Christmas cards

Here are my 15 Christmas cards I made this year and they were so quick and easy I was pretty please to knock them over in a few hours.

 I used half of an A4 piece of Tim Holtz Core'dinations Kraft Core paper for each card base and embossed the front using Tim Holtz Texture Fades (Fancy Floral Frames). I then sanded the raised parts of the embossing to reveal the kraft cardstock underneath.

To make the tree I cut a triangle shape from scraps of chipboard sheet and also a base for the tree and covered them in pattern paper. I then inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, glued some ribbon on the bottom with Mod Podge and adhered it to the front of the card base with some raised foam tape for dimension. There are also a few buttons put on with my hot glue gun.

 I haven't made Christmas cards for everyone in years because I usually have trouble making them simple enough to make them in bulk. I might have to try another version of this again next year!




Supplies:
Tim Holtz Kraft Core cardstock
Tim Holtz Sanding Grip
Tim Holtz Fancy Frames
Chipboard sheets
Mod Podge
Ink Blending Tool
Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Hot Glue Gun

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more

 

I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey version of the movie) and watch it every year. This year I took some inspiration from some Christmas signs I saw on Pinterest and made a sign to hang on the wall.

I used photoshop to create the text for my sign which is 90cm high and about 40cm wide. Then cut a stencil of the text using my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot 2 from Cricut Decor Vinyl. It probably won't hurt to do a video one day so I will remember that but next I took my sign (that I had already painted the white base coat on, removed the letters themselves from the stencil and discarded them and then stuck down the negative space around the letters on the sign. I then painted in each individual letter instead of sticking the vinyl letters on the sign and painting the back around it. Painting the letters takes longer but gives a much cleaner result as you don't get a heap of paint build up around the outside of the letters.

Now, this all sounds easy enough but I did this all three times before I was happy with the end result. My font was the issue the first time and I decided I wasn't a fan. I can't remember my issues the second time. Oh, that's right. I decided I wanted to colour and change the font of some words but by then I had decided I was sick of sanding the white paint back and repainting it so I just sanded the green words I had painted and left it aged and a sanded mess. Turns out it made it look a lot better that way anyway.

Supplies:

Cricut Decor Vinyl
Claudine Hellmuth Brushes Artist Quality
Acrylic Paint

Christmas Stockings

My mum is a fantastic seamstress and she had her own costume shop when I was a kid and made hundreds and hundreds of amazing costumes from basic to elaborate Renaissance dresses that were just stunning. Dress up parties as a kid were never an issue in our house.

With such amazing talent from my mum, nanna, sister and aunties on both sides, you'd think I would be able to sew. Nope! This year I decided to stick with it and hope my skills improve and what do you know! They have! But only slightly.

I made our own Christmas stockings this year and they turned out so well I am really impressed. I liked them so much that I made another six curly toe stockings for gifts for friends. You can find the free pattern here I used here with a handy video too.

Rolled Rose Christmas Tree

 

This year I decided to embark on an epic project of a tree decorated entirely in rolled roses. I got the idea from the Teresa Collins blog but ended up making the tree bigger and ultimately ended up needing a lot more rolled roses. I think I spent about 20 hours inking, scrunching and rolling roses from double sided Kaisercraft Twig & Berries paper, then glued them on a cone made from poster board and finally glued on a candle holder as the base. It was worth making all of the rolled roses. I have no idea why but I have even started working on another project with heaps of rolled roses so fingers crossed I don't lose my mind before Christmas even gets here!

Supplies:

Ink Blending Tool
Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Distress Ink Pads
Spellbinders Sprial Blossom Die
Spellbinders Bitty Blossom Die
Mod Podge Matte Glue

How to cover wood or chipboard with paper

I often get asked how to cover chipboard with pattern paper and here is how I do it.  

Watch this video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/U54q0L9gUtE

 

I made this JOY project using some MDF letters that I cut with the jigsaw and a giant bauble decoration. I covered the bauble with rolled roses made from Kaisercraft Twigs & Berries paper. I lost count of how long it took to ink, scrunch and roll the roses at the 25 hour mark! I also made a bigger bauble top with a loop of copper wire and covered the letters in pattern paper. 

 

Supplies:

Ink Blending Tool
Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Retractable Craft Knife
Making Memories Craft Knife Blades

Cane-deer Tutorial

 

I love making my little Cane-deer every Christmas and this year decided to make a video on how they come to life. They are so simple you can make an entire herd!

Watch this video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/8mn5VaDAAPQ

Supplies:
Candy Canes
Googly Eyes
Pom Poms
Pipe Cleaners
Glossy Accents
Artistic Wire
Silver Bell Pliers

Perfect Christmas Bow Tutorial

Here is a quick video on how a bow challenged person like me, can fake it for a perfect bow for a present or Christmas tree.  

