Christmas Canvas

Hi all! Today I am sharing a Christmas Canvas I made as my annual "Auntie Gift".

A few years ago, we decided to stop exchanging gifts between the older members of our family. We only buy presents for the kids. I really enjoy making things for the family, so I started making something for my girls to give their Aunts,that way I can still make stuff for everyone, and they don't feel obligated to reciprocate, as they already give gifts to the girls.

Here is this year's Auntie Gift:

I started with an 8x10 canvas. I painted it two coats of Martha Stewart Satin Acrylic paint in Tartan Red. Then painted two coats of Folk Art Extreme Glitter Acrylic Paint in Red.

I then used my Word Collage Cartridge and cut the Christmas Image. I used my gypsy and hid the top line as it would not fit on my canvas very well. I cut the image in GF501 Glossy White Vinyl. I wanted a sturdier permanent vinyl. I get my Vinyl from H&H sign Supply.

Here is a close up of the holly on the canvas. I left off the vinyl holly and berries from the two spots on the collage and put on some small holly leaves that I cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge. I used my Xyron and glittered them up good. The berries are tiny jingle bells I picked up at Hobby Lobby.
Here is a close up of the belt on the bottom of the canvas. I used some ribbon from my stash. I attached three eyelets to it and cut a Belt buckle from some silver specialty paper I picked up at Joann's . I just used my gypsy and the George cart to make a silhouette square that fit the exact width of my ribbon. I finished the canvas up with a few gems where the letters are dotted.

It may be hard to see in the picture, but these are very sparkly from the glitter paint. I just love glittery decorations for the holidays!

Hope you have a fantastic Holiday!

Have a Great and Crafty Day!

Jan

Xmas tree made out of a book

Hi all!

I wanted to share a tree I made out of an old paperback book that I didn't really like.

I got the idea from the December 2011 Issue of Family Circle Magazine.

After following the folding directions in the magazine, I inked the edges of the folds using Tim Holtz's Spun Sugar Distress Ink. I then sprayed the entire tree with adhesive and poured two types of glitter all over it. Well its pretty sparkly, but it sheds glitter an awful lot. My apologies to the recipients of this gift. LOL

This tree has absolutely no Cricut on it! Gasp! The only cuts on the entire project are the stars on top and I used some Creative Memories Punches for those.

They are cut onto some silver foil paper I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I then inked them up using Stampin' Up inks in Blushing Bride and Tempting Turquoise.

The Garlands are made using twine in pink and blue. The bells and beads were from my stash.

I tied the little beads to the blue twine, but then decided that the beads needed some glitter, so I went back and put glossy accents on all the beads and dipped them in glitter.

For the pink twine, I braided three strand and just attached a blue bead inside the middle string every so often. I later glitter these beads as well.

I have been LOVING using glitter lately. Yup,.. its a big mess everywhere and my family has stopped pointing out that I have glitter all over my face and clothes, but I just don't think that Stickles gives the same coverage that using glue and glitter does.

Thanks for visiting today.

Have a Glittery Holiday!

Jan

Light Up framed Winter Scene

Hi all! Today I am sharing a gift I made for a few of my good friends.

Its a light-up framed winter scene. My inspiration for this came from a Christmas decoration I spotted at IKEA last season. I just loved it with the all white trees and the lights shining up from the bottom.

So here is my take on that inspiration:

The only image cut on this is a tree from Christmas solutions cart. I just cut the image and blackout layers in several different sizes. They are cut from Coordination's gemstones paper. I glittered the edges of each cut as well as the outside edges of all the blackout layers.

The snow drifts were cut using my old wavy trimmer from Creative Memories. I added a few star gems to the sky.

Here you can see how I layered all the trees using pop-dots. Some trees and backgrounds were layered using only one set of pop-dots. On a few trees I doubled the thickness of the pop dots to give more dimension.

Here it is lit up. Its really cool in the dark, but I couldn't get those pictures to turn out. I need some photography lessons. (and perhaps a better camera. lol)
Inside, below the snowdrift, I taped a string of ten white lights. The string was originally 20 lights long, but that was too long to fit in the narrow space, so my awesome Hubby cut them down and fixed them so they are safe.

