Fun and Scrappy Ideas to Entertain your Kiddos over Christmas Break

Christmas Break is almost upon us, and though most of us love the idea of having our children at home during this busy season, the idea of bored children can also be maddening! Here are some simple scrappy activities you can do with your children over the break. Hopefully the right mix of these will help keep the doldrums at bay.

• Make old fashioned paper chains using all your scrapbooking scraps. Much nicer than the traditional construction paper chain!
• Make paper stockings. Simply cut a stocking shape out of two sheets of cardstock. Punch around the border and let kiddos ‘stitch’ them together with yarn, like lacing cards. They can decorate the stocking with festive stamps and Stickles glitter glue. Apply cotton balls to the top of the stocking for a fluffy ribbing. Have children write their names on the top of the stocking with the Stickles, and then hang the stockings in a special place. Ask each family member to write letters of appreciation to each other and tuck them in the stockings. Share the letters aloud on Christmas day, then scrapbook all those special sentiments.
• Set your kids free with the camera. Have them take Christmas and wintery pictures, then scrapbook them as a family in a special through the eyes of a child layout.
• Make paper flowers using the K & Company Paper Flowers Paper Crafting Pad (click on the title of this post to view this product). This may appeal more to the girls than the boys, but boys could still participate by making gifts for grandmas and teachers. This 578 piece paper crafting kit will keep them busy for hours!
• Make paper Chrismons. Chrismons is short for Christ Monograms, and growing up in the Lutheran church, these beautiful symbols were a staple on the church Christmas tree. I was looking for projects to keep Christ the center of our Christmas this year and found a great web site, http://www.paperchrismons.com/. They have Chrismon snowflake patterns that can be printed on white cardstock and cut out by older children. Children of all ages will have fun decorating the cut snowflakes with crystal, diamond, or icicle Stickles and gold sequins (traditional Chrismons are always white and gold to symbolize the glory and purity of Christ).
  

I hope that you find some activities in this blog that not only entertain your kiddos during this holiday, but help make it memorable. This is a busy time of the year, but we only have so many childhood Christmases, so make sure you take the time to make some memories with your kiddos!

You can find all the supplies you need for dozens of fun projects, including Stickles glitter glue, on our website, www.ScrapBugLane.com.

Happy Scrapping!

Lisa

Trimming Your Christmas Pages With Festive Borders

Hi there. This will be my last post this week, but be sure to check back next week for more fun ideas for making your Christmas scrappy. Features will include ideas for entertaining your kiddos over Christmas break and more!

For my last post this week I thought I'd keep it simple and offer up some Christmas appropriate ideas for trimming your pages. Jodi and I brainstormed a bit and came up with these ideas for your Christmas borders. Enjoy!

1. Ric-Rac - this old fashioned trim speaks of ginger bread men, craft bazzars, and everything Christmas! Glue down a single row, or multiple rows for a traditional (and fun) border.


2. Velvet Ribbon - crushed velvet, regular velvet, anything velvet is appropriate for gorgeous old fashioned layouts. Velvet looks especially nice with formal photos, but like the little black dress, it can be dressed up or down depending on your style!


3. Curly Ribbon - gifts under the tree and confetti on New Years Day make for lots of fun! Make a row of small clusters or single pieces. Its probably not archival safe, but it gets extra points for being so festive!
   
4. Sequin Trim - what says Christmas like glittering gold, or silver, or red, or green, or blue, or anything that sparkles for that matter! Premade sequin trim is simple and plyable and can be draped across your pages, or use it to trim out your photo mats.


5. Crocheted Lace - for a perfect vintage or Victorian look. It is reminiscent of lace tablecloths, doilies, snowflakes, and of coarse cookies and cakes laced with sugar!


6. Stickles! - we can't help but recommend Stickles glitter glue! Just doodle a free hand border across the top or bottom of your page and let it dry. Glit-teriffic every time!


7. Pom-poms - tiny little pom poms are fluffy and sweet, like snow men or Santa's rosy cheeks.


8. Beads - string them together and drape them across the page like a beautiful garland, or if you are extrememly ambitious, stitch them to the page.
   
   

Whatever you do to trim out your Christmas pages, have fun. If you have additional ideas, please post them in the comment section. We'd love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lisa

Tips for Photographing Your Kiddos this Christmas!

Hi there! Today's post is authored by design team member, Shannon Garrity. As noted in her design team profile, photography is one of Shannon's passions. Since the holidays bring a lot of photo opportunities, we thought these tips for photographing your kiddos would be very appropriate. Hope you find them helpful.

To learn more about Shannon's photography, you can click on the title of this post and link to her site. You can also read more about Shannon in her profile posted on www.scrapbuglane.com, and watch for her favorite shots in her layouts, coming to our gallery very soon. A special thanks to Shannon for being out guest writer today. Hope you enjoy what she put together for you.

Lisa

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Tips for Photographing Your Kiddos this Christmas

The holidays are a magical time of year. A time for us to gather together with our friends and families and share in the joy of the season. Here are a few tips to turn your average posed holiday photos of children into “visual” keepsakes to scrapbook and share with generations to come.

One of my personal favorite subjects to photograph is my daughters. Each time I am able to capture an emotion, a moment or a second of their lives with my camera I know that when they are able to look back in my scrapbooks they will see just how much I loved them and cherished their part in my life. Below are some of my favorite photo tips for shooting pictures of children.

• Let the kids hang out and play for a little bit before the camera comes out. That way they will be more at ease and will not notice you’re snapping the pictures.
• Encourage the kids to say funny words or make funny faces at you when you are ready to shoot, it will bring out a natural smile more than not as you are letting them be silly.
• Always remember to take several pictures of the same scene when it comes to shooting children, some may be a little off center or blurry but you may have a gem in the middle of them all. Remember a child hardly ever sits still.
• Always try and shoot children at their eye level. It may mean that you have to get down on your knees to get the shot but the results will be worth it.
• Try and be creative by catching a child upside down on a swing set or in the middle of a yell as they are swinging on a swing. The more you and your camera do not interfere, the more you are likely to catch a child’s true personality on film.
• The use of a soft focus filter can add a romantic feel to your shots of children, especially babies and are available at a low cost. You can make one yourself with a UV or skylight filter and some Vaseline.
• Children are always moving and their moods and emotions are forever changing so if you get a child that does not want to cooperate, just put it off until tomorrow as it will not be worth it to force them to pose.

Fun props to use with shooting pictures of kids:

• A favorite toy or your child’s favorite blanket not only makes them feel safe but you will be able to catch a genuine look of love when they give it a hug.
• A mirror is always a fun prop to use when shooting pictures of children. They love to see their reflection and will enjoy making faces or smiles for the camera into the mirror.
• Hats are a usually a big hit with kids. When shooting babies and toddlers with hats you might need to snap a picture quickly before they decide to pull it off but it should make for a great picture even if the hat is half way off their head.
• Sports equipment are fun props to put in pictures. They make the child feel as though they are in the middle of a game.
• Flowers and ribbons are fun props to make a picture have a “girly” feel to it.
• Santa hats, presents, oranaments and more can add to your holiday pictures and the children will have fun with them.