Short Christmas Break

Merry Christmas everyone! What a wonderfully busy season this has been. I'm putting the blog on a short break while I spend Christmas with family and friends and very little time in my scrap room. I just wanted to put one more Christmas item out there for any of you last minute gift givers.

If you're a baker or treat maker, then this is for you. I made this adorable little Stocking Stuffer treat holder using a template by Lauren Meader. She currently has this one up as a free gift at Paper Trey Ink.

You could conceivably make this entire Stocking from one piece of 12x12 paper, if you have double sided paper and work all the patterns on just right. I however wanted to make the box part in the middle from red cardstock, but still, for about $1 worth of paper, these make adorable treat holders. Paper is from the Figgy Pudding collection by Basic Grey, stamp from Inkadinkadoo, tag shapes made using Nestabilities and the textured white trim at the top is made using a snow writer.

Have a wonderfully blessed Christmas and I'll catch all of you in the next week or two.

Christmas Tag techniques rub off onto my canvas.

I think Tim would be proud of me. I utilized several ideas from his 12 Days of Christmas tags to make this gift for my best friend. Yes, there is a reason to go through the whole process of making all 12 tags, because you come out the other side with a lot of fresh new ideas that are bound to find their way into your projects.

This was my first attempt at working with a canvas block and I must say canvas is fairly forgiving and nice to work with. I really loved the canvas brads, that Tim created, that I wondered what working with a photograph would be like. This is a 5x7 canvas block, that you can find at most craft stores. I printed the photograph on Sticky Back Canvas by Ranger Ink (this is my new favorite craft item...I love it!!). Since I was not adding paper layers with the photo, I cut enough of the canvas to cover the whole canvas block instead of cutting out just the picture.

I will attempt to describe the various things I did, in case you want to try one. Unfortunately, I didn't take step by step pictures.

Since the canvas is close to white, I covered the whole canvas around the photo with Antique Linen Distress Ink (sponged it on) to give it a cream base. I wanted to carry the feel of the photo to the ends of the canvas, so I started with my "sky colors" of distress ink at the top (Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans and Broken China) coloring various parts of the upper area. I tried to leave the lightest distress ink (Weathered Wood) around the photo graph for a soft highlight area and went darker blues toward the edges.

Next, I grabbed my earth tones (Tea Dye and Vintage Photo) and started adding layers to the bottom using the same concept as the blues, darker toward the edges. These colors started off a nice base to my canvas. But I wanted a bit more intense color, especially around the edges, so I grabbed my color spritzers that I used on the roses in Tag #12.

To make my color spritzers, I added the following to a Mini Mister bottle: whatever base color Glimmer Mist I had on hand (used Denim Blue for blue and Coffee Shop for brown) and then added a tiny scoop, the size of a pea, of Perfect Pearls to the Mister (used the Blue Pantina for the blue and Gold for the brown) Perfect Pearls has a bit more shimmery intensity than just Glimmer Mist by itself. Note: my blue spritzer was just not bright enough for me so I added 4-5 drops of Alcohol Ink (Color was Stream) and the blue came out a bit better. Always test your spritzers on scrap paper, until you get the intensity of color you want.

For the right side of my canvas, I grabbed a Mini Mask from the Idea-Ology collection and stuck it in the upper right corner (note, masks do not stick to canvas but if you spray straight down instead of at an angle, they should work fine). I put a square piece of paper over the photo part of the canvas to block the spray from hitting it and then spritzed the whole mask area.

I used different cut or ragged edges of paper to work as a mask for my spritzers. The blue above the photo is just a jagged edge piece of paper to create an uneven sky color. For the brown spritzer, I just covered the photo section of the canvas and sprayed at the bottom corner with no other mask. I love how it sprayed little brown droplets in the lighter brown part.

Finally, I added my accents. I cut the flourish from the Home Accents Cricut cartridge and sprayed it with my brown and blue misters. It has that nice metallic finish. I added flowers by Prima and the Phrase bars are by All My Memories.

I did my best to explain the process I used to create this and hope you try a canvas project soon too. If you have any questions about what I did or used, just ask me in the comment section and I'll leave an answer for you.

