Merry Magic

It's almost December and here is our first Christmas class project!

  I wanted to give this page one an old-fashioned look by sticking to papers and embellishments in neutrals, gold and bronze. The red background adds just enough colour so it doesn't look washed out.

The white rose can be found here and the golden flowers here.

A bright green and pink wooden bird from Art Stamps Australia got a makeover to match the colour scheme: 

Would you like to make your own Christmas layout? Why not join me in class. Everything you need to make the bird is included, by the way.

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Classes run:

Tue 10am

Thu 6pm

Fri 9:30am

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Geli

Krafty Christmas ideas and how to emboss with a charm

Feeling a bit krafty this season? Here are a few ideas how to make a card, tag and gift wrap with kraft paper, doilies and some lovely embellishments from my2angels. 

Tracy sent me the new deer charm in antique bronze (also available in shiny gold!) and it is so lovely, I couldn't bear to use it only once. So I embossed a tag with it first! (I know you can't really see it on the above photo, but bear with me and all will be revealed)

The deer is 6cm tall, so a pretty decent size and chunky enough to go through my Cuttlebug without bending or breaking.

Take a piece of kraft cardstock (3x6"), lightly wet it and make the following "sandwich":

 A plate, silicon mat, cardstock (moist), charm, silicon mat, C plate. 

The sandwich could vary a little if you have a Bigshot or other machine. Just experiment.

Here is what it looks like after embossing: 

 All the details are nice and crisp, but it's stubtle enough to suit the gringiest of your friends.

Punch a pretty bottom border with a border punch. Spray glue a small doily on the tag (half on the front, half on the back) and cut off the top corners:

 Die cut a roundish shape (star, flower, etc) from a brown patterned paper, ink it with pinecone ink (which is the best brown ink in the world and matches everything!) and glue it on top of the doily. Fold it over and trim the corners.  

 Punch a hole and stick on one of those reinforcer thingies: 

 Tie a Christmas tree and bell charm on some red & white baker's twine and ink around the whole tag with the above mentioned pinecone ink and stamp a greeting:

 Done! 

If you make a bit of a production line, you can whip up a whole pile of these in no time. 1 piece of 12x12" cardstock will make 8 tags.

Now that you've embossed a million deer on tags it's time to stick that pretty deer charm down on a card!

Take a kraft card and emboss it with an embossing folder. 

The card packs from my2angels are a really good deal at 10 for $1.40, but I loved mine so much they're all used up. I used a 4x11" piece of kraft cardstock instead. 

Spray glue a doily on and layer 2 ribbons across the cards: 

brown organza scallop ribbon 

cotton lace

 Die cut a hexagon or other roundish shape from a brown patterned paper, ink the edges and attach two short lengths of antique bronze chain with 2 lobster clasps. 

 If your die cut shape doesn't have holes, punch 2 first. Glue the paper and chain down using Glossy Accents. 

 Add some dots with Liquid Pearls in platinum: 

Glue down the deer charm and you're done! 

For 10 cards you will need:

- 1 kraft card pack 

-10 doilies (11cm)

- 1x brown organza ribbon 

- 2x cotton lace 

- 1 antique bronze chain 

- 4x lobster clasps 

- 5x deer charms 

- some leftover brown patterned paper from your stash. 

Presuming you already have an embossing folder, ink, Liquid Pearls and Glossy Accents, that's just a little over $1.80 per card.

If you haven't run out of puff by now, you might want to wrap some pressies next: 

Wrap your gift in kraft wrapping paper (from the cheap shop) and spray glue a doily over the top edge (size will depend on the size of your present).

  Cut out 3 stars and fold them as shown in my button & stars wreath post (I had some left from the wreath). 

Wrap some red & white baker's twine around the present twice, tie on a candy cane charm and finish it with a bow. 

Glue down the stars like shown in the wreath post and stamp or handwrite the name.  Done! 

This looks great for a pile of presents. I would show you, but they are on the ship as we speak; slowly, slowly making their way round the world to my family (thanks Australia Post for exorbitant airmail prices!). Christmas in January is also nice, right?

