it's a Charming Christmas with Rudolph and the Baubles Limited Edition Christmas Kit

Hi Susan here today with yet another kit designed to make my scrapping life easy - Rudolph and the Bauble Limited Kit.   

This time I don’t even have to cut the card -  as there are C6 White Card Packs now available.  These come with envelopes – what a bargain for only $2.00!

Once again, just add some gold cup chain (that comes in the kit), plus some gold card and patterned paper matting to the card base and create!   

 

Here are four designs to suit any skill level. Work at the level you feel comfortable at - or - challenge yourself!!

 

Once I get going with these cards, I can’t help myself. I just keeping looking for ways to use the - Rudolph and the Bauble Limited Kit. 
 

However, this time I wanted a different look - I like to mix a bit of glitz and glamour with the vintage.  To achieve this, I distressed the edges of the matting and lightly inked the edge of the top layer with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I also added some muslin and some string bows to get the vintage look I was after.  The wreath charm with gold stickles and gold cup chain (which was part of the kit) added the bit of glitz.

 

 

my2angels RETREAT-fest of the Year – 2015

So it’s on again!!!!

The my2angels ‘RETREAT-fest of the Year – 2015’ is once again up for booking. Get your deposit in FAST – last year we sold out in less than 72 hours.

We’ve learnt a lot from our inaugural Retreat. After reviewing all your feedback, checking out the embarrassing photos and some pretty hard-core drinking to convince us – it’s SCRAP ON.

2015 will be bigger, better, messier and scrappier than ever!!! Tracy promises not to hot-glue herself together this time; Ngaire might even manage to turn up (instead of paying for it and then going to work) and Michele is going to try shopping less and scrapping more (the excess luggage fee was a killer).  We just need you to put your name on a seat and join us once again in at the best Retreat of the year.

The Retreat is to be held at the Runaway Bay Super Sports Centre. We will be sleeping in one of the lodges and it is quad bunk share.  (Please advise if you can’t sleep in a top bunk.) Yes you can pick who to sleep with ;)  – just let us know who you want to be ‘bunk buddies’ with. Linen and pillows are provided, but please bring your own towels. You can check it out at the link to the Super Sports Centre here. 

Please advise us of any special dietary requirements in the comments section at checkout when submitting your deposit order. 

This year we will be having dinner over the road at the Runaway Bay Leagues Club – a 1 minute walk from the Retreat. (A set menu especially for us will be advised when we know all your dietary requirements.)  Here is the link to the Club, so that you can suss them out. 

Cost:  $240.00 - which includes:

All meals for the duration of the retreat (2 dinners, 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches)

Bottomless cups of coffee, tea, water and lolly bar to eat between meals.

All accommodation

Conference room for scrapping for the duration of the retreat

Goodies bag upon arrival 

Classes are additional to this cost – if you choose to add them into your package. Class information will be provided closer to the Retreat.

To secure your place, please pay a non-refundable $40 deposit upon Booking (Please note: if you should need to cancel, we may be able to refund this PROVIDING we are able to replace you.)

With plenty of prizes and challenges over the weekend and lots of inspiration and advice should you need it - you have no excuse for not letting your creative juices flow.

One of the prizes throughout the retreat will be our Lucky Door Prize of a Basket full of goodies from popular ranges like Prima, Tim Holtz and Scrapmatts - valued at over $200.00.

The Retreat kicks off at 2pm Friday 24th July and we party hard scrap until 2pm Sunday 26th July.

For our local scrappers, we have a Saturday Special for you.  A $60 day pass that includes lunch, dinner, drinks and lollies.  

To secure your spot, pop over to the website now to book.

Rudolph & the Baubles Limited Edition Christmas Kit

As ever, Tracy has made an awesome selection of Christmas embellishments for your scrapping pleasure.

I used the Rudolph & the Baubles Limited Edition Christmas Kit to make a pretty card for my reindeer collecting BFF. Simple too - I find I don't have heaps of time to make complicated cards because I'm always rushing from one thing or place to another. Tracy to the rescue :)

I started with a card and envelope from the C6 White Card Pack and covered the front of the card with some old music book paper - a great find in the local op shop. I punched the bottom edge and inked all around with Vintage Photo Distress Ink followed by  Festive Berries Distress Ink. While I was there I also lined the envelope. I think it's a nice ''hand made'' touch. 

I used three of the elements Tracy has included in this kit - the Gold Rhinestone Cup Chain, the Golden Reindeer Charm and the cute little scalloped wooden button with the reindeer motif.

