"Together-Apart" | New Collection Sneak Peek and Pre-Order!!!

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Hello there, everybody! Today I want to share with you a fun sneak peek at my next and newest collection! It is called "Together-Apart," and it is inspired by our current and strange situation right now in the world. Yes, that is right...I decided to create a collection that is all about our "new normal," in the hopes that it will not only help you to document these odd and historic times, but also bring you some, well, hope...and maybe a smile or two during this difficult situation. I, myself, have been finding our current situation quite challenging and, frankly, very stressful. But what I have found is that creating right now has really helped me with the anxiety I have been facing due to this new reality. Whether it is scrapping, planning, just playing with pretty papers and goodies...or, well, drawing and designing this collection for you all, for instance...all of this creativity really helps me relax and brings me joy! And I think we could all use more relaxation and joy right now!

Among other things, I included in the collection lots of positive and inspiring quotes and images, as well as some humor...all with the goal to help you all feel inspired, empowered, and uplifted when you see it and create with it! I hope "Together-Apart” will help you feel a little bit better and help you get through this challenging time! Click here to pre-order "Together-Apart" today! Stay safe everybody!!!

Hugs and Happy Thoughts, Andrea Bethke

P.S. This collection is technically a specialty kit and therefore not a subscriber kit. If you are a subscriber and wish to get "Together-Apart", you will have to make a separate purchase. This collection was created outside of the normal "fairytale inspired" family of collections we do for our kits, and is instead inspired by our reality right now...which is. sadly, not just a story. For this reason and for others, it is not a "Fairytale Club" subscriber kit. As far as the next collection in the subscription kit line up...that beauty is coming along fairly soon, so stay tuned for that sneak peek :-)

Stay Safe Everybody!

To download, left-click the image, then right-click and select “Save Image As…” to save the file to your computer.

Happy International Scrapbooking Day 2020!!!

Download this fun, free printable in honor of today’s celebration of all things scrapbooking! To download, left-click the image, then right-click and select “Save Image As…” to save the file to your computer. (The downloaded files will not have any drop shadow.)

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"Dreams Do Come True" Collection Full Reveal!!!

Hello, everybody! Today I am so excited to announce, here on The Fairytale Club, that we have a new collection out and available for purchase...and it's called "Dreams Do Come True"! This collection is inspired by the classic fairytale Cinderella. This tale may have originated as a french folktale from the 1600's or it may even be an ancient Greek tale from the 6th century BC...but either way, I think we can say it’s very, very old and yet also timeless. Most of us know the story from the Disney versions (both the classic animated movie from the 1950's and the more recent live action version), and many of us have subsequently fallen in love with the sweet story of a kind and courageous young woman who decides to meet adversity with grace, a persevering spirit, and a belief in magic and dreams coming true!

Based on what is happening in the world right now, I find this tale quite timely. I think this is the kind of story that can speak to all of us and inspire us to get through the challenges that we are all facing right now. I really hope you feel the same way! I started with this inspiration and theme back when I was really struggling personally both physically and emotionally at the end of last year (see our previous blog post for a little more on that) and over the last few months, things have transpired in the world such as to convince me that we all need some Cinderella inspiration right now. We all need some help right now to "keep on believing" in our happily ever afters -- something that Cinderella quite beautifully convinces us to do even in the most dire of times. As she says, "no matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true"! So let's all keep having courage and being kind folks, and, for sure, keep on believing...and without further ado...let's look at my Cinderella inspired collection, "Dreams Do Come True"!

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For "Dreams Do Come True," I decided to go with a predominantly blue and pink color scheme. I was hoping to create a really lovely, dreamy and relaxing, classic fairytale sort of feel for this collection, not only with the color scheme but also with the whimsical and ethereal painted look that I wove throughout the collection. There is mostly a lot of blues (going from very dark to very light), various pinks, and peachy-pinks, and then a little bit of yellow and green thrown into the collection as well. All together, I think it feels like a Cinderella-y kind of color palette and tone, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. As for the patterns in this collection, I decided to do a lot of florals, since Cinderella likes to work outside in the garden and also because it's Springtime and this is a Spring collection. You will also find some cool geometric patterns in this collection, which are very much in keeping with my vintage-meets-modern aesthetic, and also some really fun fairytale patterns such as the glass slipper or the patterns that contain items like Cinderella's castle and carriage.

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This first patterned paper is called "Have Courage + Be Kind," and it is a beautiful butterfly print that I absolutely love! I was inspired by the blue butterflies on Cinderella's gown in the recent live action version of the story. I wanted to include a mix of different butterflies, though, with different colors and shapes and different patterned wings, but all lovely and dreamy. On the back is a really pretty and versatile multi-colored floral pattern on a deep navy blue background.

This next patterned paper is called "Cindy," and it is a gorgeous pink and yellow floral print. This paper is bold and beautiful and has all these lovely, big roses as well as other lush and happy spring florals. On the back is a very cute bird print with a sweet little painted bird on a cool white and black, open diamond, lattice print.

Next we have a patterned paper called "If The Glass Slipper Fits…," and it is the prettiest pink-painted ombre background with little touches of yellow along the edges, and throughout the print is Cinderella's lost glass slipper on a pillow...plus a banner that reads "once upon a time." So cute! And on the back is a simple but very fun and versatile pink on pink triangle pattern.

The next patterned paper is called "Cinderella's Castle," and it has this really beautiful, painted, blue background with a pattern of the fairytale castle and the magical horse and carriage on it. The other side is also blue on blue and is a really lovely, little floral pattern.

And next we have a patterned paper called "Once Upon a Time." It is a very cool, handwritten script print that actually has part of the story of Cinderella written out on it. You will notice that certain words and phrases are underlined for emphasis, the corners are painted with a delicate blue, and there are these beautiful roses on the page. On the back is a truly dreamy, swan pattern! The swans float atop a painted background of a beautiful lagoon, and I just love it!

