Bauble in a Box

Hi there

In between the scramble to get organised for Christmas, I was able to get together on Sunday with some stamping friends for afternoon High Tea. What a fabulous indulgence to be in lovely surroundings with special friends and an unlimited supply of yummy treats! We overstayed our time until we were given the hint that it was time to go. The time always goes too quickly when we get together.

Today I want show you what I made for them, which is a Christmas bauble in a handmade box. Here is a photo of the 3 boxes made with the current In Colours of Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party and Calypso Coral and their matching ribbons and brads.  I have used textured white for the contrast for a crisp, clean look. These are very non-traditional Christmas colours, but chosen with a view to the box being reusable for another purpose, if desired.

Here is a close up of the Pool Party box

and one of the embellishment on the top.  It is difficult to see in the photo, but I have sprayed some of the layers with champagne shimmer mist for sparkle.

And this is what is inside - an 80 mm glass bauble filled with lengths of jewel coloured seam binding ribbons, which can be removed through the top. The pink and teal ribbons are perfect matches for Melon Mambo and Island Indigo.

Project Details
Stamps	None
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Textured White, Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Island Indigo
Ink	None
Accessories	Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Island Indigo spotted brads and ruffle edge ribbon, 1/8" taffeta ribbon (handle), Silver Eyelets
Tools	Fun Flowers Die, Blossom Party Die, Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Eyelet border punch, Dimensionals, Cropadile, (lots of) Sticky strip, Acetate (not SU)

 Thanks for stopping by.

Quick Christmas Tags

Hi there

I've been busy today wrapping gifts to send to friends and relatives interstate.  I like to choose a colour scheme for each group of people and I needed to whip up some gift tags to match my colour scheme of red, white and silver.

I've used the long tag from the fabulous Two Tags die and images from the 'Winter Post' and 'Snow Swirled' stamp sets  to create my tags.  Here they are as a group:

Here are some close ups. The first one uses the large snowflake from Snow Swirled. Although not designed for it, I've punched it out with the scallop circle punch and then popped it up and finished it with rhinestone. Very quick and easy.

The next one uses my favourite reindeer from 'WinterPost', silver embossed and then matted on Red or Silver Glimmer Paper.

The last one is my favourite, with lots of bling from the gorgeous Red and Silver Glimmer Paper from the Summer Mini Catalogue.  The image is the star from 'Snow Swirled', stamped and embossed.

Project Details
Stamps	Winter Post, Snow Swirled
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Textured White, Real Red (Smooth & Textured), Red & Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink	Versamark, Real Red, Mememto Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones
Tools	Two Tags Die, Big Shot, 1/2", 1 1/4", 1 3/8", 1 1/2" Circle punches, Scallop Circle punch, Dimensionals, Cropadile, Silver Embossing powder, Red Embossing powder, Heat gun

 I hope you are progressing well with your Christmas preparations.

 



OCC Sketch Challenge

Hello

Today I have some more Christmas inspiration for you with a card based on a sketch from Our Creative Corner.  This is a great sketch that can be dressed up or kept clean and simple.  I love the fabulous inpiration their DT comes up with each week.

I have kept my card clean and simple with the lovely image from the 'Beautiful Season' stamp set coloured with Copic markers and popped onto a scallop circle cut from the lovely Red Glimmer paper.  I have matched it with my least used SU colour Garden Green, but the striped DSP tones it down a bit.  

Project Details
Stamps	Beautiful Season, Four the Holidays
Card stock & Papers	Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Garden Green DSP, Red Glimmer Paper, X-Press IT Blending Paper
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	White Organza Ribbon
Tools	Petals a Plenty Embossing folder, Nestabilities Circles, Big Shot, MS Doily Lace punch, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by.

5 Petal Poinsettia

Hi there

I love the gorgeous splash of colour that a Poinsettia adds to the house at this time of year and I generally purchase a plant each Christmas.  Amazingly, however, I've managed to keep the plant I purchased last Christmas alive for the whole year and it is busy producing lovely bracts of red petals.  

Poinsettias also seem to be in favour this Christmas season for crafters, so I thought I would look at the options for creating some embellishments with existing SU tools.   The 5-Petal punch has been around quite a while now and I used it to create the poinsettia-like embellishment for this card, which as been inspired by the  Mojo Monday 215 sketch. 
On the focus panel I have used a traditional Christmas image from the lovely 'Come to Bethlehem' stamp set, which unfortunately didn't make it to this year's SU Catalogue in Australia.

Here is a close-up of the Poinsettia embellishment, which I have sprayed with homemade Champagne shimmer mist to add some sparkle.

To create a more realistic looking poinsettia from the 5-Petal Flower punch,  I punched out a very small circle (1/4" or even smaller if you can), and glued it to the centre of the 5 Petal flower. This provides stability and a guide for you to cut the petals into a more Poinsettia-like shape. The next step is to cut through the join of the petals down to the circle, curving in at the bottom and leaving a small 1/8" stem.  This is what it looks like after you have done this:

The first time, I tried marking the cutting line with a pencil, but I found it easier to just cut by eye and it is really quick and easy. The petals were then scored through the centre with the narrow end of my embossing tool to give it some dimension. You need to be a little bit gentle with your flower at this stage, as the petals are held by narrow 'stems' to the centre.

Project Details
Stamps	Come to Bethlehem (Not Available in Australia), Snow Swirled
Card stock & Papers	Early Espresso (Textured & Smooth), Baja Breeze, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, More Mustard, Holiday Treasures DSP (Retired)
Ink	Early Espresso, Baja Breeze, Old Olive
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones
Tools	Square Lattice Embossing folder, Big Shot, Sizzix Leaves & Branches Die, 5 Petal Flower punch, 1/4" Circle punch, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, Champagne Shimmer Paint,

 I hope you enjoy making your own Poinsettias.