It's a Creative World

12 days of Christmas Pop Up Tree Card

Hi everyone!  Lisa here with a looks-hard-but-is-deceptively-easy Christmas card.  I'm sooooo obsessed with my diecut machine (okay, machines) and I'm extra-obsessed with all things Sizzix.  Several years ago I got a large Sizzix die that makes a pop-up tree to go inside a card.  At the time, pop-ups were rare but I didn't see the specialness of the die, I just liked it so I got it. I haven't really used the die since that season though, so I've a few this year. I'm thinking this is going to be next year's Christmas card, it's that easy and fun.

My card cover was pretty easy, too.  Just die cuts and some stamping.  And yes I used paint for the reindeer. I can't find a metallic ink pad that really works.

And here's the inside. Excuse my nails and my frog in these photos, it wouldn't stay open on its own 'cause of the weight of all the cardstock.

 

Looks hard, don't it? It's seriously just diecutting a bunch of pieces and sliding the tabs into the slots.  Easy peasy!

 

 

Here's a better look at the full card when it's open.  I thought of adding some presents on the skirt under the tree, but I actually thought that looked too cluttered.  The tree is kinda better on its own.

I kept trying to capture the shimmery nature of the cardstock I used in ny photos, but it didn't really come out.

There are TONS of popup dies available from Sizzix now.  Be sure to check them out and create some fun card of your own.  Thanks for looking and happy crafting.  And Merry Christmas!  --Lisa Bedigian

12 days of Christmas- Home made gelli plate bunting

 Hi Debbie here with painted bunting for a Christmas present.

I used a home made gelli plate, here are the instructions, (please note leave out the alcohol and replace with glycerine)

I used bubble wrap and plastic aida for the texture.

I printed the photos using Picassa collage, its a great way of getting lots of small prints for projects like this.

I decided last minute I didn't like the blue so changed the circles to pink!

I have loved being part of the 12 days of Christmas, and hope you have seen lots to inspire you.

Debbie x

12 days of Christmas - Nesting

Crochet baskets. When I saw a tutorial for a set of seven nesting crochet baskets, I wanted to make them right away. Delving into my crochet cotton drawer, whilst I hadn't the rainbow colours of the one made by Marinke (Wink), i found seven bright colours which would do for the urgency I felt overcoming me.  

Here's how mine turned out:

The largest is 5 inches across, the smallest 2 inches. I rather like the idea of making 2 consecutive sizes and using them as a wrapping for a small gift, such as a pretty soap, or jar of face cream. 

In fact, because Marinke's tutorial is so easy, you can make these baskets as wide as you like and as short or tall as fits your need. The only things I changed were to omit the top border, and not to add a chain 2 before each round, it didn't work for me.

I love working with crochet cotton as there are no fluffy strandy bits to split and spoil the shape of the stitches; it's easy to see where to insert the hook and we all like easy, don't we?

Come back and see what else we have for you in our 12 Days of Christmas.

Cheerio for now.

Eleanor

x

12 days of Christmas- Christmas Circle Squash book

 Hello all

 

I hope everyone is enjoying our 12 days of christmas posts

 

Today I have a mini book/ ornament to share with you

 

This decoration is fashioned from a series of circles ( I used 16 altogether and they were cut the same size as a CD)

Each circle is folded in a simple origami style to create folded triangles.

My circles were made from lining wallpaper and spritzed with glimmer mists, then stamped in gold acrylic paint and ink

 

They are all folded into their little triangles, attached together and then I glittered the edges for some extra christmas sparkle

 

 

I made covers from stiff card, covered in scraps of patterned paper, I added some pretty fibres and die cut snowflakes to finish it off

 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget to keep checking in for more christmas inspiration from all the girls

 

Happy crafting

 

Tracey xxx

12 days of Christmas-Homemade Cookie Gift

A few years ago I decided that for the gifts for school for Teachers and Teaching Assistants I'd have a go at a cookie jar.  Now the original jar recipe I found was on the Bakerella website and is here being an American website they use cups for the recipe thus making it easy to alter the recipe if the jar size you find is different.  Now the recipe calls for pink M&M's which aren't that easy to find in the UK but you can find the tickled pink tubes of Smarties or just use ordinary M&M's or ordinary Smarties instead. 

For the jars I had been 'collecting' coffee jars with the glass stoppers all year.  I washed them in hot water, removed the plastic part and then put the glass parts of the jar in the oven to sterilise, apparently a dishwasher is also sufficient at getting the jars to a clean and sterilised state.  I put the plastic stoppers in very hot water (be careful) to ensure they too are as clean as possible and then ensure everything is clean before popping the jars back together.  

I tend to leave out the Pecan nuts in the recipe but that's a personal preference, I layer them up so each of the layers is easily idenifiable. 

There is a PDF you can download from the Bakerella website for the labels as well as the tag telling you what to add to the jar once emptied out to make up into the cookies. But if you fancy you could make your own like I did, I used scrapbook papers inked and then the label stuck to the outside and then hung the instructions tag around the top with a piece of ribbon. 

