Waterless Snowglobes...

I love the idea of snowglobes but I really don't care for the water and fake snowflakes they contain. Sooo, I used a DIY Snowglobe from Alpha Stamps to make my own version without the annoying water and fake flakes.

Then I made a little apothecary jar version using the Apothecary Jar with Lid also from Alpha Stamps. I think they look adorable together...

But they look really cute on their own as well!

For those of you interested in making your own waterless snowglobes I've assembled a few tips on turning a boring globe on a white plastic base into a fabulously festive globe on a pedestal...

 I used a black and white Grosgrain ribbon attached with hot glue to cover the white plastic base.

 Next, I attached a Wired Pine Needle Stem (with hot glue) to hide the space where the base and globe connect.

 After painting a Small Wooden Finial and a Candlestick Holder red, I hot glued them to my globe and base as shown.

 Next I cut apart a Berry Sprig and a few inches of Holly Berry Garland and hot glued the leaves and berries around the finial on the top of the globe.

 I glue the leaves on one by one so I get complete coverage in the areas where I want it. Awww, it looks so pretty!

 Using my remaining garland I hot glued it to my ribbon around the base. Which left an ugly messy area where the two ends meet.

 To hide this, I simply glued a holly leaf right over the top of the mess :)

 I thought my snowglobe was still just a bit too boring so...

I added JOY, peppermints and glitter to make it truly fabulously festive!

I hope I have inspired you to make a little something for yourself!

 If you'd like the supply lists for either or both projects they can be found here and here.
If you'd like to buy one of my pieces they are available in my shop :)

Christmas?! It's not even Halloween yet!!!

Those were the words I uttered when asked to do an ornament sample using the 2017 November Kit. I really wanted to squeeze every last bit of Halloween goodness out of October before ever even thinking about Christmas. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, so I started listening to Christmas music and got crafty :)

I made this first ornament using the Ornament Frame Set - Round and Retro Xmas Round Ornaments Collage Sheet from the November Kit. The paper is from the Tim Holtz 8x8 Kraft Paper Stash - Christmas, I really love the Tim Holtz Stash Pads because they are a nice weight and have such wonderful vintage images and patterns. I also used a Clear Plastic Round Dome on this ornament so it could be a "shaker" ornament.

Notice how the Santa image in the photo above is obscured by tiny clear micro beads, inside the plastic dome, when the ornament is moved or shaken. Alpha Stamps had a kit with shaker ornaments last year, too. You can see the many ornaments I made with last years kit (and other available components) on this blog post.

My favorite thing about this ornament is the pleated Cream Ribbon with Velvet Polka Dots I used to add a frill to the edge. It looks like it was complicated to do, but, because this ribbon holds a fold really well all it took was hot glue and folding (in little pleats all the way around the back of the ornament) to accomplish.

 My second ornament uses many of the same supplies as the first ornament but I did use a different ornament shape. It is Ornament Frame Set - Bauble and it is quite nostalgic in shape. So I just had to use this wonderful nostalgic paper from the Tim Holtz Christmas 8x8 Paper Stash!

I think the paper is perfect with this sweet snowman image from the Retro Xmas Round Ornaments Collage Sheet. Using a snowman image made it pretty much mandatory to use lots of snowflakes, such as the Flat Back Clear Iridescent Snowflakes and the Tiny White Snowflake Buttons. Of course I really had to apply lots of snow drifts with my trusty Dimensional Snow Writer.

To top it all off, I used a Christmas Snow Essence label from my Tiny Little Christmas Labels Collage Sheet applied it to a 3cm Tall Bottle with Cork with a few strips of Super Sticky Red Liner Tape - 1/8 Inch and added some snow (Flower Soft in Polar White). I think it looks adorable nestled in among the snowflakes and Maidenhair Fern Pick - Platinum.

I hope you are inspired to start making Christmas ornaments now, even if Halloween is still around the corner. Just think, you will be able to use them on this years Christmas tree!