Watch the video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/VHcpd3Atu1Q

Supplies:

Wired Ribbon
Fabric Glue
Mini Clamps

Fizzy Moon Christmas Cards

 

Talk about quick and easy. I made these cards in about an hour and a half so they are a great way to whip up some pretty impressive 3 dimensional cards for Christmas. I used a Fizzy Moon Decoupage Pack called Christmas For Her and all of the layers are die cut so you just pop them out and stick them down with 3D foam tape in the middle. The pack also comes with matching pattern paper to decorate with.

 

Supplies:
Fizzy Moon Decoupage Kit
Ink Blending Tool
Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Metal Christmas Bauble Tutorial

Oh how do I love Christmas crafts!  This year I made a bunch of these Christmas baubles by covering a paper mache ornament with Ten Second Studio Metal coloured with Alcohol Ink.

Check out the tutorial video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/_S0vP80RDJg

Supplies:

• Paper Mache Bauble
• Ten Second Studio Metal (any colour, they are all silver on the reverse)
• Humungo Killer Adhesive
• Alcohol Ink
• Alcohol Ink Applicator
• Tonic/Tim Holtz Non-Stick Scissors
• Spellbinders M-Bossabilities Holiday Magic
• Paper Stump

Vintage Book Tutorial

Here is a video on how to make a vintage book with a curved spine. It is a fun little project and will be great for a notebook, journal or a gift for someone.

 

View this video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/-MZR3fucuME

Supplies used:

• Pattern paper
• Medium weight chipboard
• Paper towel roll
• String
• Material and light interfacing
• Mod Podge
• Album Posts
• Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Ink Blending Tool

In the next video you can find out how to tea-dye ordinary printer paper to give it an aged look. This is the process used to make the pages inside the book.

 

View this video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/NclJQpQs14M 

Supplies used:

• Printer paper
• Tea Leaves
• Strainer & Muslin Fabric
• Dish to fit paper
• Heat Tool (optional)

Cricut Invitations

A while back I was asked to make some sea themed baby shower invitations. I had a blast mass producing with my cricut so I made some pirate invitations and dinosaur invitations for my niece and nephew while I was at it. I cut them all out on my Cricut using Sure Cuts A Lot software and .SVG files from Just So Scrappy Cuts. Oh man do they have some awesome critters! In typical Amy style, I inked the edges of every single piece. It felt like it took me a lifetime but it really did make them look even better. I glued all of the pieces together using Mod Podge in a fine tip squeeze bottle.

Supplies:
Cricut Cutting Machine
.SVG cutting files for Sure Cuts A Lot 2
Mod Podge Matte Glue
Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Papercraft Adhesives Explained

I get a lot of emails asking what adhesives I use so here is the rundown!  

Mod Podge, Glossy Accents, Scor-Tape & Wonder Tape and Multi-Medium.

Watch this video on you-tube - http://youtu.be/kaE5BKlK_wU

String Embellishment Tutorial

Here is a video on how to make a quick and easy string embellishment for a card or scrapbooking layout.

View the video on You-tube - http://youtu.be/C_BAIXI468E 

 

1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war

 

I made this thumb war stadium for a friends birthday. It is simply a piece of chipboard covered in pattern paper with two thumb holes. I then cut bits of dowel, painted and drilled holes in them to thread string that I painted red. Pretty simple!

Linux Goodies

My husband loves Linux. If you haven't heard of it before, it is an operating system for computers like Windows. Even if you don't care about that, the 'mascot' is a penguin called Tux and he is quite cute! I made this coaster for his birthday. I took a Kaisercraft wooden coaster and painted it white. I then went on a google image search until I found a Tux that I thought was cute - Superman it was, then I printed the jpg and traced it onto some watercolour paper. I used a permanent waterproof marker (0.2 size) and I drew the black line then watercoloured him as usual with Distress Markers and Twinkling H2O's. When it was dry I glued Tux to the coaster then poured resin over the top to give it that glassy, thick look. Resin is equivalent to approx. 50 coats of regular varnish so it gives a really cool finish.

 

 

I put my paper crafting tools aside for the second half of his present and make a Tux penguin plush toy. Thank goodness bear fur is fluffy! It is strong and holds together well but my stitching leaves a lot to be desired. Thankfully black fur and black thread hides all. I got the pattern from Free Penguin Project if you want to make one for fun or if you know a Linux fan. It was quite fun. The requirements of the project is listed like system requirements for software. Hardware: needle, thread, fur etc.

Wire Tree with Paper Leaves Tutorial

My first attempt at a project I have found on Pinterest.  It is a tree in a vase and what I thought was going to be a quick and easy project turned out to be a long but easy project through no fault but my own. 

I was too lazy to brave the outdoors and find sticks so I made the branches from wire then cut strips of hessian (from my wedding table runners last month) and frayed them and wrapped them on the wire.  I then sprayed them with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink in a Mini Mister. 

I cut the leaves on my Cricut from Kaisercraft paper and glued two together with a thin piece of wire coming out from the inside.  I then poked a hole in the hessian, squeezed in some mod podge and inserted the leaf.

The tree doesn't look as 'messy' in real life.  The camera had trouble seeing the depth of the project but in real life the branches spray out nicely and don't mush up and blend into one like the picture shows.

