Christmas projects - Done At Last!!!

Well, I have finally finished all my Christmas craft projects and cleaned up my scraproom and shoved all the Christmas stuff into the cabinet...I didn't even want to look at it anymore!!!  LOL 

I decorated this box for my sons daycare workers and filled it with cookies that my sister baked.  I really loved how this box turned out, and I had a difficult time giving it away!  The color scheme suits me perfectly!!!  The boxes I use can be found at Walmart in their Christmas aisles.  I use the white boxes that have several in a package.  I stocked up last year during the after Christmas sale!

I made all of the flowers myself.  I lined the back of the box top with snowflake ornaments (found at Walmart), cut in half.  This large flower on the right is a twist off of Natasha's Curly Flower.  I put glitz stickles on the petals.  Love the little birdy...I used those birds a lot in my craft projects this year!!

More flowers I made.  The one in the upper left corner is a new one I just made and I love how it turned out.  I made a tutorial on it, that I'll be sharing later on.  The white stuff under the ribbon is that loose fake snow that I applied hot glue to the box then pressed it on top.  Yep...I got burned...but that is just the joys of playing with hot glue!!

These flowers I had used previously on a layout that I actually tore up (gasp!!!) .  I added some stickles to them and thought they were the perfect corner adornment for my box!  I applied a bunch of snow-tex all over the top of the box and the decorations...really am loving that stuff...and it adds that perfect winter touch!!

I made this box to put a gift card in, sure beats a card!  LOL  I made the flowers myself.  The largest one is Natasha's curly flower with a twist (link above).  I cut this box down to about half the size of the original so it wouldn't be too big for the gift card.  I also left the bottom white because I found out when I put paper on the last one, I had a hard time getting the lid on.  The box above, the lid fitted all the way to the bottom of the box, so the fitting wasn't an issue.  Live and learn...or create and learn...I guess!!  Again...I added snow-tex to the edges and some of the decorations.

On the white star/snowflake border around the bottom, I embossed it with white glitter to add the sparkly snow effect.  The middle flower in front of the large flower is mostly like Lisa Gregory's Retro Camelot Flower.   

I made 3 tags this year for my own gifts.  The background of this one is the technique Tim showed us on day 12 of his 12 tags of Christmas.  I didn't have any tissue wrap like his, but found that the tissue paper you buy at the store works just as well.  I embossed my Christmas tree and added white liquid applique for the snow and some stickles for lights.  The snowman is covered in fake snow technique by Cindy Rescorl, except I used picket fence distress crackle paint. 

This one is pretty simple...and my daughter thinks its plain, but I think my mom will love it!  I embossed the snowflakes on the background.  The bird is a digital stamp that I cut out and pieced together.  I made the rose myself and covered in stickles (momma likes bling!) .

This one is my favorite this year.  I inked the background with 2 blue distress inks.  Then the snow scene on the bottom is picket fence distress stain.  I embossed the trees, inked the tops and added some white liquid applique.  The trunks of the trees have the sakura glaze on them.  I then embossed the snowflake swirl.  Stamped the Peace sentiment.  I embossed the same snowflake swirl on the dear in silver, then inked him with walnut stain distress ink.

Well...that's all I did this year...but I am worn out!  But...I'm done!  YAY me!!!!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!  May you be blessed and joyful!!!

Stephanie

Snowman Hat gifts & Enchanting Layout

I wanted to share some Christmas gifts I've been working on with you.  The recipients better like them, because in the process of making them, I have ruined a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt...and MY CAR!!!  Yes, my car.  When I walked outside this morning, I realized I had speckled my car with white paint!!!  I need to start putting certain clothes aside as "scrapping clothes" so I will quit ruining things...as for the car...well I'm not going to have a "scrapping car" LOL....so reminder to myself...don't splatter paint in front of the car!!!

I bought a snowman hat at a craft fair because I loved the idea.  I changed a couple of things with the hats so as to not be like the original.  I put my coffee cans right side up, so I could fill them with cookies or potpourri or a cocoa mix gift...lots of ideas!! 

