Better Late Than Never!

Finally getting around to posting pics of (some of) my Christmas 2010 makes.  Believe it or not, I still have one waiting to be given to my sister (I forgot to take it down to her house at Christmas)  So I'll post that after the weekend (don't hold your breath)

I made covered notebooks for my sister, my friend and her husband.  My sister and friend are both teachers so they got class record books,  My friend's hsband got an ideas book.

All papers by Cosmo Cricket
Ideas book - Cogsmo
Miss Brocklebank's Book - The Boyfriend
Mrs MArgett's book - Jack's World.

They're all covered in sticky back plastic to help them last a bit longer.  Remind me never to do that again - the air was blue!

Let it Shine

So, my plan for this years Christmas card was that I would come up with a design and do them all the same.  Brilliant idea!
I went to a papercraft show at the Doncaster Domw and saw this amazing glitter and thought I'd make a simple black card with a glittery white snowflake on.  Another good idea.
And then it all went wrong, I ran out of time,  I couldn;t get the glitter to work properly, the black and white paper I'd bought to use on the cards wasn't the same white as the snowflakes. 
So
I only made 2 of this type but have carried on the snowflake theme.
I'd like to enter this collecion for the OAP1945's MSE Challenge - Let it shine - as they're all sparkly.

Sorry these last 2 are sideways - I tried to rotate them but blogger was having none of it and am just too tired to argue tonight!

Christmas Catch Up part 1 - the cards

Far too busy making things in December to blog them but I like to have my piccies up on blogland so here I go

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Am I the last to say it?

Yes, it really has been that long since I blogged.  Had very good intentions for this year but they went the same way as the diet....again!

My little sis came home for Christmas but sadly had to return to Helmand for a couple more months.  I'd hoped to send her a few pages for her scrapbook in her frist post Christmas parcel but, and I know many of you may not be aware of this - we've had a little bit of inclement weather around here.  Blimey its been cold/snowy/icy, etc.  I've not been able to make it out to collect photos as that little bit of snow (ok it might have been more like 8 inches in my garden) caused no-end of problems.

So just the one LO to send out and it's taken me two evenings to finish it which is ridiculous because it's really quite a simple LO but I wanted it to be Christmassy without being CHRISTMASSY is you know what I mean.  Anyhow it's done now

The photo was tkane on the 20th of December when we all tripped down to London to see the real father Christmas!  We had a great time altho perhaps staying in the campervan in inches and inches of snow was not the best idea we've ever had!
Red background paper is the reverse of a sheet of Bazzill Bling - Ruby Slipper (what a waste but I couldn't find anything else in my stash that was the right colour)
Flower fairies embellishments from LEt's make cards magazine.
Stamps by inkinadoo

Clearing the decks part1

Aaarrrgghhh!!!!!
Who's been messing with the calendars? 
It CAN'T be December already! 
How did that happen? 
This was going to be theChristmas that I was really organised. 
Never mind, there's always next year.

After I'd civen myself up to panic for a while I thought I'd better clear the decks of a few things that have been hanging around my desk waiting to be finished so that I can get cracking on Christmas in earnest tomorrow (honest!)

So,  the fist thing I needed to do was get my sisters parcel out of the way - she's home for Christmas in a couple of weeks so this should be the last one I have to send out for a while.  In addition to the 'yellow submarine' scrapbook LO I've already blogged there's this page too.  All papers and embellishments from basic grey (cupcake) I opened my scalloped oval nesties that are for Christmas just to make sure they worked.

Was I right to confess in my letter that the boys' diet may have been up to 25% ice-cream some days on holiday?

 I like to send her something hand-made in her package too so I've made a little coaster calendar.  Thanks paddington for the calendar tabs! and also thanks to rainmac for the inspiration.

I've put a little magnet on the back just in case they don;t have nails in the wall (I'm assuming she has walls - her office is in a portacabin but she sleeps in a tent so I thought I'd give her more options. )

And finally I made a card to send with her package which also includes sherbert fountains, sherbert dip dabs, minstrels and some fake snow .  It's not her Christmas card but I thought I'd do something a bit Christmassy to get her in the mood

WOYWW + Tutorial (of a fashion!) - Lollipop 3d card

I've had a couple of requests for instructions on how to make my "special Christmas Card".  I can't claim the idea is 100% mine - I saw some cards at the Papercraft show in harrogate that had loads of folds on the front to carry a message so it looks 3d and it kind of got me thinkig about making lollipop flowers to go in a fold.  Then, the idea progressed to Christmas.

The cards I've made so far have been with prefolded tri-fold cards from my trusty home bargains - where else! but when I came to try and do these instructions I realised I had no more left in white.  What a shame - I'll have to go back and have another look around ;-).  So I've tried it with a piece of white A4 card and it kind of works.  So here goes

First up - score your card into thirds ^^^

And fold

Then score and fold the front third in half so it looks like this  ^^^^^^^^

To make the snowy hillside I drew free-hand, and then cut a piece of white card - this was an A5 pece of white card and is the off-cut from the first Christmas card I made - see there's no wastage in this household!

