Editors' Corner

Indulge in a creative journey

At this time of year, it’s easy to focus so much on productivity—getting more things done in less time—that you forget to enjoy the delights of the holiday season. Things like sugar plums, figgy pudding, wassail. (Well, you may not have experienced those particular delights unless you were born in England in 1827, but we digress.)

Remember: Santa doesn’t award extra nice points for efficiency. And you might be nicer in the long run if you can let go of the to-do list for a single afternoon. With this in mind, we’d like to challenge you to make an appointment with yourself for 2 hours this month. Hide away in your craft space, leaving all pressure, deadlines, and expectations at the door. Just take a deep breath, put on your favorite festive tunes, and play.

While in your creative confinement, if you feel the need to stare blankly at the wall in a state of semi-consciousness for 120 minutes, by all means, indulge in that whim! (You must really need it.) Or try one of these inspiring card creations submitted by Ella readers—the cards may not be fast, but they’re certainly fun—and find joy in your creative journey.

#1

Magnetic Flap Card

With help from her Scor-Pal scoring board (and a tutorial she found here), Tanja created an adorable flap-style card for a family member. “I'm a very slow crafter,” Tanja says. “I finished this card in one evening, which probably means someone else could do it in 20 minutes.” We say: as long as you’re having fun, it doesn’t matter how long it takes! The card stays closed with help from a hidden Basic Grey magnet closure.

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The cursive script inside the card reads “Christmas Cheer” in Finnish, with “Merry Christmas—Happy New Year” running around the outer edges of the stamp. Tanja pointed out that the Finnish word for Christmas is “joulu,” similar to the English “yule.” (We love little bits of trivia like that!)

Supplies:

patterned paper (BasicGrey) • magnetic snaps (BasicGrey) • ribbon (ScrapBook inspirations) • reindeer stamp (PaperCraft inspirations) • Finnish text stamp (InkyWings) • stamping ink (Tsukineko, Clearsnap) • punches (Fiskars, EK Success) • 3½ x 4¼ card by Tanja Säily

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Bonus magnet tip: Stick one self-adhesive magnet to the inside of the top flap of the card, then place the opposite magnet on top. Peel the backing from the second magnet and press the flap closed, so the exposed adhesive adheres to the paper beneath in precisely the right place. If desired, cover one or both magnets with patterned paper to hide them.

#2

Mini Boxes and Cards

Tammy Murdock created about a dozen of these tiny treat boxes—each with a matching greeting card—for friends and family. The open-top boxes measure 3¼ x 3¼ x 1½ inches and are perfect for holding a 3 x 3 handmade card, plus handmade jewelry, gift cards, or holiday candy (Hershey’s peppermint kisses anyone?). Take your time decorating and embellishing these mini canvasses. It doesn’t matter whether you complete two or 20 in your solitary craft time, the point is to immerse yourself in crafty goodness.

Supplies:

cardstock • patterned paper scraps • assorted embellishments • scoring tool • gold wire or pipe cleaners • ink • string • cards and boxes by Tammy Murdock

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Here’s how:

For the box, cut a sheet of cardstock to 6 x 8. Make two score lines that run the length of the piece, 1¼ inches from each edge.
Make two score lines that run the width of the piece, 3¼ inches from each edge.
Fold along all score lines, using a bone folder to get a crisp fold.
Find your shorter score lines and cut from the edge just until you meet the longer score line (1¼ inches in). You’ll do this four times.
Place a small strip of adhesive along the outside edge of one small flap. Place a longer strip of adhesive along the outside edge of two long flaps.
Fold up the small flaps, then fold in the adhesive-edged long flaps and adhere to the small flaps.
Fold in the remaining long flaps and press in place.
Cut a patterned paper strip to 10½ x 1½ and wrap around box to make decorative band.
Wrap wire or a pipe cleaner around a pen to make a curly handle. Punch holes in sides of box to thread handle through.
Cut cardstock to 3 x 6 and fold in half to make a 3 x 3 greeting card for each box. Decorate to match.
Optional: create a 2 x 2 tag to hang from the handle of each box.

#3

Non-Traditional Holiday Cards

After she finished one of these adorable Christmas-doll cards, Bree Tetz couldn’t keep from making one after the other, all featuring decidedly non-holiday products from her scrap stash. “I like to mix traditional with non-traditional elements,” Bree says. “Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes the results are fabulous!”

Supplies:

patterned paper (A2Z Essentials) • Stamps (Hero Arts) • markers (Copic) • glitter glue (Stickles by Ranger) • ink (Stampin' Up) • Buttons (unknown) • cards by Bree Tetz

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The dolls and the sentiments came from a single stamp set, Holiday Dolls from Hero Arts. Bree stamped each doll twice: once on beige paper to create the skin tone, and again on patterned paper. She cut the faces from the beige paper and adhered them to the patterned-paper dolls. She then decorated each doll with Copic markers (for the cheeks and hair), a white gel pen (for the fluff on the hats and mittens), and Stickles glitter glue (for a bit of holiday sparkle).

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Bree has definitely discovered the importance of sheer creative play. “As paper crafters, we all love to experiment and try new things,” she says. “Most of the ‘techniques’ that I use and love have been the result of a mistake, a cover-up, or some good experimenting.”

So there you have it! While we at Ella are some of the biggest advocates you’ll find for simplicity in scrapbooking, streamlining your process, and saving time, we think it’s equally important to make room in your life to feed your creative soul. After all, you’ve been feeding everyone else all month long, right?

Here’s to the happiest of holidays and a rockin’ New Year!

p.s. Interested in mass-producing a simple Christmas card design for everyone on your list? Make sure to check out Quick Christmas Cards: Handmade holiday greetings made easy, published in November’s edition of Scrapbook Ellaments.