The Cup Chain forms a garland at the top of the card. Right in the centre is a die cut snowflake with the button in it's centre. Hanging from a piece of  Maraschino Red & White Bakers Twine is the cute gold Reindeer Charm.

The snowflake is popped up onto dimensional tape so that it doesn't interfere with the hanging garland, as is the ''Merry Christmas'' journalling spot (a punched out piece from a Kaisercraft Yuletide 6.5'' Paper Pad) so that it doesn't stop the reindeer from hanging straight down.

Fast, minimum fuss, very pretty and sparkly....love an embellishment kit :)

Christmas buttons and cards from scraps

Love them or loathe them, we all have them.

I'm talking about paper scraps of course.

Ordinarily, I'm quite ruthless and throw out anything that's smaller than a photo... unless I totally love the collection (which happens a lot) and then I can't throw anything out. I end up with a whole pile of this:

A work in progress folder is great for keeping them all together, by the way.  ;)

Too small for a layout. All the cool bits already used up. What to do? The choice is obvious: Chuck it or card it. 

Here is a quick and easy way to whip up a couple of cards:

Step 1:

Keep one bigger piece of the plainest paper (about 2x4" per card) Cut all your other papers into strips. Mine were 4" long and any old widths:

Step 2:

Glue them on a piece of paper 4" wide:

Step 3:

Sew a line along one side of each strip:

 

Hate sewing? Skip that step!

Step 4:

 Run some double-sided tape along the back of the paper, catching all those threads as you go:

Step 5:

 Glue it on a card, trim and place the bigger, plain piece of patterned paper along the top. The edge where the papers meet needs a border to hide any mess. I used silver sequin string and some cotton lace (see next photo)

There you go, the base is done and you have made enough for 2 or 3 cards in one go. 

 Step 6:

Now on to decorating! You'll just need some pretty embellies to spruce it up. Look in the Christmas embellishments section. You'll be spoiled for choice. 

I like the cute Christmas buttons. Here I used one with a star flower, a holly charm and some red & white twine on a white ribbon rose:

 And here is one on a mini doily surrounded by a pearl wreath. To make that, wrap some pearl garland around 3-4 fingers 3 times, overlap the ends slightly and tie them together with some thread. The pearl garland will fall into a circle all by itself. Glue it down with some strong glue or glue dots.

And there you have it:- 2 pretty cards made from some tiny scraps and a few embellishments, including silver sequins that come in 1 metre lengths from my2angels.

Now you have no more excuses to let those scraps overtake your craft room!

Charming Christmas – Golden Baubles DIY Embellishment Kit

Hi Everyone, Susan here. 

When I first saw the Golden Baubles DIY Mini Picks kit (and at only $2) I had so many ideas my head was spinning.  

 After a nice cold drink and a few deep breaths, I started to create. I had so many ideas it was hard to get them all out at once. I've popped my favourites below. Assemble as per the instructions and let your imagination do the rest.  
 

Bon-Bons

I use these for holding great little gifts (eg earrings) and I place them in the tree as part of the decoration. I also use bon-bons for place names at Christmas lunch – with a little pressie inside of course.

 After making the basic bon-bon, I used the 'Golden Baubles' DIY Embellishment Kit to decorate it. Putting the bauble together is as simple as 1, 2, 3.

If you take two kits, you can glue them back-to-back to make a stunning Christmas Tree decoration.

Christmas Cards

Running short of time to make Christmas cards?  Use this kit to make your job easy.  Add some gold and patterned paper matting to the card base, a red circle slightly larger then the gold scalloped bauble and go for it. Here are three examples to suit any skill level.

With the last card, I added Christmas Holly Gold Charm and used a red alcohol pen to colour the berries.  I also used a gold coil decoration which I straightened and tied into a bow.

 

 

 

 Changing colour / look of Charm  

If you don’t have the correct colour charm, you can paint any colour.  Add some stickles for a bit more bling.

Vintage Christmas Tag with Beaded Holly Mini Pick

New 'Mini Picks' Kits

Sweet little stocking stuffers for one of your scrap buddies. At only $2.00 each, they include instructions and all products needed to create them.

Beaded Holly DIY Kit

Each Kit provides the materials (embossed flourish, beads, pins and ribbon) to create this stunning handmade piece.  

Michele here, 

As much as I want to deny it - and I am never ready for it - Christmas IS on the way!!
 

 As usual, Tracy has made card-making easier by creating some beautiful embellishment kits, ready to be assembled and added to your basic cards or tags to make them very special.

The one I have used here is the 'Beaded Holly' DIY Kit, in the my2angels Christmas Embellishment section on the website.

I love making pretty tags to add to simply wrapped parcels ... I think this one has a vintage feel.

