My Elf: American Crafts

Hello, everyone!  I'm back today with my last layout from the December kit at My Creative Scrapbook. 

I took this photo last year at my son's preschool Christmas party. The boys wore elf hats as part of the program and they looked so cute. 

I added a little dimension to the Deck the Halls card by pop-dotting the candy cane and holly leaf on top of the stocking. 

I loved this elf sticker that came with the kit. I sat him on a grove of trees at the top of my layout. He perfectly played up my theme of my son the elf. 

One more look: 

This layout only uses a little bit of patterned paper: the red Merry Christmas paper and the dark brown border.  Everything else is a pocket card, sticker or cardstock. I'm personally partial to a "clean" layout, so I quite like how this one turned out. 

Up tomorrow:  more pages from my December Daily. 

Elf on the Shelf: American Crafts

My family had such a good time last year with Elf on the Shelf. My son was 4 and it was the perfect age. He woke up excited every morning to see what the elf had done the night before and where the elf was hiding that day. 

Of course, I had to scrapbook the adventures of Sandy, our elf. 

For this layout, I used the December Creative Kit from My Creative Scrapbook. The kit included paper and embellishments from the super cute holiday line Be Merry from American Crafts. 

As you can see, we didn't use the elf from the book, but rather a different one. This guy, Sandy, was marketed as a tree ornament but worked just fine for our purposes. 

Sandy encouraged our son to be kind. Always a good reminder!

I wanted to journal about our experience with Sandy the Elf, but I didn't have room on my layout to add it. So, I flipped the layout over, and adhered my journaling to the back. As you can see, I had a lot to say!

I had actually forgotten most of this story. I couldn't even remember our elf's name, even though it had only been a year since he visited. While searching my computer for info I might have documented about our elf, I ran across a long email I had sent my mom. That email (slightly edited) is what is attached here. Moral of the story: I will forget. I must write it down!

This is the kit I used to create my layout. Loved it: stickers, die cuts, wood veneers, washi, ribbon and lots of holiday paper! It's one of my favorite kits ever!

You can see all the December kits from My Creative Scrapbook on their website.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!

Elf on the Shelf Alternatives: A New Elf In Town

We love the general idea of Elf on the Shelf, but didn't have the original elf from the book.  So we searched around for a suitable alternative.  We wanted something about the same size, appproximately 10 - 12 inches tall, bendy, if possible, and friendly. 

A cute, small, bendy elf was surprisingly hard to find. Finally, we found one meant as an ornament. He's 11 inches tall and has bendy arms and legs.  If you find a similar elf and he isn't bendy, you could make a small slit in his arms and legs, insert a pipe cleaner or jewelry wire, and stitch him back up. 

We are generally using the elf as in the story, but ours in a friendlier, gentler elf.  Some days he hides just for fun.  

Other days, elf suggests acts of kindness such donating toys to the Children's Hospital or making cookies for the neighbors. He just leaves a note next to him as he hides. 

We love our elf and will miss him when he leaves.  Wishing you the happiest of holidays!