a long strip. I like SJ’s method! – Shim)

1: Using your favourite border punch, punch down the edge of a piece of 12×12 and then trim to form a 2” strip.
2: Concertina fold this strip of paper – neatly and with fairly thin folds for the length of the strip.
3: Take two punched circles, and cover in double sided tape – set to one side, you will need these handy!
4: Attach tape to one end of the concertina strip, and then adhere the two ends together.
5: Gather the concertina ring of card at one end with your finger tips, and with the aid of a flat surface, push down to “flatten” the concertina to form a rosette.
6: Grab your pre taped circles and stick one on top, and one on the bottom to secure.

Tip: Before I stick the top one down – I always add a good blob of wet glue for that added strength.

Now decorate the top with various nesting punches or bling – go wild!

If you wanted to add this to a napkin ring instead, just attach it to a wide strip of card that you have border punched either side of, and roll round your napkins (trim to desired length once you know how thick your napkin will be.

I hope you have enjoyed this post – I loved making them, and love even more how they look around my home at the moment. I’d love to see what you make to decorate your home with your scrapping supplies!
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful projects, SJ!

SJ Dowsett is the illustrator behind Little Musings digital images, clear stamps and custom portraits. She lives in Bexhill on the Sussex seaside with her darling husband and son. Never to be found without a pencil, camera or scrapping stuff in hand, she spends her days with her little boy and a brain full of nonsense, which I puts down on paper whenever she can.

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It is still snowing here and it’s the third day that our local train line pretty much hasn’t moved, so I think I’ll happily stay indoors and craft for as long as the hot chocolate lasts. Sound like a plan?

This Christmas I’ve found myself making paper garlands in several different styles. It’s like bunting but made from whatever papers I find on my desk and embellished thanks to a seemingly endless roll of double-sided tape! This tag garland is a little project I’ve created in a few versions this year. Fiskarettes who came to the workshop last month will recognise this as we made something very similar! This garland is made with some plain old tags and a few lovely bits and pieces from Jenni Bowlin Studio. Feel free to giggle at my comic introduction wherein I make myself look taller by cropping the top of my head out of the frame. Alas, I have not grown to such great heights, I assure you. Anyway, the tutorial is all shot overhead so you only have to see half my face for a brief moment, I promise.

_{Supplies: Christmas mini bingo cards, garnet stick pins, vintage buttons, paint dabber all by Jenni Bowlin. Punches by Fiskars and EK Success.}

The Boy has just returned from the shops and declared ‘It’s actually quite warm out there’. Um… I think his cognition may be suffering from mild hypothermia? It’s still snowing!

Have a lovely day and stay warm if your weather is anything like ours!

xlovesx

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On the first of December, I always make some sort of promise to myself. It’s a perfect day for declaring intentions for the Christmas season and it’s always been a key to the idea of taking back Christmas for me: a day to be in control and remember the course you want to steer.

This year, I am letting go of the need to go through certain traditions on specific dates, as we won’t be home on Christmas day. At first, that idea really shook me, but the more it has sunk in, the more I have remembered the season is what we make it and there is no reason not to feel that special kind of Christmas happiness throughout December or far away. Christmas is more than than a routine. So this year, I’ve come up with this manifesto to focus my energy on doing good, reflecting and saying thank you.

If you share these wishes for the season, feel free to grab the image above for your blog or save any of these files as wallpaper for your computer desktop or mobile phone. It’s available in three colours: red, green and pink.

Red Desktop Wallpaper – 1024×768
Red Desktop Wallpaper – 1600×1200
Red Desktop Wallpaper – 1900×1200
Red Phone Wallpaper – 320×480

Pink Desktop Wallpaper – 1024×768
Pink Desktop Wallpaper – 1600×1200
Pink Desktop Wallpaper – 1900×1200
Pink Phone Wallpaper – 320×480

Green Desktop Wallpaper – 1024×768
Green Desktop Wallpaper – 1600×1200
Green Desktop Wallpaper – 1900×1200
Green Phone Wallpaper – 320×480

Of course, December for me is also about keeping a Christmas journal and writing about Christmas past, present and future. I included this manifesto this year, printed on cardstock and sprayed with Calico Cream Mister Huey.

Two questions that always come up today regarding Journal your Christmas have easy answers:
Is it too late to sign up? It’s never too late to sign up! You can join at absolutely any time and have full, permanent access to all the materials. There’s no pressure to finish everything in one month, so we would love for you to join us at any time.
Will you be blogging your journal? Because I include pictures of my journal in the daily prompts, no, I don’t blog my full journal here. I’ll show you a few bits and pieces now and then, but throughout December I have other projects lined up to show you on the blog, including some tutorials and some special guests. There’s a video tutorial tomorrow morning, for example! Many Christmas journal participants blog every day and I love seeing all the albums come to life!

Getting back to the manifesto image – you can also print it on photo paper and display it somewhere you’ll see it daily to help keep your focus. I’m all about quiet visual reminders to keep me on track.

Of course I also love a good Christmas story, and oh my goodness did you lovelies fill yesterday’s post with beautiful memories. If you need some Christmas spirit, just read through them! I hope they are all stories you tell in your scrapbooks at some point because if they make me emotional and I don’t even know you in real life, well then they would be treasured by your friends and family for sure.

But from all of those comments, one randomly chosen reader had to win the $50 gift card to Two Peas in a Bucket, so a drumroll please:

Cath, email me to claim your prize! (I’m sorry I couldn’t give $50 to everyone. I would say ‘when I win the lottery…’, but I never play. That’s not going to work then, is it?)

A very merry first of December to you! What are your intentions this holiday season? I’d love to read your take on a Christmas manifesto!

xlovesx

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