Merry Little Christmas layout

Hi crafty friends! I love the Christmas season and enjoy preserving Christmas memories in scrapbook layouts. The photo here was in a Christmas card from my cousin a few years back, of her twin sons and their younger sister. Don't they look festive in their Santa hats?

The colours in the photo coordinated beautifully with this Bazzill Basics paper collection that I won in an online challenge last year, so I used several of the patterned and solid papers on this page.

The adorable snowman was fun to finish-after priming him with white acrylic paint, I used my Marvy snow pen, which is activated with a heat tool after applying to the chipboard. It really is cool to watch it bubble up! His hat was finished with Ranger black sparkle embossing powder.

The snowflake border is so delicate and pretty; I kept the finish simple-after priming it with white acrylic paint, I painted a coat of pearlized paint over it. Compared to the shade of white of the snowman, I found the paint a little TOO white, so I rubbed it lightly with  translucent stain and liked the final effect much better. I added some clear gems to the centers of the larger snowflakes. Be sure to use a soft brush when painting this piece, as it is quite delicate.

I had pulled a Christmas tree shape from my chipboard stash, but then decided I didn't want to add any green to the mix, and I'm glad I didn't-I love the gold embossed reindeer with the other colours.

I hope you get some wonderful photos of your Christmas celebrations this year an are able to preserve them in layouts, mini-albums, altered frames, etc to make the memories even more special! Enjoy your festive preparations! xoxo

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED
Christmas Shape Set
Snowflake Border
Flourished Deer, miniature-contact store re miniatures

OTHER ITEMS USED

Marvy snow pen
Ranger embossing powder-black sparkle
Versamark Ink
white chalk ink
Fiskars border punch
Plaid transparent stain. sepia
Bazzill Basics Nordic Pines

Christmas House Ornaments

Hi Everyone,

Jess here today with a quick last minute ornament or gift tag.

Start with your Simple House Ornament cover both sides in the paper of your choosing. I added a bit of shimmer using my clear shimmer pen.  I tried to capture it in the photos, but it's so subtle.  

Apply a thin layer of white acrylic paint to both sides of your Snowflake Border.  You won't need the whole border.  I placed mine on top of my ornament and got a basic placement idea and then trimmed it accordingly.  

Once your paint is dry, emboss the snowflakes using Fractured Ice Embossing powder. 

Color your Tim Holtz paper doll using Distress Markers.  I also added some stickles for sparkle. 

Glue your snowflakes to your house(be sure you don't cover the hole in the top of the ornament).  Add your people using some foam tape for dimension.  Add stickers from the Tim Holtz Christmas clippings stack.  A little bakers twine and your ornament is finished.   

I liked this so much I made a second ornament using the same process, but these snowflakes are embossed with Charred Gold.The paper doll had a tiny jingle bell added to his hand.

Have a very Merry Christmas,

Jess

Santa's Sleigh Home Decor

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your holiday.  Instead of making something for Thanksgiving, I thought I would make a home decor piece for Christmas, which really is just around the corner.  For this, I am using this gorgeous Santa's Sleigh sturdy chipboard by Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, along with the Deer set, to use as either table or home decor, a candy dish, or to give as a gift to your family and friends.  It measures 8 ¼ inches long by 5 ¼ inches tall by 3 ¾ inches wide and is made of heavy duty chipboard, so it will hold whatever you may wish to put in it, like candy or maybe a beautiful floral arrangement.

First, I recommend a dry fit of the pieces to make sure they will go together properly.  

Then you may want to number or letter them to keep them straight.  I used letters for the inside pieces.  

Fig. 1

Paint the sleigh parts with ColourArte Vivid Solar Gold Ultra Metallic using a sponge applicator.  Use a dabbing motion with the sponge for a smooth application without allowing the paint to get into the openings and holes.  Paint the edges of both sleigh pieces and one side of each of the frame (open) pieces.  These will be glued down later, so the unpainted side will not be seen.

