Day 12 - 12 Gifts of Christmas...

So we have finally made it to the 12th Day, and todays Gift is one I have seen about a lot lately (but I hadn't seen so many when I made mine)... have made it slightly different too as I thought it looked neater, it is an

Advent Calendar

I started off with 24 large matchboxes from Tesco, they must have thought I was mad buying so many, and now I dont know what to do with the matches now... but I thought I wouldn't be able to fit anything in the small ones, so big ones it is...

I took the inner and coloured the end in by rubbing 1/2 of them along an Olive Green Ink Pad and the other 1/2 on a Real Red Ink Pad, I then coloured round the edges using the Stampin' Write Markers.

I continued until all of them were coloured and you couldn't see any white when they were put back inside their outer covers.

Next I put double sided tape on the top of the matchboxes...

And stuck six in a row alternating the colours...

I did this 4 times until I had 4 piles of 6 boxes...

I next needed to cover the sides with Patterned Paper and yet again I used Patterned Paper from the I Wish Simply Scrappin Kit... I cut 4 pieces measuring 3 1/4" x 8 "

I used Snail Adhesive to stick them to the boxes...

I stuck them to the left hand side (when you are looking at them)... like this..

I know it looks like the right hand side, but it is definately the left... I did this for all 4 strips.

Next we need to make the base and top. For this I used chipboard and cut it 6 1/4" square. I covered the top of each with patterned paper again from the I Wish Kit and at 6 1.4" square.

I then stuck double sided tape to the top of each of the six columns and stuck them to the top chipboard piece, taking care to make sure they were central...

I did this until all 4 were stuck and they looked like this...

I then stuck the base on making sure the patterned side was the right way up.... and this is the end result..

I next added sticky strips and ribbon to the boxes so that they were easy to open and looked good. I also decorated the top and the sides, plus I stamped the numbers randomly on the boxes using the Square Serif Mini Alphabet and Numbers Stamp Set. The decorations come from the I Wish Kit too...

The Top...

And the sides... all it leaves to do now is to fill the little boxes up with treats, I was also going to put pieces of paper in for things like a trip to cinema etc

I hope some of these Gifts have inspired you to make some of your own, I enjoyed making them and I now have some little gifts to give away to people...

Sorry the posting is a bit late tonight, it is my little boy's sixth birthday, and we have had KFC for Dinner and birthday cake, and had to help him with his new Dinosaur Nintendo DS Game... hopefully we have worn him out and he will now go to sleep.... Here is a picture of him with his brother and Dad (my DH) at my daughters wedding in March... he is the smallest one... doesn't he look smart??

Well that's all for tonight, maybe I will get time to make some Christmas Cards now.... have so many to make and so little time... have a good evening all, take care xx

November Stampers 10 Club...

Hi to my November Stampers 10 Club, I decided that as the order will go off tomorrow I would draw the raffle for a winner of the following goodies tonight...

The Wondrous Gift Stamp Set worth £19.95 (page 17 of the catalogue)

1 Real Red Ink Pad

1 Always Artichoke Ink Pad

1/2 Designer Paper 6 x 6 Pad (including the Real Red and Always Artichoke Colours)

1m Real Red Wide Grosgrain Ribbon

1m Always Artichoke Thin Grosgrain Ribbon

4 Sheets Always Artichoke A4 Cardstock

4 Sheets Real Red A4 Cardstock

As it is nearly Christmas I put together a little package like this for both my Stampers 10 Groups. I have given everyone a number and used a Random Number Generator to pick the number and it picked out Nicola's number... so congratulations to you Nicola, I will get your parcel in the post to you tomorrow.

I will draw the December Club on 29th just before your order goes in, so watch this space for another lucky winner... and girls of my Ink Spots and Markers Club.... watch this space... I haven't forgotten you....

Take care all xx

Day 11 - 12 Gifts of Christmas

Well the gifts wouldn't be complete without a small box of

Thank You Cards

So I made 10 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" cards and using the stamp set Pocket Silhouettes I decorated them all differently. I didn't really have room for a sentiment on the outside, so put it on the inside... here are the cards along with the inside of them, plus the envelopes.



Next I needed a box to put them in, and this is how I made it...

I took a 12 x 12 piece of textured card and cut it down so it measured 10 x 10. I then scored it at 3" and 7" in both directions so that I ended up with a piece of card that looked like this...

I then cut along the crease at 3" and at 7" on one side and then the opposite side (not on all sides)... I also cut a slight slither out here and added double sided tape as shown...

Next taking each piece bit by bit I peeled the tape off one corner and bending up the side and tucking it in I securely stuck it to the inside of the longer piece. I did this with all 4 corners so it ended up like this...

And it looked very neat from the side...

The cards fit very nicely in this size box...

We next need to make the lid. For this I used a 12 x 12 piece of Holiday Treasures Patterned Paper (which was the PP I used on the cards, so that everything matches nicely...) and cut it to measure 10 1/4" x 10 1/4". I scored it at 1 1/2", 3", 7 1/4" and 8 3/4". Do this both ways so that it is scored all around.

I then had to cut the corners so the box would fold together properly, so cut along the white lines I have drawn on the next diagram...

Do this on all four corners. When it has been cut out it will look like this...

Put double sided tape along the outer edge on all four sides, if you look carefully at the photo above you will be able to see where I stuck it. You will also need to cut downwards to the next score line on opposite sides, from below where the tape is. You fold the corners in and tuck the outer sides over the corners (remember to remove the strip from the double sided tape before you do this. It should look like this...

Next I decorated the lid by putting a length of Regal Rose around the edge of the box and tying in a knot. The paper is nicely patterned so I didn't feel it needed too much decoration. I then made a little to and from label to go on the box and tied it through the knot of the ribbon with Stampin' Up! Gold Elastic.