I took a simple Manilla Tag and covered the front of it with a piece of Christmas themed book page. (This one is from the Kaisercraft Yuletide 6.5" paper pad, but there are thousands of similar papers around - you could even use a real book page :) )

I used a damask stencil and dabbed embossing ink onto it, then heat embossed the pattern with Zing Clear Embossing Powder. When Inked with Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks, the embossed pattern acts as a resist and after a swipe with a damp paper towel, the pattern stands out beautifully.

 

To the bottom half of the tag I added an Idea-ology Ornate Plate - using the included long fasteners to attach it to the card. The stamped ''Merry Christmas'' is also inked, and covered with coats of Glossy Accents and then Crackle Accents.

Because this is a gift tag and the back is visible, I covered the back with the same patterned paper (after attaching the Ornate Plate so that the backs of the fastening brads would be covered and would not poke holes in my gift wrap).

The black accents are rub-ons from the Idea-ology Christmas Time Remnant Rubs pack.

Finally, I added the Beaded Christmas Holly, cascading downwards from the top of the tag. I covered my green embossed flourish with a coat of clear Glossy Accents to make it a little more robust - because some presents under the tree get a good shaking before it's time to unwrap them ;)

Craftalive Show this weekend on the Gold Coast, Qld

Due to our attendance at the Craftalive Show this weekend – our stock levels may vary from that shown online. Where possible (for handmade items) – there will just be a slight delay as we make another one especially for you – but for manufactured items we apologise, as they may no-longer be in stock. 

Our local customers are welcome to come join us at the Southport Community Centre (behind the Southport RSL) – we would love to meet you

Julie Nutting Christmas Ornaments

Have you seen these cute little Julie Nutting Wood Ornaments in the New Arrivals section!! I don't know how there are still some of these left....they look gorgeous decorated, and would be a great Christmas activity to share with the kids. 

They are totally customise-able (is that a word? It is now!!) and so much fun to play with. I have decorated mine (''Joy'') to match this year's Christmas colours at our house - red, white and gold.

First up the wooden pieces, the centre and two wings, had a coat of white primer and a light sand to prepare them for other media. Starting with the wings I added a few coats of gold metallic paint and followed that when it was almost but not quite dry, with a dry brush and a coat of Gold Perfect Pearls. This last powder coat gave the colour a smoother look and added a lovely shimmer.

On top of that I added a fairly thick, but deliberately uneven coat of Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. I love the old, antique look of crackle and wanted this for my ornament. While the crackle was still wet I sprinkled a little Stampendous Champagne Glass Glitter onto the top. Christmas should have a little bling ;) The back of the wings is exactly the same.

While I was waiting for the wings to dry and the crackle to activate I painted the bauble element. I just used ordinary acrylic paint - nothing fancy or expensive. There are a couple of coats of each colour, mostly to minimise the brush strokes and get an even coverage. The wood is etched quite deeply, so it's pretty easy to paint inside the lines. The entire back is painted with the darker red as well.

Loving the delicate shimmer of the Gold Perfect Pearls on the wings, I brushed Forever Red Perfect Pearls over the darker red section of the front, and over the whole back. 

I was still waiting for the wings to dry, so a little bling was added - five tiny Red Rhinestones around the neck of my ''Joy''s dress and a length of Gold Rhinestone Cup Chain circling the cut out centre of the bauble.

And STILL waiting for the wings to dry (it was a dampish sort of day down here in Sydney and some of my crackle paint was quite thick), I coated the back of the bauble with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. Then I did the front as well and left it all overnight.

This is what it looked like when the pieces were finally dry.

Assembly and decoration was the easy bit. The wings are attached to the centre bauble with Hot Glue - they are a bit too heavy for Glossy Accents. The ribbon and tassel are both included in the kit. Colouring the silver cap on the tassel with a yellow Copic Marker made it gold. Copics are alcohol based, so they colour metal and rhinestones easily.

Gold Toned Jump Rings and Gold Iron Chain hang from both the top and the bottom, decorated with Christmas Charms. Tracy sent me these pretty dangles a couple of Christmases ago, made  using Golden Eye Pins, Gold Bead Caps, Gold Rhinestone Rondelle Beads, Golden Stardust Beads, a Christmas Holly Charm, and a Small Gold Star Charm.
Small Red Roses cover the middle of the bow and decorate our Christmas ''Joy"'s hair.

You could also cover these pieces with patterned paper and use distress inks and stains. How about adding some feathers for fun?
I've seen the kit divided up and made into two separate ornaments too - one made from the centre section, and one made of just the two wings...drill a hole through the top and hang them together, slightly offset.

Have fun!