Once completed they look like this

So if you fancy a quick and easy gift that's homemade, why not have a go at cookie jars?  And if you're not sure if you've got your mix 'just right' you can always make your first jar up and try!

Hope you are enjoying these Twelve Days of Christmas posts pop back later for more inspiration

Virginia 

12 days of Christmas-Quick candy cane cupcakes

Heres a super quick cupcake decoration for you! Chances are you have candy cane lying around. I get mine from £ stores. Cheep and cheerful and normally have some broken.  No problem! Make your cupcakes- I do a simple 100geach of self raising flour, sugar and butter and one egg. While they cook bash your broken canes into shards. Mix up white icing and when cool ice them and sprinkle your shards. Pop in a candy cane and you festive fancies in less than 30 mins!! 

Hope you're enjoying our twelve days of inspiration inbetween all the hardwork!

 

Laura x

12 days of Christmas - I love you just the way you are

Hello, Eleanor here for a chat and to share a beautiful card.

When you eat at the house of a friend, and your host makes a delicious dish, you ask for the recipe, right? And when you make the tasty dish which you so enjoyed, you try to make it exactly as the recipe instructs, because you enjoyed every mouthful, right?

Sometimes, it's perfectly right and proper to follow a recipe to the letter, as you want the finished result to replicate the version you ate, or in my case the one you saw and fell in love with. What I'm trying to say is that it's not always necessary to tweak, or change up, or 'make it your own'. Especially when the original artist has been kind and generous enough to share a video tutorial, as is the case with my project today.

So, thank you so much Julie Ebersole, over at the classroom  I loved this project from the moment I saw it, the wood veneer, and the delicate deer die, and I didn't want to change a thing, although I had no wee wooden snowflakes, so used a dinky fir tree punch instead.

These majestic animals are right outside my bedroom window, look right in at me, and never cease to awe me.

Here's my card, as nearly like Julie's as I could manage, bar a snowflake:

If someone has shared their work in the hope that others will like it and try it, then don't be afraid to copy, nobody will condemn you (well, nobody that matters) after all, why on earth do we spend hours looking at beautiful creations online? So that we can go to our desks and create something entirely different? Um, no. Not in this house anyway. The most important things are not to pass it off as your own, or try to profit from it. If you can, give credit, although it's not always easy to track down the original artist/creator.

What you learn in the replication of the work of another will take you forward - a technique or a new (to you) style, which you will then use in other ways, once you have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.

Pass it on. Oh, and we're back again soon with another project to share (COPYING ALLOWED!)

x

12 days of Christmas- Snowflake/book table decoration.

Hi Debbie here with an inexpensive table decoration for your Christmas table. My daughter got married last month and after making all the table decorations (here) I am missing having decorated books around, so I decided to make a Christmas version.

I used lots of cut out snowflakes using a sizzix die but I am sure that punched snowflakes would look just as good.

I kept to a vintagey colour scheme using a pale blue and text paper, and added lots of fine glitter glue (I bought an own brand glue similar to the fine glitter to get in stickles).

I made the 3D snowflakes by sticking 4 folded snowflakes together and then added glitter glue.

Thank you for looking at our 12 days of Christmas

Debbie x

12 days of Christmas - There's a journal in the house!

Hi everyone

Dolly here.

I am a huge fan of Journal Your Christmas and I think this year is my eigth year and so it always a challenge to try and do something different.

I love Christmas and can happily find things to document every year, but I do enjoy a twist on the theme.

In February last year my mothin in law gave me an old Yankee Candle box. Everyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for old boxes. This was so cute I knew straight away I wanted to use it for my Journal Your Christmas this year and I knew it meant I could journal all about Christmas in our home - our decorations. 

This was the box at the start of the process - good and sturdy but it had to be covered as it was too bright for me and had printing all over the back.

 

 

 

I took it apart and covered it

 

 

The photo behind the plastic at the front is a photo of the door to my dolls' house. Yes, of course my dolls' house is decorated for Christmas!

 

 

The box was a piece of cake to cover but the roof was an absolute nightmare and has many many flaws. However I have tried to convince myself the flaws just add to the whimsical homemade feel. I haven't QUITE convinced myself!

 

 

and this is the journal inside.

 

 

I have said it before ... and no doubt I will say it many more times ... don't throw boxes away. They are the perfect thing to re-use for all sorts of creative projects.

 

Enjoy your Christmas crafting, whatever form it takes x

12 days of Christmas - Santaleles

Hello, Eleanor back again, with another creative day of Christmas..

The post title refers to the order of plants to which Mistletoe belongs, funnily enough. The origin of the name mistletoe is uncertain, but may come from German, Mist for dung, and Tang for branch, as this parasitic plant's seeds can be spread in birds' droppings, and the plant itself attaches to tree branches and absorbs water and food from them. 

My mistletoe today is on a card, using a delicate little die cut wreath, with tiny little flatback pearls, and a brick wall embossing folder:

I secured the wreath just at the top, as I liked it hanging lightly:

No sentiment, is it needed? What do you think?

See you again soon.

x