My complete supplies list is available here.

 

 

Shaker Ornaments!!

Shaker ornaments are all the rage right now, just search Pinterest and you will see tons of examples. But how can you make them yourself? Well it's easy with the awesome new Chipboard Ornament Layers from Alpha Stamps. These babies are fun, easy and are only limited by your imagination!

I whipped these up in a couple of days with most of the time devoted to glue drying time.

Look at that, the backs are as pretty as the fronts!

 Let's take a closer look at each individual ornament, shall we...

 This beautiful snowy scene was created using Deer in Woods Ornament Layers, silver and white paint, recycled sari silk ribbon and lots of glitter and sequins.

 I created this simple distressed ornament using Tim Holtz Christmas Tidings 8x8 Paper Stash, Stairs Christmas Morning Ornament Layers, and Hanging Stockings Ornament Layers. I made it double sided by gluing the two die-cut inserts back to back with a sheet of cardstock in between.

 I did the same double sided trick with this ornament using Christmas Delivery 6x6 Paper Pad, Ice Skaters Ornament Layers, and Flying Sleigh Ornament Layers.

Since I created two double sided ornaments I had leftover outer rings and clear plastic domes. Not wanting to waste those parts I decided to use a couple of collage sheet images from the new Gnome & Mushroom Ornaments Collage Sheet to make up an additional ornament...

 Isn't it adorable! I love gnomes and mushrooms! And snow, and moss, and buttons...

 In order for the images to be glued to the outer ring when creating this ornament sandwich, I had to leave a bit of white paper around the edges. Don't worry about seeing it when finished, though, as it is covered up once you glue it to the outer ring.

 Since it is necessary to keep the parts flat once you put the glitter in the dome, I traced a line around my roughly cut collage image so I would know exactly where to place the image once the glue was applied and I was ready to attach it :)

I truly enjoyed making these ornaments! It was fun finding stuff to put in them to shake around. My main ingredients for all of the shakers were Flower Soft - Polar White, a fine white iridescent glass glitter from my stash and 1mm Micro Beads - Clear AB. In addition I added sequins, tiny buttons and polymer clay cane slices depending on the theme of the ornament. You can see my complete supply list here.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope I inspired you to go make some shaker ornaments for yourself :)

retro Christmas and bitchy women...

What do retro Christmas and bitchy woman have in common, you ask, why Authentique Paper of course! Two of my favoritest paper lines at the moment are Retro Christmas and Fabulous and they are brand spankin' new at Alpha Stamps! I couldn't resist making sample art with both pads as they are heavy on mid century kitsch and feature lively vintage color pallets.

First up is a Sweet Retro Christmas Cabinet to make you wish Christmas would get here quicker! Yikes! Forget I said that... we haven't even celebrated Halloween yet! Anyway, here's a look at the cabinet...

 A festive wreath and gingerbread boy and girl decorate the front of the cabinet.

 Opening the right hand door reveals a red tree festooned with snow and snowmen!

I used a pair of craft scissors to cut the "branches" on back of the tree off so it would fit better in the cabinet.

 The left hand door opens to show off a pretty candy jar decoration...

 and a teddy bear opening up a gift.

I really love the plaid paper from the Retro Christmas pad... it adds a touch of coziness to the mix.

I'm still pondering adding an image to the back of the cabinet as it looks so bare, but, will anyone see the back of the cabinet when it's being displayed? What would you suggest?

Moving on to bitchy women, lol... Using the kitschy Fabulous paper pad I made a Bitch Book Box filled with ATCs. 

 This project came together super fast using the easily glued together ATC Sized Faux Book Box. I used some book page images from a copy of Looking Glass Book Box Collage Sheet Part 1 that didn't get used on a previous project so it looks like a real little book. The red glasses the blonde is wearing are cut out of the glasses paper in the Fabulous 12x12 Paper Pad. They fit her perfectly!

 The title down the spine (and the bitchy quote on the front!) lets you know right away what this book is all about!

