December is a GREAT month! Free Scrapbook ideas are delivered to your mailbox all month long! How? By way of Christmas Cards, of course!! Since I am one who believes that everything around us is inspiration for a scrapbook page, it just seems so natural to take Card ideas and turn them into layouts. That is why it took me by surprise when I recently showed a customer in our store some of the wonderful Card books on the market today. She said, "I'm not really into cards, I just do scrapbooking." Even though I explained to her that Card books were wonderful inspiration for making scrapbook pages, she just wasn't interested. "How could this BE?!" I wondered. Then I asked several other scrapbookers where they got their inspiration, and was surprised to find there were many people who felt the same as my "Anti-Card" customer did. 

Well, December is just too JOYOUS a time of year for scrapbook inspiration, and would hate for anyone to miss out on it. So I have created a few cards and corresponding layouts to show how easy it is to be inspired by Christmas cards. I hope you will find them a source of inspiration also. 

Let's get started! As a general rule, transferring ideas from cards is simple, if you don't try to replicate the cards too closely. The focus is to take just one or two IDEAS from the card that can help in your layout design. Here are 4 ways I found to be the most successful in turning "Card Ideas" into Layouts.

1. Think Borders! Most elements from a card can be easily transferred into a border of some sort onto your page. Often, one design element from the card can be repeated over and over along the side or bottom of your page for a nice border. For example, in the "Warm Winter Wishes" Card (Image 1) I took the snowflake square and the title idea from the card and created a border using that same technique for my "Sale Lake Olymics" page. (Image 2.) On the "Family is the Best Gift of Christmas" page, (Image 3) I took the present and tag idea from the card (Image 4) and created a border out of them. On the "Christmas 2000" page (Image 5) I liked the blocks from the "Ho Ho Ho" card, (Image 6) so I transferred that idea into a border on my layout. Borders are perhaps the easiest way to take a card idea and transfer it to a layout page, especially when the card is a border itself! (See Images 15 & 16.) "Long" cards are pretty much just layout borders waiting to happen.

2. Think Journaling Blocks! Adding a design from a card to the top or bottom of a journaling block is very simple. Just re-create the design, or your version of the design to the bottom or top of your journaling. The Happy Holly Days Card (Image 7) inspired the "Happy Holly Days" Page. (Image 8). It was easy to take the design element from the card (the holly) and just add it to the journaling block. I expanded the holly to a couple other blocks on my page with very little effort. In the "Christmas Dinner" Page (Image 9), I took it one step further and copied the border from the corresponding card (Image 10) and also added the design to my journaling block. 

3. Think Photo Frame! Many times, cards can inspire how to mat your focus photo on your page. You know the one I mean... the photo that gets double... triple... or quadruple matted... because its your very favorite and you just have to draw attention to it? The color blocked Santa card (Image 11) was inspiration for the "Merry Merry Merry Merry Christmas page." (Image 12) Notice how the color blocking was repeated behind the focal photo. I also took the vellum idea from the card and transferred it over to my page. You can make your own vellum background sheets SO easily - by just repeating a holiday saying over and over and over again, then printing it off. Voila! I used only 2 different fonts for my vellum background, but you could use lots more for a very festive card or layout.

4. Think Sayings! Every card comes with a title or caption of some kind. Some are religious, some are "formal," some are funny. No matter what the card, though - the captions can be used on a layout. You could use the caption as your title, include it as part of your journaling, or if you are creating a "Color blocking" page, use it for one of the blocks on your page. You don't have to copy the saying exactly, you can vary it to suit your own needs, but it can be just the right "spark" for your page, or to get your creative juices flowing. "The Fat Man is Coming" card (Image 13) was inspiration for "Visiting with the Fat Guy" Layout. (Image 14) I changed the title a little bit, but essentially used the exact elements of the card for the layout page. 

Cards are truly a wonderful source of inspiration this holiday season! Don't pass up the opportunity to stop by your local Hallmark Store... I guarantee you will find tons of ideas! But just in case a stop by your local Hallmark Store isn't in your immediate plans, you can check out "Hallmark.com" or take a look at just a few more cards I created. Can you see how the design elements in these cards could be made into layouts? Give it a try on your own, or stop by www.gonescrappin.com and look in our "Christmas" "Shop Layout" section to see these cards turned into layouts! 

So this month when you open your mail, think of all the wonderful layout ideas that are coming your way. It's just one more reason to celebrate this holiday season! 

From all of us at www.gonescrappin.com, we wish you and your family a very happy and healthy holiday season.