Pink Paislee Giveaway

Pink Paislee currently has a wonderful giveaway for a gorgeous package!  It's so simple, "like" the giveaway post on Facebook, repin on Pinterest and link your pin on their blog.  So easy! 

Click here for Pink Paislee Bloghttp://www.pinkpaislee.com/pink-paislee-blog/

Giveaway on Scrapbooking from the Heart

"Scrapbooking from the Heart" is having a giveaway on her blog to celebrate her 400th blog.  Simple to enter; become a follower of her blog, leave a comment on her blog and repost on your own blog as I'm doing here.  Good luck to all who enter! 

http://scrapbookngfromtheheart.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/charlottes-dream-and-my-400th-blog-post.html

Christmas before Halloween

I used to get really annoyed whenever I saw that department stores were filling shelves with Christmas decorations before we even got through Halloween.  In the crafting world that is expected.  I can remember making Christmas ornaments to sell as early as February and March for the following year.  I was fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom for many years and to make a little extra money for Christmas I always crafted and then would hold open houses in October, November and December.  I have several pics that I will post (they're all packed in anticipation of our move) and will do a blog at some point on my history of crafting. 

I digress.  Back to Christmas before Halloween, I have made several Christmas cards and wanted to share them.  I thought they turned out quite pretty.  Let me know what you think. 

The white one above doesn't quite show it but the cardstock has been embossed with the snowflakes folder and covered in white and silver Stickles.  All the cards above are made with Stickles and shine and sparkle. 

My Very 1st Challenge!

I came across this blog that was challenging people to use their scraps and send in a photo of what they create.  I have so many scraps that I probably should never have to buy paper again, ever!  But like most scrapaholics I see the stuff in the stores and ooooh and aaaaaah over it all and buy it.  I started off scrapbooking and had so many gorgeous pieces of paper left over that I couldn't bear to throw them out.  Cardmaking was born because of that.  (It has become my passion BTW.)  I still used to have scraps left over from the cardmaking and kept putting them aside.  With this challenge I think I found the ultimate way to use up the teeny tiny bits of paper and lace and ribbon.  I made several gift cards from the stuff in my bins.  They are mostly 2 x 2 or 3 x 3 size.  Just big enough to slip onto a gift box or put a hole in the top corner and put a pretty ribbon so it can be tied to a gift bag.  Wish me luck.  Oh and here's the link in case anyone else would like to check it out.  (I hope I do this right.)

http://www.hidinginmycraftroom.com/2012/10/himcr-67-super-scraps-saturday.html

These have been re entered into another challenge.  If you're interested in entering a challenge where you use up your scraps, click on the link below;

http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/

Working "inside" and "outside the box"

I've been watching tons of YouTube videos like a sponge lately.  By that I mean that I'm absorbing everything crafty that I can get my hands on.  I want to learn how to do this, how to do that, how to do it all!  At our recent Christmas Tag making session I was showing my sister and my niece a box of baby shower invitations that I had made.  Just a simple box made out of cardstock and ribbon but really cute. 

So my sister asked me if I'd be able to make her a box like that containing assorted cards for her to have on hand.  That got me thinking that her birthday is January 1st and because of  it being so close to Christmas, it always seems to sneak up on me and I end up buying something.  This time I thought I would start now and perhaps work on something new for me.  Altered objects.  I thought I would make something not quite as flimsy as a cardstock box.  I've had this old box for probably more than 20 years and it used to contain stationary but lately it's been storing some odds and ends in my crafting room.

I gave it a quick coat of gesso. 

I chose the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" paper collection to use for this project.  Such vibrant colours and images.  I really must admit that I don't think I've seen any Graphic 45 paper that I didn't care for. 

I went over the gesso with Tim Holtz's Distress crackle paint in broken china.  I must have done something wrong because it didn't quite come out looking crackled, although it does have a distressed, worn look to it.  I love the look.  Serendipity!  I put Mod Podge over the broken china paint just to give it a bit of shine but also to give the box more strength.  I also used Mod Podge as the glue to put the paper down and seal it in place

I wanted to add a little spot where she could store a pen, stamps and maybe something that contains all the important dates to remember for sending out those homemade cards.  Don't laugh....this was my first attempt at doing anything like this and I thought it turned out ok.  Not great, not perfect but acceptable! 

Coats and coats of Mod Podge to keep it all in place.  The only problem with this is that after so many coats it starts to "eat" in to the paper.  I'll have to come up with something else next time. 

I know you can't see it properly on my pictures but on the left hand bottom corner I have a seashell, a bottle cap with a tiny Graphic 45 image inserted and covered with Glossy Accents, a roll of 5cent tickets, also covered with Glossy Accents and punched out and Copic coloured lobster. 

 I also made her a little booklet with some more Graphic 45 images and the pages have been stamped with the months of the year.  The booklet fits nicely into the little pocket that I created.

Here are the final pictures.  It took me about a week to make because I had to keep stopping to let things dry properly.  Especially the Mod Podge, I let those coats dry overnight.  So now I just to make her some cards to go in the box and pick up stamps.  I am not worried about her seeing this before her birthday because she doesn't spend that much time on the computer and even if she does; she's even more forgetful than I am....so by the time her birthday comes in January she will have forgotten that she ever saw it in the first place!  LOL.  Ah the advantages of getting older...I try to see the brighter side of it.

As always, please feel free to leave any comments, suggestions, etc.  All in all, I'm quite happy with the finished product, especially since it was my first.  Keeping my fingers crossed that my sister will like it as well. 

Tag; you're it!

Usually I craft by myself, not by choice but just because I don't know a lot of people who like to do scrapbooking or cardmaking.  Every so often when my daughter is home from school she'll sit and do some scrapbooking with me.  We live further north than the rest of my family so distance can sometimes be a problem so we do like to make a point every few months to get together and have some chit chat time to go along with our crafting sessions.  My sister and my niece were up recently and rather than them lugging all of their craft supplies I suggested that we could just make some Christmas tags.  I have all the things we need here; paper, punches, ribbon, glitter, etc.  I made up a few examples ahead of time just to get our creative juices flowing.  Before I knew it my sister and especially my niece were knee high in tags!  She was churning them out faster than speeding bullets and they were beautiful too!  Here's a few pics of our afternoon's work. 

Christmas Tags

Christmas Tags

Christmas Tags

Christmas Tags