On a Blustery Day…

This week at Create with Connie and Mary there is a fantastic theme challenge to round out the holiday season – Let it Snow.

For my creation this week I thought I’d share something I made for my holiday decor, a wonderful canvas project.

First, I started with a flat canvas that was white. I cut out some snowflakes with my Big Shot and the Snowflakes #2 die using some bulk Decor Element sheets. I then adhered to the canvas.

After that, I took a mixture of Champagne Mist shimmer paint and Baja Breeze Reinker. I painted the canvas all over except for the very bottom. I masked it out so it would look like  snowbank. After all the painting was done, I used some sponges and my Not Quite Navy ink and sponged around the outer edge.

Next, I adhered the Dasher Decor Element. Being that this was on a textured surface, it was hard to adhere so after it was all on I painted it with some Modge Podge to make sure it’d stay put.

Lastly, I added some Basic Rhinestones and with my Tombow added a bead of glue and some Dazzling Diamonds on the top of the snowbank and under the feet of Dasher.

This was a super fun project to make and I got rave reviews over the holiday season!

Let’s see what you all come up with for this challenge – head on over to Create with Connie and Mary and join us!

Products used on this project:

Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Baja Breeze Reinker, Not Quite Navy ink, Stampin’ Sponges, Sizzix Big Shot, Snowflakes #2 die, Bulk Decor Element sheets, Tombow Multi Adhesive, Dazzling Diamonds, Basic Rhinestones, Dasher Decor Element (retired).

Floating on Air

Each week at Create with Connie and Mary, there are fantastic challenges. This week is no exception – a great sketch!

For the colour combination this week, I am using one of the combos that I had on my desk. Whenever I get inspired by colour, I put the combo together in a little pile and wait for that one particular project that’d work for it. This was it.

The base of this project is Marina Mist and I layered it with some Basic Gray cardstock that was textured with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.

Next, I added some 1 1/4″ Marina Mist striped ribbon. I cut it in half and used half for the horizontal piece and the other half to tie the bow.

The air balloon from Sweet Centres is layered on a piece of Garden Green. The basket was stamped in Early Espresso and cut out and added with a dimensional and the large 1 3/4″ circle was punched with some Playdate Designer paper and backed with Real Red. I used my Heart to Heart punch and punched out a small heart in Marina Mist. I then adhered a Bitty Button tied with linen thread over top.

I then hand cut some clouds out of Whisper White cardstock that was sponged with Marina Mist ink. At the end, I decided that I wanted to have a little tag so I first punched out a Decorative Label and then stamped ‘love” from Tiny Tags in Garden Green. I then punched it out with the Medium Jewelry tag punch making sure I had the little swirl detail on the bottom. I then backed it with a Real Red Medium Jewelry Tag Punch.

Now that you’ve seen my take on the sketch, head on over to Create with Connie and Mary and play along! 

Products used on this project:

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green.

Ink: Marina Mist, Garden Green, Early Espresso.

Stamps: Sweet Centers, Tiny Tags.

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 1 3/4″ circle punch, Medium Jewelry Tag punch, Decorative Label punch, Heart to Heart punch, linen thread, Bitty Buttons, White Gel Pen, Marina Mist 1 1/4″ striped grosgrain

Tag-A-Longs Instructions

Thanks so much for all your extremely kind comments about the Tag-A-Longs set. It was very much fun to make and I hope you have fun making it too! So, I put together a little PDF with instructions and sizes. I’d love to know if you find it easy-to-follow because now that I know what I’m doing I could do a few more of these!

Just click on the schematic picture to get your very own copy of the PDF.

And, thank you again for asking!

Tag-A-Longs

This past weekend we had a family shindig to attend so I decided that I wanted to make something for the hostess. You know me, I always decide these sorts of things at the last minute. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine or a poinsettia, I decided that a package of handmade tags would be perfect. Well, you can’t just put tags in a little bag, you gotta make it special!

I went with a colour combo of Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive. I used the ornament stamp from Contempo Christmas on the front and added a little bow of Linen thread and a couple of Basic Rhinestones.