My inspiration for the next step is this piece of paper I found in my stash.  I think I was able to come close.  What do you think?

Add the white specks of paint by picking up a very small amount of white acrylic paint with a wad of plastic wrap.  Dab most of the paint off before dabbing the chipboard sleigh frame and sides.  

While the paint is drying, you can trace around the chipboard template and cut out your side pieces, as shown.

For the bottom of the sleigh, trim papers to fit the C, D, and E pieces (Fig. 1) on both sides, leaving the tabs free for assembly.  I have chosen the green papers for the inside and the red papers for the outside.  Remember, when I did the dry fit of these pieces, I labeled the inside (green paper) as C, D, and E.  Always check yourself first before gluing your papers down.  

Checking my assembly again.

Remove the sides in the same order as the dry fit assembly, and lay your papers out to match.  Now you are ready to glue them down.  

Glue your side pieces to the sleigh now.  Before assembling the parts, cut out the holes in the sleigh pieces.  

Turn the pieces over and repeat the previous steps to cover the opposite sides, as shown.  

However, DO NOT cut out the holes for assembly.  Leave the paper intact to cover the entire outside, as shown.

Glue the frame piece to the outside, matching up the chipboard, as shown.  Let one side dry first before turning it over and gluing the opposite side to ensure the frame piece does not slip out of position.  When the glue dries, you can turn it over and glue the opposite side.

Glue inside pieces to one of the sides of  the sleigh.   

Then adhere the second side to the inside pieces.  

Cut Snowflake Border apart into pieces that will fit on the sides of the sleigh.

Paint snowflakes with white acrylic paint, and while still wet, dust with a holographic glitter.

Adhere to sides of sleigh, as shown.

Paint both sides of Deer with brown acrylic paint, and paint the hooves black.  Add snow writer paint along tips of antlers, as shown.

Now you are ready to embellish your sleigh with florals, or if you prefer, use it as a candy dish.  I chose to add floral embellishments.  Here are a few pictures from different angles.

Place deer next to the sleigh, as shown in the finished photo at the top of the post.

Supplies used:

GSL Santa's Sleigh
GSL Deer
GSL Snowflake Border
My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas paper pad
ColourArte Vivid Solar Gold Ultra Metallic acrylic paint
White and brown acrylic paint
Foam blending tool or makeup sponge
Snow writer paint
Hologram glitter
Floral embellishments


I hope you have been inspired to make one of these beautiful Christmas sleighs for your holiday decorating, or to give as gifts.  

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out all the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the team.  

Barbara

Tags in a Box Display and January Tag by Dianna

Hi Everyone, Dianna here with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Tags in a Box Display. The Box comes with six tags.  I decided to create a tag for each month and decided to to us Graphic 45's Time to Flourish on the January tag.

I started by painting the Tag Box a cream color.  I then sprayed it with a bronze spray to give it a more worn look.  I then papered the box first with Graphic 45's Botanical Tea - striped paper then I distressed paper from the same line.

I used Twinkling H20's on Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts - Hanging Clock and glued the clock on the back of the Tag Box. 

I papered the Tag with Graphic 45's French Country Collection - Rendezvous.  I used white ink to lighten the red a little.  I used a bronze Twinkling H20's on Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts - Deco Lattice Panel 2.  I then used a white ink to give it a little winter effect.  I used a bronze Twinklings on the Leafy Corners vine and green on the leaves.  I then used the white ink to tone done the bronze of the vines.  I used red nail art stones on the leaves for winter berries.  I fussy cut Graphic 45's - Time to Flourish - January.  I then decided since it was cold and snowing here that I needed snow flakes.  I painted Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts - Snowflake Border white and used three different Stickles on the snowflakes.  I placed the snowflakes on the lattice to finish the tag. 

Thank you for looking and check back to see next months tag. 