A very thoughtful present for someone as they can then use them to send out their Thank You Notes after Christmas.

Will be back tomorrow with the last of the 12 Gifts of Christmas....

Have a good evening all xx

Day 10 - 12 Gifts of Christmas

So we are nearly at the end of our 12 days, todays gift I have seen several times on blogs and forums, but I have taken it to the next level (meaning I haven't seen one quite like this before).. so lets get on with making this....

Tealight Shade (please only use the battery operated tealights in it, I am sure it is highly flammable otherwise).

I started with an A4 sheet of vellum and cut it down to 6", the other side I left alone.

I picked a stamp set that I wanted to use, this was Wondrous Gifts and stamped onto the vellum using Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy Ink Pads. I dried it off using a heat gun...

Now this is the bit I didn't do, but in hindsight (such a wonderful thing) should have done. Stick double sided tape along both long sides and along one of the short sides, but do not remove the strip. Next I took a Versamark Ink Pad..

and light dabbed it all over the vellum. Once it was totally covered (dab the vellum not rub otherwise you will smudge the ink already on it) I sprinkled it with Stampin' Up!s Heat and Stick Powder. I then removed the excess and put it back into the pot.

I heated it until all the Heat and Stick Powder had melted and then sprinkled it with the Dazzling Diamonds, I then removed the excess and put it back in the pot.

I reheated again to set the Dazzling Diamonds. Remember not to leave the heat gun for too long in one place and remember you will have your double sided tape along the edge, so try to avoid direct heat on that too... Once the Dazzling Diamonds is set in place, set this aside and we shall make some decoration for it.

I took a sheet of Bravo Burgundy Cardstock and using the Scallop Edge Punch punched scallops all along 1 edge...

After the edge was scalloped I cut the piece of cardstock to the depth that I wanted. I then repeated to make a second strip.

I then peeled the strip of the Double Sided Sticky Tape and stuck the Bravo Burgundy Cardstock strips all the way around the top of the vellum sheet and the bottom of the vellum sheet. I then made the Vellum sheet into a circle, first peeling the strip from the Double Sided Tape on the short side of the vellum.

I then placed a Battery Operated Tealight Candle on the side and placed the shade over the top. You could make a base for it if you like, but I prefer mine without. Then all it needs is a nice dark room to show it off properly.

To be honest, these photos do not do this justice at all, it really is so, so sparkly if you use the Dazzling Diamonds and really does look Christmassy... just have a go and see for yourself.

I have also made a Moving Home card... for this I used Real Red and So Saffron Cardstock, along with Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon. The stamp set used was Loads of Love and the Loads of Love Accessories too... The Patterned Paper is So Saffron Designer Paper.

I will be back tomorrow with Day 11 or the 12 Days of Christmas...

Have a good evening all, take care xx

Day 9 - 12 Gifts of Christmas

So we are up to Day 9 already, today is a really nice one, made from something you would normally throw in the bin. I have not included measurements today as you can use any tin you would like and they are all likely to be different, as today we are altering an

Altoid Tin

First of all I took an altoid tin and some Patterned Paper (wahey guess where it comes from??) yep it comes from the I Wish Simply Scrappin Pack... I drew around the top and bottom and cut out.

I then covered the lid of the altoid tin in glue....

And then I stuck the Top piece of Patterned Paper to the top.... like this...

I then did the same with the bottom (as the bottom had a lot of writing on I wanted to cover it up.
I found it easier to glue a strip of 1/4" grosgrain around the rim of the lid, and then cut a piece of Patterned Paper to size to go around the sides of the base of the tin. I only put the paper up as far as the lid reached down so it wouldn't get scuffed when the tin was opened and closed...

Then we come to the inside. I again traced around the top and bottom of the tin and cut slightly inside the lines so that the patterned paper would fit inside the top and bottom of the tin...

And stuck double sided tape to the wrong side of the Patterned Paper so it would sit securely inside the tin...

The Patterned Paper was then stuck to the inside of the tin.

I traced around the top of the tin again onto vellum this time, and once again cut out slightly inside the lines.. this was then cut just over halfway up and decorated with one of the strips from the I Wish set.

and using strongbox adhesive was glued slightly around the edges and glued in place on the lid of the tin.

And as you can see I had decided to make the tin into a small sewing set as this is always handy to carry around with you in your handbag...

I then needed to decorate the outside of the tin, so again I turned to the wonderful scallop circle punch and a stamp from the Level 1 Hostess Stamp Set Best Yet. For this I used Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Real Red Cardstock.

I stuck some 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon across the top of the tin and topped it off with our assembled scallop embellishment, and then further decorated it with some of the Stampin Up Buttons in Old Olive and Ruby Red.

And voila a very smart looking tin for next to nothing (the sewing set cos £1.99 from Tesco)... a wonderful give for just about everyone...

I also wanted to show you today how versatile the Rub-Ons are, and they have 20% off until 30th November, so if you would like them, please get your orders in quick to me before the 30th November. Just fill in an ORDER FORM at the top of this post (click on ORDERFORM/WISHLIST at the top of this post).

I bought this Frame from Tesco and put a beautiful photo of my DD, her DH and newly born baby (he was only about 30 minutes old when this photo was taken as I was there at his birth), and I decorated the frame with Rub-Ons to personalise it a bit...

And I also decorated a vase and filled it with baubles for a Christmas Decoration this Christmas..

For the photo frame I used the Rub-Ons Cherished Memories and for the Vase I used Hidden Garden Blossoms.

Will be back tomorrow with Day 10 of the 12 Gifts of Christmas, nearly finished now... take care, have a good evening xx