Kit | Merry and Bright by Melissa

We're getting into the Christmas spirit a bit early here at Scrapbook Update! This month's Scrapbook Update kit, Merry and Bright, is filled to the brim with festive colors and motifs that will be perfect for scrapping all your winter and Christmas memories. In fact, I designed this kit to be used for either layouts or for a December Daily or Journal Your Christmas mini album. There are enough papers, alphabets, and sparkly baubles in this kit to keep you scrapping all December long, and while a few of the items are strictly Christmas themed, I kept the majority of the kit generic enough to be used for a variety of subjects.

The papers are a selection of Crate Paper Peppermint, Echo Park Season's Greetings, and Studio Calico Classic Calico that blend bright pops of seasonal colors with sophisticated grays and grounding woodgrains for a fun, cozy feel.

Speaking of the papers, the main kit photo above only tells half the story about them as all of these sheets have lovely prints on their B-sides, as well.

Stars are a very popular Christmas embellishment this year, and these gray ledger star rub-ons by Studio Calico are a great non-holiday-themed item that will work well on Christmas and winter layouts.

Crate Paper's Peppermint Ribbons and Trims are rich and will add just the right pop of color to your projects.

I brought in these North Country bling pieces by Prima to add a touch of sparkle.

And how could I resist these amazing Echo Park Season's Greetings Brads? There are so many in the package that they'll last you through many, many scrapbook pages.

This is just one of the two alphabet sheets included in the kit. This page alone (from Echo Park's Season's Greetings line) has three different alphabets on it, while the Studio Calico kraft alpha sheet holds two more.

In addition to the main kit, I've also put together an add-on that's all-Christmas, all the time! Meet "Deck the Halls," a fun foray into the spirit of the season. While I worked hard to keep the main kit from being completely themed, I completely let go of that with this add-on and filled it with a variety of gorgeous themed items.

Mister Huey Calico Shine from Studio Calico will add sparkle to your projects, and it's especially gorgeous when paired up with any color mists you may already own.

These Christmas cameos from Webster's Pages are so finely detailed and gorgeous and will add a special touch to your cards, layouts, and mini albums.

I fell in love with these candy cane striped Elf Thickers by American Crafts as soon as I saw them at CHA, so of course I included them in my kit!

And Crate Paper's beautiful chipboard accents just begged to be included, as well.

I've also got two projects created from this kit to share with you today (and look for more in the next couple of weeks!). The first, while set on Christmas Day, is decidedly winter themed. I used Studio Calico's Calico Shine mist in conjunction with a bottle of Mister Huey's Calico White that I already owned to mist the background, then broke out my Martha Stewart snowflake punches (Glacial, Icelandic, Alpine, Arctic, and Himalayan) to create some accents to add to the snowflake-themed chipboard and brads in the kit and add-on.

This next page, though? It's all Christmas! Stockings have been such a fun Christmas tradition for me since I was very young, and it's one that I still enjoy as an adult!

Here's a listing of the complete contents of the kit. We won't be offering a single-package purchase link for these kits this month (that option will return in 2012), but we've included individual product links to make your shopping easier.

Main Kit - Merry and Bright

Paper

Echo Park Season's Greetings - Calendar
Echo Park Season's Greetings - Tree Skirt
Echo Park Season's Greetings- Christmas Ads
Canvas Corp Green and Kraft Collection - Dot
Crate Paper Peppermint - Gingerbread
Crate Paper Peppermint - Wintergreen
Crate Paper Peppermint - Ski Lodge
Crate Paper Peppermint - Snow Globe
Crate Paper Peppermint- Candy Cane
Studio Calico Classic Calico - Woodgrain One

Cardstock

Bazzill Basics Paper - Avalanche
Bazzill Basics Paper - Stonehenge
Bazzill Basics Paper - Cream Puff

Embellishments

Prima Bling Swirl - North Country 2
Echo Park Season's Greetings Brad Assortment
Crate Paper Peppermint Ribbons and Trims
Studio Calico Classic Calico Alphabet
Echo Park Season's Greetings Alphabet
Crate Paper Peppermint Phrase Stickers
Studio Calico Classic Calico Gray Star Rub-Ons

Add-on Kit - Deck the Halls

Paper

Echo Park Season's Greetings - Border
Crate Paper Peppermint - Mint
Crate Paper Peppermint - Embellish
Studio Calico Classic Calico - Star

Embellishments

Studio Calico Mister Huey's Color Mist - Calico Shine
American Crafts Holly Day Thickers - Elf, Red
Crate Paper Peppermint Chipboard Stickers
Webster's Pages - Silhouettes