Day Twelve Of A Nontraditional Christmas

The directive for "Twelve drummers drumming" was to create a project using music sheet.  I made some notecards for my Secret Sister.  The cameo images are from the Heritage Cricut cartridge, cut at 2".   The music sheet for the notecards is from GCD Studio's Paris Nights paper line, while the one used for the bag is from Tim Holtz.  I added flatback pearls, Viva Decor Pearl pen faux pearls, yellow mini pompom trim, and a die cut from Spellbinder's Fleur-de-Lis pendant die.

Day 11 Of A Nontraditional Christmas

The directive for "Eleven pipers piping", was to buy some trim or make an embellishment using trim.  I opted for the latter.  I wanted a more interesting presentation than just stuffing the trim into a bag, so I cut some dressforms from grungeboard using a Tim Holtz die, sprayed them with Glimmer Mist and stamped on them using some Tim Holtz stamps; after which I wound the trim around the dressforms.

Day 10 Of A Nontraditional Christmas

"Ten lords a-leaping" is all about masculine card fronts, and we were required to make two.  My Secret Sister asked for card fronts for her two boys--- one who plays the saxophone, and the other one plays basketball.  I used Christmas paper from Memory Box and Melissa Frances for the card fronts.  The frames were cut using Spellbinders dies. The saxophone is a Jolee's sticker.  I added crinkle ribbon in gray to add a vintage touch, and added a cardstock base embossed with the Allegro Cuttlebug folder.  The ornament tops are stickers that I pieced together to make basketball ornaments. I added Stickles for a more festive look, stars and embossed the background using the Stars Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Day Nine Of A Nontraditional Christmas

"Nine ladies dancing" made me think of clutches and purses that are an essential part of evening wear.  For this day, our directive was to make/alter a purse and fill it with candy.  I used the crackled paint technique for this project to evoke a feeling of shabby chic.  I stuck with my Secret Sister's color scheme for her crafting area and used creams, browns and yellows.  The designer paper is from Basic Grey's Cappella paper pack.  I used the Fleur-de-Lis Spellbinders Pendants die for the main design and added pearls using Viva Decor Pearl pen.

Day Eight Of A Nontraditional Christmas

I associated milky white pearls with the line "Eight maids a milking".  The directive for the eighth day was to make/buy an item with pearls.  My inspiration for this day was a beautiful wreath that I had seen at the Spotted Canary website.  I took an 8" styrofoam wreath and covered it with a wide cream-colored satin ribbon.  I added vintage buttons in browns and creams, pearl flourishes and Prima flowers to decorate the wreath.  The vintage lace is from my DT sister Charlotte. :-)  My Secret Sister said that this wreath is so her and it warmed my heart to hear her say that. :-)

Day Seven Of A Nontraditional Christmas

"Seven swans a-swimming" calls to mind water, so for the seventh day of the swap, we had to buy/make items in blues/greens, or colors of the ocean.  My Secret Sister wanted cuts from the Lacy Labels cartridge, so I made her some.  I used Core'dinations and Bazzil cardstock in blues and teals.  To embellish the cuts, I sanded and inked the edges with silver and navy Cat's Eye ink pad, added pearl dots with a Viva Decor Pearl pen and pop-dotted the smaller cuts.  The cuts measure 3 1/2".

 

 

 

 

 

Day Six Of A Nontraditional Christmas-- Oval Tilda Tags For My Sheri Crafts

Our theme of making Christmas tags/containers for My Sheri Crafts coincided nicely with the day six directive for my Christmas swap.  We were required to make three oval tags.  Since it's Christmas, I decided to make six.  I used Spellbinders dies for the shape of the tags and several Tilda Christmas images which I colored using Copic markers.  The designer paper are from Melissa Frances and Memory Box.  For the trimmings, I used vintage lace, a deep red ribbon from Hobby Lobby and red crinkle ribbon.  I kept the embellishments simple.  I used Stickles and Viva Decor Pearl pen for added sparkle.

Day Five Of A Nontraditional Christmas

I made a banner for "Five Golden Rings".  The directive for the day was for it to be jewel-themed, but my Secret Sister requested for something to match the colors in her craft room, which are creams/ivories, mocha, deep brown with yellow accents.  She also loves shabby chic and Victoria, so I kept both themes in mind when creating for her.  I used designer paper from Basic Grey's Capella and the Luxury Stack from DCWV.  I cut the pennants at 4"x6" and the letters are from the StoryBook cartridge, cut at 3 1/2".  The frames were cut using Spellbinders dies and embossed using the Textile Texture Cuttlebug folder.   I used vintage lace to connect the pennants.  I added tiny silk yellow roses to the frame to pick up the yellows in her craft room.   The buttons are from Basic Grey.

Day Four Of A Nontraditional Christmas Swap

"Four calling birds" translated to embellishments using feathers.  I made some feather butterflies for this day.  For the base, I used Martha Stewarts' large butterfly punch.  I proceeded to choose feathers that were proportionate in size for the wings.  The butterfly bodies were made of crystals and pearls from The Paper Studio.  I could not find a perfectly matched crystal for the brown butterflies, so I colored clear ones with an E55 Copic Marker.  I made a box to present the butterflies with.  The cuts were made using Spellbinders Pendants' Fleur-de-lis dies.  I used a lot of Fleur-de-lis in this swap since my Secret Sister mentioned she loves that emblem and uses that theme in her house decor.  The designer paper is from Basic Grey's Capella paper pack. 