This next patterned paper is called "A Cinderella Story," and it is one of my absolute favorites in the collection! It is a really lovely and delicate and intricate pattern of florals and Cinderella icons like the glass slipper, the castle, and Cinderella herself! And on the back is another pattern that I love! It is blue on blue and looks to me like little blue rainbows all in a row, which just makes me smile.

Next we have the patterned paper called "Dreams Do Come True" (just like the name of the collection itself), and it is also a favorite of mine to be sure! I love this paper because it really exudes the feeling and theme of the whole collection. You will find Cinderella here, along with a pumpkin, her castle, her shoe, her mouse friend, and a whole lot of icons, words, and phrases that represent the character and the story of Cinderella. And on the back there is an absolutely stunning painted piece that I think would look great as a background or die-cut into pieces or cut into strips...it’s so pretty and would look great for any project and can be used in so many ways!

Finally we have the two cut-apart sheets, the first of which is called "Let's Go To The Ball" and includes a variety of cut-ables in different sizes. I love the adorable 2x2 pieces and the cool tags especially! And on the back is a very cute light blue, retro, diamond pattern that I also love!

And the second cut-apart sheet is called "Bibbidi What?" It is made up of all 3x4 decorative cards, and I love all of them! I especially can’t wait to use the cool word ones like the one that says "fairytale" and the one that says "dream"! And on the back is a simple but versatile black and white geometric.

Alright, now that we have gone over all the beautiful patterned paper in the "Dreams Do Come True" collection, let's take a look at the embellishments in the collection. First, let's look at the ephemera pack. Our ephemera packs are always a big hit with you guys, and that makes me so happy! I love that you love them because I do, too! In this ephemera pack we have some really beautiful and special pieces, and I love all of them really! But, here are a few of my favorites: the Cinderella cameo piece, the awesome painted hearts, the glass slipper on the pillow, the little mouse, and the cool Cinderella card! Oh, and I didn't even mention yet the awesome word pieces that come in the pack, which include words like "dream," "once upon a time," "happily ever after," and "have courage + be kind"!

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Next, let's take a look at the flair. I love our flair buttons in all of our collections, but this might be my favorite pack of them so far! I love the butterfly, the glass slipper, and the rose especially! All of them are so pretty and dreamy, though, and will look great on your layout, in your planner, on your decor piece...really, whatever you want to use them for!

Now I want to talk about our variety pack, which I know is also a big fave of yours and mine! The pack for this collection is stunning and includes just a whole lot of really beautiful florals and butterflies, in both cardstock and vellum varieties, which is so great. If I had to pick a fave I would probably have to say all the big, beautiful roses...oh, but the butterflies are so special, too!

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And next, let’s look at the acrylic and wood set that comes in the collection. This is a newer kind of embellishment for us. We have done an acrylic pack before, but this time we have wood pieces, too! I love all of the pieces in this pack, but I think my favorites may be the wooden words that say "dream" and "hope" and, of course, the beautiful, clear acrylic, glass slipper!

And now, let’s look at the stickers in our "Dreams Do Come True" collection. These stickers are so cute and so pretty! I am especially excited to use all the little circle stickers on this sticker sheet, like the little rose ones, the little swan, the little glass slipper...all of them!

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Finally, we have our planner pages that come in the collection. And I am so happy with how these turned out! I love the colors and the images on these pages and I can't wait to play with them! Let's take a closer look!

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First, we have this adorable rose planner page that says "beautiful" on it. Love that rose and that painted background! And on the back is a lovely and inspirational quote that I think is perfect for the times we are in right now! It is so important right now to "have courage and be kind"!

The next planner page has our beautiful and majestic Cinderella castle on the front, and on the back is a set of whimsical butterflies on a lovely painted, rainbowy-ombre background.

Next we have a little birdy planner page that says "believe" on it, and on the back is a great quote about our wishes and dreams.

Here we have a planner page with Cindy on it...being beautiful and glamorous, of course! And on the back we have her lost glass slipper. So magical!

Next is a cool, quote, planner page that talks about believing in your own happily ever after! So important to remember to do right now! And on the other side we have our lovely swan and the words "dreams do come true."

And finally, this planner page is a fantastic calendar page on one side (with the castle, and Cindy, and the carriage), and on the back is the word "dream, surrounded by flowers. So pretty!

Alright, that is the end of our "Dreams Do Come True" collection full reveal. I hope you have enjoyed looking at all these new goodies with me! It was a really special experience designing and creating and putting all of this collection together for you all. It was difficult working on this collection through the pain and all the emotion...and then everything that has happened in the world recently...but I feel like this collection and its theme really reminded me of the importance of believing in dreams, persevering through the tough times, and finding that magic that is in our hearts and in the world even in the darkest of times! I think that this collection and its message is so relevant to what we are all going through right now, and I hope that it helps you to remember to believe right now, too, to have courage and to be kind, and to dream big...because we can live our life as a fairytale even now, and happily ever after may seem out of reach at the moment, but I know it is still out there, just past this storm, just waiting for us! Maybe we just lost it momentarily like Cinderella's glass slipper...but we'll find it again, soon!

Hugs and Prayers to you all! Happy Scrapping and Planning and Crafting and STAY SAFE!!! :-)

Andrea Bethke Owner, Founder, Creator, Designer —- The Fairytale Club

"Dreams Do Come True" | New Collection Sneak Peek

Hello there, everyone! Well, as you all may have noticed, things are quite strange and difficult in the world right now. First of all I want to say that I hope that you all are safe and healthy and getting through all of this as best you can. Ryan and I are doing alright.