The frames are actually shadow boxes designed to hold t-shirts. They are slightly larger than a 12x12 frame, but loads cheaper.

Thanks for visiting today.

I have a few more Christmas presents I need to finish up before this weekend.

Have a Great and Crafty Holiday Season!

Jan

Christmas Gift Bag - Cricut Circle Monthly Challenge

Hi all!

Boy I am really shocked at how many blog posts I am squeezing in right now. Its crazzzy!

Here is my project for the Cricut Circle Blog Monthly Challenge: Holiday Gift Wrapping.

I used the Countdown to Christmas Cuttlebug embossing folder. I just love it. I kind of think the bag is a little plain, but that's okay. I am sure the recipient will love it anyway.

I cut a star from George and the 25 is from Winter Woodland. I used my Gypsy to hide the inside cuts on the numbers. The Joy is also from Winter Woodland. I added a little glitter accent to the snowflakes and the piece of candy. The ribbon and rick rack are from my stash.

The holly leaves are also from Winter woodland. I sized them down under an inch so they would fit over the holly on the embossed image. I colored some clear gems with my red Sharpie to make the berries. I embossed a few of the images on some scraps and hand cut them out. I added some marker and glitter to the images.
The tag was one I cut quite a while ago for another project. I have a bunch of them sitting in a tray. I can't remember which cart it is from, there are so many with tags on them. The tag is also embossed with the same folder and I used a border punch for the white label part. The stamp is from Close to My Heart.
I added a piece of lace to the top of the bag, per my daughter's request. She was definitely right on that one!

Well... we are one day closer to Christmas, and the holiday frenzy is starting to whip up here.

I am absolutely certain I won't be getting very much sleep again until after the New Year. LOL

Thanks for visiting today.

Have a Merry Day!

Jan

Glitter Snowflake ornament - Circle Blog Challenge

Hi all!

Today I am sharing an ornament I made for the Cricut Circle Weekly Blog Challenge. I haven't participated in a challenge in quite a while. Making all those Christmas crafts has got me back into the swing of crafting, and I am loving it!

So the requirements for the challenge is two Cricut images and glitter.

Here is my ornament:
Sorry for the dark pictures. The lighting in my scraproom is dreadful. (as is my photographer skills. lol)

Anyway..... I started with a plastic ornament that comes in two pieces that snap together. Mine is from Darice. I layered a teal glitter on the inside of the back piece using floor wax.
I then cut a 3D snowflake from Winter Lace. I actually cut two of each layer to give it some strength. I then glittered the snowflake added some gems and a hanger made from clear thread.
I suspended my snowflake inside the two halves and then glued the ornament shut. I layered a piece of sparkly teal tulle around the seam of the ornament and tied it into a bow at the top. I cut a two-layered snowflake from Art Philosophy and added it to the bow. I also used some twine for the hanger.
It went together fairly fast if you don't count the glitter/glue drying time. lol.

All in all, its a pretty easy ornament to make.

Christmas is almost upon us, and I still have projects I am working on. I also still need to make cookies. eek!

Thanks for visiting today. I am off to get more glitter everywhere. :)

Hope your Holidays are full of glitter too!

Jan

Christmas Express 3D

Hi all! Well Here we are in the week before Christmas. I have been crafting quite a bit lately making presents for people.

I have discovered the delights of Make the Cut software. I had been resistant to getting it, as I was afraid of how complicated the software might be. My only experiences thus far were using Cricut Design Studio and my Gypsy. However I love so many of the SVG files that are out there, as well as having the ability to cut any font.

I am very happy to say that I LOVE it! True, I am still a complete novice, but I am learning the more I mess around with it.

So here is my first project using Make the Cut and an SVG I purchased from Lettering Delights called Christmas Express Train 3D:

Here are close ups of all the individual cars:

The Engine:
I added embossing, glitter and gems to most of the cars. On the engine, I also added a large antique gem from my grandmothers stash of goodies as the headlight. The holly was cut from Christmas Cheer.

