Sunday, December 12, 2010
On the 12th Day of Christmas
We hope you have enjoyed all of the projects.
I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of the store bought Christmas Cracker / Bon Bon.
I don't like the tissue paper hats, the jokes are not funny and the toys are rubbish.
So, the 12th Day project is to make your own Christmas Crackers / Bon Bons.
Today we are going to be turning this:
Into this:
Materials used:
Brown paper
Toilet rolls
Cracker snaps (bought at Spotlight)
Twine
Jokes (Google can help you here)
Lindt Balls
Scraps of Christmas Paper / Ribbon / Fabric.
Christmas stamps
Instructions:
Step 1: put the snap into the toilet roll. I very lightly taped them into place so they can still be pulled & snap.
Step 2: fill the roll with whatever goodies you like. I typed up some jokes that I found on the internet and wrapped these around my favourite chocolate - Lindt balls - yummo....
Step 3: roll up in brown paper & tie the ends with twine. I then used my pinking shears and trimmed the edges.
Step 4: Decorate with paper / ribbons / stamps / whatever scraps to have
That's it - all done!!! (And not a tissue paper hat in sight to ruin your hair!)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
On The 11th Day of Christmas
Friday, December 10, 2010
On The 10th Day Of Christmas
How about creating a layout ready for those precious Chrissy photos.
Layout Chrissy Magic.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
On the 9th Day of Christmas
Banners seem to be all the rage at the moment - they are everywhere - so I decided to do a Christmas banner for the 9th Day - the link being 9 letters in Christmas.
Each of the triangles is a page from the Making Memories calico album. These already came with eyelets in the top corners - perfect - no punching required!
At one of my last trips to Spotlight I spotted some coloured hessian which I though would go great in a few Christmas projects - so for this project I cut red and green triangles of hessian and sewed them onto each of the calico pages.
I did this for 9 flags.
I then cut thin strips of fabric and tied the flags together
I cut the C H R I S T M A S letters 3 inches tall using my Slice. (Now don't fall over in shock that I actually used the Slice - I have had it for years & reckon I have used it maybe 6 times in total - how embarrassing!)
I glued the letters onto the flags and decorated the letters with a bit of bling.
and then that's it - ready to hang
If you are not into fabric and prefer paper - this project can easily be adapted to suit your preference.
I hope you have enjoyed the 9th Day project.
Natalie
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
On the 8th Day of Christmas
Well... it's not 8 Lords a Leaping... I have made an 8 page 8 x 8 inch album using a mix of different media.
As this album is about our family Christmas in 2010, I have made the pages but will wait until I have the photos from Christmas Day before I decorate them. So the pages are looking a bit plain jane at the moment but I'm sure you get the idea.
Page 1 is the front cover which is chipboard covered in Fabric
I covered one side of the chipboard in heavy duty glue (Pritt Power Gel) and stuck it to the reverse side of the material. I then folded & glued the edges in.
Page 2 is a piece of 8 * 12 inch Fancy Pants Tradition paper, one side of which was folded in to make an 8 x 8 square page with a flap / pocket on one side. The top and bottom edges were decorated using threading water punch.
Page 3 is a paper bag which has the opening on the side. I have cut a semi circle into the bag opening and inside the bag I am going to put the kids letters to Santa.
Page 4 - is an 8 x 8 inch piece of Fancy Pants Tradition patterned paper
Page 5 is a Fancy Pants Tradition flocked transparency.
Page 6 is a piece of green felt
Page 7 Page 2 is a piece of 8 * 12 inch Fancy Pants Tradition paper, one side of which was folded in to make an 8 x 8 square page with a flap / pocket on one side.
Page 8 is the back cover - I have left it undecorated to show you the fabric cover folded over & glued
The pages were really quick and easy to make and once complete, it will be nice to have an album specifically about Christmas.
I have punched holes in the pages & used a couple of split rings - but you could use ribbon / twine if you want to bind the album together.
I really enjoyed creating this album & I hope you have a go at making a Christmas 2010 album too!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
7th Day of Christmas
OMG, I could make one for much less. So here it is – a 7 frame photo wall hanging for day 7 – for under $20!
Step One:
Remove packing and glass from frames and lay them on a desk. Move them around until you are happy with the design/layout. It helps if you have a few long edges next to each other. I couldn’t find any oval frames, so mine is all square!
Step Two:
Lightly sand all the wood, it helps make the paint stick.
Step Three:
Paint each frame in a light colour, leaving some of the dark paint showing through. You can do a few colours if you want. You can also sand them once the paint is dry to get an aged look, or do a coat of crackle median before painting if you want.
Step Four:
Stick them together with really strong glue and I used clamps too. This takes a while to dry, so best to leave overnight. I’ve also used the hanging wires (yah for a K-mart photo hanging kit) to help strengthen the joints between the frames.
Step Five (optional):
Decorate and fill. I've used some Prima flowers, chipboard letters, Kaisercraft wooden flourish and Xmas ribbon.
Monday, December 06, 2010
On the 6th Day .... A Setting for Six
To get started you need to grab:
- Chrissy papers (4 sheets of double sided to match your decorations/table scape)
- Punches (borders and shapes)
- Die cuts for your Cuttlebug/Bigshot
- Crochet doily
- Cotton String
- Dymo labeller
- I have used the Tim Holtz birdcage diecut to cut out blue glittered cardstock, book paper for the bird, spiral border punch (Martha Stewart), cotton string (oooh Michelle would be pleased I grabbed this from OfficeWorks), part of my vintage doily (refer to hint below) and not to be forgotten some kaiser bling!
- Chose a diecut that will suit, in my case I have used the gorgeous Top Note from Stampin Up - such a versatile die cut. Remembering I wanted to keep this simple.. you could just cut a square 4.5" x 3.5".
- Fold in half (I used a bone scorer to give me a crisp folded edge).
- I used my scallop punch and with a little mist of water damped down my shape to help with the 'scrunching' process. I displayed this with the co-ordinating side of my double sided paper showing.
- I added a small piece from my 'tattered' doily edge as a frill.
- I couldn't resist another book page bird (cut from my Tim Holtz Sissix Die Cut on my cuttlebug/BigShot).
- To continue the vintage feel, I love using my dymo tape labeller and yes my name at home is Elizabeth (for those who know me as Lizzie).
- I just love this idea and what better way to introduce the very popular paper doily or benders as the catering bods call them. I was just lucky enough to have hot pink ones in my stash (gotta luv those Hot Dollar Shops I frequent).
- Wrap your doily around your cutlery and fix in place.
- Cut a length off your 12" x 12" paper - approximately 1" wide and wrap it around the doily - finish this by leaving a tail to the left and cutting on the diagonal.
- Again, use the same technique above with your scallop punched circle misted and scrunched or if you have a Cuttlebug/BigShot emboss the scallop circle to add texture.
- To finish off your embellishment use similar bits to tie in with your name plate and napkin envelope - in my case I added some of the crochet doily, cotton string and dymo labelling!
I hope your family will be just as happy when they sit down to Christmas lunch and see the effort you have gone to add that 'handmade' touch to your table - it will definitely give them a better understanding of what you have all that stuff for....
Wishing you all a very merry and safe Christmas!
from Lizzie @ Embellees