12 Days of Christmas with Brenda & Melanie

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Hi friends welcome back to our annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop! This year Mel and I are going to feature a variety of projects using the Homemade Treats and the Gingerbread Man bundles! Today we will each share a project and then we will alternate days and on the 12 day each share a project! So over the course of the next 12 days you will get piles of inspiration using these bundles!

For my first project I wanted to share a scrapbook page as I love scrapbooking and I wanted to share a fun idea with how you can use this fun bundle to create a scrapbook page.

I started with a base of Pecan Pie Two Tone card stock and used the light side. The reason for this was so that when I die cut the gingerbread men out of the card stock you would see a contrast in the shapes. I love how it turned out!

I dug out an older picture of Summer where she is putting together a Gingerbread House as its a fun memory I want to keep. This is a reminder that we are never caught up in our memory keeping—its not a linear hobby!

The photo mat is Coastal Cabana and this color lends itself so well to this general color combination of Real Red, Garden Green and Pretty in Pink.

As mentioned Melanie and I are going to be using both the Homemade Treats and Gingerbread Man bundles over our 12 Days of Christmas Shares so I wanted to design this page to showcase how to use both on this project.

I absolutely. LOVE the dies from the Gingerbread Man Bundle —especially the candy cane. I cut it out to have both a red and white candy cane and a Pretty in Pink candy cane.

TOP TIP: This is easy to do with the dies as you just flip the paper over to the backside to have the candy canes going in opposite directions.

 

The sentiment Sugar & Spice is from the Gingerbread Man stamp set and the ‘tis the Season for Baking’ can be found in the Homemade Treats stamp set.

I had fun adding in the little gingerbread man and gumdrops to act like embellishments on this page.

I wanted the oven mitt to act like a stocking in a sense with things popping out of the top of it and falling down the side of the photo.

Adding the wrapped candy, rolling pin and the Peppermint Embellishments made this little section so fun. The Garden Green and White Chevron ribbon is a sneak peek of a new ribbon coming out this month with our newest Online Exclusive release. It’s a perfect ribbon to add to this page along with the Real Red Shiny Ribbon at the top.

I hope this page inspires you to use these bundles together as they really are perfect partners! You can now head on over to Melanie’s blog—Mels Inky Fingers to see what she is sharing today. Click on the image below to go straight to her blog.

Then check back with her tomorrow as she is going to share on even days and I will share again on the odd days (so Nov 3rd) and we will each share on day 12!

If you are inspired and live in Canada, please consider shopping with me so I can continue to love what I do!

And if you didn’t hear the fun news we are hosting a crafting cruise in 2026 and would love you to join us! Our blog hop will give you an idea of our crafting styles plus you can check out our social channels as well! If you would like to join our Craftin’ Fun in the Sun Facebook group, please let me know or search it to join!

You can follow me on Instagram @stampwithbrenda

Twelve Days of Christmas--Project #4

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Hi friends! This is my fourth project to share with you and I am going back to my roots of scrapbooking, sharing another page made with the A Little Bit Festive Speciality Paper. I absolutely love the potential of these papers and all the pop out pieces that are included.

I think my favorite thing about this page is that it is on a base of Blueberry Bushel. I think its a really unique blend of colors, completely inspired by this Specialty DSP. You get 3 two sided sheets for a total of 6 patterns in this collection.

I love the blue gingham dsp and it was fun to use it on a bit of an angle for this scrapbook page. I used a retired die to add the large scallop detail along the DSP.

I added a large Garden Green Photo mat layer that I ran through the Forever Plaid Embossing Folder. This is such a great versatile folder in that oversized 6 x 8 size which is awesome. I know I will be able to use this folder all year long on a variety of projects. You will notice I used the same scallop die as a photo mat edge in Real Red.

I stamped some snowflakes from the One of a Kind stamp set in Blueberry Bushel along the same angle created by the DSP and the scallop die.

The variety of elements in this A Little Bit Festive collection work to really bring some fun and whimsy to this page. I love the big candy canes and the sleigh of gifts and they were perfect accompaniments to this layout.

I added the sentiment ‘Yay all the Way’ from the Sophisticated Sled stamp set with a little Red & White Bakers twine behind it. Let it Snow is from the same set and I decided to layer it on a Garden Green circle with some bakers twine and little heart from the Bee Builder Punch.