Shabby Drawers

 I finished my Shabby Drawers!  I started these ages ago but got busy planning our wedding.  That was last weekend so now I have more time to finish things again!  Woohoo.. bring back the papercraft!  

The pattern for these drawers can be found at Laura's site.  She is the constructive genus behind their chunky design that I love.  I'm using them to store my ribbons.

The pattern paper is by Fabscraps and is the Shabby Chic Collection.  I also used Shabby Chic paper flowers and a couple of handles I found at the hardware store.  The brads in the middle of the flowers are Graphic 45 Stamped Metal Brads.

Curio Cabinet

This is another epic project from Follow the Paper Trail (Laura Denison). Her patterns and ustream classes are fantastic. She makes everything so easy to construct. The whole cabinet is made from scratch using chipboard. I covered it in Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutant paper

The crown piece has a time piece, game spinners and adornment wings.

The left side has a memo pin and an adage ticket, a philosophy tag and some little books that I made from chipboard scraps covered in paper.
Each cupboard has a plastic sheet window. It is thicker than acetate and perfectly clear. I like it because you can cut it, do what you need to then peel off the blue protective covering right before you are finished so it doesn't get damaged or scratched.

In the middle is a bird cage, game piece, vial, scissors, a bracelet from Diva and some muslin. I made the little boxes using chipboard scraps and covered them in pattern paper and the flowers are from Petaloo.
The right side has a memo pin with an adage ticket, corked vials and a vintage key.
The bottom is a drawer. The original pattern has a mini album that slides in and the spine of the mini is the drawer front. I just made it as a slide out drawer.
My partner is an electrician who loves playing with gadgets so he whipped up three LED lights to sit in the roof under the crown and wiring goes down the back to a small battery pack and a switch hidden underneath the drawer.

Trunk Full of Recipes

Call me lazy! I can take it. I made two of these trunks before Christmas but I have only just taken a photo of mine now. I gave the other one to our friends and inside is a mini with heaps of pages for us both to write our wood fired pizza recipes (aka Pizza Inventions!).

The trunk is made using a pattern by Laura Denison from Following the Paper Trail and she has weekly ustream classes showing how to make each project. I'm currently working on her Shabby Drawers now. Everything she makes is from scratch using chipboard sheets so you don't have to look high and low for a box in the shape of a trunk. The surprising thing is that they are always easier to make than they look.

The paper used is Bo Bunny Et Cetera. There are a million Tim Holtz Long Fasteners and I used my Bind-It-All for the mini.

Makeover

My craft room/office was in desperate need for a makeover recently. It was at a point where no amount of cleaning the clutter made it look even half ok so a trip to Bunnings opened a can of worms. We went for two cupboards and got five then went for one set of drawers and got two.

I am thinking now, that I would like a decent bench top but until I learn to craft a bit more like an adult (and not everywhere other than the cutting mat), I might have to wait for that!

I have almost suppressed the memory of 'The Kindy Glitz Incident of 2009' but the walls and shelf contents haven't forgotten.

Before:

After:

It has been a few weeks and I still haven't let the clutter come back. That is progress!

The cupboards and drawers are flatpax from Bunnings and you can choose drawer faces and cupboard doors separately in a heap of styles and colours but I love the idea of being able to see what I have without picking it up to find it is covered in dust! Yay for doors!


Matt just happens to be a handy genius and converted a set of pot/kitchen drawers to hold 12x12" paper. The rails that the files hang on are towel rails from Howards Storage World that have been cut down.

Cropper Hopper make 12x12" suspension files but they are a couple centimeters too long for the drawers so I just cut them down and taped them closed again. The front and back panel of the drawers need to be cut again so they they are a few cm higher than how the drawers originally come to compensate for the paper height.

The best part is, unlike most things I upgrade to, the top and bottom drawers are only half full so there is still room to add more!

Life

I made this little journal (for lack of a better word) using my Bind-It-All and it was my grungy project that marked the re-entry into crafting after my hands decided they didn't want to work properly a number of months back. I didn't do any craft for a few months and it has just taken a few months in addition to get some photos! I made it as grungy and messy as I could because that was easier on the hands than attempting precise and deliberate.

I got the idea for the flowers from Donna Salazar's tutorial on puffy flowers. The cover is made from Corrugated Board and Steampunk Debutant pattern paper. The blue paint is gorgeous, shimmery Jacquard Lumiere paint and I put some Snow Cap paint over the top to make it a little bit more blotchy. The little leaves poking out under the flowers are Leaf and Swirls Doohickey Die from Magnolia.

The stamp inside is Tim Holtz Urban Tapestry and I was selective where I put the different colour Distress Inks to make the bold words stand out more. I then put some Glossy Accents over them for some dimension. Each page is stamped top and bottom with various stamps from Tim Holtz sets.
The stamp on the back inside cover is from Stuff to Say with 'Possibility' and 'Imagine' accented with Glossy Accents.