12 Days of Christmas ~ Tags 11 & 12

And so we come to the final 2 "Tim tags." I have thoroughly enjoyed doing all these inspired tags but I can truly say, these last two were my favorites. That rose technique alone was worth the whole thing. I also enjoyed making my own "faux brads." I don't have the tool Tim used to create them so I showed you how I did them with buttons below.

Here is a close up of the flowers. My flowers are covered in Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist. I added some Gold Perfect Pearls to a Mini Mister and poured in the Glimmer Mist. Before spraying the flowers that beautiful shimmery red color, I used a make up sponge and sponged on darker highlight along the flower ridges. I then sprayed the flowers and dried.

Below are the steps I used to make my "faux brads." First I chose my vintage photo and printed it off on the canvas paper. You can find free Vintage clip art here.

Place the smooth side of your button on the sticky part of the canvas. Make sure you have cut out your picture and button in a circle and leave a litle over 1/4" all the way around. Proceed to make small cuts all the way around the circle.

Take one strip at a time and fold it over the back of the button.

Here is the finished result.

Below is a picture of Tim's day #11. The photo and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only posted here to show a comparison of inspiration. To get complete instructions for this tag, please go here.

Next up we have tag #12 and probably my favorite. Those roses are divine. They're not too incredibly difficult to make and with practice could become a lot easier.

Here is a close up of the roses.

Below is a picture of Tim's day #11. The photo and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only posted here to show a comparison of inspiration. To get complete instructions for this tag, please go here.

Thanks for joining me on the 12 tag journey.

Cousins are a wonderful thing.

Family is certainly a wonderful thing but it's really special when there is a close bond between family members. It's even better when it's 5 people. Below are my 4 cousins and me on my Mother's side. 5 girls...and close today as we were as kids. We all still live within 45 minutes of one another and make it a point to see each throughout the year. Someday, I will have to do a 2 page layout of all the photos we have taken over the years of the 5 of us.

I captured us using the Nature's Storybook Paper kit by Webster's Pages. I love the many details that you can find and use in Webster's Pages. In particular, I think this Collection has such rich colors choices.

I used the Martha Stewart Doily punch to create this double layered photo mat. The butterfly, I cut out from the patterned papers and bent the wings up to bring it up off the page.

I added the dark purple and light purple paper from my cardstock, took the rest of the pattern scraps and cut out all these different flowers. The shapes are various flower punches and Sizzix dies, layered together. On the light purple, you can see where I used a word stamp to add details to the petals.

Happy Monday everyone.

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Days 9 & 10

Nothing like a snow storm to help you hunker down and scrap. I finished up tags 9 & 10 tonight. #9 is my favorite of the two. I didn't have any of his film strips, so I made my own version. These photos are of my Mom, her two siblings and her parents at Christmas. I don't scrap too many heritage items but this seemed a perfect opportunity too.

Here we have Tim's tag which the photo and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only posted here to show comparison of inspiration. Full instructions to complete Tim's tag can be found here.

This one was a lot harder technique-wise. I'm not over the top thrilled with my version but it turned out okay. I didn't have the Adirondack Pens that he used so I sponged on my Alcohol Ink with the Ink dabbers. I love the vibrancy of the purple part of my tag and wish the other colors had turned out as vibrant, but I suppose it's something I'll have to try again another time.

Here we have Tim's tag which the photo and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only posted here to show comparison of inspiration. Full instructions to complete Tim's tag can be found here.

Tomorrow, I hopefully will be finishing a Webster's Pages project for Lil' Lambs Boutique. Keep an eye out.

Snowed In Scrappy Weekend

Howdy from our blizzardous region fellow scrappers. This is what our neighborhood looked like at 11:30 this morning. Yes, that's almost a foot of snow. And while you Buffalo, New Yorkers and North Dakotans laugh at us pathetic Southern folk, this is a HUGE deal here. We haven't had a snow like this in over 10 years and it's supposed to continue all day. Woo hoo, looks like a scrapping weekend to me.