I connected the Pool Party Snowflake element with a die cut Pool Party snowflake from the One of a Kind dies. And of course the page is finished off with the popular candy candy elements!

Thanks for popping by today! I hope you are enjoying what Melanie and I have been sharing! You can visit her blog tomorrow to see what she has shared for inspiration.

Color Fusers--June--New In Colors!

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Hi friends! I am so excited to be sharing a project, a scrapbook page, with the new 2024-2026 In Colors! I am absolutely in love with this new collection—I dare say, its my favorite yet! Definitely in the last decad!

I new I had to make a scrapbook page with these colors and they literally pop off the page when added to a Basic White base. Do you have a favorite of the 5? Mine seems to switch with each new project I create, however, the fact that all of these colors work so well as a family, makes me so happy!

I decided to scrapbook myself, because really—who else is going to do it? I started with a 5x 7 picture that I matted with Summer Sky and then on a larger piece of Basic White that I ran through the Zinnia folder for some texture.

This page is a mashup of some of my favorite stamp sets, past and present! Because I was making this page for myself, to hang in my craft room, I didn’t work about things all being ‘current’. My very first Artisan Assignment in 2021 featured the In Bloom Bundle. It is still one of my favorites! I also used Color & Contour which is retired and the Paper Florist Dies (I was so so sad when they retired them, I will not quit using them!).

I love mixing and matching stamp set and dies and I used all five of the new colors on this layout—either in stamped or die cut form!

Many of these stamps actually have dies, but sometimes I like to just sit in one spot and be creative so I actually don’t use the Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine—gasp!

I like to layer images on top of each other and have things tucked in and behind and right on top of my photo too.

I created a really easy ombre effect on ‘Celebrate’ with my Stampin’ Blends markers which I think makes things a little more interesting. I also used the Everyday Details behind the ‘Celebrate’ to help it pop.

I didn’t want to favor a specific color so I used some of the silver ribbon from the Gold & Silver Trim Combo Pack.

I also stamped a few neutral leaves in Grey Granite so that they almost blend into the background.

I think this layout is one that you can also recreate by mixing up colors, stamp sets and die cuts. I love how the flowers frame my photo making it the feature of my page. I never think your picture should compete with the elements on your scrapbook layout.

I can’t wait to see if the rest of the Color Fusers team focused on a specific color or created a project that combined all of the colors like mine. I am so happy with how it turned out and I am excited to have it up in my craft room.

Up next on the Hop is Janneke, a former Artisan teammate! I know you will love what she has created.

If the hop links get broken or you want to go backwards, you will be visiting another former Artisan teammate, Tami’s blog! I love everything she makes so I know you will be inspired too!

If you are inspired by my design and need a few things, please hit #addtocart by shopping my online store! I would love to keep doing what I love!

Be Inspired Blog Hop-Holiday Time!

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Hi friends! Welcome to the Be Inspired Blog Hop! We have added some new members to our monthly Blog Hop and I am so excited! So make sure you go and visit all of the wonderful projects being shared and leave us some happy comments!

The theme for our Hop this month is HOLIDAY TIME and of course that meant that I had to share something Christmas related in the form of a scrapbook page. As much as I love to make cards, I really do love to scrapbook as my first passion.

When thinking of Christmas I was thinking of gift tags so I decided to make an oversized gift tag as a photo mat, and I am so happy with how it turned out!

I cut my standard 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 photo mat in Pebbled Path—this color choice was a direct result of the Joy of Christmas DSP—I LOVE this paper! I love the unconventional use of grey and brown tones in with classic Christmas colors.

I cut the tag portion of my photo mat after gluing the Pebbled Path layer to some Basic White. I added a scallop border to the bottom with Real Red and some Black & Very Vanilla Gingham ribbon to the top portion.

I used the Classic Christmas Dies to add in ‘ Season’s Greetings’, stamped in Pecan Pie ink. I used the large image from the Joy of Noel stamp set, to add some background stamping in Smoky Slate at is the base of my scrapbook layout.

I cut a variety of 2x2 squares of the Joy of Christmas DSP to add in a diamond format to the base of my page. This is such a good way to highlight and incorporate DSP into your page designs.