For the candle, I used a toilet paper roll, cut it and made it smaller to hold the electric tealight.  I needed something that the tealight could come out of, so you could turn it on & off or change the battery.  I painted it white, then sprinkled gold glitter over it.  I made the wax drippings with hot glue.  I used snow tex from Hobby Lobby for the drops of snow.  The 2 poinsettias I made and you can find the tutorial here.   All the other goodies I used to decorate I have found at Walmart, Menards, and Hobby Lobby.

Just a closer shot of the embellies.

This is the hat that painted my car!  LOL  I splattered the above can in my scraproom and realized that wasn't very smart...oh not....much smarter to take it outside and splatter my car!  I made the poinsettia and rose myself.  I love the little birdie I added to this one. 

Close up of the embellies.

I made this layout a couple of weeks ago and am just now getting it to posted.  I special thank you to my friend Alissa for her help on this...I texted her a pic and asked what was wrong.  She gave me some suggestions, and the layout ended up with a total make-over.

This is my daughter Shelby at the beach, a pic I had taken in the fall of 2010.  The flourish on the pic I added in Adobe photoshop elements before printing it out.

I made the flowers myself using the Spellbinders rose creation die.  I sprayed them with both blue and heirloon gold perfect pearls mist.  The little leaf stick pins were part of a birthday gift I got from my wonderful friends in JAFF Jr. at Scrapbook.com.  I made the bling myself.

The corner piece and butterflies are rub-ons.  The writing & leaf spray is a stamp that I embossed with distress black soot embossing powder.

The butterflies (I think) were from Lisa Gregory at What a Beautiful Mess.  She is always so generous with the stuff she makes.  I printed them out on photo paper, fussy cut them, then added some clear stickles.  Shape the wings a little bit then attach.

Added some stitching and ribbons.  The title is also a rub-on.  I believe all the rub-ons came from a package by Cherry Art. 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!!!

Stephanie

Tags & a Gift Box - thank goodness Christmas has me creating again!!!

I am pretty excited right now.  Usually, I'm a bah-humbug around the Christmas season...all the get-togethers and commercialization of the holidays totally bum me out!  But...this year...Christmas has me crafting again...and for that...I'm pretty excited!! 

I've made some tags and a gift box that I wanted to share.  I apologize for the blurry pics on the tags...that's what I get for trying to take them in a hurry...and it is too late to re-take them, since they are already packaged for a gift.

For the background, I inked with Fired Brick distress ink, then sprayed with Forever Red perfect pearls mist.  I then embossed with the Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Texture Fades - Alterations Collection - Embossing Folders - Snow Flurries and Snowman.  In the embossed snowflakes, I put ice stickles. 

I made the snowman from the Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Texture Fades - Alterations Collection - Embossing Folders - Snow Flurries and Snowman, just cut him out of the paper.  I colored his arms, hat, and nose, then put crackle accents on him.  I tied some ribbon around his neck.  Added the "wish" stickers to the bottom of him.

I stickled the swirls that are behind him also and added some snowflake stickers.  The ribbon at the bottom I got from JoAnn's, just scrunched it up and glued with hot glue.

I love snowmen...so this tag is a favorite of mine.  The background is inked with stormy sky and sprayed with perfect pearls forever blue mist.  The snowflake was a cut off of a Deja Views C-Thru 12 X 12 lace cut paper with glitter.  I embossed with white glitter embossing powder several times.  On the bottom, I used snow-tex that I purchased from Hobby Lobby.  The "snowmen melt your heart", snowman, and shovel are all stickers. 

The background was inked with pine needles distress ink and sprayed with forever green perfect pearls.  I embossed the trees with Sizzix - Tim Holtz- Texture Fades - Alterations Collection - Embossing Folders - Branch Tree and Tall Pines.  Added white liquid applique to parts of the trees and heated when dry to puff it up.  Stamped the snowflakes and embossed them.  Added a stamped sentiment and some decorations on the bottom.  The bird is a stamp that I cut out and applied with pop dots.



On this one, the background was inked with Fired brick distress ink and sprayed with Forever red perfect pearls mist.  Added snow-tex to the bottom of the tag.  The nativity scene is an image from Thomas Kinkade that I printed out and adhered.  I cut the star on my silhouette, then used ice stickles on it.  Put the flower together with some home-made glittered vines.  The "Christmas Miracle" is a clear sticker.

