Papermania Christmas Tree Topper Card

This is a very simple design using cream linen card and measures 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm.

The trees are from Papermania, a gift from a friend last Christmas.

I love the way they have little notches on the sides, brilliant for winding a gold thread round.  I have also added a few clear flat backed gems for extra bling and dimension.

I have made a cream card blank, because I think it looks better with gold and have also used it to make the snowdrifts right across the card to form a very simple winter scene.

Teddy – With Love At Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card.

I am really, really trying to use up all my old Christmas stash this year, there’s some really lovely new stuff out there in the shops that is soooooo tempting, but I must be strong!   I think the 3D effect teddy sticker was from Hobbycraft last year in packs of 6 or 8. I’ve kept things very simple because, to be honest, at this time of year I need to knock out a lot of cards, very quickly!

Mini Handbags

In case you missed these first time round, I've jiggled with past posts and added them again today ......... a friend showed me how to make these little handbags, so I cannot claim the idea as my own, but I loved them so much, I thought I would put my own spin on her idea.

They are so simple to make.  Just take a strip of paper 4cm wide by 12cm long.  Score the strip into 4 sections, measuring 2cm, 4cm, 2cm, 4cm.

The first 2cm makes the flap of the bag, the next 4cm makes the back, the next 2cm is the bottom of the bag and the final 4cm makes the front.

I have used 4 Twilight mints inside my bags , just  tape them together so they don’t fall out, and secure them to the bottom of the bag with a sticky pad. Add a short length of ribbon at the crease of the flap for the handle, and then use another sticky pad to fasten the bag together.  Finish off with an embellishment of your choice for the fastener, I have used gems. Simples! 

Since I first posted these bags back in 2009 they have changed the wrappings on the Twilight mints - to plastic instead of foil and paper (not so classy!!!) but you could use Cadbury minatures instead.  The basic template & dimensions can easily be tweaked to suit whatever confectionary you want to put in them.

Pamper Jar

Usually at Christmas I make up a little basket of goodies like bubble bath, face packs etc. to put in my guest bedrooms but when I saw this idea for “Pampering in a Jar” on the brilliant blog below,  I just had to have a go …..

http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/10/everything-in-jar-handmade-gifts.html

I’ve been saving large Douwe Egberts coffee jars for ages as they are just to decorative to throw away.  All I’ve added is a very simple label using an A4 sheet of printable canvas and a bit of bling.

I haven’t filled it completely yet, but when I am on my travels I will be looking for miniature versions of popular products in Boots, Superdrug and Asda, especially if they have a 3 for 2 offer on.

As an extra touch I’ve popped a Yankee Candle tea light into the lid of the jar, so that when my guests are having a little pamper they are also surrounded with beautiful wafts of perfume!

It’s well worth having a look at Tonia’s blog as she has a lot of other brilliant ideas for gifts in jars along with a lot of other ideas too

http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/10/everything-in-jar-handmade-gifts.html

Jars are really versatile for crafting ideas but I HATE trying to remove all the sticky stuff off them …..  until I found this in Aldi - £2.99 a bottle ….. its brilliant!

A Book Review – Make Hey! While The Sun Shines by Pip Lincolne

ISBN 978-1742701131-8 – hardie grant books
Disclaimer: Occasionally I do receive free products to review from companies. However I do not allow this to influence my opinion; I will always share my honest opinion.

A while back I had an e-mail from Helena from hardie grant books, a company, to be honest, I had not come across before, she offered me the opportunity to review two of their craft books (one in November and the other in December)…..  well it would have been most rude not to have a little gander wouldn’t it?

Rather than put all the blurb about the book in my own words it’s easier to just cut and paste and then I won’t miss anything out ……. and then I’ll tell you what I think!

“The crafty Pip Lincolne is back with her third book of sweet and whimsical projects. In Make Hey While the Sun Shines, she shows you 20 gorgeous things to make for the summertime, holiday time, or any time! There are bike seat covers made from vintage fabric, crocheted baubles to decorate your house (or car!), hand-printed gift bags and pretty hand illustrated plates to customise your own ceramics. More adventurous crafters might like to try the Chatty Tote or the handy bottle tote to store your drinks when you head out for the day. Making hey isn't just about sewing and craft though - there are also 5 pull-out recipe cards with delicious goodies to take on a picnic or just enjoy at home. All of the projects have step-by-step instructions and illustrations to guide you through, and with comprehensive sections on sewing, crochet and knitting basics, Make Hey While the Sun Shines is perfect for anyone who is interested in handmaking their own beautiful things.”

