Saturday, December 21, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 20 Freebie
Check out these great Share the Memories free Christmas cards!
Created by Marie H Designs.
Available free until December 29th.
Click image to go to download.
Looking for a Christmas gift for someone who loves scrapping, or wanting to get started in digital scrapbooking to scrap your 2013 Christmas memories?
USE THIS CODE: STMMMS79285
to get $10 off My Memories Suite Software! (in the US and Canada)
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 19 Freebie
SIX days until Christmas! Our house is in a tizzy of Christmas excitement and happiness. Except when Daddy made everyone go rake leaves instead of watch TV. That was very Grinchy of him, in the children's opinions!
Take lots of pictures over this next week, and use Dandelion Dust Designs' new "Mistletoe Magic" to scrap them! It is a perfect blend of traditional Christmas and Christmas whimsy.
Take lots of pictures over this next week, and use Dandelion Dust Designs' new "Mistletoe Magic" to scrap them! It is a perfect blend of traditional Christmas and Christmas whimsy.
"Mistletoe Magic" is available exclusively at ScrapTakeout.
And now for a little Christmas gift, download your free quickpages from Mediafire! Click images to go to download. PU only.
Merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this kit in exchange for layouts.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 18 Freebies
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! WHAT DAY IS IT!!??
Yes, you know the answer! HUMP-DAAAAYYYYY! That is my son's favorite commercial, and I just love this camel in the picture. It was made for the Christmas parade float at the church where my kids take Band lessons. The frame is made from PVC pipe and some kind of wire mesh. Then the very talented ladies who made it sewed the material around the outside, standing on stools, ladders, or whatever they needed. The head alone took them 4 hours. I think it looks just amazing!
Today is also ONE WEEK before Christmas! Can you believe it? Are you ready? I have two freebies for you today - one for digital scrapbooking, and the other is a link to a free recipe book download.
Check out this great Share the Memories Freebie!
Created by Touched By A Butterfly.
Available free until December 29th.
Click image to go to download.
Looking for a Christmas gift for someone who loves scrapping, or wanting to get started in digital scrapbooking to scrap your 2013 Christmas memories?
USE THIS CODE: STMMMS79285
to get $10 off My Memories Suite Software! (in the US and Canada)
Then go to Knowledge Quest and sign up for their newsletter to get this free download of Christmas recipes from around the world!
Merry Christmas!
Day 17 - Ring Those Bells: Bean and Bailey
And we will catch up to Day 17 of December with another Bean and Bailey video and some pictures of the Christmas Cow. Not because the Christmas Cow has anything to do with Bean and Bailey, other than the fact that they also have a Chick-Fil-A song somewhere, but just because I love Chick-Fil-A's Christmas Cow!
Merry Christmas! :-)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 16
Some very fun Christmas card ideas from my friend Vicki (who probably snatched them from somewhere on Pinterest!):
Here are a few more cards using various stamps, ribbons, border punches, embossed papers, and a torn and inked border.
This one is made with a blue base card, red paper cut with "stamp" punches, and blue paper cut with square punches. Punch white circles for the snowmen's heads, place them in the corners, and trim the sides to match the square on which they sit. Use tiny black punched circles or beads for the eyes and smiles, and small orange triangles cut for the noses. Stamp white snowflakes across the bottom.
For this card, choose a Christmas-themed stamp and stamp it with red ink on a cream-colored rectangle of scrapbook paper. Glue this on a slightly larger red mat, and then glue the whole piece onto a slightly larger green mat. Glue the matted picture to the front of your card, stamp a sentiment at the bottom, and run a green or red ribbon through punched holes on the left side. (Make sure you punch the holes only on the front of the folded card, not all the way through the front and back.)
This card is similar to the last, except that the stamped image is stamped onto white paper or cardstock, colored in with color pencils, and the edges are inked. In this example, just one mat was used, and extra music note stamps were used around the card instead of tying a ribbon bow.
Here are a few more cards using various stamps, ribbons, border punches, embossed papers, and a torn and inked border.