I want to also say that I am sorry that it has been so long since I have been out here, digitally. I have been sort of avoiding social media for a while. I will go into more detail later...I plan on doing some sort of livestream Q&A thing soon...but for now, to make a long story short...well, let's just say things have been very bad for me over the last several months...basically since September/October of last year. I have been struggling, and not just with my CRPS condition. I hit a wall with all the constant pain and, I guess, ten years of suffering through that and also other things in my personal life...it all finally caught up with me, I guess, and I broke a little. Got to a point where I just wanted to hide under the blankets.

And then a few months ago, I guess the world kinda broke a little too...and now we are all kinda hiding under the blankets, or at least, in our houses. Strange times. Dark times. And there is no easy answer. But I have always believed in magic and miracles and the power of love and kindness and, with those things, the inevitability of a happily ever after. I believe in fairytales, and in every fairytale there are dark days and struggle and strife and heartache and loss and sacrifice, but there is also courage and beauty and perseverance and the ability to overcome any obstacle through faith and hope and love! And so I know that we will make it through these dark days together!

And in the meantime, to help us get through the day to day and to document what is a very strange and interesting part of the story that we all currently find ourselves in, I have created this beautiful collection for you, called "Dreams Do Come True." I started this collection back at the end of December/beginning of January, back when I had started to realize that I really needed help with my own personal struggle. I wanted to create a collection that reflected my own desire to return to hope and to my faith in the idea that dreams can come true. Despite my sadness, I knew I still believed in happily ever after and wanted to focus on that feeling and share it. So I thought of Cinderella. I was inspired by her. I was inspired by her story, by her courage and her kindness and also by her song, "no matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish can come true".

As things changed quickly in the world, it became clear that this collection, its inspiration, theme and message were apropos to how a lot of us are feeling now because of this historical situation. I am sorry it took so long to make and get out to you, but, as I said, I wasn't doing well. So that, coupled with the current situation…well, that caused quite a bit of a delay. I think that you will find it was worth it, though, and I am so excited to now share this sneak peek of "Dreams Do Come True" with you!

If you are a subscriber, your kit is either already delivered to your door or on its way! And if you are not, please purchase or subscribe today! I have some awesome new surprises heading your way so stay tuned here for more! I will be sharing the full reveal very soon! Also coming soon is a new class which I am super excited about, and also a hint at the next collection after this one, some fun new videos, an announcement about what we are going to do for National Scrapbook Day...plus more! It's all coming your way, and I can't wait! There is so much cool stuff coming to help you and me get through these tough times over the next month or two or three...who knows how long this will go on, but for however long it does, I plan on some really cool scrap therapy, happy planning, and fun crafting and other magical surprises to help us all pass the time! I hope you all will join in! Thank you all for being our customers, our fans, our friends, and supporters, and for being a part of our Fairytale Club! May all your dreams and wishes come true! Just remember to keep on believing, keep living your life as a fairytale, with magic and joy even in the little things....because happily ever after is around the corner...we just need to get through this difficult journey, and I know we can do it together! Hugs and Prayers to all of you!

Andrea Bethke — Founder, Owner, Creator, Designer

The Fairytale Club

"Making Christmas" Collection Full Reveal!!!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to share with you the full reveal of our awesome holiday collection, “Making Christmas”! I absolutely adore this collection! It is so beautiful and whimsical and filled with holiday cheer! To me, this collection really expresses all the magical, seasonal goodness that goes into making Christmas at your home. And that, of course, includes things like the Christmas tree, decorations, gingerbread cookies, candy canes, snow, and, of course, Santa! But there is even more that makes the season what it is, and perhaps the most important of all is the love that we share this time of year with one another. And so I wanted to make sure to express that in this collection, too. I accomplished this with quotes about love, and also with patterns and embellishments that are about being home for the holidays and the togetherness and community and love that comes with that.

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“Making Christmas” is inspired by Christmas Town in the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas and also by the human neighborhoods that Jack visits on Christmas Eve. The Christmas Town that Jack visits in the movie is filled with magic and wonder and bustling with warmth and the joyous spirit of the season! And as Jack says, there is “white things in the air” and “colors everywhere”! Jack is in awe of all of it! In order to capture that feeling I chose to use these bright and bold and beautiful colors — red and green and pink and yellow and blue and mint — for this collection. And I also wanted to use lots of references to snow and images of snow and snowflakes in this collection because that is one of the things that Jack is most amazed by, and it is really such a magical thing! To that end, I also chose to do some bold black and white patterns that I think help to convey the feeling of snow.

When you look at “Making Christmas,” you can see the different details that were inspired by various things from Nightmare Before Christmas’ Christmas Town. For example, if you look at that dapper Snowman…well, he sure does look familiar, doesn’t he? Is that the Snowman that Jack pops into to hide himself in Christmas Town…is he in there right now? And that polar bear looks familiar, too…I think last time I saw it, it was carrying some cute elves around. Also, is that Christmas tree really a tree…or a portal to a little dimension known as Christmas Town? Anyways, you get the idea. All these elements were inspired by items in Christmas Town, and I think they are super cute! And I hope you like my little vintage-looking neighborhood that I created, inspired by the human towns and little mid-century modern houses that Jack visits as Sandy Claws. And I believe Santa himself is wandering around in there somewhere…

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Alright, now that we have gone over the inspiration behind the collection and also the feelings that it evokes regarding all the things that make Christmas, well…Christmas, I would like to look specifically at all the wonderful pieces that make up the collection. So first, let’s take a look at the 12x12 paper!

First, let’s look at this beautiful pattern which is called “I Can Make a Christmas Tree.” I love this one! It is super cute! In it we have lots of different fun elements of Christmas, including Santa and gingerbread cookies and candy-canes. And there are Christmas words like “joy” and “noel” in there too, which is so cool! And on the back, we have a really pretty ornament pattern that is just bright and fun. And as you can see, it is very vintage inspired as the ornaments are meant to look like vintage glass ornaments from the 50’s and 60’s.

