Christmas Market

Getting ready for a Christmas market that runs for ten days was hectic. 

And still, I don't have a clue what will sell and what not.

We put up the stall and table on Tuesday and 

yesterday was the first day of selling.

These clip boards are my favorites. Both landscape and portrait.

All of them stenciled! Some of them aged.

Then to add something cute to the table I also painted this small suitcase.

I think it belonged to my sister. It was hers in Grade 1. 

There is only space for your pencil and your lunch.... and

maybe your jersey if you really tried hard.

Now again I am guilty of not posting the "after"

photos but let me tell you what I did. 

I painted the outside with 3 layers of paint. Waxed it and aged it.

On the inside I ripped out all the existing paper, sanded it lightly.

Then I painted it with one coat of white paint and decoupaged 

a few serviettes to the inside.

I will take photos and share it with you, because it is the cutest 

thing ever!

The Space!

I am slowly moving into my new space and I am loving it!

The sun is still shining through the window, the music is playing and

there is paint and paper and glue and stuff...

what more can I want?

 

 

It is so easy to fill up a space with craft supplies.

 

 

I also had my first class last Saturday.

A tekkie class! Here are the girls creations.

 

 

 

Here is the project for the class on 

 

Saturday 16 November at

 Sweetscrappins.

Christmas Door Hanger.

 

 

 

 

R140.00

 

09:00 - 12:00

Techniques: Stamping

Die cutting

Colouring with Distress markers

Spraying with Glimmer Mists

Contact Carla at: 012 329 9175

 

 

 

 

Four Christmas Trees for 1012

This year I had four Christmas trees.

(I had my own silent competition)

 

This one was a polystyrene cone I bought last year.

I used gel medium, old book paper, flat back pearls,

paper twine and some glitter.

It was the part of the centre piece on my dinner/studio table.

 

Then I saw an idea in a magazine an my grandma's

blue ladder was the victim! It was perfect to put all the gifts underneath.

I also went GREEN and gave some plants as gifts. 

For the last 20 years this was our tree, made form an old pine book case

my sister used to own.

 I couldn't just leave in the store room and not let it

be part of Christmas this year.

But we decided to paint it white and

all the decorations looked so much better on the white.

 

Then this little one for a coffee table.

This one is from Green Grass Design.

It has a bit more of a Valentine feel to it,

but I added a few candles and small baubles,

and it was perfect.

 

I would love to see all the pictures of your trees.

Send me an email and attach a photograph

of your tree, and I would love to put it on our blog.

 



Old book paper for a Christmas banner

Old book paper

Manila Tags

Alphabet letters

Small paper bags

Doilies

Seam binding ribbon

Pearls and charms

Small tags

Small clothes pegs

and other stuff from my stash.... 

These are all the things that I used to make these tags.

 

Glue the alphabet letters face down to some old book paper with

gel medium and let is dry. Cut away the extra paper and then sand the edges

for a smooth finish. For definition around the edges, use a little bit of Distress ink.

 

On the craft bags I used a piece of a doily, a paper heart and a charm.

I used no glitter ( I can't believe it myself )

but there is bling!

 

One bead charm per craft tag and I made eight of these.

Some of them to put on a manila tag and the other to use on their own.

Some of the tags are tied to the string with the seam binding tape

and the others are kept in place with the clothes pegs.

 

You can put anything on the tags and bags, use the stuff you have

....... and your imagination!

 

Merry Christmas to all our Blog friends,

may your Christmas be peaceful and

the new year full of good surprises!

Love you all. x

 

 

The glitter tray and rack..

Some tools are must haves, other are nice to haves.

This is a nice to have, verrry verry nice!

A non-static tray, a brush and a drying rack.

(from Martha Stewart)

With the Sizzex's dies I cut a few Christmas trees.

Scored them and folded them in half. I took 3 three trees and

glued them back to back. Then I added glue to the edges.

 

The next step was to sprinkle some

glitter over the trees and put them on the rack to dry.

It was super easy to get the excess glitter back into the little bottle.

 

I used the trees on small craft envelopes which will

be put on each guest's dinner plate as a decoration

on Christmas day.

I haven't planned the menu.... but the decorations are all sorted!

Mills and Boon for Christmas!

My theme for this year is old book paper.

Here are a few of my ideas to decorate your gifts and your table.

 An old Mills and Boon paperback

works great as a source for the old book paper.

 

I used my Martha Stewart Paper Punches to create this lace border.

I had to punch three pages at a time, it just works better than one.

Then a Spellbinders Nestabilities die for the base of the flower and

a red paper rose to get the colour going.

 

Cut some pages in half and then do the punching. Join the pages at the top and bottom.

 Now you can use it as "ribbon" to wrap it around a gift.

