5 Days until Christmas

Hello Friends! Five Days, that's it. I can never believe how fast Christmas comes, for me Christmas celebrations begin on Wednesday. So I only have 2 more sleeps.... and quite a few things to finish, so I best make this short. I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday with your families & friends. That you get some down time, some me time and a whole lot of relaxation time! I can't thank all of you enough for your support this year, your encouraging words, your emails that truly made my day. Thank you for sharing your thoughts & stories with me. I really couldn't do this without friends like you. This will be my last post until the new year so until then- be safe, be merry & eat until you think you might blow out the button on your pants ;-)
Merry Christmas!
{xoxo}
Nadine
PS. Inspiration Monday- here & A big CoNgrAtUlaTioNs to Kim- who won the last giveaway from the 12 Days of Christmas.

On the 12th Day of Christmas

On our last day I have 2 project ideas for you & a give away! Enjoy!

Glimmer TreesSupplies Needed:

-Cardstock

-Glitter

-White Glue or Spray Adhesive

Step 1: Click here to download a cone template from Martha Stewart. Thanks Martha!

Step 2: Cut out cone template (ignore bit at bottom of this download)

Step 3: Use your template on cardstock to create your cone. Either cut around template with a craft knife or trace the template and then cut out with scissors.

Step 4: apply double sided tape to the small edge of the cardstock

Step 5: Roll paper inwards to create your cone

Step 6: Cover your cone with adhesive. I used a foam brush to apply white glue.

Step 7: Cover your cone with glitter. Make sure you have something to catch the glitter so you can pour in back into the container.

Step 8: Let dry.

Step 9: Repeat process with other colors. For the larger tree I enlarged the template and repeated the above process.

365 Days of Gratitude in 2010

This project is one I truly love to do. To write in a "Gratitude Journal", to end each day writing down one thing (or more) that I am grateful for. Whether it be the obvious ones like family & friends or the fact that my car started when it was 40 something below with the windchill. No matter the day, or my situation there is always something to be thankful for!

For this you'll need a day timer that allows room to write for each day. I recommend you wait until after Christmas (but before January 1) to go buy a day timer. They go on sale for 50% off at places like Chapters and the Calendar Club. I covered this one but if the one you buy is nice on it's own then it may not need any "dressing up". What's important is that you write in it. Have fun with it!

GOODIES!!!!

I have a bunch of Riff Raff's December shapes, along with a Christmas themed mini album from American Crafts to give away! Email Me and tell me what your favorite holiday tradition(s) are for a chance to win! I'll draw one winner Sunday @ 10pm and post the winner on Monday!

Thank you so much for hanging out with me for the last 12 Days! I hope you enjoyed each day and found inspiration in my projects! I'd love to see pictures of your creations! I'll be back before the holidays but for now I have glitter EveRyWhErE that needs to be cleaned up!

{xo}

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

Star GarlandAs far as difficulty level goes this project really doesn't get much easier and I think it's so fabulous! Simple & beautiful!

Supplies Needed:

- Small tin stars (found at Micheals)

-Ribbon. I used gold but any color would go with these stars.

-Crop-a-dile

Step 1: Remove the ring that is used to hang the star.
Step 2: punch a second hole across from the existing hole. You will need a crop-a-dile or other heavy duty punch to go through the tin.
Step 3: Tie the stars together with ribbon. I looped the ribbon through, then tied it off in a knot.
Step 4: Add bows. I put another piece of ribbon through the hole and tied it off into a bow, trimming the ends off "fancy". Depending on how thick your ribbon is you may need to punch a slightly larger hole in your star.
Step 5: To hang the garland I simply looped a piece of ribbon through the two end holes and tied it off into a knot.
Simple & fun!
Enjoy!
See you tomorrow for our 12th day of Christmas & our last project. I will also have more goodies to give away! Whoo Hoo!
{xo}

On the 10th Day of Christmas...

Riff Raff Ornaments

Supplies Needed:

- Riff Raff Chipboard- Christmas themed words or shapes

-Embossing tools, clear powder & a watermark pad. I use Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel- so great.

-Alcohol inks and applicators. I just use pieces of felt on the end of a cloths pin

-Ribbon or Wire (we'll discuss the wire later)

Step 1: Emboss the Chipboard with clear powder to create a glossy surface. We do this so we can apply alcohol inks. Alcohol ink directly onto chipboard soaks in and doesn't create a bold color.

Step 2: color your word/shape with alcohol inks. For HoHoHo, I used 2 alcohol inks from Ranger-copper first and then applied 2 coats of red. For Believe- I used Gold Metallics from Ranger. Let Dry.

Step 3: Flip over and color in the back of the chipboard. I just use red and I just apply it to the chipboard.

Step 4: Emboss with clear powder again to create the glossy effect again. It also helps to stiffen up your shape.
Step 5: Hanging your word/ shape. For HoHoHo, see below. Believe at the top of this post is hung with ribbon. Just looped through and tied in a knot.

For the HoHoHo: I used a paper piercer to poke a hole on each end of the word.

I then used used wire to hang this word with. The wire was very hard to work with and I would recommend using ribbon!