Here we have “There’s White Things in the Air.” This one is so classic looking and elegant! I love the gorgeous red with the white snowflakes and the interlocking dots. It reminds me of some beautiful, vintage, Christmas, wrapping paper or maybe some hand-embroidered, delicate detailing on a Christmas pillow. So pretty! And on the back we have the most adorable little polar bears that you ever saw! The back pattern feels more modern, and yet, it pairs so beautifully with the more vintage pattern on the other side, and I just think that that is a great example of the whole feel of this collection which has a very “vintage meets modern” Christmas vibe to it!

And this next patterned paper is called “How Jolly!” Isn’t this just so cute?! I love the little Santa faces with the hearts! And the combination of red and pink and white is possibly my favorite color combo when decorating for Christmas-time. The pattern on the back is a lovely and super vintage-y geometric pattern in mint and green and white and it has that mid-century modern vibe that I love so much!

Next we have this patterned paper which is called “Falala.” I don’t know about you but I am loving buffalo check right now! I think over the past couple of years it has really become a Holiday staple in terms of decor and clothing, and so you know I needed to have it in this collection, too, so that we could papercraft with it! And on the back is a really cool black and white typography kind of pattern with words like “falala” and “snow” and “christmas” on it, along with some really pretty and delicate snowflakes.

Here we have one of my absolute favorite 12x12 patterned papers in the collection, and it is called “Snowman Jack.” I just absolutely love this snowman! I love how adorable and dapper he is with his top-hat and his candy cane umbrella! And on the back we have a simple, but oh so very pretty, pink pattern with little Christmas trees on it. I love that too!

This next one, called “Home for the Holidays,” is also one of my favorites from this collection, and I think perhaps one of my all time faves ever! I think it came out so beautifully with the little vintage houses in the different colors of the collection! And they are all sitting in the snow with snow falling from above and little pines trees dotted around them. There is snow on some of the rooftops…and on the ground, walking here and there, are these cute little holiday-clad residents of the neighborhood. They are celebrating the season with presents in their hands, and they are dressed in their Christmas best and its just so cute! I love the little deer that are walking around too and the 57 Chevy that is parked outside the most beautiful Christmas house that you have ever seen! It is definitely the jewel of the street and I think maybe it is Santa’s favorite too because he seems to be wandering around right outside of it! Oh and there is that Dapper Snowman again… :-) The whole thing makes me smile! And on the back is a really gorgeous Christmas floral pattern that I also love!

This one is called “Making Christmas,” and it is also a favorite of mine. I hope you will love it, too! This pattern has a mix of elements, words, and images that I think really make Christmas, well…Christmasy! It has Santa and holly and mittens and a Christmas tree and deer and ornaments and snowflakes and gingerbread and so much more! And it has words of the season as well, like “snow” and “joy” and “tree” and “magical”! What I especially love are the little hearts dotted around here and there and the little house and the words “home for the holidays” which I think convey the most important part of Christmas, which is all about love and spending time at home with the people that are most important to you and who make Christmas the joyous and magical experience that it is! Turn the patterned paper over and we have a super sweet peppermint pattern that I also love the look of because of it’s simple prettiness!

And now we come to the cut-apart sheets. The first cut-apart sheet is called “Merry.” And there is so much about this that is just so awesome! I love all the 3x4 cards on this sheet, especially that pink “merry Christmas” one and also the little girl one that says “merry” on it! I also love that little polar bear piece and the great 2x2’s and the little house card at the bottom that says “home for the holidays” and also the tags…and well, all of it! And on the back we have a black and white pattern paper that is meant to be a kind of modern take on snow falling. And it is also way cute!

This next cut-apart is all 3x4 cards and it is called “Jingle All the Way.” Again, I love it all! I think the cards with the little words typed or in script on them are just so cute and remind me of those vintage flash cards that kids used to learn words back in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. And the big tags are awesome as well! And on the back we have a great and versatile red and white zig-zag pattern that feels very modern and fresh.

Now, let’s look at the embellishments in the collection. We of course did our signature ephemera pack. I know you guys love them and I do too! This pack for “Making Christmas” is especially adorable! I love the little houses and all the people in their holiday attire! I love the gingerbread man and the deer and the peppermints and Santa Claus…I love all of it!!!

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Next we have our pack of flair buttons which is also a fave of mine! I think these are all so beautiful, and I don’t know if I could pick a favorite! We have the peppermint and the snowflake and the heart and Santa and merry and the holly and falala! Perfect details to use to add depth to your paper project, whether its a layout or a card or a decorative piece. And these would also be cute to make into little paperclips for a planner or a mini-album!

This is also one of my favorite embellishments in the collection and it is the Variety Pack. It is similar to an ephemera pack, but unlike an ephemera pack their are special goodies inside that are not cardstock ephemera pieces. So in this one we have some metallic-foiled pieces as well and also some vellum pieces and there are also lots of words in here that are just perfect to use on your projects! This is also one of our biggest sellers in our collections and I can see why. This one for “Making Christmas” especially came out so cute! I love the “lights” word piece with the string of Christmas lights around it, and I love the metallic pieces like the ornaments and the words “joy” and “winter”, and I love the little vellum gingerbread man, and I love all the little snowflakes that come in this pack! I filled this pack with so many different kinds of snowflakes, you are going to love it!

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And here is our pack of Acrylic Pieces that comes in the collection. I loved doing acrylic embellishments for the last kit, “Trick or Treat,” and I really wanted to do them again for “Making Christmas.” I think these came out incredible, and I can’t wait for you to see them in person. I especially love the “falala” script word, and the cute little tree, and the gingerbread man…and the number 25, and the star, and the snowflake…oh, and the heart…oops, I think I just named all of them! They are really cute, though. You will love them all.