I'll come back to this later but it's a good idea to offer it up to your card at this stage to make sure it fits.

Now, this is the bit I fear I'll struggle to explain - put a piece of DST on either side of the fold 2/3 of the way down the page.  Like this ^^^^^^

Make your Christmas trees by sticking a cut tree onto a lollipop stick.  I use DS and stirrers bottowed from CostaCoffee (well I pay enough for my daily hot choc!)

Oopsy - I forgot to stick the backing sheet snowy sky on! 
Now squeeze together the two pieces of DST to hold your lollipop sticks in place

And now for a bit of squeeze and tease - oo-er missus
Basically just bend the card until it stand up right

Then add on the front - I double embossed front with sowflaks and swiss dots on the cuttlebug and the die cut is embossed with Christmas stars.

I'm thinking with this one that I'll put a star on a wire at the top but I can't find my cutters so I'll have to do that tomorrow.

Please let me know if there is anything that I haven't made clear and I'll try and add it in.

If you like this idea please use it - I'd really like it if you could link back to this thread though

Ooh and before I forget, I remembered to do my first WOYWW - thanks for the reminder Carmen

Hmm - any chance of chance of a 'how to kepp your dek tidy' tutorial?  Anyone???

My "Special" Christmas Card

Ok ok I know all Christmas cards are special but I like to make an extra-special card for my Granny as I know how much she enjoys putting her cards out, counting them and showing them to her visitors.

You may remember that I recently made a thank you card using lollipop flowers and I said back then that I wanted to have a go at making a Christmas card the same way.  I've finally got around to it and was so pleased with the result that I had to take it into work just to show it off (I really don't know how they put up with me sometimes!)

So hear it is.  Base card is a trifold with the front double embossed with snowflakes and swiss dots.    I did both because it looked too stark with just one so the snowflakes are underneath with swiss dots on top as they are easier to match as I had to emboss in stages.  The die-cut "Christmas" was from Di's die-cuts and has been embossed with cuttlebug snowflakes.
The "snowballs" across the top of the hills are from a roll of wrapping ribbon tfrom Home Bargains (of course).  The lollipops were 'borrowed' from Costa Coffee because the top of the die-cut Christmas trees was too thin for a standard lollipop stick.  Background is black glitter paper (does anyone know where I can pick up some more without having to pay a fortune for p&p) with a glitter star.

I'm planning on making 2 or 3 more of these for close relatives and friends (just as long as I can find that glitter paper!)

More Card Reconstruction than card making I'm afraid

"&son" wanted to do some crafting today and the thing he wanted to use has been missing since last Christmas - I had a niggling feeling that I hadn't found all my Christmas stash yet so I thought I'd better have a look for it.  Found it.  OMG - how much stuff do I have so I've been galvanised into action on the Christmas card front.

To say I had made these cards would be pushing the truth a little.  I bought 10 boxes of cards for a pound on the last day of trading at my local woolworths.  Why??  Anyhow, I thought I'd send them to the school Christmas fair but when I looked at one box they were particularly awful - these were "hand finished luxury cards"

Now I know my finishing isn't perfect on some of my cards - things aren't sometimes straight and I'm by no means a perfectinist but really!  Look at the finish on this - the topper is not straight and the ribbon has been stuck down with white tape that has been out on so badly that it's clearly visible at the top of the card

So I've had a go at making them a bit nicer - I was thinking 50p each for these ones as a guide price for the school fair - what do you think?  I cut the front of the card, straightened up the toppers and added them to a window card embossed with snowflakes on my cuttlebug.

I've also been trying to make a Christmas card for a child - its a blog challenge somewhere but I've forgotten quite where and have probably missed the deadline but I need some help.  I started off with an embossed sheet of paper - I'm sorry, I don;t know the name as Saveapenny did  it for me a while ago on her bug.  I thought it was a bit too much all at once so cut out a couple of swuares for use on other cards but the remaining shape reminded me of a window so I thought I'd use that as the basis for the card.  The card blank reminds me of snowflakes and I've put a Christmas tree in the window.  But what should I put in the top of the window?  Any suggestions gratefully received.

Finally, I've added my card to my previous blog post - it was hiding in another folder on my PC.

Seasons Greetings!

Apparently some people are organised enough to be doing Christmas cards now - I on the other hand have only just organised my childcare for the school holidays which start on Friday.

The MSE challenge this time was to make a Christmas card so I thought I'd better try and get in the spirit of things.

I've used a papermania card blank, penny black stickeroos for the image and sentiment and couldn't resist a bit of embossing and cutting with the cuttlebug (although you can hardly see the embossing but I know its there). Guess who received her circle frame dies today!?

Merry Christmas!

Louisa

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