Items Used

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hanging Clock Set

Deco Lattice Panel 2

Leafy Corners

Snowflake Border

Tags in a Box Display

Other Items Used

Graphic 45

Time to Flourish

Botanical Tea

Christmas Carol House with Guest Designer Kathy Clement

Hello, Friends! Well, Thanksgiving is behind us, and now it's time to dig in and create for Christmas! I'm excited about the month ahead for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that I have been invited to create four projects using scrumptious laser cut chipboard from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts! This chipboard is sooooo yummy, as you will see in today's project. I made a Christmas Carol House using loads of Gypsy Soul Lasercuts, Graphic 45 "A Christmas Carol" papers and lots of sparklies and pretties!! 

  

This is one of those projects that I wish you could see in person, because it is so much cooler than the pictures show. I've never made anything quite like this before, and boy oh boy, was it fun!

 

I began by painting the 3 Story House with a coat of white gesso followed by a swish of Iced Spruce Distress Paint. Next, I sponged all the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. After that, I cut my Graphic 45 "A Christmas Carol" papers to fit each floor and the inside and outside of the pieces. I felt it was easier to decorate the house before building it. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to put the house together using just a touch of Art Institute Dries Clear Glue. The pieces are dovetailed, so they fit together seamlessly.  

 

Here's what the house looked like in process, so you can see how I combined my papers. Nothing is glued down here yet. The next step was to choose and prepare my chipboard pieces. Here's a list with links to the chipboard I selected:

• Snowflake Border
• Snowflake Shape Set
• Stars and Flourishes Border and Corner Set
• Winter Shape Set
• Victorian Silhouette Frames
• 3 Story House

I wanted my stars and snowflakes to glitter and shine, so instead of painting them, I treated them with Shabby Frantage Embossing Powder in shades of white and blue. This opaque powder contains little flecks of gold, color and glitter and adds a wonderful vintage finish to chipboard. Here's what that 

process looked like.

  

I tapped my chipboard pieces with Versamark Ink. Really lay it on nice and thick!

  

Use a funnel tray or piece of clean paper and pour a thick layer of the embossing powder over the prepared chipboard. Press it down lightly with your fingertips, then tap off the excess and put it back in the bottle. Then, heat emboss. Easy peasy...and you don't have to wait for paint to dry!

 

For the roof, I used DecoArt Crackle Texture Paste and let it cure overnight. I painted it with a thin layer of Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint and while that was still wet, I sprinkled it with Stampendous Shaved Ice Flakes. I love how it glistens just like a snow topped roof!

  

Each floor of the house features a wintry holiday scene. And just look how those embossed snowflakes glisten! 

  

The "ground floor" uses a tree from the Winter Shape set along with a trio of altered bottle brush trees, a snowflake that I cut in half, and cutie pie snow angel. The floor is covered with paper, Spanish Moss, Shaved Ice, and some Prima Winter Berries. I let the embossed chipboard stars and snowflakes form a frame around this pretty winter scene. The bottle brush trees are mounted on altered thread spools to achieve varying heights. 

 

I used the star border as a base for my arrangement of flowers, pine cones, jingle bells and berries. It adds such a festive feeling!

 

This image from the 8x8 Christmas Carol pad fit perfectly inside this Victorian Man and Woman frame! I simply painted the frame black, then dry brushed it here and there with a little Iced Spruce Distress paint.

  

The "attic" is lit with Tim Holtz' mini lantern, and yes, it really lights up! Here's a tip: Drill the hole for your wiring BEFORE you assemble the house. Some of us have to learn that the hard way! LOL  

A side view, so you can see the fun metal feet and the decorated sides. 

  

 And another side view. Isn't it fun?

  

 And one more peek at that snow topped roof!

  

I'd like to thank Gina at Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts for giving me the opportunity to be a guest designer. I hope you enjoyed your tour of this Christmas Carol House. I'll be back next Wednesday with more ideas. In the meantime, you should check out the online store. It's amazing! Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

Kathy