Inside, I made two different types of tags (12 in total, 6 of each kind). I put each kind in it’s own pocket and added some linen thread.

This picture above shows how the inside looks as well as the two different tag styles I made. To finish it all off, I just tied it shut with a piece of Deck the Halls designer fabric.

I’m just working on a little schematic on how I made this cute project and I hope to have it up very soon!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Products used on this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White.

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive.

Stamps: Contempo Christmas, Delightful Decorations.

Accessories: small oval punch, ornament punch, scallop edge punch, 1/2″ circle punch, linen thread, sticky strip, basic rhinestones, Deck the Halls Designer Fabric.

Festive Ornaments

Sometimes I am shocked that I didn’t get the Ornament punch sooner – I waited a whole year thinking I could do without it. What was I thinking?

This card uses a colour combination that is a bit different for me: More Mustard, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede. The size of this card is 5″ x 5″.

What to say, I think it’s pretty self explanatory, really but let’s touch on a few special points.

The Cherry Cobbler layer is embossed with the Elegant Lines embossing folder and sponged with Early Espresso. I punched the ornament out and backed it with Soft Suede designer paper. Then, when I was blog-surfing, I realized that Stampin’ Royalty were doing a “bling” challenge so I added a couple of buttons and bling to the ornament and also to the ruffled Early Espresso 5/8″ Grograin ribbon.

I stamped the sentiment from All Holidays in Early Espresso and added a very narrow strip of Early Espresso as the ornament hanger.

Thanks for stopping by and have a very happy day!

Products used on this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Cardstock: More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Soft Suede.

Ink: Early Espresso.

Stamps: All Holidays.

Accessories: Big Shot, Elegant Lines embossing folder, Ornament punch, 5/8″ Early Espresso grosgrain, Basic Rhinestones, Neutrals buttons, 1/8″ Early Espresso taffeta.

Inkspirations Blog Tour

Wasn’t Brandi’s project to die for? She always does such great stuff! Well, people, today is the day! Time to tour around and see some amazing gift projects! Make sure you check out the Inkspirations Challenge Blog for all the details but here they are for you so you can get started touring right away! Here is what I created for this blog hop. I really hope you like it!

My neighbour just opened a little cafe and had a whole bunch of glass trivets so she brought them over to me use as she knew I could come up with something. So, I took 5 of them and hot glued them together into a square. I then cut out some raw Decor Element vinyl with various snowflake sizes and also some lettering from the Join in the Cheer Sizzlet. Inside, I have three candles of various heights.

Around the bottom I added some striped 1 1/4″ grosgrain and a button. This project was not hard to make but when lit up and surrounded by pine boughs can fancy-up any table this holiday season.

I took this over to my neighbour for her holiday decor and it was very well received. Now I get to make another just for me!

So now that you’ve visited me, it’s time to visit our next stop, Helen.

If you want the whole line up for the tour, just head on over to the Inkspirations Blog to start from the beginning. Make sure you leave some love for the participants!

It’s all Snow and Rhinestones

This week at Create with Connie and Mary, there is a wonderful inspiration piece to work off of. I decided to make a 3D project instead of a card this week so I hope you like what I’ve created. First, here is the inspiration piece:

So, what I did to start is cut my base. This is a 4 1/2″ x 11″ piece of Basic Gray. I scored it at 1/2″, 1 1/2″, 3″, 4″, 7 1/4″ and 8 1/4″. To decorate, I first added a layer of Whisper White and on that I added a piece of Marina Mist which was run through my Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots folder. I sponged the edges and punched a wide oval in the centre. I added it on with silver brads. On the inside, I added a little tag that you pull out by the ribbons.

As you can see, this tag is also stamped – I used Sweet Season and Every Little Bit and, of course, I added a little bling to the centre. Now for the inside:

I added a stamped background piece and a snowflake in textured Whisper White cardstock from the Merry Details sizzlet. The sentiment is from Four the Holidays and is stamped in Basic Gray. I used my 3/4″ circle punch three times and added a trio of little chocolate bars. The half scallop in the centre is there to cover up a magnet which is how I keep this super cute box closed.

