Christmas Card Book

I don’t think it’s come up yet, but I am a bit of a pack rat. I save stuff that I will probably never need again, but I don’t like letting go. I’m not talking about collectibles either, like my Star Wars toys, still in the package, I’m talking about cards. Birthday cards, Christmas cards, even get well soon cards. I like holding onto them.
Along came this brilliant pin that showed me exactly what to do with them!

Start by punching holes in your cards. Do a little planning and make sure they’ll all be going the same way. Using a three hole punch will be the easiest way to do this, just so the holes are spaced evenly.

Next up, make yourself a snazzy cover for your card book. I just dug into my scrapbook paper and my fancy scissors. The original blogger has a link to some fancy cover templates, but I like going my own way most of the time.

I used note card rings to “bind” my book together. I had our family Christmas card as the first card in our book.

I was super pleased with how this came out! Even Tony was impressed at my new ways of hoarding. Huge accomplishment today! If you’ve been keeping your Christmas cards, with no apparent use for them, this is the craft for you!

Happy crafting!

Christmas Family Photo

I’ve mentioned this before, but I love Pinterest. Not just for the ideas they have posted, which my blog is based on, but for how it sparks your own creativity. The original idea for this photo came from here, and it depicts two young children in a bed, dressed in jammies, oversized ornaments on the bed and they are reading a book. I fell in love with it!
I started by buying a prelit strand of greenery from Walmart and wrapping it around my headboard. I love my bed frame! We put on our most Christmas-y bed sheets and comforter and dressed in our jammies.
We used the book The Polar Express as it is a family favorite and the edition we have is beautiful.
I set my camera up on a small tripod and positioned my family with the book opened. We took many photos, as little kids are prone to wiggle. I didn’t want to use the flash, keeping the light muted. No fancy techniques for that, I just unscrewed a few of the lightbulbs in our ceiling light to get the right light levels.
At first I tried getting everyone to look at the book, but quickly realized Chiara couldn’t handle it. Arthur and Tony were watching the book, Chiara needed a focus, so we smiled at each other.
After I finally got the winning shot for our Christmas card, I wanted to try another one, for fun.

I loved the way this turned out, although I did have to do a little fiddling around to lighten it up. I don’t know what I will do with this photo, but it turned out so beautiful, I’m sure I’ll find the perfect spot. I love how close we are in this one moment in time. I think this is why I love taking photos, because a moment can never be recreated exactly. You can come close, but never perfectly recreate, but a photo can at least preserve the moment forever……..

Christmas Kid Photos

The holidays are coming and I get excited every year. I love the decorations, I love the food and I love watching my kids unwrap their presents like I have given them the keys to kingdom! Giving gifts is always so much fun for me! I usually try to start early in the year so I can get a little at a time. I don’t make enough to splurge right at the end! LOL!
Christmas cards are another thing I love about the holidays. I usually have an entire wall decked out with them before the holidays are over, and they stay up until New Year’s Day. I love devising our Christmas cards too. I thought, once upon a time, that I would create these wonderfully artistic, homemade cards for everyone on my list, but that has yet to happen. I do however, love taking the pictures that I use on our cards. If you’ve read any of my older blogs, you may’ve picked up on my love of photography. I don’t claim to be Ansel Adams or anything, but I’ve gotten some really great photos over the years.
This year, of course, I took my inspiration from Pinterest! Sadly, yet again, the link that for the picture was broken, so I can’t reference the original photo op. The original photo had a white backdrop, with two boys in red hats and plaid shirts, and the lights were unplugged and off. The kids also had duct tape over their mouths saying MERRY and CHRISTMAS. It was hilarious with the duct tape, and we did try, but I couldn’t get the words to show in the photo.
This was a great half hour spent with my kids, which at the end of the day is always my goal with photo sessions. They were giggling as I wrapped them up and stuck tape over their mouths. Before you start to get upset, I made sure the tape was barely sticky before I put it on their face. They ended up playing with it afterwards. I did try several outfits before deciding that pajamas worked best. I just loved the way they were glancing at each other too. Kind of a “this is all your fault” look. They were kind of sad to see me put the lights away, but we used them for other photos for our Christmas card.
If you try this, I would love to see your results! Keep the cords loose enough so it’s not hurting them obviously and have fun with it. I just cleared a space in front of my wall for a backdrop. Mainly because I don’t have a photo studio handy, but I do love the color we painted our walls. Try not to use your flash, especially if the lights will be plugged in for your photo. Play with the AV settings on your camera and bump up the ASO. It sounds really technical, but if I can figure this out, anyone can! Try to have a little bit of light coming from behind you when you’re taking the picture. That’ll ensure the photo is not too dark.
Happy holidays! Yes I know it’s not even Thanksgiving, but if you want to use this idea, you need to be taking these photos now for cards. So put yourself in a holiday mood!