Hello, hello! It’s Rebecca here today and I can’t believe how close we are to Christmas! I know it’s still 6 weeks away, but that 6 weeks goes by so fast! For me, so many things get lost in the holiday hustle, so this year I’m making more of an effort to not let that happen. I don’t do too much in the way of scrapbooking, but every now and then, something extra special transpires, and I’ll want to remember it (and my feelings about it) forever.
Last December, I was buried in work and trying to meet deadlines and my kids were driving me crazy! I think they were arguing, then wrestling, then arguing, then high-pitched screaming. I finally separated them and told them to do something creative. My then-7-year-old son took it upon himself to write a letter to Santa Claus and when he showed it to me later that night, my heart melted. I held onto this letter all year and as the kids have been talking about starting their letters to Santa early this year, I pulled it out and decided this was just the sort of thing I wanted to remember.
I scanned the original letter into the computer and shrunk it down just a bit with photo editing software, then re-printed it. I did this because I wanted to make it a little smaller to work with my 12×12 patterned paper, and because I had the idea that I wanted it to be sticking out of an envelope.
How awesome is it that I could make my own envelope, in the size I wanted to use, with my 1-2-3 Punch Board?! I could have used a boring long white envelope, but this way, I also got to use the patterned paper I wanted.
I followed the easy directions to create an envelope that was 4” W x 8” L from some Crate Paper Fa La La paper. After assembling the envelope, I made an extra fold to the bottom flap, simply folding the top portion over to create a lower, flattened opening rather than the taller, pointed version. This also allows for the addition of some extra embellishments in that space.
I backed the letter copy with red cardstock and slid it into the envelope, tucking various die cuts into the front of the envelope for more color.
Texture and dimension are often a key design element in whatever I’m creating, and that was no different here. I ruffled gold and white crepe papers along the sides of the back of my letter/envelope ensemble, as well as scraps of gold crepe along the top and bottom edges. Then I adhered it all to the green buffalo check base paper.
Because this is a holiday layout, I thought it would be apropos to include a glittery ribbon bow and a tassel, both of which were easily made with We R Memory Keepers tools—the Bow and Tassel Looms, respectively.
Like I mentioned, I don’t do too much scrapbooking or memory keeping, but every time I do, I remember how fun and satisfying it is. Just as I will get sentimental looking back at this page years from now, I’m sure my son will enjoy it, too…but I doubt it will make up for the fact that Santa did not bring him a puppy that Christmas!