Photo Tips – Top Things to Photograph at Christmas

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year and it is most often surrounded by traditions and family.  I try every year to come up with a new photo idea, the topics usually remain the same, I just try to find a new perspective when snapping the photos.  Looking at the same things in a new way and capturing that moment to remember for a lifetime.

Favourite Family Tradition

Every year our family visits the Christmas tree lot where we cut our own tree and I take the same photo of the tree falling.  It is nice to look back and see the difference in the size of the children and who is cutting the tree.  It used to be my husband when the children were small and now that Ben is 16 he is doing lots of the work.  I took that same photo this year, but I think my favourite photo from the day was Lauren and Grant grabbing a selfie while Todd and Ben cut the tree.

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Digital – Christmas Past Tags

I love my digital scrapbooking content around special occasions because I can personalize, gifts, cards, invites, decorations, tags and more!  Just wanted to share an idea to make your own tags for your Christmas gifts.  The Christmas Past Collection is perfect for making tags!

I started with an 8 x 10 blank page and made 13 – 2 x 3 photo holders.

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Digital Christmas Cards using Christmas Past

Do you love receiving a personalized card?  I do and I love making them to send to my friends and family at Christmas and all through the year.  We receive so much electronic mail now and opening the mailbox to a personalized card is refreshing!

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Photo Tips – Christmas Tree Lights

Christmas tree lights are one of my favourite things to photograph at Christmastime!  The tree makes a perfect backdrop for holiday photos.  I thought I would share some fun ideas I have tried with my camera settings to get different looks for my photos.

One of the best tricks up my sleeve is a 50mm prime lens.  It gives that beautiful blurred background and the soft bokehs.  Bokehs are the out-of-focus light spots that you can create with your lens by fixating on your main subject.  You can achieve the look with other lens’ and you can work with what you have.  The 50mm just makes you look like an expert photographer!  They are a small investment and wonderful for portrait photos.

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Painted Harvest Holiday Envelopes

Nothing makes me happier than using up my scrap paper to put together a card/envelope duo that is going to make a loved one’s day. Last week I shared with you some super fun and simple cards that you could put together using the Painted Harvest collection. Today we are going to make some coordinating envelopes!

For the blog post on how to make the cards jump over HERE!

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For instructions on how to make the envelope check out THIS blog from back in September. The instruction sheet can also be found in PDF form HERE.

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Painted Harvest Holiday Cards

What’s a girl to do when she loves a product collection so much that she just can’t get enough? Make holiday cards with it, that’s what!

Painted Harvest is just stunning with its bright colours and beautiful patterns. It would be a shame to pack it away after creating autumn layouts. The designer paper pack is incredibly versatile and works wonderfully in some fun and funky holiday cards.

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Christmas Past Scrapbooking Sampler

Here’s a project that will help you kick-start your holiday decorating.  This sampler made with our beautiful Christmas Past Collection and Gold Shimmer Cardstock evokes the warm cozy feelings of being”home for the holidays”.

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You can use the sampler with an easel on your mantle as I did, or it would also be great on your old Creative Memories Everyday Display.  After the holidays are over, use the sampler as a title page for your annual Christmas album or cut it apart into three vertical panels to use as borders on scrapbook pages.

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Simple DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments!

Decorating for the holidays is my absolute favourite thing to do as soon as the snow flies (and we had our first dusting this past weekend!). All the beautiful colours, that take over the whole house just transforms this time of the year.

Today I’d love to share with you two super simple ways to make your own Christmas tree ornaments this holiday season while reminiscing about memories made during holidays past!

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December Diary: Scrapbook Your Memories and Traditions

December is a BIG month in so many ways.  For most of the month much of North America celebrates the holiday season.  The memories and traditions are different for each of us. Some of us drink eggnog, while others sip hot chocolate by the fire while singing Christmas carols with the family.

How would you like to capture those memories and traditions this December for your family to look back on for many years to come?

Maybe you bake a certain cookie, in which the recipe was passed down from Aunt Betty, or you hang an ornament on the tree that was given to your grandmother by your grandfather the first year they were married. Documenting those important facts not only benefits you, but the generations to come.  Your family will appreciate those documented tid-bits year after year when you pull out your December Diary to display as part of your holiday decor.

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