Vicki is our favorite craft go-to person. She brought these cards in for an event at our ladies' group last Christmas. Since each lady would only spend about 20 minutes at each station, she made a "card-making express" table. She pre-cut or punched all the pieces that would need to be assembled for each card and assembled them ahead of time in ziploc baggies, along with any ribbons or stickers needed for that particular card. (The one pictured below has the completed sample on top.) She also laid out glue sticks, stamps, and inkpads. Each lady chose a baggy, assembled her card, and stamped it as she wished, either following the example or adding her own creative twist. Some also stamped a sentiment inside, while others left the insides blank. Each participant was able to make at least one card, and sometimes several, in the 20 alloted minutes and then take them with her. Everyone loved the event so much that we had a whole card-making event this year!
I love scrapbooking, but for people who would like to dabble in some paper-craftiness without making the commitment of starting a scrapbook that will probably never get finished, card-making events are great fun. Participants can make a few cards to send to friends without buying a lot of materials or starting anything that needs to be finished later. And there is no fun like the fun of getting a bunch of women together over crafting supplies! If you have one person get the materials ready ahead of time like Vicki did, consider having everyone make a donation to cover the supplies.
Happy card-making! :-)
25 Days of Christmas - Day 15
One of our favorite activities for any holiday is to make play dough in the appropriate holiday colors and get out the cookie cutters! For these Christmas ornaments, I made red and green play dough, and I mixed in gold and silver glitter that I'd been wanting to use up. We made the shapes with Christmas cookie cutters, decorated them if we wished, and punched a hole in the top of each with the end of a drinking straw. Some recipes call for baking the ornaments on low heat, but while the no-cook-play dough recipe I used here is my favorite one for consistency, I have found that it does not bake well. I just left these sitting on waxed paper for 24-48 hours until they dried well, then we hung them on the tree.
I cannot find the exact recipe I used, but the one at The Imagination Tree is very similar.
Merry Christmas! :-)
25 Days of Christmas - Day 14
I am finally getting around to posting a Christmas craft idea! My friend made these last year for my kids and some other kids on her gift list. She got a big assortment of Scrabble tiles on eBay, I believe, for about $30-$35. She spelled out each child's name and glued a strip of felt to the back of them. (Note: some of the longer names needed some thick felt and heavy glue to dry stiff enough to stay in place.) You will want to use Elmer's or some liquid craft glue applied liberally to the felt so that it will soak in and make the felt stiff when it dries. She then glued a bow to the top of each ornament with a place to stick a hook through. What an adorable (and inexpensive) Christmas gift!
Merry Christmas! :-)
25 Days of Christmas - Day 13
For Day 13, we have an adorable decorating idea. A caterer did this last year for our Boy Scouts' Christmas dinner. Something fun, Christmas-y, and that boys would like! The decorations are almost all edible. The snowmen are made from marshmallows, and the reindeer are made from pretzel sticks and brown-colored marshmallows. I believe these may have been gingerbread-flavored marshmallows or something like that which were sold last year in stores. The reindeer and snowmen are stuck onto the graham cracker bases with white icing to look like snow. The Christmas trees were "Little Debbie" Christmas tree cakes. Blue and white candy sprinkles were scattered around, and starlight mints were placed around the edges of the mats. The campfire was made from pretzel sticks. I believe the flame was just a piece of tissue paper, so that would be the only inedible part. The best part of the whole decoration was that the reindeer had all left little mini-chocolate chip "deposits" behind them, while the snowmen had left mini-marshmallow "reminders" in their wake. The boys absolutely loved this. This whole display was set up in the middle of each table. Everyone oohed and aahed, and then during the dinner, the kids disassembled all the decorations and ate them, making for a very easy cleanup and no waste!
Share your favorite Christmas decorating ideas!
Merry Christmas! :-)
25 Days of Christmas - Day 12 Freebie
Check out this great Share the Memories Freebie!
Available free until December 29th.
