Tutorial for Christmas Sweetie Bags Without The Aid of Fancy Tools and Stuff! Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge

I've entered this is the Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/

I’ve had quite a few questions about making sweetie bags recentley (Hark at me, I sound like an Agony Aunt!) I appreciate that not everyone has Big Shots/Cuttlebugs etc. or sets of Nestabilities, so I have put together a very simple tutorial, without using any fancy equipment to show that such stuff is not always necessary.

I think its best to start with the cello bags - get the size you want and make your toppers to fit them (much easier that making a topper and then searching for a bag to fit it).

To fit my chosen bag size (HobbyCraft’s own make 76mm x 191mm) and  I have cut a rectangle a little wider than the bags. ….. my apologies, I still measure in inches!!

Find the centre of the rectangle and mark each end lightly with pencil.

Keep the ruler in position and score from one end to the other with the end of a pair of scissors

When scored, fold the topper in half

If you want a fancy shape, hold the topper together and cut both edges off the corners of one side.

Take one of the cut off corners and put it on the opposite side of the topper and use as a template to make sure both sides are exactly the same

The topper should now look like this ....

Now for the circle embellishment - find two circles one smaller than the other .... I have used the metal top of this small jam pot for the outer circle and the top of the glass jar as the inner circle. Cut out the circles in two different colours.  I’ve been a bit fancy and cut a bit of sky out to fit as well.

Put some little lines using a fine black pen round the edge of both circles. Then add whatever embellishment you fancy. I have used snowman stickers from Accessorize (£1.75 per pack) on mine.

Now to put it all together …… put some lines round the topper to match the decorated circle

Cut down the cello bag to a length you are happy with.

Open up the topper and put double sided tape on each side

Tape tape off one side, and lay the cello bag on top

Bring the other side of the topper down, press down and seal...... nearly finished .....

Stick the decorated circle in position, write a greeting and add a few small stickers/stars etc. and fiddle and twiddle till you are happy

That's all there is to it! Phew !!!! And yes …… my desk could do with a good clean!

Giant Humbug Carton - Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge

I've entered this is the Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/

This is another idea I used last year and thought I would post again, but this time offering a A4 pdf file of the humbug striped paper (below) that I have designed  for it this year.  If you would like the file please e-mail me nellxxxx@aol.com and I'll send it to you as soon as I can. It looks really good when printed on a light brown/beige paper.

 

I have put some instructions together and just hope that I have got them in the right order. It's quite fiddly making something and photographing it at the same time.

Cut a piece of light brown paper/light card 27 cm x 18 cm and draw lines with a thick brown felt tip pen.

Turn the card/paper over and  put a line of double sided tape (or glue) along one long and one short edge.

With striped side facing up roll the paper/card to make a cylinder.

And then flatten the bottom end.(see below)
 
To complete the carton/bag squeeze it together in the opposite direction to the bottom of the bag (I hope that makes sense) to form a triangular shape.
 
Now, is the time to fill your bag with humbugs.

When bag is filled, glue the two sides together and hold in place with a few clips until well stuck.

All that’s left to do now is decorate it with a tag or label.  I’ve just done a bit of mat and layering, with my own handwriting and sprig of holly.

I am really pleased with how it’s turned out. 

You could put sweets, toys and a motto/joke and make these in Christmassy colours as an alternative to crackers or as a different sort of goodie bag for children’s parties.

A Few More Cards Using DoCrafts Forever Friends Jelly Brads

I was determined to use all the brads in pack …. and in all I have managed to make ten cards with them. Following on from yesterday these are the final few.

I loved the Christmas puddings so much I kept the cards very, very simple and just mat and layered them on a deep red and gold (which doesn’t show up very well in the picture). This card measures 3 3/4 ins square. This is the sort of card I would buy!

I used the two Christmas trees together, using a Nestabilities scalloped square die as the base. This card measures 4 3/4 ins square.

This left me with two stars, two stockings and two snowflakes, which I have used altogether in a very different sort of card for me, measuring 5ins square.

One pack of lovely brads done and dusted!

A New Challenge For Me?

