Photo Expressions

Quick and Easy Christmas Scrapbook Pages

Christmas Favorites Page

Design by Paula Gilarde

Five photos, 12 squares, and one journaling list all add up to one great holiday season! Paula's grid structure makes it easy to show off several activities on her digital page. To capture a busy holiday season on one page, just pick a selection of your favorite photos. If you make this a yearly tradition, you'll eventually have a great record of your family's holiday history.

 

Quiet Moments Christmas Page

Design by Shannon Zickel

Remember to snap photos of quiet moments during the holidays. Anchor a couple of photos with colorful strips of paper and include a small journaling block to tell the simple story. Create high impact with smaller photos in the center of patterned paper. Black sticker letters stand out on the colorful page.

Krafty Christmas Page

Design by Lisa Truesdell

Commemorate your favorite holiday decorations in a scrapbook page. Use label stickers to add info to each photo, and soften the design with scalloped ribbon.

Christmas Celebration Page

Design by Jen Lessinger

Smaller photos allow for a number of your favorites to make up a page about your holiday highlights. Don't stress about making your photos perfectly sized to create this look. Line them up as well as you can and give yourself permission to be imperfect.

Editor's Tip: When you have a lot of photos, a white background keeps things neutral and allows the photos and the embellishments to stand out.

Christmas Wish List Page

Design by Erin Clarkson

Holidays generate lots of photographed memories, so add more to your page by hiding them under a panel. Use hinges to allow the bottom portion of the layout to flip up and reveal more in-depth journaling and additional photos. For a fun touch, re-create or copy your child's wish list to add to the page.

Tree Trimming Page

Design by Annette Pixley

 Christmas often means decorations and a sparkly tree. Pull out your camera to capture the action as well as to snap a few shots of the trimming crew and the finished product. A few simple accents, such as photo corners and chipboard ornaments help the photos take center stage.

Use a Grid to fit Multiple Holiday Photos

Design by Shannon Montez

A multiple-photo grid and clean lines make Shannon's detailedlayout totally hardworking. She converted her color photos to black-and-white so that she could pick the colour scheme she wanted.

Scrapbook Old Holiday Photos

Design by Ruth Dealey

Ruth wanted to remember a Christmas from 1975 on this scrapbook page, but didn't remember much about the event. So she based her journaling on what she could see in the photos and designed a page that gives equal weight to the snapshots and her story.

Create a Photo Strip of Decoration Snapshots

Design by Peg Manrique

One of Peg's favorite things about the holiday season is pulling out her decorations and making her house festive. She commemorated this tradition by creating a quick Christmas-theme scrapbook page with a collage of photos of her decorations, some chipboard letters, and a few rub-on flourishes.

Christmas Frenzy Scrapbook Layout

Design by Vicki Boutin

Document the excitement of opening presents. Start with a pristine "before" shot of packages under the Christmas tree and end with an "after" shot. Colorful circles and chipboard numbers highlight the sequence of events. Crop images to fit more photos on your layout and to ensure a busy background doesn't detract from the story.

 

Christmas Morning Scrapbook Layout

Design by Melissa Inman

Melissa created a grid of her favorite Christmas-morning photos on this two-page layout by printing one large square snapshot for the left-hand page and arranging four small photos on the right-hand page to fill the same-size space. Rounding the corners of the photos with a punch softens the grid.

Editor's Tip: Make a plan for your page title. Melissa sized her photos into squares knowing she would have room between them to add small blocks of patterned paper and a large page title made of chipboard letters.

Minimalist Christmas Scrapbook Layout

Design by Nely Fok

Minimal embellishments and a subtle colour scheme put the focus of Nely's two-page layout on the photos of her daughter's Christmas morning activities. Building on a white background, Nely injected color with tiny splashes of Christmas red for a high-contrast design.

Editor's Tip: Convert your photos to black-and-white for a classic look that allows you to use any color scheme you like.

 

New Year's Eve Party Decor

New Year’s Eve Party Décor from Fiskars

(and many of these things can be made with tools, punches, diecuts you already own!)

Designer: Lisa Storms

Difficulty rating: Beginner

A New Year’s Eve party is a great chance to fit in one last crafting project for the year, and a fun way to start off the new year with hand-crafted touches! Fiskars tools make it easy.