Inside I used three different prints from the Fabulous paper pad and a quote from Bitchy Words Collage Sheet that says "Let's get drunk and judge people" I'm still looking for the perfect image to add to that open space above the quote...

I hope you enjoyed my ramblings today and are inspired to go make something fun! If you're interested in the products I used you can find my supply lists by clicking on these links Sweet Retro Christmas or Bitch Book Box.

Little Deer's Christmas Countdown...

Feels a bit strange writing this post on Halloween as it is about counting off the days before Christmas, lol. Anyway, I have created a cute snowy Advent Calendar using the new Advent Calendar Shadowbox from, bet you can guess, Alpha Stamps.

I love this advent calendar shadowbox because once you put it together is feels like you have an item of heirloom quality that can be passed down for generations. It is laser cut from a nice heavy Masonite and it glues together like a dream. But, if you're a bit sketchy on how it pieces together, you can always pop on over to Glitter Tart's (Caroline Ouzts-Hay) blog where she has a video tutorial waiting just for you!

How sweet are the drawers I made using the provided template from the advent calendar shadowbox and the gorgeous new A Victorian Christmas Scrapbook Paper Set from Prima Marketing. This paper is rich with deep reddish burgundy and beautiful golden cream and really lends a warm homey touch to your Christmas project.

I used Hitch Fasteners for the drawer pulls and a set of Faux Metal Number Plates 1 to 25 to finish off my drawers.

 If you're wondering where I got that dear deer, I'm sorry to say it's been in my stash for a while and I'm not sure... But, Leslie, has provided an adorable alternative that's just about the same size :) And... since you can have a deer in your shadowbox, why not a tree and some snow covered hills. Here's how I made mine...

 After gluing the "floating" 25th cubby where I wanted it, I hot glued a couple of Icy Branches on top of it in the manner of a tree. I then cut a couple of pieces out of a round piece of floral (green) Styrofoam and hot glued them in place to form the base of the hills.

 To further smooth and shape, the hills, I used Apoxie Sculpt Epoxy Clay - White right over the Styrofoam.

 Once the Apoxie Sculpt cured, overnight, I hot glued sections of a White Picket Fence in place on the hills.

The fun part was adding lots of Dimensional Snow - 2 Ounce Jar to my scene. I used a medium stiff bristle paint brush to apply and arrange the "snow" just where I wanted it.

I let the "snow" dry overnight and then hot glued the deer and other goodies in place. 

If you'd like to buy your own goodies, you can find my full supply list here.

This was really a fun project to work on and it has made me want to make lots more projects for Christmas! I hope you will stop by again soon to see what I've been creating :)

a miniature Christmas magic shadowbox...

I know, I know, Halloween isn't even here yet and I'm posting about Christmas!

 I can't help it, we got the cutest Christmas paper pad in from Carta Bella and I just had to make something with it. The pad is called Christmas Wonderland and it's got the cutest tiny Christmas prints and sweet little deer on it. Along with the adorable pad, I used one of our brand spanking new Mini Wood Printers Type Tray Shadowboxes to make a sweet little display of some of my favorite holiday things.

The shadowbox is pretty small, about the size of a photograph (4"x6"), and didn't have any feet to stand on or a hook to hang it with so I decided to use one of the small easels that Prima Marketing has started selling. It's a perfect fit for the shadowbox...

I love the way it makes the whole thing look pulled together and complete.

If you come in a bit closer...

you can see some of the fun miniature things I used in the cubbies. There are wrapped gifts, old books, magic potions and yummy things to snack on. I dug up an old deer and some Scrabble tiles from my stash to add some nostalgia and topped the whole thing off with a lovely embellished "pine" swag.

Not gonna lie... I had so much fun working on this it inspired a second project, using the same shadowbox, that will be featured in Sunday's newsletter ;)

Now, if you just can't wait for Sunday to do some shopping... here's a link to my supply list to get you started.

Thanks for stopping in and celebrating the upcoming Christmas season with me!