Visit Riff Raff's website here to find a retail store near you.

Enjoy!

{xo}

On the ninth day of Christmas....

Believe Blocks Supplies Needed:

-Wooden Blocks, mine are cut from a 2x2 & a 1x2

-Various Paints, these are acrylics

-Sanding Tool

-Alphabet Stamps,I have used foam stamps

-Adhesive, I have used hot glue

Step 1: Paint wood blocks, let dry

Step 2: Sand the edges of the wooden blocks. We're doing this to remove the paint to allow the wood to show through. This creates a "vintage" feel.

Step 3: Figure out how you'd like your blocks to be assembled & eventually adhered together.

Step 4: Stamp the letters for the word you are using, let dry.

Step 5: Assemble your word and adhere the blocks together.

I got this idea when I was browsing through Hallmark, another one of those "I can do that" moments. Keep your eyes peeled, you never know where you'll find your inspiration.

Enjoy!

{xo}

On the 8th Day of Christmas

Cookie Cutter OrnamentsThis project puts a fabulous new spin on the traditional cookie cutter ornaments.

Supplies Needed:
-Various cookie cutters
- Pattern Paper and/or photos
-Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents or other clear liquid adhesive
-Ribbon

Step 1: Apply adhesive to the top of the cookie cutter. The top has a wider lip to apply the adhesive on.


Step 2: Adhere to paper, let dry.

Step 3: Cut out using a craft knife & cutting mat

Step 4: Using a crop-a-dile, punch a hole at the top of the cookie cutter

Step 5: Loop ribbon through the hole & tie a knot. The knot will keep the ribbon in place when your ornament is hanging.

Use pictures for your ornaments instead of pattern paper, they make great keepsakes!

Enjoy!

{xo}

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

Custom Covered Day TimersThese super easy day timers make the perfect stocking stuffer or inexpensive goodies for all of your friends.


Supplies Needed:
-Generic Day timer, found at Dollarama for $1
-Pattern paper
-Coordinating Embellishments

Step 1: Measure your cover. For this I am not wrapping the paper around the spine, just adding a piece of paper to the front & to the back.
Step 2: Cut 2 pieces of pattern paper. My cover was 3 3/4 x 6 3/4, I cut my 2 papers to 3 1/2 x 6 1/2

Step 3: Ink the edges of the paper.

For this one I also adding in some stamped dots.
Step 4: Embellish your papers as you choose.

If you are adding in paper flowers you will need to adhere down each petal so that they don't get snagged and rip off.

I put a rub on, the year, paper flowers and some bling.

If you are adding ribbon or tulle to the binding, you will need to take the calendar booklet out of the cover, add the ribbon or tulle and then put the calendar booklet back in.

CHRISTMAS GOODIES

The emails I got for "Favorite Christmas Present" were absolutely wonderful! I got teary a few times. Thank you so much to those of you who shared with me! The winner of the above draw goes to Anne Marie but because I loved your stories so much I am sending a little something to each of you that emailed me!

Enjoy!

{xo}

On the 6th Day of Christmas...

Wall Hanging Supplies Needed:

-Chipboard letters (these are 8")

-Various coordinating pattern papers

-Coordinating embellishments

-Ribbon

-Jump Rings

-Blending tools and Distress Inks from Tim Holtz

Step 1: Adhere your letters to your pattern paper and then cut out

*I am lucky enough to have a local scrapbook store that has 8" letters for their Die Cut machines but you could improvise and print large letters out on your printer or enlarge them on a photocopier. This way you'll be able to choose the font you want.


Step 2: repeat step 1 for the remainder of your letters, alternating your pattern papers

Step 3: using a blending tool ink the edges of your pattern papers. I used Walnut Stain & Antique Linen. See this Technique Thursday where I discuss the blending tools.

Step 4: add embellishments to your letters. I have added a couple of gold rub-ons, Pearls from Kaiser Crafts and a Prima poinsettia.

Step 5: Decide how you want your letters to hang, punch holes (I use a Crop-a-dile to punch my holes) and then hang the letters together with jump rings (purchased @ Michaels)

Step 6: Add jump rings to the first letter and then hang with ribbon. I hung mine from two jump rings so that it would hang straight. I had originally only used one in the center and it made the entire word hang crooked....fyi.

Enjoy! Have a great Sunday!

{xo}

12 Days of Christmas- Day 5

Yarn WreathSupplies Needed:

-Styrofoam Wreath

-Various Colors of Yarn

-some sort of embellishment

-ribbon

Step 1: Wrap wreath with yarn, alternating colors until wreath is full

Step 2: add your embellishments. For mine I used a branch of poinsettias from Micheals, took off one of the flower & removed the center. I put the berries (also from Micheals) through the center hole of the poinsettia, pulled the ends through (these ends are make of wire) and poked them into my Styrofoam wreath to hold the entire thing in place. This could instead be glued in place with hot glue. I then added the red ribbon as the center of my poinsettia, tying it around the stems of the berries.

Step 3: hang the wreath as is or place on a shelf or mantle

Enjoy!

{xo}