Set the mood before your guests even arrive with a fun invitation. These toasting glasses are stamped directly onto cardstock and kicked up a notch with a fun bubble technique. On a protected surface, use the three sizes of eyelet setters to punch assorted circles coming up from the glasses. Add foam adhesive dots to the back of punched cardstock and layer onto champagne-colored cardstock for dimension and color. Then simply mount onto a folded card base.

A fun garland is an easy way to add dramatic décor to any party. This spiraled option is full of New Year cheer from stars to bubbles. Using a paper trimmer, cut strips of assorted cardstock and spiral around a small dowel, pen, etc. and thread onto string using a 1/16 inch Circle hand punch. To add some fun, punch small stars and circles from some strips before curling. For even more drama, run both sides through the new Bubbles border punch on a few strips.

Clocks are a perfect choice for New Year’s Eve décor and make for dramatic cupcake toppers. To create the debossed clock faces, punch two identical XL circles. On the back of one, draw an X with pencil to divide the circle into four equal quadrants and punch each line with the 1/4 inch Rectangle hand punch. Draw lines to divide each quadrant in half, and then again to divide each slice in half once more. Punch each of these lines with the 1/16 inch Circle hand punch. Then adhere punched circle onto the plain circle to create your clock base. You can repeat this for each clock face, or create one template to mark all circles.

The clock hands are made from the new ‘Snip Snip’ squeeze punch trimmed of its handles and topped with an adhesive gem or pearl. Glue clocks to toothpicks to insert into cupcakes.

I like to provide a cute midnight snack to start off the new year. Presenting food (including dips and candy/nuts) in plastic champagne glasses (I got mine in sets at the dollar store) is a fun touch. Tie up a little snack (like these mini cinnamon rolls) in treat bags and add a sweet tag to your bow. The bags keep your treats fresh when prepared in advance.

Tags are a breeze with the XL Tag lever punch. Add a large circle squeeze punch title to mimic a moon (trimmed to fit tag) surrounded by punched stars to complete the midnight theme.

While you have out the 1/4 inch Star hand punch, create a bunch of confetti from assorted cardstocks. Punch aluminum foil folded in half for metallic stars!

Round out the party in style by sending guests home with a goodie bag featuring the ball dropping in Times Square with a “thanks for dropping by” sentiment for a fun play on words. Cover a treat bag with black paper trimmed to size and adhere a strip of gray cardstock. Punch four or five scalloped ‘Seal of Approval’ circles from white cardstock and fold each in half. Adhere backs of folded circles together to form half of a ball to adhere to pole on bag. For extra sparkle, paint each section with glue (once formed and dry) and sprinkle with crystal glitter. Allow to dry fully before adhering to bag.

Here’s to all of the fun crafting projects completed this year and looking forward to lots more fun in the New Year!

Knock Outs

great new Border Punch System from American Crafts

13 different designs take crafting to the edge

Knock Outs Border Punches from American Crafts are here. With thirteen unique designs that are each a champion in their own right, these punches transform straight paper edges into something spectacular. From scallops to stars, there's no end to the possibilies these punches offer. (And each punch comes with guides that slip in and out of the base, making it easy-as-pie to line up paper so borders are seamless.)

Here are some samples using the punches:

New Cut Up Cartridge Trimmer in action

Cutup Cartridge Trimmer demo by American Crafts - Craft Room

The Cutup Trimmer features:

• Seven decorative blade styles -- all fully-enclosed in cartridges, making them safe and easy to switch in and out
• Rotary blades that cut more paper at once and offer increased accuracy
• A sturdy metal working surface
• An extendable arm for cutting 12x12-inch paper
• A lock-down bar that secures paper for smooth, accurate cutting

Available now at Photo Express 604-463-3654. www.photoexpressions.ca

 

Gathering from Authentique

Another beautiful line from Authentique called Gathering is at PE. Here are a couple of sample layouts from Authentique.

Gathering from Authentique

I think this is my favourite line yet from Authentique!  You have to see it in person as it is even prettier than on your computer.

