Christmas in July

I am home today with a sick, throwing up baby while the rest of my family is spending the day boating for a family reunion. I am so depressed about it! Mostly because I hate it when my kids are sick and helpless, and poor sweet Haylie just feels terrible, you can see it in her eyes. But also because I love being on the boat and wakeboarding and having fun with Jaden and watching the kids have a blast and I was really looking forward to seeing Brandon waterski again (he got up for the first time a few weeks ago! It was AWESOME!) and to do a wild tube ride with Kirsten and Julie. Oh well. Haylie’s napping and since I’ve already mopped up the vomit I thought I’d blog to keep my mind off of good times at the lake.

It’s crazy to think about Christmas but lots of people seem to do the “Christmas in July” thing so I thought I’d post some stuff that has been on the docket for a long time. Back in May I had the awesome opportunity to teach some classes at a digital scrapbooking retreat with the company Digital Scrapbook Memories. It was a blast. One of my classes was focused on homemade Christmas ideas, and I thought I’d post some of them here, maybe it’ll get your creative juices flowing and start thinking about stuff you might want to make for Christmas this year. I know, it’s crazy and I always procrastinate but who knows. Maybe it’ll help one of you on-the-ball people who I totally aspire to be like. And maybe it’ll inspire ME to do something creative. I don’t think I’ve done any projects (besides wedding stuff) since this retreat! I’m craving creativity right now.

Christmas Countdown

Probably my favorite project of the bunch! You may remember I have made an advent calendar already but I wanted to do a simple one that incorporated personal photos. So I came up with this design: (click to enlarge)

I made it all in Photoshop with DSM products–a triangle for the tree on a 12×18 background, and 1-inch circles for the ornaments with digital papers, numbers, and photos on them. I printed at Costco, then cut out the pieces with scissors and a 1-inch circle punch. I mounted the tree background on some foam core for sturdiness. To attach the ornaments I used some clear velcro I found at Walmart! My kids have already had fun taking off and reattaching the ornaments/gifts. I figure each day as we put up an ornament we could read a scripture or do a fun activity as a family. I love it!

Christmas Planner

I was tired of all of my Christmas receipts being strewn all over my purse and making multiple lists on any available scraps of paper, and decided that I wanted it all in one CUTE place. So I made this little Christmas planner. You could make it for any occasion, really.

I basically folded 2 pieces of cardstock in half, then about 3 inches at the bottom to create pockets, then I put them together to create a little booklet-type thing.

There are 4 pockets to keep various lists organized and separate.

And where the 2 cardstock pieces join together, I left one long side open to put receipts in! I secured the other sides with double sided sticky tape.

I designed the cover and pockets and everything in Photoshop using Digital Scrapbook Memories products, added a ribbon and it works! It’ll be fun to use this Christmas.

Boxes and Bags

I also made a few little gift boxes and bags. I did a takeout box, a small gift bag, as well as a cute pillow box that for some reason I don’t have a photo of.

Christmas Treat Tin

This project was featured in the November 2008 edition of Bella Scraps Magazine with a tutorial.

Supplies I Used:

any kind of tin or container (can use altoid or mint tins if desired)

treats to fill container (I used 12 Reese’s mini peanut butter cups)

printed digital items

scallop punch

double-sided sticky tape

scissors

Step 1. I created a decorative strip in Photoshop Elements to wrap around my tin. Just measure whatever container you’ll be using and create your “layout” accordingly. I made mine 4 inches by 11 inches and it fit perfectly. I also made little labels to cover the Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups–they are 1 1/8 inches round and fit on the bottom of the cups. I made a separate tag for the top of the tin. Then I printed everything on luster paper at Costco and cut them out. I used a 3 inch scallop punch to make my tag.

Step 2. To adhere the little circle labels, I simply used double-sided sticky tape and taped them to the bottoms of the cups, and arranged them inside the tin. I placed the lid on and wrapped my strip around the outside of the tin, securing with the sticky tape. To place the tag on top I did a few “blobs” of the sticky tape under the tag to create a 3-D look, but you could use those pop dot adhesives if you have any.

Step 3. Deliver to the lucky person! This is an easy project that didn’t take very long at all to complete but it makes a big impression on the recipient. Just something a little extra special for the holidays!

So those are some of the projects I shared for one of my retreat classes. It was a lot of work but lots of fun.

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Another fun thing to make for Christmas gifts is a personalized calendar. I know lots of people make these so it’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s something I do each year and it’s fun to look back through the year to select the photos each month.

So for the 2009 calendar I used a quick page calendar from GG Digital Designs–simply added my photos (the photos are from 2008) and important dates and that’s it!

I also shrunk them down to about 5×7 size for my kids to have their own. They love looking at the photos each month and always remind me to put the new month up on our fridge.

So that’s it! Maybe thinking of Christmas will help cool you off on this HOT summer day. Any questions, I’ll try to answer in the comments.

And THANKS for the wonderful comments of support from my wrecky Sunday!! It’s nice to know that everyone has similar moments of frustration and naughty kids. You all really helped me feel better, so thank you so much. xoxoxoxoxo

Now maybe I should go put away the mountainous laundry pile. Sigh.