Advent Calendar Crafts

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 Calendar 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.

Small Paper Flower Wreath

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.

Fridge Magnet 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 ….. Christmas Card

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 of A White Christmas Card

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.

Mini Christmas Chocolate Bars

The mini chocolate bars used for this idea are exclusive to Tesco, four very small bars cost 60p (I think that’s right).  As soon as I saw them, I wondered if I could “recover” them!
I used the original wrapper as a template and chose a light weight paper so that it would wrap round the chocolate easily. I have then embellished the new wrapper with Accessorize stickers.
The snow is my own doodling using a white gel pen, with a tiny sprinkling of micro glitter. Very fiddle farty, but cute!
Oh, just in case you wondered like me ..... I did think perhaps the chocolate may have been made in an animal type mould  .... if they had, I wouldn't have used them, but the chocolate is divided into three plain pieces, perfect and tasted ok too!

Jingle Bells Christmas Card

It’s not often I use gold to mat and layer but I because of the jingle bells I have used it to accentuate the colour.
The background is made using a DoCrafts Christmas text stamp and the embellishments are Dress It Up buttons.

Frogs on a Log

This is probably one of the simplest and quickest cards I have put together, but it is always very popular when I put it in my card box.

The frogs and hearts are from a pack of Accessorize animal stickers, the log is from a pack of twig pencils I got ages ago, because it is uneven I have stuck it with my glue gun.

Very cute, good for anniversaries, Valentines or just telling someone you love them.

Penguin Christmas Card

Craft shop toppers can be expensive. These toppers are actually Christmas 3D gift tags.  They cost £1 for a pack of eighteen from a local market. The designs are really cute and include snowmen, santas, penguins etc. All I have done is take the back off the tag and trimmed it ever so slightly, then mat and layered it on blue, gold and a patterned Let It Snow paper.

I have added a pom pom and a gem holly berry to his hat, a couple of punchie snow flakes and my own doodles on the plain blue paper.

Snowflake Card

This is a rather plain sort of card but not everyone likes pretty, pretty glittery confections. It’s quite masculine.

The star is from a box of assorted Paperchase red felt snowflakes, £3 for 18. I have replaced the original gem with a much larger one.

The background paper is from a Papermania 6” x 6” pack - “Home for Christmas”, mat and layered on red and silver, with a bit of faux stitching with a white gel pen.

Taking A Break

I have made a decision!

I have decided not to take any more orders for cards for a while.  Blogging has made me realise just how much I like making things and playing with papers, stamps embellishments etc., but it seemed that all my time was being  taken up with orders.  For the past few weeks I have looked at my order book and thought “I really don’t want to make you” , and it made me quite grumpy.

Yesterday I apologised for the first time and explained that I was taking a break, I felt awful, but relieved too!

I have a box in the staffroom where I work and I intend to keep it topped up with my latest cards and craft projects (after blogging them first!) and see what goes and what doesn’t .  This week “Snowman Soup and Jingle Beans Sweetie Jars have just flown out  …….

Variations on a Theme

This is a selection of cards I have made using a pack of 3D stickers from Hobbycraft, (there are 2 x 4 designs in a pack costing £1.49), the paper I have used is Daisy and Dandelion Christmas Collection – Winters Tale.

 

At the moment I am making batches of cards for work etc. so it is easier and quicker, to follow the same design, if it suits the embellishments.

 
Aghhhh, you can see how fresh these cards are, the glue is still wet on the penguin one!

Bare Tree with Heart Christmas Card

I am getting into this stamping lark!  Just watch out when I say I am getting a set of ProMarker Pens!

I love bare trees and this beautiful stamp is one  I got at the NEC HobbyCraft Show, it’s  by Art Impressions (G1277).  It’s so plain and simple.

All I’ve added is some very sparkly Preciosa Viva12 flat backed gems from http://www.rhinestonesonline.co.uk/ They really do sparkle like diamonds.  The red heart is from a packet from Artwork  and I have joined it to the tree with a very thin black line. I’ve also added a touch of  Hero Arts hologram micro glitter to the foot of the tree

I have matted the image on black to bring out the starkness.

It’s a stamp I want to play with more when I have the time.  I think it would also look quite good if I used very tiny manicure/nail head stars with it or perhaps stamped it on some text.

Printed Cross Stitch Card

This is a very simple card I have made a couple of times for ladies who like to cross stitch.

I set out the design in Publisher. The font is a free Cross Stitch font I downloaded and all I have had to add is a text box border.  Once printed I have mat and layered on gold mirror card and added a few pearls here and there.

I have also adapted the card to say “Home Sweet Home” for a new house card.