Train car 2:

Train Car 3:
This one I added some heat set star studs that I bought forever ago and never used.

Train car 4:
The Little Christmas tree is a bell. there is one on each side. I also added a little bakes twine bow.

Train car 4:
The Caboose:

Its hard to see from this angle, but I added a little metal candy cane charm to a spiral clip and stuck it on the back end of the caboose.

I made 4 sets of these, one for myself and one for three very good friends of mine. I can't wait to give these to them.

So, as my first SVG cut, I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I look forward to expanding my crafting to new areas with this software.

Hope everyone has a Great and Crafty Holiday!

Jan

2011 Christmas Card

Hi all!

I just want to put up a quick post of my Christmas Card for this year.

It is a super simple card. The scalloped base and large circle layer were cut using Art Philosophy cart. This is my new Go-To cart. There are so many images on this cart, and EVERY button and shift key is filled, unlike many of PC's newer cartridges.

I really hope Close To My Heart comes up with another fully designed cartridge. I would buy it for sure!

I stamped some images using Stampin' Up craft Ink in Whisper White. The snowflake stamp is one I picked up a few years ago. I wish I had saved the packaging so I could tell you who made it, but alas, it is a mystery.

The Let it Snow stamp is a Fiskars' simple stick, repositional stamp that I picked up this year. I have to say, that although I love to be able to see through the acrylic stamps, I really like the crisp images you get from a rubber stamp. The Fiskars' stamps are tacky so they stick to the clear blocks very nicely.

I added some glitter to the card fronts using this AWESOME glue pen my friend hooked me up with. Its called Write 'n' Rub foiling pen. I traced where I wanted glitter, then you let the glue dry until its clear. Then it is tacky for ever so you can do all your gluing first and then go back and add the glitter. Its great for mass-production things like Christmas cards. I will say that the glue is a little smelly, but its a small matter for such an great working product. I will definitely be adding more of these to my adhesive arsenal.

Gotta run...Christmas is fast approaching and I still need to finish a few things as well as make my cookies! .....Where DID the time go this year?

Thanks for visiting today.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Jan

Red, Black & Cream Holiday Mini Album

Hi All!

FINALLY something I can post about! I have been very busy crafting, but as most of the things I am currently making are gifts, I can not post most of them here until they have been given to the recipients.

I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Actually, I did make these as teacher gifts, but I don't think any of my dd's teachers visit here, so I am safe in posting this early.

I decided to make these cute mini albums based on a design for a mini I made at Archiver's a few years ago.

I purchased one 8.5 x 11 paper pack from Hobby Lobby, and the rest of the supplies were all from my stash. (I have alot of stash. LOL) The shape is from Art philosophy and the Joy is a fiskars stamp.

Page 2 uses Tim Holtz Snowman embossing folder on Coordinations Black Magic collection in Black/tan. The snowflake is from Art Philosophy. I glittered the snowflake. The tag is hand cut and I used a fiskars border punch on the bottom.

Here is the back side of page two. I used a strip of paper from the pack to cover the backside of the snow man. I used a glitter pen to give a few sparkle highlights to some of the ornaments on the paper.

Page 3 is made out of acetate. I adhered a smaller red square to the front and then cut a flower from Flower Shoppe.

Here is a close-up of the flower. I cut two layers from Flower shoppe out of black glitter paper. I then used a clear epoxy circle sticker and placed it on one of the coordinating patterned papers from the pack and cut it down to size to make the center. It is hard to see, but I inked the edges of the flower in Tim Holtz Barn Door (Red) to stand out some more. I love the way it looks, the picture just doesn't do it justice.

Here is the back side of the acetate page. I cut the snowflake doily from Art Philosophy. I stuck a few gems on some of the snowflakes.

For the next page, I used Sizzix Starry Night #2 embossing folder on red/Black Magic Coordinations paper. I used the Tim Holtz tiny attacher to add the trim at the bottom.

The ornaments were from Art Philosophy. I use glitter on the cuts and tied Bakers Twine for the strings.