I had an e-mail last week from Gayle who works under the name of Fairydoodler creating lovely online digital designs.  As she isn’t a crafter, she asked if I would perhaps work with her designs to look at ways that they can  be used in card making etc. I am a little apprehensive, as this is very new to me, but I have said yes…… nothing ventured and all that. 

For this card I have taken an image from one of Gayle’s sets - “A Very Green Christmas” and fiddle farted about  with it using Publisher (which I find the easiest programme to manipulate images for my crafting). I’ve simply  cropped, copied and pasted to make a sheet of images to create a simple decoupage card.

I’ve mat and layered the main image on white, silver and navy card and then added a bit of faux stitching. Then I have decoupaged his hat, mittens, scarf and little bird.  To complete the design I’ve added the sentiment, punched snowflakes, a few gems and some micro glitter on the snow and sky.

I love that Gayle has used subtle, slightly different colours to what I would usually go for, and I also love the detail in the scarf and gloves.

Freebie Alert ......
To see more of Gayle’s designs click on the link below where there is a freebie to download.
http://www.aimeeasher.com/shoppe/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=61
But, if you don't want to sign up to the Aimee Asher site you can follow Gayle's new blog:- http://fairydoodler-fairydoodlersden.blogspot.com/ where the freebie is available there too

Nothing Fancy About My Decoupage

In answer to Nicollete’s question.

Nicollette: Helen, what is your process for decoupage?

To be honest Nicollette I don’t think what I do is really decoupage, it’s just my way of adding a bit of dimension when I use a printed image on any of my cards. But, I’ll run through what I have done in the card below for you:-

• Find image, decide which bits I want to stand out and then put together an A4 sheet of everything I need, (plus a few extra, in case my cutting out is a bit shonky). I use Publisher to do this, cropping, copying and pasting the images.
• Print off.
• Put main image on the card (after matting and layering etc.)
• With the snowman I have cut out and used two images of the hat and gloves, one of the bird, and two of the scarf adding an extra layer for the centre bit – no descending shapes etc. like proper decoupage – it’s very, very basic.
• I put them together using Poundland foam sticky pads that I cut down.
• That’s it really, except I add twiddly fiddly bits, like flat back gems etc for extra bling.

Hope this helps – sorry I can’t help with the technicalities of using Publisher, it’s something I have taught myself and is just too complex to go through each stage.

DoCrafts Forever Friends Cosy Christmas Jelly Brads

Aghhhh, why do crafty companies do this to me ….. how could I resist  these Forever Friends jelly brads?  Just look at the gingerbread boy and girl, they are NOT going on a card ….. they are for me"! The brads cost £3.99 for 17 brads, which is about 17p each, but I reckon I will get at least 8 cards from the pack.

I’ve used this picture frame, (50p from a car boot sale) that has stood empty on my nik nak shelves for months …… just waiting …. waiting for my little gingerbread people!

Now for the cards…….

I’ve kept the design pretty simple, using a Nestabilities scalloped square die as the base which I’ve stuck down on foam pads for bit of extra dimension.

And then I’ve gone berserk with the flat backed gems!

Very cute!

Christmas Tree Card

This card was a nightmare to photograph trying to get the colours looking right.

I am still not 100% happy with it, it needs a little something else, but I’m not quite sure what.  I tried it on white card and it looked very stark, perhaps it needs a contrasting band of colour behind the centre panel?

As I said a while ago, I am trying to use up all my “old” Christmas stuff before I buy anything new - (except for absolute bargains and Poundland/Poundshop goodies) as a bit of an economy drive. I’ve had several packets of these embellishments for years, and have never found a use for them …. it says £2.75 on the back, I would never have paid that,  I seem to dimly remember that I got them for 70% off in a sale.

It was a little fiddly trying to align the embellishments up equally. To finish the design all I have added is a silver star, a container and a few extra gems.

Snowman Tag

This snowman tag started life off in a pack of festive of playing cards. I bought them in the summer for something daft like 29p!  I’ve covered the back with white card and trimmed it down a little, cutting off his feet.  Then I’ve punched a hole in his hat for a ribbon, and embellished with flat backed gems, stars, a holly sticker left over from an old pack and some eyes made using Glitterati stickers.

That’s one down ……. just another 51 to go!