Next up is our specialty paper - an advent calendar page. It’s called “Countdown to Christmas.” You can use it as is, or you can cut it apart and make your own advent calendar out of it, or you can use it for something else entirely, like a holiday mini album, perhaps, or a fun layout. There are so many options, and I’ve included with the calendar a pack of Christmas sequins that you can use with your advent calendar or however you would like.

This next embellishment is our sticker sheet. I love these stickers! They are so adorable and versatile. I think my favorite might be the winter wonderland one with the snowman face, or perhaps the making Christmas one, or the one that says wonderful, or the cookies gingerbread man, or…oh no, I can’t decide again, they’re all way too cute!

Now let’s take a look at the planner pages that come in the “Making Christmas” collection. They come in two sizes, a 6x8 size and a 4x7 size. And these are all so beautiful and special! And as per usual, I included a Calendar one that came out so lovely and which would look adorable in your planner or as a page in your Christmas mini album, to document your holiday season. And what I love so much about our planner pages is that they can actually be used for so many different things — from planning to scrapbooking and beyond. They can be used as pages in a mini album, or you could frame them and hang them on the wall, or you could even use them to make large specialty cards for your loved ones. Anyways, now that I have mentioned some various things you can do with these beauties, let’s go ahead and take a look at them individually.

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Here we have our cute little Santa page and he is definitely a favorite! I love his rosy cheeks and his big, bright eyes, and his sweet mittens and boots! He is so jolly! And on the back of the page, we have a “Dear Santa” letter journaling page that would be great to write out your letter/wishlist to Santa, or to thank him for your gifts this year, or even to use as a background for a little layout.

Next we have our Snowman page. Again, I am in love with this Snowman…I mean, look at that face!!! And the snowflakes falling down around him are just so pretty. On the back of the page is a lovely holiday quote that talks about what I think is on all our wishlists for Christmas this year — fun and laughter and love!

Here is a little deer that is too cute for words! I love the vintage look of the deer on this page, and how sweet it is, staring in wonder at those snowflakes! And on the back is a set of ornaments that would look great on any Christmas tree!

Next up is another holiday quote page. I love this quote! I really do believe that Christmas magic is made with love and comes from the heart! On the back of the page is a neighborhood of Christmas wonder and celebration! So adorable and beautiful! I just love it!

This next page is definitely one of my favorites! It has the cutest little girl on it! She is in her Christmas/winter finest and she looks so pretty! I love her mittens and her earmuffs and her big, bright smile! And I think she may be carrying a present just for you! :-) Oh, and on the back is a gorgeous Christmas tree that has all the trimmings!

And finally we have this beautiful Merry Christmas page with the Calendar on the back, and this is also definitely one of my favorites! I love the red Christmas house and the little people out front, dressed up in their Holiday clothes. It feels like a magical Christmas party is about to begin inside that house and I just wish that I was invited!

Alright, that is it for our “Making Christmas” collection. I love it all so much, I think it came out beautiful and I really hope that all of you think so too! This collection already got sent out to our Subscribers and is also available now for order to anyone else who would like to purchase it. Click here to order.

On a final note, I do want to apologize that this collection came out so late this season, and to thank everyone for their patience and understanding and support right now. I have taken a turn for the worse with regards to my CRPS. It has definitely spread more and so my body is more painful now than anything else. This year has been extra hard for me with my health and also with other personal and family matters (such as my father’s diagnosis of cancer). And really because of my health and the difficulty I have had with the mobility of my hands, the release of this collection and the kits was definitely behind to begin with and then unfortunately on top of that we had some manufacturing delays that were not in our control and so we had to wait on some of the product and even re-order some of the product from one of our manufacturers when it came with large streaks across the front…oh boy! That was not fun! I am sorry for the delay, and I hope that you love “Making Christmas” and feel that it was worth the wait. I hope that you get it and it feels like a truly magical Christmas gift that you get to play with! Please do keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I am hoping things will turn around soon. I am starting on some new medication soon that my doctor wants to try out and a new, holistic treatment plan so I have lots of hope that next year will be better! I have spent most of my days in bed for the holidays in so much pain, and I am really just wishing and hoping and praying for a few good days at the end of this month so that I can have some fun with my friends and family for Christmas. I would also love to decorate or at least get up the Christmas tree…we will see. Either way, I have the love of my incredible husband and partner, Ryan, helping me through all this and the love of my family and friends. And love is really the reason for the season and what truly makes Christmas what it is, so I will be alright. Hugs to you all and thank you again!

— Andrea (owner/founder/creator/designer of The Fairytale Club)

"Making Christmas" | New Collection Sneak Peek!!!

Hello Everyone! I have a special Holiday gift for you today...a look at our newest collection here at The Fairytale Club!!! Yaaaaay! I am so very excited to share with you all "Making Christmas," a really beautiful and magical collection that is just filled with wonder and is perfect for the Holiday season! This collection has all your favorite Christmas goodies in it -- candy canes, Santa, a cute little deer, a special kind of Snowman, a beautifully decorated tree, and more! And there is even an adorable snow-covered neighborhood with cute little houses! The inhabitants of the town are also super adorable and dressed in their Christmas best! The color scheme for "Making Christmas" is the traditional red and green but with some fabulous pinks and aquas and mints and even a pop of yellow! Together, it creates a magical winter-wonderland kind of look that is exciting and awesome and fun! I can't wait for you all to start creating with this collection, which is all about making Christmas magical...with the decorations that you put up, and the traditions that you do, and the people that you spend Christmas-time with! "Making Christmas" is inspired by both the magical Christmas Town and also the Christmas-decorated human neighborhoods in The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is also inspired by all the lovely things about Christmas that make the holiday special! Anyhow, I hope you find "Making Christmas" as incredible and magical and wondrous as I do, and that it helps to remind you of all that is beautiful about this time of year!