PS:

Someone asked if you can use the embossing technique on wooden embellishments, like the one Kaisercraft sells. No! I think they will most likely crack in the Cuttlebug. You will need a chunky, thick metal charm and I can't think of a better one than that deer. So come on, pop over to the shop and get a couple.

Latest issue of Scrapbook Creations

Issue 102 is out and it is full of scrappin' goodness! 

 If you'd like to learn how to use masks and stencils with texture paste and mist, check out my latest technique in the technique journal section:

Photography by Scrapbook Creations/Amanda Reddicliffe

I'll also show you how to make a perfect shabby rose with a celery. Yes, a celery!!!
Have a closer look here.

Buttons and Stars Christmas Wreath

Yesterday I got a pack of the new swirl buttons from my2angels and right away I started thinking about what I could do with them. They're acutally pretty big, a whopping 3cm! (Pssst, find them here, there are other designs and colours too!)

My first idea was using them as a lollipop on a card, but I wanted something a little more different. So, how about a funky button Christmas wreath? 

Nothing says Christmas like red, white and bling!

Here is how:

1.)

A paper doily makes a nice base. Mine is 14cm in diameter, but any size will work. Unfortunately a doily is kind of floppy, so something is needed to strengthen it a bit without taking away from the lacey look. I decided acetate was just what the doctor ordered. Cut a circle slightly larger than the doiley, spray the doiley with spray glue, glue it on and then cut out a circle from the middle:

(You can just kind of make out the acetate. Take it from me, it's there.)

2.)

Punch a hole and thread some red organza ribbon

through. Use strong glue (like Helmar 450, aka "stinky glue") to glue down both ribbon ends at the back. Tie a seperate bow and glue it on.

3.)

Unravel some baker's twine  so you only have the white strands, thread it through the holes of the red swirl buttons  and tie a bow on each one. A little drop of glue with keep the bow from coming apart:

 4.)

Glue the buttons on the doiley wreath with the before mentioned "stinky glue"

5.)

Gather 3 or more red & white paper scraps. 

Cut out stars (I used 15, the amount will depend on the size of your doily base), score and fold them like this:

 Keep folding until you have a nice little pile:

Most of my paper came from the bottom of my stash, but you can find the number paper here: December Documented Bingo Cards. 

6.)

 Put 2 foam dots on the back of each star...

...and glue the stars on the wreath. Finish it off with a few scattered rhinestones .

Now hang it up and enjoy! 

PS: To try out some other colour combinations, check out the button section here. Personally I like the black & white ones. 

Harbour Cruise - a travel layout

I learned a new masking technique thanks to Tim Holtz and his wonderful products. I will be sharing my new-found wisdom with you if you come to my class next week! We will make this cool tag from scratch, which also means you get to choose your own colours:

Pssst: If you'd like to scrap even more photos on, then simply print them as mini prints.

Handmade Christmas gift ideas (with instructions)

So, Christmas is once again looming just around the corner and crafty people everywhere are looking for nifty thrifty ideas for handmade presents. Now is a great time to start! So I thought I might compile a few of my past blog posts that have steps by step for all sorts of Christmas pressies, from teachers' gifts to jewelry:

Bottle cap magnets:

For instructions click here

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Cork boards:

For instructions click here

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Filigree necklaces:

For instructions click here

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Filigree and washer necklaces with Sugar Beads:

For instructions click here

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Cheer pants:

For instructions click here

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Christmas wreath with jumbo buttons and stars:

For instructions click here

The cutest witch - not necessarily a Halloween layout

Let me start off by saying that next week's class project is not strictly a Halloween one. I know some of you are not exactly fans of that particular day, but in our family the kids love dressing up and going trick or treating. And how can you not like a cute little witch like this? 

So, if you have a Halloween photo, dig it out and if not, use a totally different theme!

The triangle-and-tulle circle would suit a birthday layout, for instance. The little owl on a branch could be perfect for a sleeping baby photo.

I really like this font at the moment, it looks great when you layer the letters:

So, whether you are Halloween lover or hater, come along to class next week and create your own page!