A Rainbow Christmas - Merry & Bright Shaker Kit

A Rainbow Christmas - Merry & Bright Shaker Kit

Morning!
Last year, I decided to put our ornaments on the tree in a rainbow fashion. The Merry & Bright Shaker Ornament Kit was the perfect excuse to scrap this colorful tale—the bright colors and festive motives complement our holiday decor perfectly!
If there’s one element of holiday decor that puts me in a festive mood, it’s the lights. I love the way they warm up our house and add that extra sparkle. So you can imagine my delight when I saw the light die in this kit. I let it be the starting point of my design.
TIP: Don’t know where to start on a design? Let a product in your stash be your guide. It can be an excellent springboard that helps your page fall into place if you’re feeling stuck.
The idea for the light placement was inspired by this adorable sheet in the kit. Isn’t it a happy one?
Following the sweet look of the curvy light cord, I doodled a cord of my own along the top of my page. 
I then followed along my line with my sewing machine to add some texture. 
To create the lights’ glow, I turned to my Faber Castell pastels. To create the soft look, I lightly colored with them in a circular motion and then blended with the included blending stick. 
TIP: You could create a similar light glow using a sponge and dye ink or even watercolor paint. 
Time to make those lights shine with various toppings! 
For a few bulbs, I opted to leave the clear coating off the top, which meant using sticky-backed toppings that stay in place even without a clear sheet on top. I went with Petite Posies and Epoxy Dots.
For the most part, I stick with the toppings that come in this enchanting kit, including this sweeties. Hey, who says peppermints can’t reflect in a light’s shine? ;) 
I put a few of the inner bulb pieces to work in the lower portion of my page, just to give the bottom border a little extra oomph. 
Keeping with the light theme, I fussy cut some lights from my favorite sheet of paper and used them to border my larger pic. 

One more light, dangling from a decorative paper clip, you know, just for kicks and giggles. 
To create a flow across the diagonal length of my page, I intentionally placed the teal color in the lower left corner, the mid section, and in the upper right corner. I did this with patterned paper, some gems, and a little spray ink. 
TIP: Use a common color to create a flow throughout your design. 
Here’s a confession: I sometimes struggle with title design. I feel like I’m using the same letter stickers time and time again. For this page, I took things down a notch with a stamped title. It’s smaller than your standard title, but it still works well being the only text on the page (besides my handwritten notes). 
TIP: Don’t be afraid to take title size down. Even small stamps will work if they remain the most prominent text element on the page. 
Of course, a few words are in order. I try to add at least a little bit of journaling to every page. 
This one has me tickled pink… and red, and orange, and blue, and green, and… well you get the idea. ;) It’s fun to wander away from the usual red/green combo for Christmas and try something new. Let’s be honest, I could go with all rainbow layouts all the time, no matter the season or reason. LOL Having a rainbow Christmas tree was just a convenient excuse to get my color on. Whether you decide to mix things up this holiday season or stick with tradition, I hope you and yours have a joyous season. 
Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner http://www.meganhoeppner.com 
SUPPLIES

All supplies from the Merry & Bright Shaker Ornament Kit unless otherwise noted. https://www.queenandcompany.com/collections/whats-new 
OTHER QUEEN & CO. SUPPLIES USED:
OTHER SUPPLIES
CARDSTOCK: Bazzill Basics; PENS: Tombow; PASTELS: Faber Castell; INK: Hero Arts; SPRAY INK: Heidi Swapp; ADHESIVE: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; SEWING MACHINE: Brother
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