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On another less wondrous and beautiful note, I would like to share that I have not been doing well. I know some of you are probably wondering about me - why haven’t I really been on social media (at all) for a long time now, and why is the new collection coming out now and not at the end of November, as originally intended? To answer honestly…it has been a truly horrible year. My health is very bad right now. My CRPS has spread and gotten worse and so I am trying to deal with that. My husband, Ryan, who as you know is my partner here at The Fairytale Club, has been so incredible, helping me out so much with both the business and with taking care of me and supporting me through this difficult time. I am so blessed to have him! I want to say thank you all for your support and understanding and patience! I really appreciate it more than I can even tell you! I am going to be starting some new treatments soon that will hopefully help...so we will have to wait and see. I really just wish for this Christmas that I will get better and that next year will be easier for me. Hugs to you all this Holiday season! May your Christmas be filled with magic and much joy! Oh, and please stay tuned for the full reveal coming soon!

-- Andrea Bethke Founder/Creator/Designer/Owner of The Fairytale Club

"Trick or Treat" Collection Full Reveal!!!

Hello everyone! I am oh so very excited today because it is a) my favorite time of year and b) we have a brand new and amazing collection to share with you in celebration of this month, October, my favorite time of year!!! Eeeeek!!! Yes, it is Halloween-time, so everybody scream, because it is time, it is time, it is time for Halloween! And for Halloween this year, The Fairytale Club is proud to present our newest collection, "Trick or Treat"!!!! I could not be more thrilled and spooktacularly chilled (but in a good way) about how this new collection turned out!

I have so many things I want to say about this collection, but first, if you’d like to just go ahead and subscribe or make a one-time purchase, please click here. Ok, so let's start with the inspiration for "Trick or Treat". If you saw the Sneak Peek post yesterday, you heard a little already about the inspiration for the collection, but let's talk about it a little bit more here. So, I think those who know me, know how much I absolutely looooove Halloween, and those who are new here have probably gleaned as much from the first sentence in this blog post...lol! However, I don't know if any of you know just how much I love director Tim Burton. He is actually my favorite director! Which makes so much sense really because we seem to have a lot of the same taste in things. He loves Disney and so do I...he loves spooky and so do I...he loves vintage, 50's/60's style and so do I...he loves victorian/gothic and so do I...he loves Halloween and Christmas and so do I...he loves a good fairytale and magic and imagination and wonder and so do I...honestly, this is a man who gets me! "Trick or Treat" is inspired by my love of all things Tim Burton! I was particularly inspired by some of my favorite Burton fairytales like Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland and more! I think you will find the collection has a very Burton-esque, spooky feel while still having my whimsical vibe and also being very modern yet vintage and also very cute and charming, and fun! It's all quite magical guys...a trick and a treat, to be sure!

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Now let's talk about the color scheme for "Trick or Treat". I love the color pallete for this collection. It consists of classic and more traditional Halloween colors like orange, black, and purple, but it also has some more modern and non-traditional colors thrown in there like some fun pinks and teals! I gave the collection a very bright and fun vibe with the vibrant and crisp colors and rainbow-like effects on things like the spiderweb pattern...but I also wanted to maintain that dark and creepy, Tim Burton inspired feel, so I also added in a few charcoally blacks here and there too, along with the blacker blacks and the bright colors, just to make sure you still got that eerie, vintage Halloween vibe! The combo of the various blacks and the traditional Halloween colors along with the bright and more modern, vibrant colors is meant to create a kind of contrast between the light and bright and the dark and creepy -- kind of like how Tim Burton does in his classic films like Edward Scissor Hands. In the movie, and in many of Burton's films, you have the juxtaposition of the brighter and happier and the darker and drearier. This is probably best shown in Edward Scissor Hands in the contrast between the little mid-century modern town with all the cute little 50's/60's houses and the hill at the edge of town with the big, dark Gothic Mansion that Edward lives in by himself. This was a major inspiration for one of the patterned papers in the collection...which we will talk about in just a moment. In fact, let's go ahead and start looking over the patterns in this collection. There are so many cute ones and I am so excited to share them with you!

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First, let's look at this one below! This is called "Trick or Treat", just like the collection, and as you can see, it is the cutest thing EVER!!! I love this pattern so darn much! It actually says "trick or treat" up in one corner of the page, and "happy halloween" down in the other corner and is inspired by a vintage halloween card that I saw with little houses on it and little trick-or-treaters that I just thought was super cute! I wanted to re-create that same kind of aesthetic here. And I was also really inspired by the movie Edward Scissorhands, in which there is a small suburban town with cute little vintage houses painted in pretty colors like pinks and blues....but there is also a creepy, haunted looking house up on a hill that is very different from the others...and so I wanted that same kind of look and feel on this pattern. I decided to add a few special "easter eggs" here and there hidden in the pattern...can you find them amongst the regular trick-or-treaters?

On the back of the page is a great modern/boho looking, aztec black and white triangle, geometric pattern which I love and which is perfect for a background pattern.

Next, we have a pattern called "I am the Pumpkin Queen!" It is a multi-colored extravaganza and I love it! It has all the good things that make up this spooktacular collection at a glance! It has our strange and unusual, creepy goth girl, a cute ghost puppy, a boogey guy, a skeleton man, some candy, a black cat, some bats, some pumpkin spiced latte, and so much more! So very Burton inspired and I absolutely love it!

And on the back there is a rainbow spiderweb that is positively to dye for! Lol!

Here we have "Recently Deceased", which is a pattern inspired by Beetlejuice. I love the part in the movie where Wynona sees the ghosts and she says, as Lydia, of course, "No feet?", when she is looking at the Polaroid picture that she has taken. I also really love the Handbook for The Recently Deceased. Anyhow, here is my take on the two recently deceased, "sheet ghosts".

And on the back we have some fabulous multicolor stars and dots. They remind me of sprinkles! Like yummy Halloween sprinkles, on a yummy Halloween cupcake!