  

   

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Christmas Tags from Authentique

Here is a great post from the Authentique blog for some beautiful Christmas tags. I like how even though the sheets were numbered 1 - 12 (for the 12 days of Christmas), she covered the numbers with the rosette and used them as regular tags. Great thinking outside the box. And Authentique is 30% off right now at Photo Express until December 24th.

12 Joyful Tags {Tutorial}

Hi there!

It's Tifany from Ink Blots by TRD and today I'm coming to you with a tutorial on how to use this "Surprise" sheet of Authentique Paper's Wonder collection:


And easily turn it into 12 great Christmas tags:


First we will need to create the rosettes (or medallions) for the tags.
{And may I just say in advance that I am fully aware now of why companies use hand models. And no...I don't ever have the hope of becoming one.}

Start by scoring a "Curiosity" sheet of paper every 1/4".
{Tip: I scored the whole 12"x12" sheet at once and then cut it into 12 strips to make my 12 medallions. Much easier than trying to score 12 strips!}

Once your sheet is scored, cut it into 12 1" wide strips and begin to accordion fold each strip.


Use a secure adhesive to adhere the folded strip into a circle.
{Tip: Trim off one section from one end of each strip so that only one section is overlapping to form the circle. This will create less bulk at the overlapping area.}

Using the Foundations paper, punch 12 scalloped circles. Stamp each circle with your sentiment and heat emboss. Then, using some of your Authentique Paper scraps, punch a circle for the back of each medallion.


Use a strong adhesive and place it on the scalloped circle (back piece). Place your accordion folded circle around the back piece and squeeze just at the tops and press down to create the medallion.
{Tip: Use both hands for this process. I used both hands for the actual creation of each rosette, but had to use one hand here to take the picture.}


{Tip: You can adjust the size of your rosette by the amount by how much you squeeze the accordion folded circle in toward the center. You can adjust the final size of a rosette that started with a 1" wide strip (like we have done) from anywhere between 2 1/4" to about 3".}

After your adhesive is secure, add the scalloped circle with your sentiment to the front of your medallion.


{Tip: I use a couple large acrylic blocks to give a little bit of weight to hold my pieces in place while the adhesive is drying.}

While your adhesive is setting up, separate each of the numbered cards from the "Surprise" paper with your paper trimmer. When the adhesive is dry, adhere one medallion on each card.


{Tip: I used the number on each card as a reference for where I would place each rosette. The varied placement on each card gives every tag an individualized look.}

Add some string or twine to each card, punch a hole and thread with ribbon or seam binding...and you've now got 12 beautiful tags perfect for the holiday season!
{Tip: You can use these tags for gifts, but don't stop there - they would also make great embellishments for holiday themed scrapbook pages, tree ornaments, and would even look great strung together as a garland!}


Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Authentique Paper (Wonder Collection - Surprise, Curiosity, Foundations);
Stamps: Market Street Stamps (Simple Joys);
Ink: VersaMark (Watermark);
Embossing Powder: American Crafts (Zing - Black);
Other: May Arts (Burlap String); Hug Snug (Seam Binding - Chalk White);
Adhesive: Ranger (Matte Accents);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors, Seal of Approval Squeeze Punch); Martha Stewart/EK Success (Scoring Board);

Crop-A-Dile Tutorial Video

This is a great quick video showing the versatility of the Crop-A-Dile. This is a must have tool for any scrapbooker or cardmaker.

Here is a great sheet on how to use the Crop-A-Dile plus a project idea. Come in to Photo Express to pick one up. (Or send in one of Santa's "elves" and we will even gift wrap it for free for them).

 

Gift Wrap with Pop Up Paper Trees - So cute!

Parasol-inspired trees turn a plain package into a 3-D wonderland.

How to Make Pop-Up Paper Tree Gift Embellishments(from Better Homes and Gardens)

To make a pop-up tree, follow these steps:

1. Cut three circles, each 1/2-inch larger than the previous, from decorative paper. (Your nesting dies or circle cutter work great for this!)

2. Fold each circle in half four times; snip the tip of each to make a small hole. Unfold to reveal the "pleated" circle.

3. Thread the circles, largest one first, onto a wooden skewer; glue the undersides in place if needed, and leave space for a topper.

