Let It Snow

     This months challenge at Christmas Craft Creations is a sketch. As we are getting closer to Christmas you may wish to start making cards, if you haven't already, and share with us what you've made.

     I decided to work with white card only, it has a pearly shine to it so it glistens a little like snow. I also chose to make a square rather than a rectangular card but stayed within the sketch brief.

     To make the top part of the card look different from the bottom I used a snowfall embossing folder. The crisp dividing line is where I cut across the square and only embossed the top part, then stuck them back together afterwards.

     The trees were die cut and mounted on foam tape, the two smaller ones on 1mm and the large one on 2mm.

     The greeting has been moved across to the opposite corner because it looked a bit squashed under the trees. I have been trying to use my stash so the greeting is a peel off from a rather full box. To tie it all together I used a silver mat layer before mounting on a square card blank.

     It's a rather simple card but I think it's quite effective and a handy seasonal greeting for any winter celebration.

     As you begin to make your Christmas cards remember to come and share them with us at Christmas Craft Creations.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The 12 Month's Of Christmas - #81 Anything Christmas /Twist - Metallic

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - #558 Anything Christmas/option S

The Holly and Ivy - #100 Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - #38 Anything Christmas

My Time To Craft Christmas - #17 Embossing Hot/Dry

Pinstripe Poinsettia Tree

     A new Christmas tree for 2020 using the new Pinstripe Poinsettia die from John Next Door, this Pinstripe die fits perfectly with 2018's solid Poinsettia die.

      Using the solid die I cut several flower sets in gold pearl paper, then with the new Pinstripe die I cut the same number of sets in red card.
      For this project I only used the third and fourth size flowers from the set, the other sizes will be used for another project later. Each red layer was stuck on to a gold layer, after this I stuck one smaller flower on to one larger flower, making a total of nine flower sets.
      For the base of the flower ball I used a polystyrene ball which I coloured red with an alcohol marker. Each flower set is glued in place as well as having a long pin stuck through the centre in to the ball, this does mean it is not suitable for children.

       Like last years trees I chose to use a wooden cotton reel for the pot the tree would be planted in. The trunk is a small thick twig cut from the garden some months ago, there is a little paper wrapped round the twig that sits in the reel to keep it tight, as well as a little strong PVA to hold it in place.
      The soil is some brown flower granules stuck on with PVA and for the pot decoration I have cut some of the Poinsettia Leaves, but this time in dark green stuck over a pale green band of paper around the reel.
      The flower ball was then pushed on to the twig and glued in place. To finish, each flower had a small gold pearl gem stuck over the pin head

2019 Poinsettia Trees

Materials List
JND190 - Pinstripe Pionsettia Die
JND192 - Poinsettia Leaves
JNDCC017 - Poinsettia Die (solid shape)
Cotton Reel / Twig / Polystyrene ball
Card/Paper
S57262 - 3D PVA Glue

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

ABC Christmas - N is No Fuss/O is Over The Top   Over The Top

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

The Holly & Ivy - Anything Christmas

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

Die Cut Divas - Christmas In July

Dies R Us - Christmas In July

Ike's World - S is Show Us Christmas In July

The Paper Girls - Christmas In July

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

     This month's challenge at Christmas Craft Creations is Christmas Trees, so come and join us with your seasonal makes if it's got a Christmas tree on it.

     Using a tree shaped die I cut a window in my card blank, I had used a square card and it looked a bit 'roomy' at the top, so I chopped it down to be tree shaped too.
     The window made the front a little flimsy so I added acetate to strengthen it. I was going to put the greeting tree inside but it didn't look very good, so I decided to stick it to the acetate on the outside. This meant I needed a contrast colour behind it to make it stand out, so for the cream card I cut a green tree and the white card a patterned blue paper.
     The outside edges of the card were quite bare so I used a 2in1 glue pen and added foil all the way around. Making two at the same time, but in different colours, was a good way to build up my card stash so when we get to November I can start making decorations instead of cards.

I would like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas

Oh Christmas Tree

     Trees are the optional theme for Christmas At Sweet Stampin' this month. I dug a few things from my stash and began to play around with various trees, settling on a traditional looking Christmas tree.

     Inkylicious have a rather nice splatter plate but as I wanted to make smaller cards for posting I managed to get their newer Mini Splatter, great for a 5 inch square.
     Using Distress Oxides Jeans & Spruce I made the background by inking up the plate, then spritzing it with a little water containing pearl mica powder, before stamping it onto my card base.
     Using a Lavinia Christmas tree I stamped it with Versafine Olympia Green.

     I wanted to use a red pearl card to cut the word Christmas but I couldn't find any, so I made my own. Using the small spritz bottle of water with pearl mice added I sprayed my red card very lightly.
     Once dry I cut the word with a Tim Holtz die but as it's rather thin I left it in the die, dabbed the glue on the back of the card and then placed it on the background and gently poked it out of the die. I found this much easier than fighting with it, I also did this with the word Merry, it made sure the spacing was perfect as well.
     This card was so easy to make I decided with time running out that I would batch make, creating my own background means they are not all the same.
     Please pop over to Christmas At Sweet Stampin' to see all the DT inspiration, then come and join us with your project.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Unicorn - Christmas/Winter

Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/Winter

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Poinsettia Trees

      When I saw John Next Door's new Poinsettia Swirl die this is the first thing I thought of, trees. There are so many colour combinations you could do with these, they don't have to be for Christmas either.

      To start with I cut three sets of solid flowers in gold paper, the beauty of John's flower & foliage dies is you can get four sets from one A4 sheet. Then I cut one set each in white, green and red using the swirl die.
     These are hand drawn shapes so they are not perfectly symmetrical, just like real flowers, so you will have to turn them around until you find the perfect match. Once I had the perfect match I glued the flowers together using a good strong PVA, I get in too much of a mess spraying glue, plus I have to go to the greenhouse to do it. One tip that may be useful is once your flower is lined up glue the centre only, this will hold it in place while you go around the petals, there's nothing more frustrating than when it slips out of alignment!

      While the glue dried on the flowers I made my tree trunks. This consists of a wooden cotton reel, plastic would work but won't be as heavy and sturdy once built. For the trunk I used a bamboo skewer, this is held firmly in the cotton reel by wrapping approximately 7" of thin card around the skewer and gluing it inside the cotton reel. I did not cut the skewer to length until the tree was assembled just in case it was too short.
      The visible trunk is then a series of paper beads, made with the same card as the swirls so they match. One bead followed by one flower all the way up the trunk, all made using a spare skewer as a master thus ensuring they fit the tree skewer.
      Bead list:  3 x 1/2" wide and 4" long      &     2 x 3/8" wide and 4" long

     Each flower, except the smallest one, will need a small hole in the centre for threading, don't be tempted to use a hole punch for this as the hole may be too big, use a pokey tool and gently tease the flower over the skewer for a snug fit.
     Begin with a large bead before the first petal, then use the remaining two larger beads in between the next petals, finishing with the two smaller beads toward the top of the tree. 
     I used a spot of PVA at each stage so the beads and flowers stayed firm and it all stuck to the skewer. Once the last bead was stuck in place I cut the skewer off flush with the top, the smallest flower was then stuck over the top to cap the tree. To finish off I stuck a small gold pearl on the top but a tiny star would look just as good, or even a mini fairy if you can find one.
     I had some one inch strips of white and gold patterned paper left over from making stars, these were just the right width for wrapping the cotton reels. I coloured the papers with alcohol markers to get a match for the green and red trees and glued them in place. To make a perfect finish you could cover the bottom of the cotton reel with thick card or felt to hide the skewer and stop it marking a polished surface.
     A small forest of trees on the mantle piece would look great or maybe use them as place markers on your Christmas Dinner table. If you make some of these I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, if you have any questions please comment and I will do my best to answer them.

Materials List
JND132 - Swirl Pionsettia Die
JNDCC017 - Poinsettia Die
Cotton Reel
Bamboo Skewer
Card/Paper
Stix2 3D PVA

I would like to enter these trees in the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland - Christmas Ornaments

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional S
The 12 Months of Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Kraft
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Feather Tree In The House Of Cards

     The new challenge at House Of Cards is to use gold and pearl accents, I have also tried to use some of the inspirational colours on the swatch on this Christmas card.

