It Takes All Kinds

Let the Christmas Count Down Begin

It is exactly 6 weeks before Christmas and it is time to ramp up the crafting activities.  In the next 6 weeks I want to:

Get my handmade gifts completed

Get my Christmas/holiday cards done

Figure out Christmas gifts for those I am buying for

Decide how I want to decorate the house and the tree

Make any decorations that I need

Buy a tree and get it up

Bake Christmas cookies and cupcakes

Package and mail to those not close by

I know that is is doable especially if I don't get sucked into the internet (Pinterest in particular lol) and I just stay calm and don't panic.  I am actually looking forward to getting it all done and especially to trimming my tree and decorating the house.

So what's on your count down list for the holidays?

 

Easy Gift Tags

Sharing another of my Rangerinklink group how tos.  This was very easy and quick to make.

Stamp image on cream cardstock with red paint.  Let dry then spray with Perfect Pearls mist in the colour Perfect Pearl.  Cut out image.

Spray textured Kraft cardstock with green Color Wash then with red Perfect Pearls mist.  Let dry completely and then cut to size.

Cut a piece of a musical sheet and ink the edges with red paint.

Assemble pieces by layering the stamped image into the Kraft and the Kraft onto the music sheet.

Add Liquid Pearls to Kraft layer to add dimention and to the stamped image to enhance it.

Attach to card form and use as a gift card.

You can also download the pdf file below with detailed instructions.

Download Gift or Mini Card

An idea for displaying your cards

It's getting to be that time of year when you will be getting piles and piles of Christmas cards in the mail. I thought I'd share a display that I made last year to hold my Christmas cards.

Instructions:

1. Find an open-back frame (with no glass). I bought mine on sale at Hobby Lobby, but you could also look at thrift shops. Mine is 18"x24" (the opening).

2. Measure the inside of your frame to decide how many wires you want going across & how far apart. I used 6 wires at 3" apart (except for the top & bottom one).

3. Mark on the back of the frame where you will want your wires on each side.

4. Using any sort of thin metal wire, cut a piece that will span the width of your frame, plus add a few inches at each end to attach.

5. Beginning at the top spot, attach a wire to one side using a staple gun. Be sure to leave a tail of about 3". Use a few staples to make the hold stronger.

6. Fold the excess wire over & staple again. This will help to make sure your wire won't come undone.

7. Repeat on the other side. You can make your wires as tight or as loose as you'd like. As you can see from the picture, I left mine just a teeny bit loose.

8. Repeat steps 4-7 for each row. You may want to cover the wires on the back of the frame with a strong tape so they don't scratch your walls.

9. Use clips to attach your cards/tags/decor. I used atc clips by 7 Gypsies, but you could also use binder clips, paper clips, clothespins, etc. Get creative!

 

Here is my frame filled with Christmas cards:

What unique ways do you display your Christmas cards?

Quick & Easy Altered Buckets

I found these adorable buckets at the dollar store.  They were originally a dusty, matte, dreary blue, but a good size for gift-giving and definitely the right price!  So I snagged a sizable collection, and I just recently finished off altering and gifting my way through them.  Here's the scoop!

1)  Paint bucket with any type of acrylic paint in your desired overall color.

2)  Using a contrasting color and a foam stamp, stamp a decorative motif on each side of the bucket.  Foam stamps are perfect for this, as they're made for paint, but they also *bend.*  This is very important when working on a curved surface.  Ask me how I know.

3)  Using the same contrasting color, and any other shades you'd like to add, swipe small amounts around the rim and bottom of the bucket to add a distressed feel.  This is important, too, as this type of project will naturally come out a little "imperfect," and making it look purposefully imperfect is what distressing is perfect for.  Follow that?  ;-)

4)  Select a variety of ribbon, and snip to 4-5" lengths.  What's especially nice about this, is it gives you a chance to use all that ribbon you like to buy because it's so cute on the roll...  but sometimes difficult to use up on your pages.  You will need a *lot* of ribbon.  I'll be honest, I can't even give you an estimate, because each bucket was different.  It depended on the width and type of ribbon I used, if I used double knots to secure them, and how full I wanted the handle.

5) Arrange ribbon in a pattern if you'd like, and start knotting away.  This is the most time-consuming step, but it's very motivating, as the ribbon stacks up along the handle because it's so overwhelmingly cute!

6)  Finish your bucket off by stacking a few silk flowers behind a rhinestone brad, and pop it through the hole where the handle connects to the bucket. 

