Christmas Krafting (Part 2)

I'm back with part two of my kraft card/Sizzix Extravaganza. If you remember, I created two cards last week to add to my display at the Hobbycrafts show in Birmingham. In truth, I started with one card and another one quickly followed at which point I was having so much fun..... you know the story!!

To complete my little vignette I decided to design a couple of Christmas packaging ideas using dies from the new Tim Holtz Christmas range.

Here is a list of the dies that I used, all of which are designed by Tim, and you can see each set by clicking on the links.

• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Holiday Greens
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 17PK - Holiday Words: Block
• Sizzix Bigz Die - Jumbo Tattered Pinecone
• Sizzix Bigz L Die - Stacked Snowflakes
• Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Pillow Box w/Labels
• Sizzix Framelits die Set 8PK - Tag Collection

I started by die-cutting a pillow box from craft card before using one of the Holiday Words dies to create the aperture cut. I applied a little acrylic gesso to my craft sheet before spreading with my brayer, it's important not to have too much gesso on the roller when you apply it to the gift box as we are looking for a random effect rather than a total white-out! Before assembling the boxI attached a rectangle of clear acetate film to the inside of the box behind the aperture word. At this point you can insert your gift (diamonds are always a safe bet in my experience!)

It's time to create our pine cone. I die- cut the pine cone together with some Christmas foliage from kraft card. the pine cone starts off as a spiral of card and the first thing I wanted to do was apply the gesso as above. I used a scrap piece of card as a mask and once complete I applied a little Walnut Stain Distress Ink to the edges. As I said last week, Walnut Stain is a very dark dye so be very careful!!

The next task is to flip the pine cone over and grip the edge between a pair of straight tweezers. Start to roll the tweezers towards the centre until you have gathered up all the separate 'petals' and secure with a glue gun 

Apply a little gesso to the foliage and ink the tips. Once they are dry you can gently curl the edges to add a little more dimension. Cut a strip of hessian/burlap and wrap it around the pillow box secured with a length of knotted raffia.
Use a glue gun to attach the foliage followed by the pine cone. For the finishing touches, add a couple of frosted berries and a raffia bow. The berries can be found in many good craft shops or garden centres this time of year. 

The end result is so effective and those berries set it off perfectly.

I wanted to add just one more thing to give a little visual balance once all the projects were placed together. The box I used has a 7.5 cm square base and is 15 cm tall. I started by wrapping it in parcel paper before adding a band of hessian followed by a length of knotted raffia. Next, I die-cut a small tag and aperture cut the word believe before following up with a little gesso.

I Die-cut three of the four snowflakes from the magnificent Stacked Snowflakes die before applying a little gesso and Walnut Stain ink to the tips of each die-cut. I layered the snowflakes together using adhesive foam pads before adding a sparky crystal to the centre.

I attached the tag with a length of raffia before adding the assembled snowflake with a glue gun.... Simple!!!

Here is the gang all together at last, I think I may use this style/theme for my own Christmas cards/gifts this year because it is a quick and easy style but is also very effective.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who stopped by the Sizzix workshop area at the Hobbycrafts show in Birmingham last week. The classes were very well attended and we had lots of fun getting messy using inks and gesso to bring the wonderful die-cuts and embossing folders to life. Everyone did a great job and even though  it was four days hard work it never seemed like a chore, I can't wait for the next one! In total, and including my own we made 297 cards and I'm sure I can say without fear of contradiction that they all turned out fabulous!

Below is a picture of me back at Sizzix Central with some of the 27 cards which I made.

Christmas Krafting!!

I know what your all thinking, "C'mon Pete, get your spell check sorted!" 

Actually, the spelling of 'Krafting' is deliberate as I am using kraft card pretty much exclusively to create these projects. Incidentally, where does the kraft in kraft card come from? someone was asking in the office the other day and I had no idea! (answers on a post card as they say)

As you are reading this I will be at the NEC in Birmingham teaching mini workshops at the Hobbycrafts show and I hope to see some of you there.

