Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas to everyone!!!

It's Christmas already!
Santa's been already - I so I think - I've heard some noise coming from the chimney and footsteps.

I usually try to make handmade cards for my parents, brother, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. They are usually very similar with a few customisations (names and languages). This year I made them hybrid cards, mostly designed and printed in the computer with only a few bits of patterned paper.

I followed Jackie's tutorial for the CS Christmas Party for the card shape. Thanks, Jackie!

Most of the digital elements are from Oscraps.com. I discovered this digishop sometime ago and completely fell in love with two designers, Paislee Press and TaylorMade Designs. Their stuff is simply amazing! For about U$ 9, I got all the embelishments I needed and also - unexpectedly - a fab freebie from Sue Cummings.

The outside of the card - all digital. I love the cute postage stamp by Paislee Press.


The inside. I liked how the photos with borders turned out so much that I printed an extra copy to frame. An extra decoration for Christmas! My daughter wrote the message, which I scanned and printed inside a digital journalling brush by Jessica Sprague for Creating Keepsakes.



This is one of the original digital images which I printed in photo paper:


Another detail of the outside of the card. I used to think that it was a waste of time to buy wordart, but I changed my mind. Like these ones, they look great and save so much time!

Christmas ATCs

I've only finished one layout this month, but I have been doing some Christmas related crafts. Here's my ATCs:



Try to post the rest tomorrow...

Christmas Storybook and Lainey's crop: some tasters

In her first year in school, my daughter (and every child in her class) got from her teacher a custom-made Christmas storybook.

She loved it, we had to read it several times, and every year since then, the book is found mid-November to be read again.

Helpfully, the book had a website printed on it, and this year I went to investigate and you can print up to 3 different stories.Which left 2 stories, one for my daughter and another one for my son.

Ms M, having to make around 30 books, took the faster option and stapled the books together, but as I had only 2 to make, tried to make a properly bound book. I'm happy with the results, and I'll do a tutorial sometime, but for the time being, here's the link to to northpole.com, the customised books can be found here.

In the cover, I attached a small photo of my child plus the title of the book. Here's my son's:



Oh, yes, the books are for free. :-)

Today there was a all-day class & crop, promoted by Lainey and Annamarie. I finished 6 Christmas ATCs which I am going to send to the CS forum girls who send me beautiful handmade cards. I don't much make cards, so this was something I could do, which is slightly better than a shop bought card.

I haven't taken photos of them yet, but I can show to the back of it, which I just finished designing PSE.

Got this award from Jackie and JeanJeany:


This award states that: This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY- nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut,even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these people, Deliver this award to 8 bloggers who may then pass it on.

I'll pass it to Audrey, Neasa and Rachel.

Layout flush

Sometimes it is good to "flush" all my layouts in my blog, so I can get my inspiration back and finish a few that are in the pipeline.

This is probably my busiest layout ever, I probably never used so many different items in a single LO, I even use the tickets from the show as an embelishment. The dark paper is one I got in a kit and thought I'd never used it but it turned out to be perfect for the photo. You never know.


Another about my daughter. Went back to simple again. :-)


Now one for my son.


I overheard when my daugher was trying the roller skate. She can skate more or less, but was making a bit of a drama, saying Heeeelp and then my son went to her and said:

"Are you OK, Lucy?"
"Can you manage?"
"Here, hold my hand."

Isn't he the sweetest kid?

Christmas Party at the CS forum!

Today and tomorrow we well be having a Christmas Party at the Craft Supplies forum.

Cara Craft Supplies, affectionately known as CS, is a fab online shop for cardmakers and scrapbookers. Probably everyone in Ireland who is into either craft has heard of it and mostly probably regularly shops there.

It also hosts a very friendly forum thanks to its owner, Ais, and today we're having a party. Check here, here and here for a number of games and classes which will be posted during the weekend.

Here's mine. I'll also will post it as a class in the forum. It is a little decoration to add to your Christmas tree. It is something that looks pretty and will use some the bits and pieces of leftovers that I bet you've got hanging around your craft room.

Sorry about the bad photos, the light is hopeless today.

This is something that came in my Studio Calico kit, and most of us will have something similar in your stash: chipboard labels (or frames).



You will also need:
Scraps of patterned paper (mine are BG, bought in CS, out of stock now)
rhinestones
organza ribbon
2 small photos (to fit the inside of the frame)
glue, pen knife, nail file
Crop-a-dile (if you have one)


Step 1: Use the label and trace it onto the back of the patterned paper.


Step 2: Hollow out the centre of the paper.


Step 3: Distress the inside of the frame and reserve


Step 4: Cover the chipboard and distress the edges.


Step 5: Glue the photos to the chipboard and the paper.
{sorry forgot to take a photo of this step }

Step 6: Glue the chipboard and the paper back to back. Trim the paper, distress the edges. Make a hole in the top. Use a crop-a-dile if you've got one, otherwise use the pen knife. The hole does not have to be pretty as it will be hidden.
Decorate with the ribbon and rhinestones.
Attach a hook or thread so that you can hang it in the tree.

All pink!

My daughter has an ambivalent attitute towards the medals she won at Irish Dancing competitions. She is dismissive of them: "Everyone gets them, mamae!", but can't help displaying them in a proeminent place in her bedroom.

I've been meaning to make a board to display them properly for a while, and last week's theme for PaperPlay challenge helped to get the project going.



I covered a cake base with patterned paper, decorated it and put hooks for the medals. The cake base was an improvisation - has been laying around since my son's birthday in June - but it worked out perfectly. It is lightweight and I could add the hooks by hand, no need of a drill.