Here is the backside of page 3. I used a border punch to make the border, and the mat is from another piece of coordinating paper from the stack.

I made a small tulle rosette and another epoxy button for the middle.

This next page is smaller than the rest. It is made out of grunge paper. It is embossed with Sizzix Sugar folder. I made a little garter for the page using some stretchy ribbon. The snowflake is a white brad that I covered with cream colored liquid pearls.

Here is the last page. I used plain cream colored cardstock and embossed it using Cuttlebug's countdown to Christmas folder. I filled in a few of the impressions with a glitter pen.

The Poinsettia is cut from Art Philosophy. I cut three layers, inked the edges in Black Soot, shaped the petals and added gold glitter to the center.

Here is the backside of the last page. I just added a strip of patterned paper that was left over after cutting all my squares. I also added a few black star gems from my stash.

Here are all eight minis I made. The covers are different, but all inside pages are the same. I used red. black and cream ribbon and tulle to decorate the spines.

One batch of gifts done, now I have to go and finish more....

Thanks for visiting today.

Have a Great and Crafty Holiday Season!

Jan

Xmas Tube Treats

Hi All!

Today's post is some little treats I made for my nieces and nephew. I borrowed this cartridge from a friend of mine to see if I really wanted to get it. I love birds and there are some really cute little birdies on this cartridge.

I chose the Santa image on page43 for my tag. I used my bazzil scraps for all the bird cuts. For the Beard I used liquid applique and sprinkled glitter over it before heating. (A tip I learned from my Friend Missie. Thanks Missie!) The fur trim on the hat has just plain liquid applique on it. The stamp is from 7 Gypsies. I added a few dots using a white gel pen. The rick-rack and pearl strings are also from my stash.
Here is a picture of the test tubes I filled with mini M&Ms. I tied them to the tag using a sheer ribbon from Hobby Lobby. The diamond paper is from Recollections Jingle Bells Stack.
Thanks for visiting today.

Have a Great and Crafty Day!

Jan

Mom's 70th Birthday Cards

Hello! I have been away from my blog for too long. I have recently been diagnosed with arthritis, although the doctors are still trying to determine whether it is a rheumatoid or osteo variety. I have been struggling with my arthritis and crafting. Some days are better than others, but I am getting better at living with the changes that are occurring.

I am going to really strive to craft a little everyday. My plan is to also pick up my blog posting again. Although, I have made a few items recently, Most are gifts and I do not want to spoil any surprises for the recipients, so I will not be posting them until after the gifts have been given.

Anyway... We recently celebrated my Mom's 70th Birthday. My siblings and our families met near St. Louis for Thanksgiving weekend. We all haven't been together since my Dad passed away so it was great to have everyone there.

We all went in together and bought my Mom a new laptop and I was charged with making the card for everyone to sign.

Here it is: I used a design from a Close to my Heart design book, although I made the card larger to have enough room for all of us to sign.

The patterned papers were from the Lost and Found line. I just love these glittery pages. The green leaf embossed paper is older Creative Memories paper from my stash.

The medallion is Tim Holtz. (I absolutely LOVE Tim Holtz Products!) This was also my first time sewing on a card. I practiced quite a bit before I actually sewed on my specialty paper. I also just sewed around the pieces separately and then adhered them to the card.

This stamp is from Stampin' Up. I used Versamark Ink and Zing embossing powder on it.

The inside of the card just had a small sentiment stamp that said "Happiness always" on it.

Maddie and Ellie, my two younger girls, also made cards for Granny. Maddie used Once Upon a Princess and my Baby Bug to decorate her card. She did all the cutting and pasting herself. Ellie opted for just using stamps. LOTS of stamps. LOL
Here is the inside of Ellies. I just love that she took a scrap of glittery paper and taped it to the bottom of the inside. She spends a lot of time watching me craft, and I am glad she is picking up on things.
Maddie's inside was full of snowflake stamps, as my Mom's birthday is actually in late December.
I love to see the creations that my daughters come up with. They just make my day!

Thanks for visiting today.

Have a Great and Crafty Day!

Jan