A Little Home Decor for the Holidays...

Whilst trawling Youtube the other day, I came across a video teaching how to make antique book paper wreaths. Well, I didn't have any antique books to hand, but I DID have a really old, tatty Joanna Trollope book which I was more than happy to take off my book shelf! Here's what I made:

I'm soooooo pleased with how it turned out! The instructional video said to make 120 cones from the book pages, which I laboriously did; only to find that I had about 30 left at the end of my project!! So... what to do with 30 paper cones? Well, make another wreath, of course! This meant that I could place one on either side of the arch in our living room. As well as looking prettier, it meant that the rather tatty backing for each wreath was hidden too! Let me show you a close up:

To fill the centre, I literally scoured the house! I knew I wanted to fill it with neutral and soft gold things - you'll be surprised what you can find! A cork from a bottle of wine we'd had the night before, a little wooden ball from a bowl of everyday decor in our living room, some paper flowers from my stash, lightly misted with kraft and gold spray... you get the idea!
I really recommend making one of these - from start to finish, making one of the wreaths took a couple of hours... not long if you consider how long it takes to make a layout! Go take a look on Youtube, searching for 'antique book paper wreaths' - there's lots of vids to choose from - all with pretty similar instructions - hope you like! xxx

Pages From Christmas Album 2012

Hey girls... as promised, here is some inspiration for decorating the inside of those albums!

As I tend to take my photos using Instagram these days, I've made my photo mats square - slightly larger than two inches. This allows me to print 6 Instagram photos on one 4x6 piece of photo paper. So, have fun - can't wait to see them all finished in January!

P.s - I THINK I may have fixed the comments issue we were having on my blog, so do please try and leave a comment!

Thank You!

A thank you to all that come and join me throughout the year to play with paper - and a huge wish for a happy healthy Christmas and New Year to you all.
I'll take piccies of the inside of our album tomorrow and pop them on the blog to inspire you all to finish that final project!
And well done every one - I worked you like Trojans - and you all met the challenge!
See you all in 2013! xxx

The Biggy...

I know how you all love to make an album or two...

...So here's one for you to get your teeth into! At first glance, this looks  like an ordinary, cute little album, but see that small red tab at the bottom? That does something pretty neat!

So, I mentioned in a previous post, that it would be helpful for you to bring along a few things to speed things up; of course, if you don't have them, then everything you need is here - but let's try to avoid queues for the ink pad!! Here's the list:
A sanding block/nail file
Strong white glue (preferably with a fine tip applicator)
Hot glue gun
Strong double sided tape (red liner etc)
Glossy Accents
Brown ink and a sponge for inking edges
Black ink
3D foam pads
Red pen/ink to colour the white letters in kit
Any punches/stamps you own that you may wish to incorporate
See you all later in the week - really looking forward to it! xxx

Your Penultimate Teaser!!

Here it is:

A bit of stamping here, some of those hand made buttons (much more sparkly in real life!) and a bit of paper engineering!

So, you've worked out that there are 5 projects... the biggy to come tomorrow. This month, I'll be working along with you, step by step. i reckon we should get most of it done that way! As always, you'll have your written instructions to take home, so panic not!

See you tomorrow, with the last teaser, and a list of supplies you may wish to bring. xxx

Another Teaser...

Here's your third teaser for our Christmas crafting session:

I really enjoyed making this; I hope you will too! It uses that beautiful flower, made from crinoline and burlap which I showed you in a previous post. You can use this one in your own home for the festive season, or give it as a gift - the choice is yours! xxx

Your L'il Old Chrimbo Gift From Me...

Now - if you can see what this is, then you really do deserve a prize!!

Happy Christmas!! xxx

Extra Goodies...

I just have to share all the extra goodies I've added to your kits! Look at all this lushness:

See the pretty flower? Sweet heh? A few vellum pockets, (well... you just KNOW there'll be a mini album of sorts built into the day!) home made sparkly buttons, twine, wooden snowflakes, tags and tabs, letters, beads, a hat pin.... you get the idea! xxx

Another Christmas Craft Session Teaser...

Here's another little something we'll be making...

If you have any guesses as to what this may be... i'd love to hear them!! Keep checking back for more tempting teasers for what's in the pipeline next week... xxx

A Little Teaser for My Girls.....

Hello all, I hope December is treating you all well, and the Crimbo stress isn't kicking in too hard!! Through this week and next, I'll be posting little teasers of what we'll be doing next week, rather than full on piccies of our makes... thought it may be more fun that way!!

So here's the first:

How cute is that?!?!

About the middle of next week, I'll post a list of anything specific you need to bring along, so do keep checking back! Hope you like! xxx