 

For the stars and the hearts I used the Sizzix Framelits dies.

(all available from Scrap-a-Doodles)

Book wrapping paper works great as gift wrapping paper, but it can be very boring,

so you need to Zoosh it up with a piece of string and some bling.

 

Use the different size hearts. Cut 5 and fold them in half.

Glue them together and arrange them on the gift. Remember to bling it up!

 Here I used Zig glue and because you can work very accurate and it still sticks when it is dry.

 

A paper rosette with a red rose on each plate will look FABULOUS!

 

How to - Bath and Beauty Gifts for Christmas

On Saturday, November 10th, 2012,

Elna taught at the Pretoria branch of Soul Sisters.

The ladies made their own 

Atomisers (Spritzers),

Bath Salt Tea Bags and

Body Scrubs.

Most of these products can be "concocted" from supplies which are

available at you local pharmacy or health shop.

Here are the links for the 

Bath Salt Tea Bag

and Salt Body Scrub.

For the Atomiser you need to mix:

a tablespoon of Rubbing Alcohol (or Vodka) and

7 drops of your favourite essential oil

in a mister bottle before

filling up the bottle with distilled water

(We used a 50ml (2 ounces) bottle)

Another one of my favourites is a 

Sugar Body Scrub:

 Pour 160ml (5 ounces) of sugar into a jar with a wide neck;

Add 60ml (2 ounces) of Soluble Bath Oil (Mineral oil / Technical Oil),

a teaspoon of Vitamin E Oil and

10 drops of your favourite essential oil.

Stir with a wooden stick until it forms a paste

(the sugar will remain gritty).

Apply to hands/feet, rub and rinse with warm water.

********

You can also make your own 

Diffuser Oils

Mix together 60ml (2 ounces) Mineral Oil (Soluble Bath Oil / Technical Oil)

a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol (or Vodka) and

10 drops of your favourite essential oil.

These recipes are ideal for making inexpensive handmade gifts

for family, friends, teachers and all the other special people in your life!!

For great labels to use on your gifts, go to the Graphics Fairy website.

Karen has some amazing labels that you can download!!

Note Pads made with Washi Tape

These are quick, easy and not expensive,

but very useful little gifts for Christmas.

Make your own Washi tape out of crinkle paper,

tissue paper, napkins/serviettes,

or tissue wrap paper from Tim Holtz.

Cut some craft card stock for your cover,
a little bit bigger thanyour notepad.
Score and fold on the right places.

Adhere the note pad to the cover with some double sided tape.

Apply your washi tape while holding your cover closed.

Start on the front and end at the back by just tearing it off.

Secure the top and the bottom of your cover

with an extra piece of washi tape,
just to help with the wear and tear.

There you go...!

All done

Washi Tape - Learn More

You cannot open a craft magazine, read a craft blog or go into a craft store,
without being confronted with Washi Tape.

There are literally hundreds of sizes, colours, designs,
brands and finishes to choose from.

Crafters, mixed media artists and the like,
love using them for a variety of reasons:

They are super thin;

Tear easily;

They have a translucent property which allows
for some of the colour below to show through; and

They can be dyed, stamped onto, written onto, crumpled, etc.

We are teaching a class on how to create your own Washi Tape
and how to use it to create lovely Christmas gifts on October 27th, 2012.

For more info go to our other blog - 

Papier Plesier.

Chrismas Garland.

This wooden utensil garland was inspired by a picture in

the TUIS magazine's booklet from a month ago.

Almost everything I used on this garland was bought at a

local craft store, Herannies in Centurion.

 You will need: Berries and roses, glitter, gold leaf and paint.

Ribbon, raffia and glue. Two wooden circles and of course

10 large wooden spoons, 10 forks and 20 small wooden spoons.

Two wooden stars.

 The extra wooden circle is to lift everything off the table, so you can

work better and the handles can stick better to the circle.

I used Dala construction glue to stick down the wooden utensils.

Arrange the large spoons and the forks on the circle 

before you start gluing them down, one by one.

 

For the second layer, I used the smaller spoons and the inner circle is bigger than the first one.

Use enough glue, because it is only a small part that really sticks to the circle.

To hang the garland I took some ribbon and put it through

the circle before sticking down anything else.

Tie some raffia around the roses and berries.

Cover the entire angel with Zig two way glue,

let it dry and lay the angel down on the gold leaf.

Tear off the extra pieces and brush with a stencil brush.

Paint the large star with green craft paint. Let it dry.

Then paint with a layer of gel medium and sprinkle with clear glitter.

Glue the two stars together.

You can use a glue gun or construction glue for the berries and the roses.

 There you go.... almost done, just add the little angel.

  

Happy Christmas everyone!

Thank you for all the lovely comments and

support through the year, love you all!