7)  Fill it up with something fun, and scrap a card to match, using the same supplies.  Voila!  Now gift away and enjoy the oohs and aahs of your recipients!  (And don't tell them how little it cost you and how it helped you make a dent in your ribbon stash!)

Tutorial: Stacked Christmas Trees

I adapted this idea from one that I saw on The Small Object blog. Hers are made with fabric, but as soon as I saw them I wanted to try this with patterned paper.

You will need:

Assorted holiday patterned papers
Assorted ribbon, trim and embellishments
Adhesive
Sewing Machine (optional)

Instructions

Download the template, which can be found here, print and cut pieces out. Use template pieces to cut out four semi circles of patterned paper.

Either glue or stitch ribbon to the curved edge of semi-circles, leaving a bit of ribbon overhang

You can also use your sewing machine to stitch a zigzag stitch along the straight edge of the semi-circle

Now using adhesive, make the semi-circles into cones. To do this I ran a bit of glue along half of the straight edge, then bent the semi-circle so that the ends of the curves section
met and overlapped a bit. Cut off any excess ribbon.

Now stack cones to form tree, starting with largest.

Add a holiday or seasonal element to top of tree

Variations

Use glitter glue on edges instead of ribbon or trim (blue tree)
Add other embellishments e.g. buttons, to body of tree. (pink tree)
Use decorative scissors to cut edges of semi circles (pink tree)
Make bigger trees by cutting larger semi-circles

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! You can make an entire forest of these trees with your paper scraps!

Crayon Resist Christmas Cards

I finally got started on my Christmas cards after procrastinating for weeks.  These also served double duty as my monthly how-to for the Ranger yahoo group that I am a moderator on.

These were created using a crayon resist technique with dye inks.  It is a great technique to use with glossy cardstock especially when you want to color some areas of an image but leave some of it white. If you do not celebrate Christmas you can use different stamps and colored inks, for example winter scenery works great as you can have the snow resist the ink.

Below is a downloadable PDF file with step by step instructions on how I created these cards.  If you do not have a PDF reader you can download it free here.

Download Crayon Resist

Holiday Crafting Extravaganza!

Hello everyone! With the holiday season fast approaching, here at ITAK we are going to dedicate the next six weeks to a Holiday Crafting Extravaganza. Check back often to see lots of holiday craft ideas from the team including tutorials for cards and holiday decor!

Are you ready to get crafting for the holidays?

Indian Summer Traditions

A few years ago, my husband went on a camping trip with some friends and discovered Lake Raystown.  It's a huge lake created by the Army Corps of Engineers and there is no development permitted anywhere around the lake. He fell in love with the area and so we began a fall tradition of waiting until a warm October day and driving up after Saturday morning soccer to spend the weeking hiking, fishing, boating and exploring. 

 

Sadly, beginning last year we now have soccer on both Saturday and Sundays in October so we've had to skip our spontaneous Indian Summer getaway.  I hope that in a few years though, we'll be able to continue the tradition.

I used my Slice to create the tree trunks which I then stamped using a woodgrain stamp - a trick I've been dying to try ever since a retreat I went to last fall.  I used chipboard  buttons from Jenni Bowlin to complete my fall "trees."  Somehow, I managed to bend and tear this layout while I was working on it, perhaps because of the frustration I had trying to get the Slice to work on the new magnetic mat.  Sometimes scrapbooking can be a full contact sport!

Our Indian Summer

How are the colors changing in your neck of the woods?

Fall Activities in an Indian Summer

I don't know about you, but the beautiful weather this Indian Summer has really put me in the mood to craft! I've been currently working on decorations and other items for Halloween.

Last night I made this "spooky" banner to hang in our living room. I cut the triangles from cardboard inserts that I have saved from scrapbook orders! I pulled the top layer off to reveal the corrugated surface. All of the papers are from The Girls' Paperie "Toil & Trouble" line. Most of the embellishments are by Making Memories, except for the felt spiderweb, which is by Queen & Company. (ignore my dog's stash of toys under the cabinet!)

Here's a close-up of one of the letters:

What would an Indian Summer be without beautiful fall leaves? I plan on taking pictures of my neighbor's tree this year to show the progression of the change in color:

Use some of your scrappy supplies to decorate pumpkins! I used black acrylic paint to paint faces on my pumpkins instead of carving them. This way they will last longer!

(Dinky says hi)