It also gave my another opportunity to add a sentiment and I decided to focus on ‘Christmas’ also stamped in Pecan Pie ink for continuity. Some greenery in behind in Shaded Spruce and Old Olive helps tie in the color scheme found in the DSP.

I used a little more gingham ribbon behind both sentiments as well so that everything feels connected on the page.

I love how this page is a mix of modern with the grey tones and traditional with the red and greens. Its one of my favorite scrapbook pages I have made lately and I can’t wait to add a holiday photo to it!

I am so excited to see what the rest of the Be Inspired Blog Hop team has created with our theme of ‘Holiday Time’!

You can get to Janneke’s project by clicking the link below!

If my project has inspired you, please consider shopping my online store! You can do so by clicking any image below!

Around the World on Wednesday--Let's Take a Walk

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Hello friends! I have been a little bit absent from this Blog Hop but after meeting, in person, some of the other gals from ‘Around the World’ at our Backstage Leadership conference in Las Vegas, I have become motivated again!

The theme for this month is ‘Let’s Take a Walk’ which I found really intriguing! I immediately began to think of some of the places that I have been fortunate enough to walk in, and the most recent one was a trip to London that I took my youngest son, Shepard on this past spring.

Whenever I travel I like to snap pictures of our feet with cool things underneath and I decided to scrapbook two pictures from our recent trip together!

The first picture on the left side of my scrapbook page is taken just outside of the London Tower and the second is in the Notting Hill area (no I did not run into Julia Roberts or Hugh Grant, but wouldn’t that have been amazing?).

I started with a base 12x12 DSP from the Fresh as a Daisy collection. I love how this collection of DSP features all of the new In Colors. I added a layer of Copper Clay card stock over top and I did some background stamping using Quiet Meadow stamp set and a bit of flicking with my Copper Clay Stampin’ Blend.

Because I was creating this page solely for myself, not a class or scrapbook group meeting, I took liberty to use retired stamp set En Route. I love any of our stamp sets that have to do with travel or adventure. I rarely part with them and used it for the 2 sentiments on my page.

I though the sentiment “You’re Going Places” worked well with our theme of taking a walk—it probably is the most common way to get places isn’t it? I also find it intriguing to be in another county, one with so much history like Britain, and ponder the thought of how many people in the course of history have stood right here? Have walked this same path. It makes you feel very small in the scheme of things.

I love the dies from the Quiet Meadow and I hadn’t use them in a while so I decided to incorporate them into this layout. It was May when I visited so I few florals felt necessary with the moody colors of Copper Clay and Pebbled Path (the photo mat card stock color). These colors remind me of London, old brick and concrete and metal.

also…notice my fresh white shoes? they did not look like this at the end of this trip!

Now let me share a product you didn’t know you need—the Delightful Doilies Hybrid Embossing Folder and Die Bundle—particularly the DOILY DIE. Now who has been around long enough to remember when we sold doilies? I still have some. I greedily hoard them. I don’t need to anymore because now I can cut my OWN and make them ANY COLOR I want!

See, I told you!! You just discovered that you need this bundle!

It is so easy to color your Basic White card stock with our Blending Brushes. I trimmed the doily in half (why waste, you are only seeing a partial of it anyway) and I will keep the rest for another project.

I used one of my favorite punches of all time, the Washi label punch, for the sentiment “Adventure Awaits”…truly, it always does. Even in our every day lives! I added some of the Copper Clay twine that I unravelled and did a little spray of Smoky Slate marker over top of the sentiment.

I added a few Copper Clay embellishments and my page was complete. This actually didn’t take me too long to put together either! I hope this Blog Hop inspires you!

Thanks for stopping by today and make sure to go and visit all of the amazing designers from around the world on our hop! I am so excited to see how everyone thought of this challenge.

 

Next up on the Blog Hop is Tricia Butts in the United States!

Please feel free to leave me a comment, I would love to know what you think of my page!

Here are all the participants in our Blog Hop this month!

Jan Clothier - AU

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Cheryll Miller - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Annette Ball - CA

Angie McKenzie - US

Kelly Taranto - US

Shel Anderson - CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert - US

Chris Smith - US

Brenda Nelson - CA

Tricia Butts - US

Theresa McEntee - US

Bree Renwick - US

Lori Willcox - CA

Teri West - US