I love it, it’s a sturdy book with a hard cover but is ring bound inside. In the front cover is a pocket containing five recipe cards, with room to add a few more of your own.  It’s quirky, but my sort of quirky, and will be a constant source of inspiration for years to come, not only because of the projects it contains, but also the because of the composition of photographs and pages, there is so much to look at, I find them fascinating and a further source of inspiration,  in away it reminds me of a sort of smash book.

The book is divided into four parts, Projects, Crafty How-Tos, Extra Good Ideas and the Recipe Cards, all of which are detailed but easy to read and follow, using the simple illustrations and above all interesting.
The book is available from Amazon priced at £12.09 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Hey-While-Sun-Shines/dp/1742701310/

The project I most wanted to try was “Mix Tape A La Pip”, such a simple idea …. ideas/instructions on how to make your own sticky tapes, something that I had never thought of before, but now I am hooked. 

Pip says this idea can be used on print or plain fabric scraps, which can be embroidered or drawn on, ….. using the principles of the idea, this is what I came up with A La Fiddle Fart …

In Publisher I created a series of tapes using fonts from Two Peas in  Bucket (2Peas DW Meow font size 36, 2Peas Tis The Season font size 14 and 2Peas DW Bow Wow)  http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/fonts/ . The snowmen are from a digi set called Little Joys by Zoe Pearn which I printed on an A4 sheet of canvas paper in Landscape.  When printed, to use up all the canvas,  I added two of my own doodled designs using Promarker pens. ……. and then simply cut them out and put double sided tape on the back ….. voila!

I used one of the tapes on this Sizzix gift card holder …..

To sum up, an inspiring book, that I will refer to and read often and with a great deal of pleasure, however please can I stress that this is only my opinion of the book.
http://www.facebook.com/HardieGrantBooksLondon
http://twitter.com/#!/HardieGrantUK

Snowmen Keyrings

As soon as December starts out come all my little Christmassy things …. to use through 'till New Years Eve, and this will be my festive keyring of choice!

The blank is part of a pack of twelve oblong keyrings from Hobbycraft from the “Make It!” Create and Play range (£2.99) that I got when they were on a 3 for 2 offer in the summer.

I created a sheet images in Publisher (above) using a digi set from Sweet Shoppe Designs called Little Joys by Zoe Pearn (which unfortunately seems to have been deleted now).  It’s a set I have used over and over again for the past three years. I have a thing about the perfect snowman and this design ticks all the boxes for me.

Once printed, I cut out the images and glittered them using Stampin’Up Dazzling Diamonds and a Sakura Quickie Glue Pen.

I then put two of the designs back to back in a keyring and added three small jingle bells on a jump ring to finish the whole thing off (I’m not sure how long the bells will last though!).

For keyring blanks and a lot of other stuff as well: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/PC3721?_trksid=p4340.l2563

A Weekend Away From It All

I’ve just got back from a weekend near Christchurch in Dorset …. and my current object of desire is …..

…… a beach hut at Hengistbury Head ….. soooooo beautiful and peaceful …… making work and real life just melt away and seem a million miles away.

…… Later on in the day, fancying a coffee, we popped into a lovely Coffeehouse and Smoothie Bar called Blend, (74 High St, Christchurch, BH23 1BN) …….

…… where on a table, I found a ball of wool attached to a huge length of knitting and the invitation to knit a few rows ……

……. how could I resist? And so, between sips of my posh coffee, I added about another three inches. The scarf is being knitted to raise funds for a local hospice, so if you are passing by why not add a few more rows!

While in the New Forest I spotted this beautiful mushroom, …. mushrooms always make me feel all magical and mystical, goodness knows why….

……. and I got a picture of the Duke amongst the ponies.  The weather was glorious…. the weekend was perfect ….. bliss!

Ingredients Lists …..

Sorry, I’ve been away for the weekend and was unable to reply to a couple of questions left in the “chatbox” until now. My answers are a little long for the “chatbox”, so I’ve answered them here.

I have never sold my “stuff” at a public event/school fayre etc., so my experience on labelling is limited. Knowing that it can be a contentious issue,  if I did, I think I might steer clear of selling anything that I thought might cause problems re: listing ingredients etc. purely for the reasons that Diane encountered.

However, think about this …. when I buy my quarter (100 gms)  of sweets from my local Olde Sweete Shoppe in town, as often is my want,  the sweets are weighed out and put in a plain paper bag,  the same applies for when I indulge myself with a mahoooosive bag of Pick n Mix, again I have no clue to the ingredients ………

I have found this PDF which may be of use http://www.cibsouthandwest.org.uk/uploads/publications/60.pdf ….. but there are a lot of other sites from which you can get information.