Next is our pattern, "What a Lovely Nightmare", which is inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas and is in a word, ridiculously adorable!!! I super, duper love the ghost puppy and the skeleton heads and the candy! Super sweet for sure! Absolutely love this pattern!

And on the other side there is a simple but fantastic orange and white geometric pattern.

And next is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", inspired by Sleepy Hollow. I love the Disney classic as well as Burton's version. And the headless horsemen, with his pumpkin for a head is definitely a fave icon of mine. Subsequently, I just had to make a pumpkin head pattern like this one! They look like they are being tossed around by the headless horseman himself!

And on the back is a creepy and cute black and white zig-zag pattern that I just love! Simple and versatile!

Here is our "I can Take Off My Head" Pattern which is inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas and a certain Skeleton man who is King. I just love him! His bowtie, his eyes, that smile, and his blushing cheeks...oh, wow...I think we are simply meant to be, don't you?!

And on the back we have a truly amazing swirly and twirly and crazy and curvy pattern that is very Burton inspired. It in fact is inspired by many different Tim Burton classics as it appears in several different Burton movies, such as Nightmare, but also Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Alice in Wonderland, and more. It usually appears in black and white, but here I have decided to do the pattern in a sort of monochromatic teal on teal and I think it came out super cute!

Next is "Only 31 Days 'til Next Halloween" and it is a super cool calendar that you can either use as one piece or cut-apart if you wish to do so! Perfect for an October Daily!

And on the back is great black and white scallop!

And here we have "Strange and Unusual" which is a cut-apart page and it has a number of different pieces that you can cut out from here...from 3x4 to 2x2...tags and also labels! It is so cute and filled with goodies! I especially love the haunted house piece at the bottom! I love the creepy black and white 2x2 worm monster that is also a lil bit cute and says boo! And I love the goth girl 3x4 card who is holding her book for the dead!

And on the other side of the page, we have a classic black and white Burton inspired stripe. So spoooooooky!

The next and last we have a page that is named "Hey, Ghoul, Hey" and it is a cute 3x4 cut-apart sheet that has lots of great pieces like one card with a ghost on it that says "hey, ghoul, hey", and a fun polaroid of two ghosts that says "no feet?!"

And on the back is a great pink and purple kitty-cat pattern that is inspired by Catwoman and Selena Kyle's neon sign in Batman Returns! Love that movie!

Alright, now let's talk about the embellishments in the collection. There are so many amazing embellishments in the collection. As per usual, one of my favorite embellishments, is of course, our ephemera pack! And I know you guys love our ephemera packs too, which makes me so happy! Anyhow, this one is particularly adorable! We have lots of cute goodies in here, like our little Haunted House and a few of our other cute little trick-or-treating houses and our trick-or-treaters too of course! I love the little polaroid with the haunted house on it too! And I love the little ghost puppy and the cute and creepy boogy-guy! And the happy and scary pumpkins are adorable! The skeleton man is handsome, albeit quite gangly. He is sweet and silly...and is he blushing?! I think he may be a bit awkward! :-) He may have been a little inspired by my own tall and skinny husband who is sweet and silly and awkward and prone to blushing! I also really love my strange and unusual and oh so lovely and creepy goth girl! She is so pretty with her teal hair and her fabulous hat and her giant eyes!

Ephemera Pack

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Okay, our next embellishment is our flair buttons. I love these! They really add so much charm to your project. I especially like to use them to make decorative paperclips out of to add to your planner or mini-album...perfect for an Oct. Daily! In this flair button set, we have seven buttons. I think my favorites are the two multi-colored words ones, that say "eek!" and "boo!", but I also really love the pumpkin one and the ghost puppy!

The next embellishment is our sticker pack. These stickers are adorable!! I just love how these turned out! I Love the "A Haunted Home is A Happy Home" sticker, and also the little word bubble ones, the cute little colorful cats, the "strange and unusual is kind of my thing sticker" and well...all of them, really! So, so cute...can't wait to hear which ones are your favorites! And to see how you use them!

Sticker SHeet

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Next, we have something that is still relatively new here at The Fairytale Club, and that is our Variety Pack. I love our Variety Packs that we have done for the past few collections! And it seems like you guys are loving them too! They are basically very similar to our ephemera packs, but with much more! They include a lot of the classic cardstock ephemera pieces that you love, but there are a ton of other goodies too. And with this variety pack, in addition to doing some really awesome and colorful, cardstock word pieces, we also decided to do some cool metallic pieces (which this will only be our second time doing silver metallic pieces like this, which is so exciting)! And...brand new...for the first time, ever...we we are doing transparency pieces in our variety pack!!! And they are so, so adorable! I am so excited for you guys to get them and see them, they are amazing! I love them! I think my favorite pieces in the pack are the script words that say things like "magic" and "haunted house", the silver "Pumpkin Queen" piece and basically all of the transparency pieces, especially the ghost polaroid and the haunted house picture and the little bats and ghosts...oh and the big Halloween word!!! There is so much good stuff in this pack guys, I can't wait for you to see!

Variety Pack

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Okay, and last, but not least, we have the newest and coolest embellishment in our "Trick or Treat" collection...something that we have never done before and which I am so very excited about! For this collection, we decided to do a specialty acrylic embellishment pack! And these pieces could not be cuter if they tried! They are amazing and so spooktacular guys!!! I love, love, love them!!! In the pack, you get a couple of words that say "trick" and "treat", you get some little bats, some hearts, some other little shapes like a moon, star, a ghost...it's all so adorable! They come in different colors like black and teal and white and even silver glitter and they will just knock you over with their spooky-cute-goodness!!! I can't wait to see what you guys do with them, I think they are going to be perfect to create so many different things with for Halloween-time...especially for an October Daily!