4. Glue two small shapes back-to-back over the top of the skewer for the topper.

5. Cut the skewer even with the bottom circle so the tree stands up, or leave some length to poke through a wrapped box.

New Martha Stewart Punches

Bangle Chain Trim

Garden Gate

Diamong Fence

footlights

Double loops

flower shower

Guess what is back?

The scoring blade and perforating blade for the cutterpede! Yay!

Photo Decor projects

 

Embellish Plain Photo Storage Solutions with Scrapbooking Supplies

Design by Vicki Boutin

Vicki put a spin on scrapbook photo storage by dressing up an ordinary photo box. After covering the box sides with patterned paper and rub-ons, she finished the top with a title and images.

 

 

Frame Tiny Family Photos and Patterned-Paper Circles

Design by Jen Lessinger

Jen framed a montage of favorite family photos, fun patterned paper, and quirky embellishments. She decoupaged wooden discs, then arranged them in rows inside a frame.

Editor's Tip: Punch circles from photos and patterned paper to ensure shapes are even and the edges are smooth.

 

Make a Photo Montage Mat

Design by Sheri Reguly

When it comes to pictures, the more the merrier. Instead of framing each photo individually, Sheri covered an 8x10" photo mat with a collage of black-and-white photos.

Editor's Tip: Use imaging-editing software to resize and place the photos for a custom fit.

 

Fill Window Panes with Family Photos

Design by Kim Hayne

Kim transformed a secondhand window into a showcase for photos. She cut chipboard pieces to the size of each pane and covered each with papers, pictures, and embellishments.

Editor's Tip: Attach your completed chipboard "pages" to the backs of the windowpanes, and apply rub-ons to the glass fronts for a dimensional effect.

 

 

Whip Up a Quick Family Gift with Scrapbooking Leftovers

Design by Shannon Zickel

Shannon made this family gift in 15 minutes. She embellished a favorite family photo and a photo mat with scrapbooking leftovers, leaving plenty of white space for a contemporary look.

 

Frame Favorite Family Photos from the Year

Design by Shannon Tidwell

A year-in-review family photo collection is perfect for display and fun to re-create every year. Shannon mounted 24 wallet-size photos on cardstock and added a paper border to anchor the collage. She finished the design with a custom date label printed on a digital tag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idea-ology journals and tote from Tim Holtz

Idea-Ology District Market Spiral Journal 5"X7"X1" 80 Pages

These decorative books feature fabric wrapped covers accented with stitching and ornate metal corners for vintage appeal. The raw kraft pages provide the ultimate surface for writing or drawing. What a great gift!

Idea-Ology District Market Spiral Journal 4"X5.75"X1" 80pgs

These decorative books feature fabric wrapped covers accented with stitching and ornate metal corners for vintage appeal. The raw kraft pages provide the ultimate surface for writing or drawing.

Idea-Ology District Market Tote 13"X13"X5"

Vintage loft style print tote bags in soft shiny vinyl. Features include 25" handles attached to large grommets, stitched details, protective bottom feet, lined interior, interior zipper pocket & 2 slip-in pockets and magnetic closure.

Photo Greeting Cards

Christmas Cards

Have you done your Christmas cards? No worries if you haven't yet. There is still time!

You can order fabulous photo greeting cards in store at our kiosks or online on Foto Depot.
There are so many great NEW styles to choose from on our kiosks in store. 4x8 Greetings, 5x7 greetings, folded cards or flat cards, even gift tags. Great styles to choose from.

You can even add in your greeting and family name to save having to write it all out. Then just pop them in the mail and you are done!

Here are just a few (there are tons!) of the samples on our kiosk in the store.

 Everyone loves to see an updated  photo of you.

And if handmade is more your style, pop in and pick up lots of great supplies to make your own Christmas cards. We can help you decide.

PE greeting cards include envelopes and are priced as low as 59¢ each!

Small Gift Ideas

Giving a small gift is a thoughtful touch and so much more special when it is in a pretty package. Give a small gift to a neighbour, babysitter, teacher, hairdresser, mail carrier, friend, co worker, kids, bus driver...the list goes on and on for people you would like to show your appreciation to. Bake up some cookies or treats, or buy some candies, and choose one of these great packages to wrap it up in. Easy peasy.

Here are some ideas using some Lifestyle Crafts Dies (available for purchase at PE):

and here are some ideas using dies from our Accucut center: