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Christmas is definitely upon us and this week at Gingersnap Creations is was GC131 Random Redhead Challenge on Candelabras, Chandeliers and Candles.

So this was the perfect theme for a Christmas tag and the perfect way to use my Halloween Alterations  Die, Candlelight Fright, in a different way.

I inked my tag with Barn Door and then clear embossed it all over with a baroque style design.  This month we are very fortunate to be sponsored by Penny Wise Arts who stock a massive range of beads and sparkles for crafters so I used their black glass micro beads over glossy accents to bring out the swirls in my embossed background.

I painted my candelabra with crackle paint and used beadazzles for my flames.  

The numbers are cut from Ranger's Foil Tape which was embossed using an embossing folder.  The foliage was cut using Festive Greenery alterations die and distressed with the damask embossing folder.  I cut the snowflake in acetate and used a Star Dust stickle around the edge.

A little bead trim and some ribbons completed my tag - all ready for the challenge and for Christmas.

Hope you and your families all have a very Merry Festive Time.  xx

Dad

Cards for Men ... Don't you just hate trying to get some inspiration? (or is it just me?!!)  Half your stash is totally inappropriate ... hearts, flowers, beads, butterflies, fairies ... well I could just keep on going!  Even those men with a hobby must get tired of getting cards with golfers or mechanics on every year.   

My Dad's main hobby is restoring vintage cars but I did him a card with a car on last year - Tim Holtz's Old Jalopy to be precise so I needed to come up with something else.

Anyway, I decided to keep it simple and I'm actually really glad I did as I think this has worked out well.

I hope you agree ...

 x

Birthday Wishes Box

It's my Dad's birthday and there's absolutely nothing he wants!  We've exhausted all the clothing options, hobby supplies and theatre breaks so I decided that I would invest my time in creating his gift as my way to give him something special.

I have made him two batches of fudge - one chocolate and the other rum and raisin.  I bought an oval box from a local home store and although it was very nice, having a vintage photo of the Eiffel Tower, it has had a makeover!  

My Dad restores vintage cars as one of his hobbies and so that was my theme.

I painted the box with craft paint and then used stencils and Dylusions Sprays to create patterns and backgrounds (should have worn gloves and I now a couple of blue fingers!). 

I used images from the Dover 'Old-Time Transportation' CD to collage the box using Mod Podge.

I added the lace and spotty ribbon and used my Birthday Wishes stamp on the ribbon which came with the box.

I made a key fob with an old watch face and a circular tag from my stash (sourced from a garment I purchased).

All that remains is to fill the box with the fudge and send it to him.

Small Planet

This week the  challenge at Gingersnap Creations is GC129: Starry Night.  Our very kind sponsor for December is Penny Wise Arts who have a great range of fantastic beads and other cool stuff to get your creative mojo going!!

The idea for this piece came to me in the middle of the night and I then had to work backwards to create it.  I had a small bag of swarovski crystals in my stash which are SO sparkly that I decided they had to be the start of my starry night.  As they had pointed backs, I decided to use mountboard so that I could embed the crystals and achieve a flat sky.

I downloaded my earth from the internet and then cut my skyline using inspiration from a combination of buildings from various cities including New York, London and Hong Kong. 

I made the hollows for the crystals before covering my mountboard with Glossy Accents and pouring the black micro beads all over.  Once dry, I fixed the stars in position.

The buildings are all angled away from the earth and held in position using 3D silicone glue (which is one of my newer and much loved products!)

The final step was the sentiment; I had an intuitive feeling about the message I wanted but not the words to describe it.  Solution: put the task out to my in-house Design Team (aka the children!) and after a bit of brainstorming the options, I had my finished wording ... small planet ...   Big World ....   (thanks Max!)

Hope you feel like getting starry eyed and joining in the fun!

Stay Cosmic ...  x

Every Life ...

I made this card for my brother's birthday.  Cards for men are always a challenge and my brother is no exception.  He's quite an 'off the wall' kind of character so I wanted something querky.  I found the image of the flying man and set about putting him into a context.

The line of cottages and tree are new stamps by Butterfly Kisses which I had in mind to make snowy shaker Christmas cards with.  However, they were also great for building this scene ...

I cut clouds from masking sheets and they brayered the background.  I stamped my cottages and coloured them in before fixing then to my card.  The tree and sentiment (Stampotique) were stamped directly onto the background.

I printed my flying man onto acetate and cut it to fit around the rooftops before sticking it down with a little glossy accents.  Voila! My man has taken to the skies for some peace and quiet!!

Hope it brings a smile to your face and also my brother's!

x