Wednesday, December 25

His Presence

Merry Christmas!  If I offend you for saying that, I am not sorry.  You can greet me back with Happy Holidays or something else, and that's something I will respect.  Christmas is celebrated by Christians around the world, the same way as the Jews celebrate Hannukah, the Chinese with their Kung Hei Fat Choi and the Muslims have their Ramadan.  Every country, race, ethnic group, or religion have different holidays and events they celebrate in their own ways.  Celebrations that are not recognized and/or practiced by a lot of other countries, races, ethnic groups or religions.  We should just accept and respect that.

Anyway, here's the last batch of cards I made this season, using the Christmas Tree embossing folder by Darice.  I embossed on metallic cardstock, then sanded the raised image.  For final touches, I added bling.





When I saw "His Presence" single sentiment stamp from Unity, I didn't have second thoughts to get it.  And I made sure to use them in this year's Christmas cards.



Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Paper Reflections, DCWV, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Unity
ink:  Stampin' Up
tools:  Tim Holtz paper distresser, Stampin' Up, EK Success
embellishments:  bling
adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, mounting tape


Again, Merry Christmas... time to spend time with family and to reflect and be thankful for all the blessings we receive.

'Til next blog!

Tuesday, December 24

To You

Hello crafty friends!  This is going to be quick.

I've had this roll of Christmas wrapper for a few years now.  So to make it different, I used leftover stickers from a DCWV Christmas bundle to put names on gifts to be given this year.

Here are some samples:






Then for another twist, I used the wrong side of the wrapper, and doodled the message on it with markers.  See the small gift with the tag?  I saved that tag from a previous gift from a crafty friend.  It's like it was made for that small gift. (Thanks Claire!)
 



I also cut a long decorative strip with a Martha Stewart punch and adhered to the edges of the gift. 




This is a good way to use leftover stickers and materials.  This might be a regular thing with future gift giving.

One more day 'til Christmas... are you ready?!?!?

'Til next blog!

Monday, December 23

Almost Christmas

Last weekend, I finished all my holiday shopping.  I was relieved!  And that's the reason why you see a post everyday for the past few days... hee hee!

Remember the Christmas Wreaths I posted a couple of weeks ago?  Well, I still had a lot of pine cones left to play with.  I thought of making Christmas tree ornaments out of them, so I continued to apply Stickles in gold on them.  Then I thought of attaching a smaller pine cone to a bigger pine cone with the Fabri-Tac permanent adhesive.





Then I attached these eye screws on top, drilling a small hole first for easy attachment.




After that, I added bling on top of the pine cone.  I used Glue Dots first, but I switched to Glossy Inkssentials by Ranger for the bling to be more secured.






For some of the pine cones, I added ribbon as well for more variety.





And since I used silver eye screws, I used a silver string to match for a more unified look.




And since I was giving them away as little presents, I just put them in a small clear bag embellished with tags, ribbon and tinsel stems.




I enjoyed making these ornaments a lot that I'm planning on making more next year.  I have 12 months to pick pine cones around our yard.

'Til next blog!

Sunday, December 22

Ya Seen Them All

Here's something I have never done before - emboss and paint on glitter cardstock.  Because the theme of the card is about snow (Snowman Arms Up by Darice), I wanted it really glittery.  Embossing the glitter cardstock was ok, but I had to add color for it to stand out, especially the snow.  Ink pads will definitely not work.  And I didn't want to use white paint because that meant I had to use a brush, and that meant I had to wash the brush afterwards.  So I experimented and used paint markers.  The Posca by Uni in white worked great!  I did use Copics for the detailed parts, but very carefully as I didn't want to ruin them with the texture of the glitter cardstock.  I love the snowflake bling I bought from Joann's long time ago.  It was a good bunch from their dollar section.






I thought this sentiment by Unity worked well with the design.  DH thought otherwise... lol!



Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Paper Reflections, Colorbok, DCWV, Recollections
image/sentiment:  Unity
ink:  Uni, Copic, Tsukineko
tools:  Darice, Martha Stewart
embellishments:  trim, snowflake bling
adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots


This was the most glittery card I've ever made, and I love it!  'Til next blog!

Saturday, December 21

Better Not Pout

Yes, I was able to do a lot of Christmas crafting last week... but with work and the Christmas rush, just no time to do any posting.  But now I have the chance to do that, so here it is.

This card was made for just this one person.  I always want to make sure his is different from the others, hopefully make him feel extra special.  Not too many embellishments, as this card was going to be mailed.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I used Darice embossing folders for my Christmas cards this year, with this one featuring the Santa Chimney Top.  Nothing complicated with this card, just quickly colored the image with Copics.





Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Paper Reflections, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Unity
ink:  Tsukineko, Copic
tools:  Martha Stewart
misc.:  embossing powder
adhesive:  Scotch, mounting tape


I think this card turned out pretty good. 'Til next blog!

Tuesday, December 17

Elf Boots

I splurged on Darice embossing folders when I went to the Great Scrapbook Events Scrapbooking and Stamping Show in Birch Run last month.  I meant to use some of them for this year's Christmas cards.