Front View

I absolutely love how this gift box turned out.  I absolutely dreaded going into my craft room and working on it, because I just wasn't feeling the muse...but once I started, it took about an hour to complete and I love it.  I made the flower myself using Natasha's Curly Flower Tutorial.  This was my first time making this flower and I love how it turned out.  This would make a perfect bow for a present.  I put some paper underneath it folded up to give it some height on my box.

I covered the box with paper.  I love these boxes.  They are at Walmart in the Christmas section, and it's only $3 for a set of 5.  There are all kinds of shapes and sizes to choose from too.  Around the top of the box I put some snow-tex mostly to cover up the seam in the paper.

Left Side

I took some white ribbon, heated it up to get it to shape and shrink a bit, then hot glued it to the back of the box.  Took some red beads and draped them around the box.  Added the red, white, and green glittered sprigs and decorations that I have purchased from Walmart and Hobby Lobby. 

I've got a red bird glued next to the flower.  The green flower in the back is my own delicate rose flower, that I just realized I didn't have a tutorial on, so I will get one made. 

I glued a wooden Christmas tree on one side of the box, and a plastic candy piece on the other.  Added some white feathers to fill up the empty spaces.  

Right Side

Top View

Front View (again)

Thanks to all of you for checking out my blog and my creations!  Now, I'm going to fight blogger to put up a poinsettia flower tutorial! 

I hope you all have a wonderful day and Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!!!

Stephanie

Winter Fun and an altered frame

Good afternoon peoples!  In my JAFF group at scrapbook.com...we've been having weekly and semi-weekly online crops...it is sooo much fun!!!  Monday night we held one and a friend picked the layout Amore by Kaye222 for me to lift.  It was a bit of stretch for me...as I like to really fill up my layouts with stuff!  LOL  Anyway...I switched it from a girly/love theme to a snowflake theme.  The paper is Bo Bunny midnight frost.  In place of her heart doilies, I put some snowflakes that I cut with my silhouette and sprayed with marshmallow glimmer mist.

I made my own flowers using different techniques.  The tree, pine cones, lantern, and little snowflakes are Tattered Angels glimmer chips.  The blue discs are from Walmart, after Christmas clearance.  The big blue and white snowflake on the bottom of the pic is from the Bo Bunny Midnight Frost stickers. 

I love this pic of DD, I took it on Christmas Eve when we had the big snow.

 On the bottom big one, I put white liquid applique on the tips and heated it when it dried to make it puff up like snow...I love the final result! I added some white feathers underneath my cluster. Cut the flourishes (that you can now barely see) with my sizzix bigkick, then glittered with frosted lace glimmer mist.

 I made this flower use scallop circle punches for the base, then added some white puffy paint to the tips.  I like the liquid applique better, but I had already made this one.  The hearts were a part of the flourishes I cut, and I also stickled them with frosted lace.

Here is a frame I altered for DD.  It started out brown and I got it for a $1 at Fred's....kind of like Dollar General if you've never heard of it.  I made all the flowers myself.  The frame was painted with white paint dauber from Tim Holtz, then I lightly brushed turquoise blue glitter paint on that and topped it off with some pearl paint.  The white springy things I painted with white paint (was the green floral tape), then while it was wet, I dipped it in glitter.  I learned this technique from Jennaroo at Held Scraptive, but she does it using real branches.  I added some chipboard flourishes I had inked with distress ink and sprayed with Turquoise perfect pearls mist.  The green hearts were painted with Claudine Hellmuth landscape green studio paints.  The lace started out white and I dyed it with pink glimmer mist.

Well, finally some new projects from me!  Thanks for taking a look and have a great Saturday and the rest of the weekend!

Oh...almost forgot...2 more of my layouts are getting published in Scrapbook News and Review February issue!  Pretty exciting for me!

Christmas projects and other items - I'm FINALLY done!!

Well...I've finally finished my decorated boxes for Christmas gifts.  I'll fill them with cookies and candies and give them to daycare workers and teachers.  My sister is making all the cookies and candies...and she is very talented...so I know the recipients will not be disappointed!