     I was shown the most gorgeous tree made with Lavinia's feather stamp, I have tried to make something similar but it isn't as pretty as the one I saw, I'll just have to keep trying!
     This one is stamped and embossed in gold on cream card, the edges are coloured with Distress Old Paper and I have tried to give the tree a little ground to stand on too.
     The image was then matted and layered with dark blue and gold before going on a cream 7x5 card blank. I left the addition of the pearls until the image panel was mounted so I could still get it in my trimmer.
     After adding the pearls I had to make a small organza bow as I didn't have one ready made, I coloured white ribbon with an alcohol marker and then used a fork to tie my bow, again something that I need to practice more! Although I used an alcohol marker I still didn't want to use wet glue...just incase, it's been one of those weeks...so I used a small glue dot to fix the bow on the card.
     A relatively simple card to make with a gorgeous feather stamp, two uses for this stamp so far and counting, don't you just love value for money.
     Please come and join us at House Of Cards with you creations, they don't have to be Christmas cards, any occasion as long as you follow the theme.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas Goes
Cardz 4 Guyz - Into The Woods

Sparkles Christmas - Embossing Heat or Dry
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Plaited magazine trees

     Following on from the plaited wreath I decided to play around and make some trees from old magazines. I've really enjoyed making these because it reminds me of long hot summer days sitting in the garden making corn dollies.

     Trees can be made starting from the top or the bottom depending on which pattern you're following, these started from the bottom because that's the way this video showed.
     The most time consuming part is rolling the straws, making the tree is really quick and easy. You can vary the size of your tree by the size of cone you use to work round. Tip: Don't be tempted to use a polystyrene cone, I did and it got stuck inside, a rolled card one is much easier and surprisingly strong.
     I sprayed the smallest tree with gold paint and stuck a gold glitter paper origami star on the top but these could be painted any colour to match your decor. A large tree with a string of lights around it would look good and you can hide the battery pack under the tree so you can put them almost anywhere.

I would like to enter these trees in the following challenges:

Crafting By Designs - Anything Goes

Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Creates and Makes - Anything Goes

Moo-Mania - Trees

Christmas Wishes from The Male Room

     Welcome to Christmas Wishes from The Male Room, sorry I'm a little late. This challenge will run until the end of December, so if like me, you are running a little behind, you will still have time to join us with your Masculine Christmas project.

      I have to confess that this card is a rescue card, I found it in bits on the floor at the end of a craft show. Torn, smudged and with a large footprint on it I still couldn't throw it in the bin.
     The stepper card was fine with just a tear at the bottom, so that is covered with dark red paper. The Greeting panel was ripped beyond all help and the image panel was smudged as well as having a large footprint right across it.
     I have the Woodware Bubble Tree stamp in my stash so I stamped a new panel and transferred most of the Candi from the damaged image to the new one, with the addition of a few Stickles the panel was complete. I have used a peel off greeting as I have lots in my stash to be used up.
     I'm happy to have rescued such a lovely card from the bin, having the same stamp meant it really didn't take much work to save it. So if you go horribly wrong when making something, put it down and walk away, leave it for a while and when you go back to it you may see a way to save it.
     If you don't get time to join us at The Male Room this month then we hope to see you next year with lots more masculine challenges, Happy Christmas!

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Christmas Goes

Jingle Belles - Anything Christmas

Addicted To Stamps - Christmas

Christmas Card Trees

     Altered Eclectics is all about mixed media and recycling, making projects other than cards and ATC's so when I was given a bag full of old shop bought Christmas cards I decided to make something with them.

     How do you turn paper back into a tree? Well I searched around for an idea and came across a tree that I liked the look of, the only trouble was it was going to be much too big for where I wanted to put it and I found the construction a bit fiddly.
     After a bit of playing around I settled on this method, cut 16 strips 4" x 1", 16 strips 3.5" x 3/4", 8 strips 3" x 1/2" and 8 strips 2.5" x 1/2". This makes 12 layers of decreasing size.
     Curl over and stick both ends of each strip to form a point with the printed side upwards.

     Mark the centre of each strip on the back so you know where to put the foam pad as you build the layers. Begin with the largest strips and stick two together using a large square foam pad to form a cross, then stick two more at an angle to the first two, it will look like one of those ribbon stars you get to stick on presents. Make sure there is a foam pads between every strip and stack them up gradually to form your tree until the last layer of small strips at the top. This tree, depending on the thickness of your foam pads, should come out at about 3.5" tall.

      With the addition of a small origami star made from glitter paper the tree is finished.
     Just right for little table settings, you could add a name tag to each one and use it as a place tag.
     I wouldn't dream of doing this to a handcrafted card but a shop bought one from last year has many uses. The children can make these without too much mess and when the festive season has finished it can be recycled again.
     Come on over to Altered Eclectics to see all the different projects we've made and join us with your creation.