Click image to go to download.
Looking for a Christmas gift for someone who loves scrapping, or wanting to get started in digital scrapbooking to scrap your 2013 Christmas memories?
USE THIS CODE: STMMMS79285
to get $10 off My Memories Suite Software! (in the US and Canada)
Day 11 - Duck Dynasty Song by Bean and Bailey
Hello, friends! I hope you've been enjoying each day of Christmas over the past week as we have been! Here is some more Christmas fun for you!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 10
Yesterday we had our homeschool group Christmas party, after singing Christmas carols at a local nursing home. Our director did an amazing job of planning the activities. You might enjoy trying this one at home.
Magic Snow
Mix equal parts of baking soda and shaving cream to make your snowballs. After playing with them for a few minutes, drop them in a glass of white vinegar and watch the magic!
Merry Christmas!
25 Days of Christmas - Day 9
We put up our Christmas tree Thanksgiving weekend. Finishing the decorating, however, is taking a bit longer! Decorating the tree is one of my favorite traditions, and I am the one who does most of it. I love looking at each little ornament and remembering the memories that go with it. My husband and children don't last too long into this process! We always start together, though, by hanging one of our most important ornaments, the Christmas nail.
This is The Christmas Nail.
It is to be hung on a sturdy branch,
a branch near the trunk,
a branch that will hold such a spike without being noticed by well-wishers
dropping by to admire one's tinseled tree.
The nail is known only to the home that hangs it.
Understood only by the heart that knows its significance.
It is hung with the thought...that the Christmas tree but foreshadows the Christ-tree
which only He could decorate for us,
ornamented with nails as this.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Day 8 - Flyby Review: The Promise DVD & Giveaway!
As far as becoming a family Christmas favorite, I don't think this movie made it. My 8-year-old liked it, but the consensus of the older kids was that it would have been better just as a narrative story, not as a musical.
ABOUT GLORIOUS FILMSGlorious Films is the home of high quality entertainment products created from a strong biblical worldview. The creative and technical teams are world-class and have come to from all over the globe. Their first film, The Promise, is an animated musical about the nativity story that will be released in 2013. The second film, The Prodigal, an animated musical based on the parable of the prodigal son, is in production for a Spring 2014 release.
The Promise DVD is available on Amazon, but of course you may leave a comment here or on Facebook and be entered in a drawing for a free DVD! The drawing will be held on Wednesday, December 11, in order to get the DVD to the winner before Christmas. Please leave me a way to contact you, and keep in mind you must not have won anything from Flyby Promotions in the last 30 days to win.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GloriousFilms
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gloriousfilms
Amazon: http://amzn.to/IpaqUJ
Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQBjkkF1ddU
Merry Christmas!
25 Days of Christmas - Day 7 Freebie
Here is the third and final Share the Memories Freebie, available until December 15. Click the image to go to the download!
Merry Christmas! :-)
Friday, December 6, 2013
Day 6 - "Winter Fresh" & Freebie
Dandelion Dust Designs just released the next in their series of seasonal kits at ScrapTakeout! Here is "Winter Fresh."
Click images below to download your free QPs from Mediafire. PU only.
I love these colors for Christmas or plain old winter layouts! Get "Winter Fresh" exclusively at ScrapTakeout!
Click images below to download your free QPs from Mediafire. PU only.
Merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this kit in exchange for layouts.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 5 Freebie
Are you getting nothing but Christmas downloads all over the net by this time and need a few fall things to finish off last month's scrapbook? (Yeah, that's wishful thinking. I'm still working on 2007!!!) Share the Memories has some free fall quickpages for you from Touched by a Butterfly, available for a limited time. Click on the preview to go to the download!
Happy Scrapping! :-)
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Day 4 - "Winter Mix" Freebie
Dandelion Dust Designs just released a new seasonal freebie on their Facebook page!
I love that snowman!
In addition to this great free mini-kit, download this free QP from Mediafire! Click image to go to the download. PU only.