The paper is My Minds Eye.  I made the 3 red flowers myself, sprayed with glimmer mist, sprinkled with diamond dust.  The other embellishments are from Walmart, Michael's, and various other places.  The three roses are sprayed with Heirloom Gold perfect pearl mists.  I decorated from the wrong side of this box, so you can see the seam on the side...but oh well.

 This is the largest box I made.  It will be for the entire daycare.  I stickled the foam snowflakes with icicle.  The paper is My Mind's Eye.  I cut up a paper doily and scrunched it in the middle to add some fullness.  The flowers are mostly made by me, but there are a couple of Prima roses in there.  I have to thank Jennaroo at Held Scraptive for her tutorial on the DIY Prima glistening Vines.  Instead of the branches, I applied the tutorial to handmade vine swirls using wire and floral tape.   I love that I can make them in any color and add glitter. 

I'm not really happy with the cluster on this box...maybe I just need to add more and fill it out better.  My center should probably be higher and tapering out towards the edges more...so maybe I will re-work it if I can get the glue undone.

 I've made 6 tags to put on Christmas gifts to the grandparents.  I've applied a variety of techniques to the tags.  The birdhouse has white liquid applique on it and when you heat it after it is dried, it puffs up and looks like snow.  I used the white signo pen for Santa's beard on the middle one. 

 The middle snowman, I embossed some plastic, put it on him, then covered in crackle accents.  Its an idea from Tim Holtz' 12 tags of Christmas day 10.  The first snowman I colored with pencils using odorless minerall spirits.  I embossed the white snowflake design.  At the bottom of the 2nd tag, I used snow tex...that stuff is so cool!

 Of course...what December is complete without a birthday!  My niece's is the 22nd and my mom the 31st.  I made this card for my niece.  I colored the balloons with pencils and odorless mineral spirits, then fussy cut them out.  The border piece is a 12" border, I just cut it down to size.

 I wanted to show off the bling I made for a custom order! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful Saturday!!  Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!!

Christmas projects cards & boxes

Good morning...barely!  I woke up this morning to an inch of snow on the ground and it hasn't stopped yet!  I don't care for winter as I don't like the cold, so even though the snow is beautiful...I'm already dreading having to go to work tomorrow in it!  The news people said 2-3" for the day, but we've already surpassed that and it still is coming down!!  Ugh!!

This past week, I've been busy getting things ready for Christmas gifts.  I thought I'd share them with you all.

These first 2 cards, my daughter, Shelby, made.  She did a really good job on them and I barely helped her!

The first card here, I don't like very much, but I'll use it.  I embossed the happy holidays in the Tim Holtz styled labels die shape, then used glitter to highlight it, but you can't tell it in the picture.  The 2nd card with the snowman I made last year, but never gave it to anyone, so I'll give it this year.

 These 2 are my favorite.  I had some help with a sketch on the 2nd one from cardmaps.  The first one was all my own ideas.  The santa is stamped on a piece of grungepaper and I covered his beard and hat in some fluff.  I love the way it turned out.

 I bought some plain white boxes from Walmart to decorate.  This whole piece is just the lid that fits completely over the box.  I covered them in patterned paper and then decorated the tops.  All the flowers except on the blue one are my own.  The 3 big ones on the blue one are Prima flowers I glimmer misted.

 I took apart craft picks that I bought at Walmart and Michael's to decorate with.  On the one above and the one below, Paul found me some fake snow that I glued on.  I stickled some foam snowflakes for the bottom one.  I made some of the sprigs myself using wire and floral tape then glittered with paint.

 The red and green curlies are made from paper. I just cut strips, wet them, wrapped them around a paintbrush and dried them.  The box below was my first one...a little more plain than the others...but I still like it.

 This blue one is my favorite!  I love blue...its my favorite color.  I used snow tex on this one to create the effects of snow.  Glued some of my handmade bling on it and added a doily and some ribbon.

I have 2 more boxes to decorate.  I'm having my sister bake some cookies and make some candies and I'll fill these up and give them to the daycare workers for gifts.  All of these boxes have lots of glitter and shine.  The recipients can keep them to decorate with or use them to give someone else a gift!

I still have to make tags for gifts and a birthday card that I'm already 2 days late on!  There just doesn't seem to be enough time for anything!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday!  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!!

Stephanie