The Days of December are continuing here at DesignerDigitals. We have a new batch of 260 items marked down 30% and a brand new item priced at just $ 50 cents. These specials will only be at this price until 6am EST on December 19th.

Today’s special item is Inked Flakes Brushes and Stamps No. 01

When my sister and I were young we had a record player just like the one karen got for Christmas and scrapped about in this week’s fantastic inspiration page:

That wasn’t what immediately drew my eye to the layout (it was a great little surprise when I clicked on it though!). What I love is this wonderful horizontal design, and wonderful use of white space. Karen has a great eye for color, as her gorgeous gallery testifies, and is also a master of layering and shadowing. Keeping things small - and clustered and overlapping - makes for a very pleasing arrangement.

I hope you’ll have as much fun lifting her gorgeous page as Esther, Linda and I did!

Credits: layout by Lynn, Picnic at Grand Lake kit (ricrac), Sugar and Spice kit, In Distress: Got the Blues paperpack, Dorothy collection, Fall Festival kit, painted Garden  by Lynn Grieveson, Graphic Pop Edges No.03 and Bradded Photo Frames (coming soon) by Katie Pertiet, Stitched by Anna Red No.02 by Anna Aspnes.

Credit: layout by Esther, Milly Molly kit and Walk This Waykit by Lynn Grieveson, Ricrac Basics No.01 and Classic Curled Photo Frames No.01 by Katie Pertiet, Trim Its! Eyelet Trimsy Pattie Knox.

Credits: layout by Linda, Le Poirier Paperpack and Element pack, My Family Genealogy brushes and stamps No.02, Holiday Trimmings megapack, Hinge Pack, Spring Branches No.01, Hipster Plumes papermasks No.01, StitchingEasy Torn edges Templates No.01, and Pearlescent Paperie No.01 by Anna Aspnes, December Nights kit, Worn Alphabet No.02 and Worn Edges No.04: Golden Yearsby Lynn Grieveson.

The Days of December are continuing here at DesignerDigitals. We have a new batch of 260 items marked down 30% and a brand new item priced at just $ 50 cents. These specials will only be at this price until 6am EST on December 18th.

Today’s special item is Defined Discs: Holiday No. 02

Oh how December is flying by! I’m running on pure stress now I think…
I am so glad I’m creating my days of December book, because then - sometime in April, LOL - I can relive it
You can see all the days of December books that are coming together here in our special gallery for just that! I love them

As you too are probably knee deep in obligations, concerts, trips and gift gathering, I’m not mentioning things you can make this week. Personally, I have 20 things I have made and at least 400 great ideas I havent got around too…! Next week I will show you some gifts you can create, incase youre stuck for last minute ideas. But not this week…

This week I’ve got some new ideas to keep those Days of December pages, and general December layouts, flowing. Do you need a prompt or two? Are you flagging?
If you could just say yes, I’d feel so much better, because I’m saying YES!!

How about a page or two of gift wrapping? How do you wrap your gifts? Must you have the perfect ribbon or are you searching for the sticky tape as you go along? Think about taking a picture of the gifts before and after they are wrapped. Making a note of who they are for on your page, too. I wish there was a reminder of my childhood gifts!

Are you a coffee shop addict? Is there a seasonal favourite you like this time of year? Hot chocolate? Flavoured coffees? Something more homemade? Makes a great page to scrap, and adds a lovely personal note to your pages.

Do you find yourself drowning in lists this time of year? Me too But each list, be it groceries or ‘to do’, are a fabulous page in waiting! They will be fondly looked back on, even if now they keep you awake at night!

Dont forget the good ol’ favourites of scrapping letters to santa, School play tickets and invitations you receive too. Even the days you just cant face all the hustle and bustle and curl up with a hot chocolate are worth scrapping about.

I’m leaving you with a picture of my super simple Advent tree. Inspired by the lovely Doris {echogirl} and her advent photos to hang on branches, I made one with tiny elements for my girls. I think we used every christmassy element out there The girls get one each day in their advent calendar and hang it on a bunch of branches. They love it! Simple, easy and looks fab

When you have lots of photos to scrap, a grid is a great design technique. It maximizes space without sacrificing the focus on your pictures. And a grid is versatile enough to allow for including additional pictures or filling some of those spaces with paper and/or embellishments. The Creative Team members had fun using Pattie Knox’s Speed Byte No. 011 to tell some of their stories.

Jen (Jen D) added spaces for more photos of her family’s skating party. I love how she pulled her color scheme from her pictures, and that focal shot of the skates really draws the eye into her page.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 011, Creased Cardstocks Paper Pack No. 03, Mon Petit Ballon Bleu Rub Ons, Tied Fasteners No. 04, Messy Stamped Alphabet No. 06 Brushes and Stamps Value Set, Camille Kit, Glimpsing Paper Pack, Le Coste Paper Pack, Birthday Hand Drawn Words Brushes and Stamps

One of our newest Creative Team members, Jana (Jana Morton) tells the story of her daughter’s prowess in the duck race. She uses a clever play on words for her title and the white space on her blended photo for her journaling.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 011, Fasten Its, Monarchy Kit, Loosely Labeled Dates, Lil Bit Tags, Little Shores Kit, Farm Fresh Collection, Spot Dots No. 18 Paper Pack, Hinge Pack, Fine Lines Border Lines Brushes and Stamps No. 04, Little Layette Kit, Help Haiti Collaboration Kit, Sugar and Spice Kit, Worn Page Edges, Cut Offs No. 01 Brushes and Stamps, ArtPlay Palette Find My Way Value Set, Stitched by Anna White No. 01, LoopDaLoop Melange ArtStrokes No. 01

I used the template to document my grandson’s obsession with all things wheeled. I borrowed a technique that Jana uses so successfully of a page-within-a-page by reducing the size of the template and matting it on my background paper.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 011, Staple Its, Frosted Alpha No. 03, Things That Go Felt, Sugar and Spice Kit, Angione Alphabet, Distressed Edge Overlays No. 06 12x12, Cardstock Alpha: Whimsy Blue, Bead Scatterings No. 01, Laying It All Out No. 16: Making an Impression

At this busy time of year, a grid just might be a lifesaver for getting all those photos scrapped. Give this versatile template a try, and post your completed page in the Template Challenge Gallery.