First Footing

I am still thinking about New Years Eve and First Footing, and have had another one of my ideas, but what the heck .....

It’s traditional for a first footer to carry a lump of coal ……... well I have substituted coal for liquorice!

I got the footprint stickers from the US ages ago, I must have had about 20 packets but I have used them on so many projects, I shall be looking to order some more in the New Year as I only have a few left, I just hope I can find them again.  I think they are from Stickapotomus.

I thought using the white/silver glitter card on the topper would represent a good frosty New Years Eve path!

New Year Stuff and Nonsense

I was thinking about New Year and First Footing and came up with this really daft idea for a New Years Eve favour - as my sister would say “You have too much time on your hands!”

It opens up to reveal a Midnight Feast – in this case two shortbread biscuits, because I always think of Scotland at New Year, but you could put anything you like in with a New Year/Midnight Feast idea

The box is made using my Sizzix Bigz Shaker Box Die (No. 655134) in a dark blue cardboard. I have doodled on it using a white gel pen and highlighted the date on the scalloped calendar tab which is from Sarah’s Cards.

As I said this is a daft idea but I thought it might set other peoples imaginations off……, you could adapt it for a sleepover party for example.

Bauble Card

Another very simple card.  The baubles are die cuts from Craft Work Cards.  They came in a pack of four sheets of varying shades of blue, with about 12 die cuts to each sheet in different sizes.  All I have added is a thread using a fine tipped liner pen and very small silver star sequins.

Nearly Time To Start Opening Our Advent Calendars!

Both of the Advent Calendars I have made this year disappeared very quickly when I put them in the staffroom, I made 20 mini and 8 chalkboard ones, but tonight I have found myself making one more of each.

I had to laugh because I had to consult my own blog for instructions on how to make the mini advent calendar! A friend said to me on Friday that her daughter had taken one look at hers and had swiped it for her student digs and now she didn’t have one!

I know I always harp on about the great craft stuff you can find in Poundshops, but I have to admit to being very disappointed with their stickers this Christmas. These chipboard 3D stickers were on sale last year and again this year. I may be being fussy but they are a little too American for me, especially with the Happy Holidays and Believe phrases, but I got a couple of packets just in case…..
 
And I am glad I did, because I have used them tonight to make another Advent Chalkboard (see October achive)

The snowman was a perfect substitute for the original snowman. Now all I have to do is find a use for each of the other stickers.

Tesco Advent House

How brilliant is this?  It’s The Tesco Advent House. I had read about them on a thread in Scrappers but they are a devil to find, but thanks to my sister’s shopping tenacity she was able to locate a couple for me.

They only cost £5 and are made from wood/MDF, unbelievable value.  My plan is to alter mine like the ones I have seen on UKS, but obviously with the start of Advent only two days away, it’s not going to be ready for this year.  I think it might turn into a labour of love, which I hope to start over Christmas when I am home for two weeks.

The first thing I am going to do is repaint it in a cream colour, that will probably send me scatty, especially when it comes to the 24 little boxes, but they say preparation is everything.

The next step will be to cover the front of each drawer, I am thinking a vintage/worn red, sage green, and cream – hopefully I will be able to find some lovely papers in the sales, perhaps K & Co or Basic Grey …. any way I shall post each stage as I get to it.

If you would like to see other peoples Advent houses click on the link below which is a UKScrappers Thread dedicated to Advent Houses

http://www.ukscrappers.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=279319

Accessorize Stickers Christmas Card

This card is made using Accessorize stickers I had leftover from last year.  Though I am Accessorize’s  number one fan, I have to admit that this years stickers aren’t a patch on last years.

Nothing fancy about this design, just a simple centre panel which has been mat and layered on green and silver.  The stickers are stuck onto small square scalloped edge punchies.  That’s it!

The scalloped edge punch lay in my drawer unused for years before I discovered stickers like this, now it is one of my most used punches. The nearest I have found to it is in Paperchase for about £5.99.  I really should get another one as a spare because I would be lost without it.

Flower Ring

I haven’t got a clue what this is, but it was fun to make, I made it after seeing Christmas Wreaths made from paper on various forums and I thought I would make a mini version, but somehow it turned into something more suitable for Easter ( which makes me as bad as Cadbury’s when they have cream eggs on sale on Boxing day!)