Those poor little bumps in my front yard are my penguin family and I think they are destined for igloo life for the rest of this weekend. We won't be seeing them for a few days.



So on to scrappy goodness. I enjoyed the Mojo Monday sketch so much this week that I used it to make a bunch of more Christmas cards....of which I mailed before this white stuff above came in last night. All papers are from the Figgy Pudding collection by Basic Grey and stamps by Inkadinkadoo. The border edge punches are from Fiskars and Martha Stewart.

Keep watching this weekend because I should be getting 2 more Tim tags done and a new project for Lil' Lambs Boutique.

I just had to edit this post to add a couple more pictures. The snow is finally slowing down. I don't think I remember a snow this big since I was a kid. This is my oldest standing next to the drifted snow. My husband has added a several shovel fulls on top but it wasn't too many.

There are my cute little penguin bumps who have gone into hibernation.

Mojo Monday #117

So it appears I'm just making Christmas cards on the fly as I need them. I really must do one a week for a year, so I have them all done by the time Christmas comes. I'm on my way tonight to a Christmas party and whipped this one up this afternoon for the gift. Thanks Mojo Monday for the great sketch. It makes the limited brain power setting during Christmas work much easier.

The green card is from the Christmas DCWV boxed set, the snowflake embossed background is a Cuttlebug folder. The patterned papers are from the Figgy Pudding collection by Basic Grey and the stamp is by Inkadinkadoo.

Quick & Easy Christmas Gift

Here is a fun, quick & easy Christmas gift idea. My friend Patti, sent me a link for making these glittery Christmas balls. You can find the instructions here. They are easy and great projects for young kids as well.

The supply list is pretty short.
Clear Christmas ornaments - Michael's has a set of 8 for half price right now (around $4.50).
Fine Glitter
Pledge Future Shine Floor Finish (yes, you read that right. Walmart has it for around $6 and if you have a Shopper's Food Warehouse, you can snag it for about $4.25)
Ribbon
Plastic Wrap

Now go read the directions and pop out some great teacher gifts. This one below is for my girls' Awana teacher. The Cubbie is their class mascot. You can add any decorations to the front of your Christmas bulb or make a set of just the glittery bulbs with fancy bow tops...the choices are endless.

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Day 7 & 8

Nothing like a weekend to help you crank out scrapping projects. Not only did I get 2 more tags done but I also finished a couple of teacher gifts for my girls. I'll try to post those some time tomorrow. You won't want to miss it. It's such a great, quick idea that my friend Patti told me about.

So, basically for lack of a huge Santa face stamp and having to switch to slightly bigger tags for the last 6 tags, I opted for a different look from Tim's tag. I chose one of the big picture stamps from Stampendous of our Saviour come to earth. I didn't want to use the whole stamp, so I made an image of the stamp on paper, cut out (with an exacto knife) the part I wanted to see and left the shell (note you need the shell). I taped the shell onto my stamp, inked it up and stamped my tag. With the mask over my stamp, I only have the part I want on my tag.

I used Antique Linen, Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Broken China and Weather Wood distress inks for the background. The music stamp and stars are from Hampton Arts, the flourish from 7 Gypsies and the Noel stamp from Inkadinkadoo. I used Stickles and Liquid Pearls to add accent colors to the masked stamp.

Blah, blah, blah (for those following all 12 days, here's a repeat of the first 6): Disclaimer - Below is a picture of Tim's Day 7 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

Tag #8 was a lot of fun. Since I don't have a lot of stamps from Stampers Anonymous (not that I wouldn't love them all), I opted for a Frosty tag instead of the lamp post. The snowman and flourish stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

Most everything was the same except for the items I added to the snowman. I embossed the snowman on grungepaper with black and then I wiped across it with white acrylic paint. After heat drying the paint, I wet a paper towel and scrubbed the paint off of the embossed areas. In the snowman areas, I added Glossy Accents and then covered with Martha Stewart's Course Crystals (I really like this stuff). Note on the crystals: they are pretty clear when they aren't shimmering in the light, so you'll want to use them over some type of colored area. Finally I added Christmas Red stickles to the scarf area and berries to his hat. I think he turned out kinda cute.