Happy Scrapping! :-)
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 3 Freebies
Don't you just love December??? If you are collecting digital scrapbooking freebies (great for making Christmas cards as well!), I have several resources for you today. First, the Peppermint Christmas QPs from Share the Memories, available for a limited time. Click on image to download from STM!
Secondly, here's a list of places where you can get daily or almost-daily downloads this month! I missed the first day or two on a couple of them, as they were gone by the time they posted to CraftCrave, but if you start all these daily downloads today and do them all month, you'll have a few nice new Christmas kits to use anyway! :-)
Memory Clips Blog
Scraps N Pieces - list of designers' offerings from different blogs throughout the month
Karen Diamond Designs My Blog
Janece Suarez Designs alternating with http://www.lyllahravendesigns.com/
And don't forget to keep checking back here. I may not have a freebie every day, but I will have a few more for you!
If you have another daily download that I missed here, please let me know in the comments!
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Day 2 - Flyby Review: The Nativity Story App
My kids love, love, love books and stories, but just like other kids in this electronic age, they love, love, love their games and apps as well! We regulate their electronics time and try to find apps that we feel are beneficial. The Nativity Story Popup Deluxe Edition is perfect, especially during Christmas time! It is for ages 2-8, and my little guy does not have his own device, but we occasionally let him use my iPhone or his dad's iPad, especially if we need to keep him busy during a car trip or some event!
This interactive app tells a story of Joseph and Mary trying to find a place to stay in Bethlehem. The story is told in rhyme with adorable pop-up style illustrations. It is available for the iPad, or you can get the mini-version for the iPhone (which is the one I reviewed). You may choose the English, Spanish, or French version of the story on the app, and the child may choose to read the story himself or to have it read to him. Each "page" of the story has interactive features such as word balloons to press to hear the characters speak, or characters that can move.
While the pop-up story is not a literal telling of the Christmas story, the Christmas story from the Book of Luke is also included in the app. One thing I appreciated was that the pop-up story only includes the shepherds coming to see Baby Jesus at the first Christmas, not the wise men - since the wise men actually came sometime during the next two years.
I showed the app to my eight-year-old son and said, "I need to write a review on this app, so I need you to tell me what you think." On the first page, he said, "I like it!" He loved the interactive features all the way through the story. I highly recommend this app for anyone whose 2-8 year-old child might have an opportunity to use it during the Christmas season!
One note: We did have an issue where towards the end of the story, the narrator's voice and the interactive elements stopped working, and just the music continued to play. I deleted and reloaded the app on my iPhone, and it seems to be working fine. If this problem continues, I will contact the writers of the app and I will report about it on this blog. It only happened once, and I am assuming it was just a glitch that has been resolved.
Download The Nativity Story App For the iPad ($3.99)
The Nativity Story - Popup DELUXE Edition https://itunes.apple.com/app/id579941573
For the iPhone ($1.99)
The Nativity Story - Popup MINI Edition https://itunes.apple.com/app/id681638132
About The Nativity Story
Where will baby Jesus be born? At the market? At a restaurant? At the inn? Readers of this book app can follow Joseph and Mary on their search for a place to stay in Bethlehem. Along the way they encounter a variety of colourful local people and animals. This is a fun and engaging way to share the original story of Christmas with the young generation and remind them what Christmas is all about.
Great for kids 2-10
The Nativity Story App: http://puddletap.com/apps/miracles/nativity/
Download The Nativity Story fact sheet: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7p2cmw6uh1yyq9o/nativity_story_app_info_english.pdf
Happy Story-Telling!
Disclaimer: I received a free download of this app for the purpose of a fair review. No other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
25 Days of Christmas - Day 1 and Freebie
I cannot promise a blog post and freebie every day from now until December 25, but I do want to share some freebies, reviews, Christmas crafts, recipes, etc., this month. To kick off the month of Christmas, I have a little gift for you. Click image above to download the patterned papers for my "Gingerbread Christmas" kit. PU/S4H/S4O.
Merry Christmas!
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