I would like to enter these trees in the following challenges:

Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Christmas

Creative Moments - Anything Goes

Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Bubble And Bling

     Here's another of the workshop cards we are making today at The Corn Hall. There are two colour variations in the samples but it's up to the students how they decorate their tree.

       The tree is stamped and embossed ready to receive it's decoration.
      These two cards have been decorated with a mixture of glue dots and PVA holding glitters and foils. There are peel off holographic dots, some left gold and silver, some silver ones coloured with peel off pens to get red and blue. The same pens have been used to colour Icing Sugar Candi to go along with the gold and silver Candi. Even gems can be coloured with the pens to match your decoration.
      The white decorated panel is then mounted on a co-ordinating layer of pearl paper before going on to a white card blank. The greeting is stamped and embossed, then punched out and mounted on foam pads.

Materials list - available from your  local craft shop

Woodware Craft Collection - Stampendous Silver / Gold Embossing Powder

                                          Stamps - JGS355 Bubble Bloom Festive Tree / FRCL184 Christmas Rounds

                                                        JGS404 Christmas Cheer

                                          98091H  Holographic Peel Offs 

                                          Peel Off Pens

                                          826-07  11/2" Circle Punch

Stix2 Anything -  Glitters

                         PVA Glue

                         Micro Beads

                         Glue Dots 3mm / 6mm / 10mm

                         Craft Foils

                         Tape Runner

                         Foam Pads

I would like to enter these trees in the following challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round - Christmas Tree

Merry Monday - Red and Gold

12 Months Of Christmas - Sparkle (FT)

Glory Of Christmas - Glitter and Shine

Sparkling Tree

     With only 188 sleeps to go maybe now is the time to start making Christmas cards if you haven't already. Come and join us at CASE-ing Christmas, we have lots of inspiration for you, each week we have a card to CASE so there's always something to spark your imagination.

     This week we have a lone tree from Ellen to get us started, you may find something else in her card to start you off but I went for the tree because I love this stamp. This tree is from the same set as the row of trees I used on Monday's post, it's by Creative Expressions.
     I have embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Black Sparkle on white pearlescent card, then die cut with Spellbinder Mega Rectangles. It is finished off with a gold star brad (thanks Ruth) to add my dash of colour so I can enter 52 Christmas Card Throwdown again this week.
 

     The next layer is plain black card, with the final layer being white card that has been edged with Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Crystal Sparkle embossing powder, just covering the edge that is seen gives me a glitter card layer.
     The card base is cut from black card placing the fold just below the cutting edge of the largest die, that way my card has the same shape as the top layers. It is folded to form an easel.
     I have put a small white shape inside to be written on, it is hidden when the card stands.

     To hold the easel I have used the smallest die to cut a black shape and stamped and embossed with white powder.
     The greeting label is mounted on foam pads so it holds back the picture layer when being displayed. The tree is on foam pads on the black layer and that is again on foam pads on the white glitter layer.
     I have added a couple of gold star swirls to the front corners just to tie in the colours.
     Please come and join us at CASE-ing Christmas, we would love to see your creations.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Colours  Black/White and One Other

Christmas Card Challenges - Anything Goes
The Glory Of Christmas - Snow
Holly Jolly - Frame It

Oh Christmas Tree

     This lovely row of trees is a digi stamp by Bugaboo called Christmas Tree Row, they are our sponsors over at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra. We are an anything goes as long as it's Christmas challenge so you don't have to make a card, it could be a decoration or a gift.
     I have printed the trees out twice on white card and matched them up, I had to draw a small ground line to join them with a black pen. They are coloured with alcohol markers in various shades of green with little brown trunks.
     The snow line is coloured with a Cool Grey marker which has a slightly blueish tinge, I have also made some small marks along the snow at random. Each tree is outlined with an Ice Grey marker to make the green stand out more. Every brand of markers are slightly different even if the colour names are the same so I play on a spare piece of card first to check it's the colour I want.
     I have used Sakura Stardust pens to colour the lights and the stars on the trees. This has been picked up by using a gold mat layer under the image panel before going on to green backing paper on a white card blank. The greeting is a continuous peel off in gold, a bit tricky to line up but with a little patience I got there.
     Please come and join in the festive fun at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra, it's never too soon to start those cards.