For the following projects I will be using dies from the Tim Holtz Alterations Christmas range, Follow the links below to view the products:

• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 17PK - Holiday Words: Block
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK - Paper Snowflakes
• Sizzix Bigz Die w/Texture Fades - Layered Snowflake

I also used plenty of kraft card and gesso!

I took a 9 x 9 cm square of kraft card and used two of the dies from the Holiday Words Framelits set to die-cut the legend 'Christmas Wishes'. Next, I die-cut a medium and a small snowflake (paper snowflakes set) from kraft card. I took a small blob of white acrylic gesso and spread it onto my crafting mat using a brayer. The trick is not to use too much gesso, as always, you can always add more. I then used my brayer to apply the gesso to the snowflakes after which there isn't much left on the roller which is a good time to apply some to my die-cut square in a random fashion.

I next die-cut a large snowflake from the same Thinlits set and inked the edges using Walnut Stain Distress Ink. This is a very strong colour so gently does it! At the same time I inked the tips of the other snowflakes and the edges of the square. I used adhesive foam pads to layer the snowflakes and attached a threaded wooden button to the centre which I lightly distressed by adding a little gesso with my fingertips.

After mounting the layered snowflakes onto the square I attached it to the centre of a 10 x 10 cm ivory base card. This is my favourite kind of card, maximum impact for minimum effort!

I enjoyed making this card so much that I created created another similar card so it wouldn't feel lonely. I die-cut the words around the edge of a 12 x 12 cm square of kraft card before die-cutting and embossing the layered snowflake (the embossing folder comes with the die).

 Next I applied the gesso and Distress Ink before attaching a wooden button threaded with twine which I twisted into a loop before adding a touch of gesso and attaching to the centre of the snowflake with a glue gun.

I cut a 7cm square of hessian (Burlap) and applied a little gesso and ink  before mounting everything onto a 13 x 13cm kraft base card.

I think they make a lovely couple, I hope you agree?

I wanted to have a bit more fun with the kraft card/gesso combination so I decided to create a couple more projects...... tune in next week for part 2!

Flights of fancy

After a couple of weeks of fun with framelits I want to take a look at one of the new dies from Mr Tim Holtz, I have been lucky enough to work with all of these dies in preparation for our recent round of trade shows.

The Butterfly Frenzy decorative strip is one of my favourite dies in what is a very strong collection from Tim with lots more yet to be released in the coming year.

This is one of those dies which are a 'must have' because it represents great value for money and it's something you will reach for all year round. The die in question cuts 58 separate butterfly shapes...... yes! 58, in a variety of styles and sizes too.

all you need to get started is an A4 sheet of Kraft card, a couple of Distress Ink Pads (I used Wild Honey and Vintage Photo) A small glass bottle (got mine from the craft section in 'The Works' if you are lucky enough to have one near you?) and some text patterned paper (I think I used one from a My Mind's Eye Lost & Found collection).

I started by cutting a rectangle of Kraft card measuring 18 x 9cm before cutting two slits about 4cm from the base (accuracy isn't that important), I also cut a thin strip of the same card to fit through the slits. Next, I inked around the edges before completing the distressed effect by scuffing said edges using the blade of my scissors or you could use a distressing tool designed specifically for this purpose.

I distressed the thin strip of card in the same way and wrapped it around my little glass vial before threading each end through the slits on the card and securing to the back with a glue gun or adhesive tape. 

I used my PC to print the legend 'WITH LOVE' onto a piece of Kraft card which I then trimmed to size and punched a hole through the end before attaching to my vial with thin parcel string. Next, I mounted the rectangle onto my base card measuring 11 x 20cm.

To make the butterflies, I took a strip of text patterned paper and placed it face down onto the die before passing through my machine. I selected the butterfly shapes I wanted to work with and went about inking the edges before placing my tweezers down the centre of each one and bending back the wings to add dimension. I then set about adding the butterflies to the card starting with the smallest and working upwards. I find the best way to attach them is with a good old fashioned glue gun, tweezers, a steady hand and a bit of patience.

And here is the finished card, I hope my patience paid off?