Day Three Of A Nontraditional Christmas

The item for "Three French hens" is anything French.  What could be more representative of the French than the iconic Eiffel tower?  I cut the Eiffel tower from my Summer in Paris Cricut cartridge at "fit to page" which measured 9 1/2".  I used paper from GCD Studios' Paris Night and Basic Grey's Capella paper pack.  I added a couple of Fleur-de-lis, cut using my Spellbinder's pendant dies.  The yellow roses and leaves were cut using Cheery Lynn dies.  My Secret Sister loved sparkle, so I gave her a lot of it--using yellow mica flakes and with Crystal and Lemon Ice Stickles.

Day Two Of The Nontraditional Christmas Swap

The second day talks about "two turtledoves", and my Secret Sister loves her family and Tim Holtz, so I decided to combine both for this day.  The embellies are a mix of Tim Holtz products, Making Memories and Etsy finds.  The grosgrain ribbon has velcro at the back, so it would be easier for it to maintain its shape and it will allow room for bulk when pics get added.

I made this wallet mini album using vanilladaze's tutorial.

A Nontraditional 12 Days Of Christmas Crafts

I have been involved at a nontraditional Christmas Secre Sister swap over at the Cricut message board.  The theme was inspired by the song "12 Days Of Christmas", but the items were non-Christmas themed unless specified by the Secret Sister.  Day 1 is "a partridge in a pear tree", so the twist is to make or buy a fruit-themed item.

I decided to make a 4"x4" coaster mini album.  I used paper that featured cherries and pears from Jenni Bowlin (Farmer's Wife) and Graphic 45 (Domestic Goddess).  I added coordinating paper from Melody Ross for GCD Studios (I got this from Hobby Lobby).  The lace at the ring binding is from Charlotte, our wonderful DT sister.  The frames in this album were made using Spellbinder's dies.  I accented the scallops with Viva Decor pearl pen.  The roses and the vines were made using Cheery Lynn dies.

The charm was made using a clasp from 7 Gypsies, a bead from Michael's and a Tim Holtz tassel.  I have been  a bit of a washi tape addict lately. lol!  You will see a lot of red checkered washi tape and Baker's twine in my Christmas projects. :-D  The large chipboard button is from Jenni Bowlin.

                                    
                                                The "confidential" tag is from 7 Gypsies.

Christmas Emporium Mini Album for My Sheri Crafts

I started this mini album when I was pregnant a year ago and I finally got to finish it in time for Christmas this year. :-D  Other priorities like keeping the baby fed and clean took precedence but now that he has been sleeping through the night, my life has started to get back in order.  Other challenges like the pain in both my wrists kept me off the computer except for a few minutes at a time when I'm at home also put a damper on my blog activities.  Anyhow, there are more projects for me to play catch up with, and this is one of them. :-)  Thank you so much for bearing with me and keeping up with the projects that I have been posting!

I used Graphic 45's Christmas Emporium paper pack and Core'dinations cardstock for this mini album.  The sprays on the cover were from the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby.  The pearls and mini roses are from Prima.  The silk flowers are from Recollections. The paper flowers and leaves inside the mini were made using Cheery Lynn dies.  The crystals are from Recollections, The Paper Studio and Martha Stewart.  I added cabochons that I got from Hobby Lobby, ribbon from Offray and buttons from Basic Grey.  I went a little crazy with my use of the checkered washi tape but I loved the way it looked so much against the colors of the background paper.  I wanted to add more sparkle, so I added Stickles on the pages.

There are so many pockets in this album that I would like to show you and there's going to be a video on the works soon!

 

Thanksgiving Card For My Sheri Crafts

There are so many things in life to be thankful for-- our families, good friends, good health, etc.  Our theme for this challenge at My Sheri Crafts is to make a project or a card to show thanks.  I recently met my husband's favorite aunt, and her warmth, sweetness and generosity all those years when my husband was growing were reasons to be thankful for, and this card is for her.

I used my Cricut to cut the 3" frame from Lacy Labels.  The font is from Plantin' Schoolbook, cut at 1/2".  The paper is from DCWV's Once Upon A Time and the cardstock is from Bazzill.  I added a border punched using a Martha Stewart punch and added Stickles and gold pearls using a Viva Decor Pearl pen for more sparkle.

My Mind's Eye Lost And Found Halloween Mini Album

I made this album for a swap and I used paper from My Mind's Eye.  I also made die cut frames using the Happy Haunting cartridge.  The album measures 6"x6", so I cut the frames at 5".  The spider, haunted house, apothecary bottle and gargoyle were from the October 31st cartridge and were cut at 3 1/2".  I used cardstock from Core'dinations and some glittered black, yellow and green cardstock as well.  I used silk flowers from Prima and handmade the smaller flowers using a die from Cheery Lynn.  The black pearl flourish on the cover was from Prima. I also made some flourishes using black enamel accents, and added more pearls using Viva Decor Pearl pen.  The pumpkin stickers are from Jolee's.  I added a skeleton and black tulle to embellish the wire binding.