For this batch of CAS cards, I used the Witch Boots embossing folder.  Funny thing is, I didn't even know the "name" of this embossing folder was "Witch Boots".  When I saw the embossing folder, I really thought they were Christmas-themed elf boots.  Only a couple of days ago did I realize they were originally for Halloween.  

Anyway, I used Core'dinations cardstock so the embossed areas will show better after sanding.





Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Paper Reflections, DCWV, Core'dinations, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Unity "Cheer All Year"
ink:  Stampin' Up
tools:  Darice, EK Success, Stampin' Up, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chumper, sanding block
embellishments:  buttons, rhinestones
adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, mounting tape


I was on a roll this weekend, and still am. This week's going to be really crafty!  'Til next blog!

Friday, December 13

Christmas Wreath

I ordered a couple of wreaths from the Sports Boosters in our area.  Well, I got the wreaths... but only a bow came with each one.  Good reason to do some decorating.  I wanted the wreath to look natural, so I took out pine cones I've picked from our yard long time ago.



It is recommended that you bake your pine cones before using for crafts to kill any bugs.  But since my wreaths are going to be outside, I used them au naturel.

I wanted to add gold glitter on the cones, but I just wanted this to be a quick and easy project.  So I used Stickles in Gold and applied it with a small paint brush.

Do you know my main weapon for this project?  It's this glue by Beacon.




I discovered this at the CHA Summer Show in Anaheim, CA a couple of years ago.  Almost all the companies were using this glue for their make and take projects.  And since I tried it first there, I know that this glue really sticks and can be used on almost any surface.  So now, I make sure to always have this in my stash.

The funny thing is, before I used this glue, I was drilling holes on each pine and inserting paperclips in each hole so I can attach each cone to the wreath.  Several drillings later, I remembered about the glue.  

Anyway, here's the first wreath...




I attached the original bow that came with the wreath to a bigger bow.






It was getting late, so I just randomly attached au naturel pine cones to the second wreath.  DH said he likes this one better.



 
Well, I have a 2.5 day weekend... so I'm going to enjoy that with something Christmasy.  'Til next blog!

Monday, December 9

TJ Maxx Haul

I always like to go to TJ Maxx.  Which woman doesn't?  That's a good place to find good deals with good shoes, purses, clothes, home stuff, cosmetics, and a lot more.  

But how about this... which crafter doesn't?

There is not one visit to TJ Maxx that I didn't find any crafty product.  They are always abundant with Martha Stewart, American Girl, Jolee's Boutique, K&Co., among others.  A good number of my MS punches are from TJ Maxx, which I got way cheaper than any other place after using a coupon.  Here's a great example. Just this Saturday, I got the Caning Weave Punch All Over the Page for only $5.99.



You can get this punch straight from EK Success online for $21.99, and the highest discount you can get from there I believe is 25% with shipping.  At Joann's or Michaels, the same punch is priced at $24.99, and even with a once in a blue moon 60% coupon,  you'll end up paying $9.99.  That is still more expensive than $5.99 from TJ Maxx.

Going back to my haul, I got a good bunch of K&Company Smash items as well.  A couple of Smash Folios for only $5.99, currently on sale at Joann's for $7.49.  I also got the Paper Smash Tabs for only 99 cents (on sale at Joann's for $1.49), Smash Captions for only $1.49 (on sale at Joann's for $2.49), Binder Smash Clips for $1.99 (on sale at Joann's for $3.49), and the Like This Smash Tape for only 99 cents ($3.29 at EK Success online).

Then I also got two of the Magical Christmas card kit by Studio Calico for $2.99 each.  I tried to look for it in Studio Calico's website, but it's no longer there.  Amazon has it for $5.50.
 



The kit creates 8 holiday cards with envelopes.  The bummer is - both kits were not complete.  Both of them did not have envelopes, and were missing some embellishments.  Over all, I can make 11 complete cards.  But I ended up making only 10, which is good for a card set.  Can you spot the difference?





Then I made a matching box to house the ten cards.




The box cover (almost) matches the cards.


 



I enjoyed making these cards.  Thanks to TJ Maxx.

You have to remember though, that it's a constant change at TJ Maxx.  You may find certain craft products there today that you won't see next visit.  So if you find something that you really want, you better buy it as it's probably at the best price you'll ever get it.

'Til next blog!

Saturday, December 7

Star Ornament

Brrrrr!  It's super cold right now in Northern Michigan!  I like it though...  I like to wear winter clothes and boots, and Christmas shopping seems to be more fun with snow in the background.

Well, I am proud to say that my planet has stayed neat and orderly.  Though that means I haven't played enough... well, at all.  But since I declined two invitations to go out today, I made sure to create something.  And as I was trying to figure out what to make exactly, I saw this:




It's a freebie from one of my Unity orders a few weeks ago - three wood stars and a bunch of sequins.  First thing that came to mind was... ornament!




I decided to make just one ornament with more dimension.  Then I picked the Snow Globe Wonderland stamp set to go with my ornament.  So I started inking, stamping and embossing.  And here's what I came up with: 


Front

Front showing dimension
 
Back

String detail

Hope you're all having a great weekend.  I'm having a nice and relaxing one.

'Til next blog!