Christmas Box Scene

     My contribution to the All Crafts Challenge design team is a box scene. I made one of these for a friend instead of a card and she was so pleased with it she is going to use it as a decoration each year, when something like that happens it makes it all worth while, thanks Ang.
     I found the box at a boot sale, it's a corrugated card box that came flat, it just folds into place with a couple of tabs to hold it, I think it was for a cosmetics firm originally.
     The base inside is cotton wool stuck down firmly. There are some tiny snowflake peel offs attached to the back of the box to look like falling snow.
     The decoration of the box has been kept simple to make sure the tree is the focal point.

     The tree is a demijohn cork for the base,with a drift wood trunk pushed into the hole. One of my favourite pastimes is beach combing and I love driftwood, I saw a whole tree on the beach in New Zealand but it wouldn't fit in my bag!!!!!
     The top of the tree is three layers of rosette die from Sizzix. The base layer is Tim Holtz Snowflake, the next two are from Medallions, all cut in thick white paper.
     When assembling the rosettes they need to resemble lamp shades in shape, it can be tricky holding them in place and using a hot glue gun but it is possible, Tim Holtz has this on his blog somewhere so you can see how it's done, all three layers are hot glue stuck on to the trunk.
     There is some clear glitter on the layers to add twinkle, but the main feature is the little angel on the top. She is made from beads and findings from a local bead shop, if you have a bead shop near you go and ask them for the bits, most of them will have them this time of year.
     To finish off the tree the angel is stuck on top and some crochet lace is added to the pot. When sticking the tree inside I have made a small hole in the cotton wool so that it sticks to the box and won't fall over.

I would like to enter my Christmas box scene in the following challenges:

Creative Corner Challenges - Winter Wonderland

4 Crafty Chicks - Die Cuts

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

Try It On Tuesday - Christmas Is Coming

Winter Wonderland - Dies and Punches

Pyramid Pear Trees

     Welcome to another Creative Expressions project, this time I have chosen to make a festive decoration rather than a card.  These trees make great table decorations, as they are not very tall you can see over the top of them.  The different sizes all stack inside each other for easy storage if you choose to keep them rather than let your dinner guests take them home.

      Using a banner/pennant die cut three identical shapes, this will make one tree. You may wish to make a four sided tree, the construction principal is the same.

      Score along the two long sides of the triangle to help with folding after you have embossed. There is no need to score the bottom as this will not be folded.

      Use an anti-static bag to wipe over your card before stamping with Perfect Medium and sprinkling with embossing powder.
     The small green tree is stamped with the music background from the Partridge In A Pear Tree set and then embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold embossing powder.
     The medium tree is Foundations Vintage Gold card stamped with a script stamp and embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Golden Meadow Blaze.

      For the large tree I have used Foundations Card Taupe, from the neutral multi pack. The branch is from the Partridge set and I have used the Golden Meadow embossing powder again. You can see in this photo the difference between melted and unmelted, the magic happens when heated.
     I usually heat from below as this gives a nice smooth melt, heating from above can sometimes give a tiny dimpled effect.

      The sentiments are all embossed in Bright Gold, the partridge and pears are embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Ancient Copper.
     Once all stamping is done gently fold along the score lines and glue the sides together along the little folded edge with Cosmic Shimmer dries clear PVA. If some of the edges appear a little messy then put glue down the edges and sprinkle with glitter to disguise it.
     Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder does not crack easily, fold gently and it should not fall off.

      The pears come as one stamp in the set, I have cut the stamp apart carefully, but I have not trimmed them. This is so that I can put them back together again as one stamp if I wish, once joined on an acrylic block they will stamp as if they were one again. I have also done this with the partridge, who comes attached to the 'and a partridge' sentiment. It's a way of getting more out of your stamps and they can be used more easily than trying to mask bits off.
     These trees are something that could be made with children as long as they are supervised during cutting and heating, you could leave out the heat embossing altogether and use mica powders instead. Medium sized trees as place cards for a large family dinner would be something different.

     I do hope you enjoy making these trees, please let me know how you get on. I do read all my comments and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Materials Used 
Partridge In A Pear Tree stamp set
Perfect Medium Ink Pad
Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powders - Bright Gold / Ancient Copper / Golden Meadow Blaze
Foundations Card - Taupe / Vintage Gold   (green from stash)
Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear PVA Glue

I would like to enter these trees in the following challenges:

The Artistic Stamper - Christmas Is Coming
Challenge Blog By Creative Shopping - Christmas Tree
Allsorts - Anything BUT A Card
Anything But A Card - Anything Goes
Crafting Musketeers - Anything BUT A Card