I have used a flat plastic bangle as the base and then stuck on  punched flowers and leaves in colours and patterns that I didn’t attempt to match, just to see what the effect would be like .

The flower centres are Rainbow Drops from Crafty Notions.
I think I will just hang this on one of the notice boards in my craftroom until I come up with an idea on how to use it!

I really must stop photographing my stuff when the glue is still wet, close up pictures are merciless and yet again my gems have slipped off centre!

Christmas Pudding Card

I was wondering what one of the Christmas Pudding badges that I featured back in Sept/Oct would look like on a card, so I took the back off one and had a play …….

And,  I am quite pleased with the results. The background paper is a Christmas Pudding recipe from a lovely Christmas download set available from Mad About Cards.

I have used an ivory linen card blank for this card, white was too stark.

Calendar

I have been playing with the idea of making some fridge magnet calendars after seeing some lovely ones here Rainmacsplace.

I don’t think I have got it quite right, I need to do a little bit more tweaking......

The base is a covered blank beer mat and the flower centres are Rainbow Drops from Crafty Notions,  which make a lovely change from using flat backed gems.

The beer mats aren’t really big enough to add bigger flowers to the top right corner like Rainmacs, which is what I had first planned. Hmmmmmmmm

Dandelion Card

I love this stamp. It’s so beautiful and simple , you don’t have to do much to make a stunning card.

The stamp is from Hero Arts (G4817 Dandelion) and  I have stamped it with Versa Magic Hint of Pesto which has a chalky finish. It is finished off with a sprinkling of hero Arts Hologram micro glitter which gives the dandelion it’s magical appearance.

You may have noticed that most of my blanks are square, but this image screams to be on an rectangular one.

I have made this card as a set of notelets and it would also make a lovely sympathy card.

There’s Snow Business …..

A very simple stamping project.  The stamp is by DoCrafts .  The background paper is Daisy and Dandelion - “Winter’s Tale”, matted on silver with a few snowflake punchies, flat backed gems and a snowman button.

I’m Dreaming ….

This is another experiment

I like the idea of white snowflakes on a white background,  but the middle of this card just is not right.  It needs to be a lot subtler. I need to totally rethink the centre, I think a handwriting font in a very pale blue would look much better, and the silver matting is too much  …… back to the festive drawing board!

Stamping Overload!

I am still trying to keep to my challenge of stamping more often.
 
And I can’t believe I have actually used two stamps to mix and match….. with quite pleasing results!

I found the snowman stamp at a car boot sale amongst a box of odds and ends.  It’s by Imaginations (no. 1826)

It took me six attempts to get it printed right, which is why I won’t print directly onto a card. 

All I have done is colour it in with Whispers pens and then gone over the various parts with a water filled brush, a tip picked up from Dawn Biddy! I have embellished with Hero Arts Hologram micro glitter and a few flat  gems and tiny stars, which are actually nail/manicure embellishments from Poundland.

The background is from DoCrafts, stamped six times, very closely together and then trimmed to size and matted on silver card.
This is “well adventurous” for me, right out of my comfort zone!

Simple Snowflakes

This card is still in the experimental stage, it still needs a bit of tweaking, and it will probably be  next Christmas before it gets made properly.  I have all my cards made for this year but it's always nice to have a few ideas spare.

I think the blue printing, is too strong, it needs to be softer and paler. You will probably have noticed already that one of the flat backed gems is well off centre.  That’s what you get for “posing” your card while the glue is still wet!

I like the effect of the pale blue stars against the white background. When I first used the stars, I just sprinkled them willy nilly onto the card, the effect was lovely and natural, so I will probably try it again, leaving the stars where they fall and carefully lifting them one at a time to glue them into position, fiddle fart in other words!

Wish Upon A Star

This an idea I saw a while back and have adapted it for Christmas. It fits into a very small envelope.

I have stuck the star onto the card with a glue dot, so that it can be taken off and put in a purse or handbag pocket as a lucky token.
The idea could also be used for birthdays, good luck, or just as a special wish.