Guess what time it is... Disclaimer - Below is a picture of Tim's Day 8 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

Happy crafting everyone. You still have time to get your gifts made before Christmas.

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Days 5 & 6

It's been a busy week here. I need more hours in a day or more limbs on my body.

I didn't forget the 12 tags of Christmas....here are days 5 & 6. I really loved Tim's Day 5 tag so I stuck pretty close to it. Instead of German Foil, I stamped designs on my edges and embossed with Detail Gold embossing powder. It gives a very similar look and is a bit less expensive for you budget savers.

The pictures inside the ornaments are from Crafty Secrets. The flourish is by 7 Gypsies and the "foil edges" are stamps by See Dee's. Background word stamp is by Hero Arts.

*Typical Disclaimer* Below is a picture of Tim's Day 5 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

For the Day 6 tag, I thought Tim's tag was incredibly creative. Since I didn't have a cool antique car stamp, I did my tag with the tree already delivered. Ha ha. I used a hymn page instead of a dictionary page for my background. The stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

No Fluff Stuff here, so I embossed my Christmas tree on grungeboard and then covered over with White Acrylic paint to fill in the cracks. I finished off with Icicles Stickles by Ranger for sparkly snow.

Aren't you tired of reading these disclaimers yet?? Below is a picture of Tim's Day 6 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

If you're also doing the 12 tags, don't forget, Tim extended the deadline for the Grand Prize until Dec 31st.

Mojo Monday #116

Yes, I know it's not Monday but my Mojo must have been hiding until last night. Here is my card for this weeks Mojo Monday challenge.

If you are a cardmaker and love a kickstart in inspiration, I highly recommend the Mojo Monday blog (see left sidebar below for link). Each week they have a new sketch, with card examples produced by their design team, to inspire even the most mojo-less scrapper. There are also plenty of participants for even more creative eye candy. Not to mention, this is really helping me get my Christmas cards done. Ha ha.

Here, I used the Basic Grey Fruitcake line. Wow, do I have a lot of Christmas Basic Grey paper. I may have to make a few more of these. Stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

Go, get your Mojo on. If you want to participate in the challenge too, here is the link to sketch #116.

Even Dandelions are beautiful things.

I took a quick break from making "Tim Tags" to work on this layout for Lil' Lambs Boutique. I picked up her Blue Prima Stitched Page Deluxe kit found here, and created this below of my oldest daughter. She's always been a fan of Dandelions and I'm not sure why. I happened to have my camera with me and caught this great picture of her with her Dandelion.

I took some of the blue velvet trim and cut a square piece to put under the clear pebble, on the white flower. Instant blue center! I also folded down the platinum flower to decrease it's size and work as a corner border for the photograph.

I love that lace that was included in the kit. So delicate and beautiful. I used Liquid Pearls by Ranger to create the dots around the photo mat.

Don't you forget to take time for the small things during this busy Christmas season!

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Day 3 & 4

What do you do when life hands you a bowl of lemons...why you scrap of course.

Below I have Days 3 & 4 inspired tags from Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. On Day 3, we created a plaid background using Alcohol Inks by Ranger. Very, very cool technique. I can definitely vouch that you need glossy cardstock and not photo paper. I tried both and the alcohol inks just blend in with the photo paper and there is no plaid effect created. Stamps on this tag are by Inkadinkado.

*Disclaimer* Below is a picture of Tim's Day 3 Tags. The photo below and tags are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

The Tag from Day 4 had the most adorable birdhouse created from several of the Inkssentials and Idea-Ology trinkets. I'm not sure how his brain thinks up these things, but I'm glad he does. I used more stamps from Inkadinkado on this tag below. The image in the birdhouse is vintage ephemera from Crafty Secrets. I decided to use a softer background for my tag and create more of a story with the birds and birdhouse, instead of the Christmas collage background that Tim chose. I used Old Paper and Tattered Rose to ink the background with Fired Brick and Walnut Stain for the edges.

*Disclaimer* Below is a picture of Tim's Day 4 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

Hope your Christmas season is Merry & Bright!!