Acrylic Embellishments

Oh, and I also want to mention one more goody, that comes in the planner kit and the Happily Ever After Kit, and that is the vellum sheet. It is covered with those creepy and sweet swirls that are so very Burton-inspired and I just love it! Perfect to make a dashboard out of in your planner or to use for snail mail, to make a little see-through envelope. You could use it in your Halloween mini-album or your Oct.Daily to make a pocket page. Great for so many things!

Now, let's look at the planner pages in the collection. There are 6 beautiful planner pages in the collection this time. This is a little different than usual, but it is because you are getting the specialty vellum page included in the planner kit...so it still all evens out, so no worries!

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The first planner page is the cute little Haunted House planner page. I love it! I know I have said that already so many times in this post, but it is true, I really do! I just love this little Haunted House! So, so adorable and spooky and so very haunted, clearly! It has a couple of ghosts just floating about outside, some very creepy cobwebs, a gnarly old tree, some bats which are probably actually vampires and some way cute pumpkins out in front...and it has some stars and a moon overhead that you just know any second will be passed by a witch on a broom-stick. Also, just look at that Victorian Architecture...wow! I would move into this house if I could, it is the house of my dreams! On the other side of the planner page is a fantastic calendar page in pink that says "happy halloween" on it.

The next planner page is a sweet little ghost puppy! Isn't she lovely! Puppy is blushing and happy and ready to play...and would totally wag their little tail if they still had one! On the other side is a very cute and happy pumpkin that says boo!

Our next planer page is my handsome and sweet skeleton man! He is blushing and silly and fun! And I love his smile and his bowtie! On the other side is a cool quote about it being time for Halloween!

The next page is a cute little block of houses to trick or treat on! On the street we have our trick-or-treaters as well and aren't they adorable in their costumes! I love the little witch and the little princess especially! And on the other side of the planner page is a simple but useful little pink ledger page to write out your spooky wishlist!

Here we have a planner page with a very strange and unusual, but beautiful and creepy goth girl on it! She is so wonderful and spooky! And look at those giant, wide eyes! They see you! And they see dead people too! On the other side there is a scary pumpkin that says eek!

And finally we have our planner page with the boogey guy on it! He is quite scary! Actually...no, I think he is very cute really! He just wants to be your friend, honest! Don't mind the spider hanging from his head...it's not his fault, they just seem to be drawn to him. And on the other side of the page is a quote about Halloween being a lifestyle, and not just a holiday. Which is how I feel!

Alright, I hope you have enjoyed this full reveal! I have enjoyed sharing "Trick or Treat" with you all! Please click here to subscribe or to make your one-time purchase! Remember, you can purchase a planner kit of the collection, a scrapbook kit of the collection, or our Happily Ever After kit...which includes absolutely everything in the collection! Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Huuuugs!

Andrea Bethke

"Trick or Treat" ::: New Collection Sneak Peek!!!

Hello there everyone! Sorry for the delay, but I have a special Halloween-time surprise for you on this dark and spooky October 1st night, and it is this...it's our newest collection!!! Yaaaay! The collection is called "Trick or Treat"! And it is such a Treat for sure! You are absolutely going to love all of the spooktacular goodness! It is so cute and amazing, and I can't wait for you all to get it! I was so inspired this year by my favorite director, Tim Burton, and some of my fave magical fairytale movies by him, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas (of course), Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and more... Anyhow, the collection sneak peek is here and the full reveal is tomorrow! And we did just get everything in from the manufacturers today so kits will be packed up tomorrow and shipped out to you guys yaaaaaaay!!! I also want to just say that I thank you guys for your patience with me on this! It really has been such a tough year with my CRPS condition, and for so many other reasons, too...but I'm finally here at my favorite time of year, and I finally have this beautiful Halloween collection to show you! Those who are subscribed will be getting theirs very soon, and if you are not yet subscribed, you may do so right now here, or you can make a one time purchase of this kit, starting tomorrow, or as soon as I can update the website! Ok, Happy Halloween Everyone! Trick or Treat!!!

Oct Daily Journal Bag Insert with Carrie

Hello Everybody. Carrie here with an insert for my October Daily album using the I’m In Wonderland Kit along with some Halloween treat bags from Target.

I have a few different treat style bags and always enjoy when I’m able to add them into my scrapbooks. When I saw these Halloween treat bags at Target this year I was hoping I’d find a way to add them into my October Daily. It just so happens that the small planner pages will fit inside the bag if you trim the width ever so slightly. So I picked out the small planner page with the yellow notebook paper design and placed it inside my bag. This is where I’ll add some journaling to go with the adjoining photos. I”ll probably also add a photo to cover the whole back as well.

Next, I knew I wanted to use the silver glitter aphas from the kit, so I added “OCT” directly onto the front of the bag. I also found the vellum “happy” and vellum red heart from the ephemera packs and layered them using glue dots with the glitter alphas.

To embellish the little ghost on the front of my bag, I tried a few different die cuts from the ephemera pack (which all looked super cute), and ultimately decided on the Mad Hatter hat. For a little extra embellishment I layered the “Eat Me” flair towards the top of the die cut. I used glue dots again to attach both to the bag. To finish off the bag I placed some different colored rhinestones and puffy candy corn stickers from my stash.

On the opposite page I placed a 3x4 card from one of the cut apart sheets and added a sliver glitter heart from the alphas to the center. Next, I used yellow embroidery thread and sewed around the yellow arrow on the card. The photos on this page are from last year, and just serving as place holders until I add photos from this October. Adding in this 3x4 card now should help me tie in and use the bag insert later.

For the same reason I also added the black and white heart with blue color block paper from the kit and cut it down to 6x12. Adding it in behind the bag helps tie it all together too. I may end up doing a layout on this paper or just adding a number for the day. To coordinate with the embroidery thread on the opposite page I also added in some blue thread along the line where the blue meets the white and black hearts…..and that’s it for this project for now.

Thanks for taking a look and I’ll see you next time : ) Carrie