If you really want to “cover” yourself, it wouldn’t hurt to type up the ingredients of whatever you are using onto a self adhesive label and put it on the back of your packets.  As I have said I have a limited knowledge on the subject but I am sure there may be others here who may be able to add to what I have suggested.

Lest We Forget

Snowflake Jar Lantern

I was a bit disappointed with my first attempt at a Christmas jar lantern a while back so I’ve had another go.

I’ve used white tissue paper,  which proved to be quite delicate and fiddle farty to use.  I applied one layer as evenly as I could, and then, when it was dry,  put a packet of Anita’s Snowflake Glitterations on top.  This may seem a bit of an extravagance, but I bought them last year and was never inspired to use them. Next followed another layer of tissue and then several coats of Ronseal Quick Drying Clear glossy varnish.

Doodled Patchwork Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card.
 

I did all of this,  I doodled it all!  I made myself a grid and then bit the bullet with my best black outliner pen in hand and doodled something of a festive nature in each square.

The nerve wracking bit was the colouring in, I was so worried after getting it all drawn out I would ruin it …. but it’s turned out pretty alright. I’ve used a little Stampin’Up Dazzling Diamonds on all the bits I left white.

Silicone Gingerbread Man Mould

I’ve had tons of requests to know where the delectable Marc got my gingerbread man mould (£2.99)  from so I’ve asked him for the link …… it’s a long one ….

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GINGERBREAD-MAN-MEN-Chocolate-Candy-Gumpaste-Silicone-Bakeware-Mould-Mold-Tray-/180726655915?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_Cookware_GL&hash=item2a1425ebab

I’ve just treated myself to this button mould ….. so I can make real chocolate buttons!!!!!!   £2.99

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BUTTONS-Chocolate-Candy-Topper-Silicone-Bakeware-Mould-/400255177885?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item5d3111549d

But I really wish I hadn’t looked because there is too much to be tempted by ….!
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Natural-Heating?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Sarah Jayne from the above company has also sent me these two links : www.siliconemoulds.blogspot.com & www.siliconemoulds.com

Elizabeth Mint Shaw Mints Revisited

Hope you don’t mind another post from Christmas past, but I still get questions about them from MSE and newbies here.

It wasn’t my idea, I originally saw them at a Stampin’ Up demonstration at the NEC and just though what a brilliant idea and have been making them every Christmas since.

The punches I use are from Stampin’ Up (the plain one measures 1 3/8ins), however there are a lot of other nesting punches out there, including these (below), but I can’t advise you on which ones you need as I haven’t got any actual experience of them.

http://theglitterpot.co.uk/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=809 

This year I’ve used these flat stickers (Hobbycraft 99p) I’d have preferred something with a bit more definition but  so far I haven’t found any “new” puffy, 3D stickers … but I am still looking.

  I make a front and a back ….

…. and sometimes I use a little bit of sellotape on the foil  to stop it ripping, if I make a mistake an have to  reposition the mint etc. I use double sided tape to stick everything together.  Then I pop four mints in alternating colours in a pretzel bag and tie with a ribbon.

The pretzel bags measure 2ins x 9ins and I always get them from this e-bay seller.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-x-2-x-9-CLEAR-Cello-Cakepop-Lolly-Pretzel-Bags-/250905742448?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item3a6b25cc70

STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS ....... AND HEADS UP TO POUNDWORLD

............ Nipped into Poundworld in my lunchbreak and they have Christmas laser stickers (almost identical to the "Anita's" ones I used on my Elizabeth Shaw mints last year) priced at 2 for £1, Poundworld-bargain-tastic .....  (designs inc. penguins, santas, snowmen etc.) .... so I stocked up!  They also had "pop up" bubble stickers at the same price ..... quite large ...... in the same ilk as the ones I used on my Halloween sweetie bags and lots of choice. I went for the snowman ones to put with bon bons .... to make bags of snowballs! But I suspect I may be going back for more!!

More Wooden Christmas Tree Tags

I think that making these tags has been my favourite thing to do this Christmas.  I think it’s the challenge of working on such a small scale.

Carboot Sales seem to have been replaced here by markets now that the summer has gone and so my source of really cheap dominoes sets has dried up, so I’ve got my last couple of boxes from e-bay, which including P & P has still worked out a lot cheaper than buying them in town.

I’ve had these wooden Christmas trees for at least three years and at last I have finally used them all up. 

I am now on the lookout for large wooden jigsaw pieces that I can make some more tags with. It’s half term next week so I am going to trawl all the charity shops in Wolverhampton to see what I can find!