I also made another one of these in Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Very Vanilla but I gave it away before taking a photo!

So, head on over to Create with Connie and Mary and try your hand at this great inspiration!

Products used on this project:

Cardstock: Basic Gray, Marina Mist, Whisper White.

Ink: Basic Gray, Marina Mist.

Stamps: Every Little Bit, Sweet Season, Four the Holidays.

Accessories: 3/4″ circle punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dot folder, wide oval punch, silver brads, basic rhinestones, Clear Rhinestone brads, Merry Details sizzlet, scallop edge punch.

So much to do, so little time!

That really is what most of us are saying these days, isn’t it? It is such a busy time and there are just to many things we have to do. So why not keep ourselves organized just a bit?

I recently held a class where participants made these super cute boards. They had various colour options in solid cardstock and various designer series papers. Each person used some ribbon and different embellishments to personalize them and then made some magnets to match. Most made them as gifts for others and maybe one for themselves.

For this board, I used Very Vanilla cardstock and some Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper. I rounded the edges to match the boards that I used.

Down the centre seam, I added some 1 3/4″ circles that I punched out of Newsprint designer series paper. I sprayed them with water and crumpled them up a bit. I added some Basic Black satin ribbon down the centre and then an Antique Brad.

Lastly, I added some Soft Suede letters cut with the Big Shot using the Simple Alphabet. To dress it up just  little bit more, I added a few Basic Black Flourish Jewels.

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget that sometimes the best gifts are homemade!

Products used on this project - CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla.

Accessories: Big Shot, Elegant Soiree DSP, Newsprint DSP, Basic Black Flourish Jewels, Antique Brads, Big Shot, Simple Alphabet Die, Black Satin ribbon, 1 3/4″ circle punch, corner rounder punch.

Let’s be Holly and Jolly

For a class this past week, this was one of the cards we did. I just loved it. I was originally inspired by a Circus Circus card I’d seen on Stampin’ Connection (it’s kinda like Facebook for Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators) but wanted to make this design work for the holidays.

The base is simply Whisper White and I made another large panel of Whisper White. On that, I stamped an ornament from Delightful Decorations in Not Quite Navy. Now, I have to say – you MUST use a Stamp-a-ma-Jig for this. It is really the only way to work this out just perfectly.

Below that I have a piece of Presto Patterns Designer Series paper on which I rubbed my Baja Breeze ink. Just under that layer, I’ve added a strip of Early Espresso cardstock which I punched with my Scallop Edge punch.

To finish off, I used some 5/8″ Early Espresso grosgrain and made a super fun bow. All I did was add a strip all around the seam between the designer paper and the Whisper White layer. Then, I added another flat strip which I cut in on either end and lastly a loop. I then pierced through the entire lot of ribbon, added a small snowflake (from the Merry Details Sizzlet) and a clear Rhinestone brad.

For the sentiment, I used my Baja Breeze ink and a saying from Bright Christmas. I have really enjoyed using this set – remember, you only have a few more weeks to order it as the Holiday Mini ordering period will end January 3, 2011!

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your patience in my lack of posting of late – this has been a crazy few weeks!

Products used on this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Cardstock: Whisper White, Early Espresso.

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze.

Stamps: Bright Christmas, Delightful Decorations.

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Clear Rhinestone brads, 5/8″ Early Espresso grosgrain, Big Shot, Merry Details Sizzlet.

Inkspirations Blog Hop – Join in the Fun!

This is going to be SO MUCH FUN! It is the Inkspirations First Blog Hop! Here are the details:

WHEN: Friday 17th December 2010

WHERE: Inkspirations Challenges Website to begin and then many other fun places along the way!

Would you like to play along?

The Blog Tour will display all sorts of 3D Christmas gift ideas, and we would love to see what you have been making this year for you all your Christmas cheer, gift and surprises.

If you would like to play along and have everyone come and see what you have been up to on your blog, please email Makeesha at rmbyl@optusnet.com.au by Monday 13th December 4pm (est) and you will add to the Blog Tour list….You will then be given a confirmation and the following link after your blog!

We can’t wait for this fun event and look forward to you joining in on all the fun!