Festive Joy Banner...

Tah-da!!! I know, I'm a little late posting 'as promised', but I've been busy with life in general, and my sis-in-law is in from Tokyo so we are playing with babies and catching up! With out further ado, I finally have a few minutes to post my new Joy banner! I love these rosettes and they are really easy and simple to make! This is the first vertical banner I've made and it's a nice change from always doing my traditional horizontal banners! Gotta switch it up every now and then, right?!

This door is so 'sterile'...especially with no window!  I think I'm going to dress her up often!  The angle of the pic also makes the banner appear smaller than it really is.  Each rosette is approx. 8 in. in diameter.

If you've been following along on FB with the 'sneak peeks', this is where I felt something was missing and added the gold doilies behind the always artichoke card stock.  The doilies added just the right amount of depth to the letter circles without being overbearing.

Thought I'd share this quick tip on how to line up your rosettes on the ribbon! I used my self-healing mat that I've used for sewing.  It's a larger mat so it allows you to turn either way and works great for longer banners.  I'm going to try this design again, either for a Valentine banner or maybe even a Spring theme!  Happy Crafting! 

Jolly Star Tags...Mini Tips!

Tags, tags, and more tags! I have to admit, sometimes working with a smaller medium is just as fun, if not more, than making a card! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all things paper crafting, but sometimes with a smaller work area, your main design can really POP! So today I'm sharing these fun tags along with some tips for working with larger focal points that may slightly hang off your smaller cut of paper. Follow along my crafty friends!

Love this color combo! It's a nice break from the traditional Christmas colors.  Anyhow, I knew I'd be using larger die cuts and my card stock would slightly hang over my paper base, so I needed to add some extra support as to not bend my thinner card stock.  I remembered in my stash of supplies that I'd purchased some super thin chipboard coasters and they are just the correct thickness to run through my Big Shot.  You don't want to go too thick on the chipboard otherwise it 'flakes' on the edges when cut...not too mention your die cutting machine will be REALLY upset with the added stress due to thickness!

The chipboard cut like buttah!  Once you have all your chipboard cut, you can now apply your choice of card stock directly over the chipboard.  Any adhesive will do, but I prefer Tombo because it has a nice thin applicator on top to reach the tight areas as well the tips of the stars.  Easy peasy, right?! 

Tag Time x's 2...

Festive and jolly, but not much holly...to be found in Japan!  After living here a few months, it's evident to me that the 80's never left this island.  If fact, the 80's thrive here, along with all the tacky tinsel and holiday decor you may remember from your childhood!  For the most part, I do love it, but you will NOT catch me in a neon green shirt or hair scrunchies any time soon, but the 80's music I will always LOVE!

Anyhow, aside from my 'flashback' moments, today I'm sharing more festive Christmas tags!  I used a lot of Crystal Effects here as well as foam tape for 3-D effects. 

Hello there Rudolph!  I added the red glitter strip at the last moment and I love how it accentuates the sentiment.

Sweet mittens!  Colored these with my Copic markers.

Lovely birdies!  You cannot see in the photo here, or at least it's hard to tell, but the birds are stamped and cut out with a die.  I also cut out the same die shaped birds from thin chipboard so they are 'raised off' the tree branch.

Great detail shot of what Crystal Effects can add to your art work.  It adds a nice shine, right?  It took me some time to use Crystal Effects correctly.  After a few tries of overloading when I poured and numerous air bubbles, I've been using it for years now and absolutely love it!  It's important to let it dry COMPLETELY before running your fingers over it...unless you want to give gifts of fingerprints...it's best to let it dry overnight before touching.

Snowflake dies with Martha Stewart snowflake glitter!  YUMMY!

Peppermint Candy Tutorial...

It's beginning to look A LOT like Christmas! At least at my crafting station it is...the weather being in the 70-80's...not so much! It still puts me in a crafty mood and I was really excited to try something new for my tags this year. Follow along and I'll show you how I made some easy-peasy candy tags!

SO pretty and glitter-y!  I love the 3-D effect the twine gives to the candy.  The candy twists on the ends are made with my small SU! heart punch.

Here we go!  I've showed all the steps here...looks tedious, but I promise it's 'easy as pie'!

Step 1:  Punch out a 1 1/4 circle and cover with double sided tape.  My tape does run over onto the table, you may not want to do this, but I prefer this method because it holds my circle in place as I wind the twine around and around.  To find your center point, use a circular piercing mat, place your punched circle right on top and VOILA, you can punch a center dot with  your piercer.

Step 2:  Once your circle looks like a candy, pull up gently from the table.  I used a small pair of mustache scissors that I keep in my tool box...these scissors are great for fine detail cutting as well!  You can simply fold under the excess tape tabs onto the back.

Step 3:  You can certainly stop here if you want to keep the 'soft threaded look', but I really wanted to achieve a shiny piece of candy.  I love SU! Crystal Effects for many reasons and I use it often!  Squeeze a generous amount over your candy and let dry overnight.  Once your candy is dry, the Crystal Effects not only makes your candy shiny, but it also helps keep a nice BIND of all the twine. 

Christmas Milk Carton Boxes...

I desperately needed a break from moving furniture and supplies around so I played with these little milk carton boxes last week. If you own the SU! milk carton die, you'll REALLY love that you can make a much larger box vs. the single milk carton. If you'd like to try it out, HERE is a great photo tutorial that I followed. You can also create some fancy tops from this tutorial. Love the white kraft ink on the night of navy cs. Kraft ink does take some extra time to dry so when I'm using it, I will stamp first then set aside for drying. Once the snowflakes were dry here, I then went back and added clear rhinestones around the entire box. Hellllllllllo Gingie! My favorite little gingergbread (wo)man with a vintage glitter copper border. Top view of milk carton box. You may have to fidget a bit to get them to gather but once you tie the ribbon through, it will hold well enough to seal up the bottom of the box. Santa's suit! Happy Crafting!
Dawn ;)

Christmas Wreath Card...

It's a chilly evening here tonight! And with the chill, its got me in the spirit to pull out the Christmas stuff...or at least on cards for now! These cards are from a recent Christmas Card Swap I shared in with a local scrap store. Don't you love those red berry wreaths you see everywhere during the holiday season? I know I do! Although I kept my design fairly simple, I really did want to add this little birdy to the wreath...he's kind of cute dontcha think?I used my copic makers in 2 shades of green for Mr. Birdy and then glossed him over with crystal effects.In the meantime, posting here on the blog has been slow...much slower than I'd like it to be. I do have a few older projects to share and in between a bumpy pregnancy and attempting to get my studio moved downstairs, I'm not getting anywhere quick! After a fainting spell at the grocery store last week(I KNOW how to make a scene now, don't I????!!!) I've been taking it easy and dabbling in crafting when I'm up for it. I really need to get my mojo back as there are so many cute things I'd like to make. For now, I will continue to share what I've got made up and hopefully some new stuff in between!

Happy Crafting!
Dawn ;)

SU! Swap Stockings Galore...

Before I get started on today's post, I'd just like to say a little 'thank you' for your comments on the sketchbook post. The sketchbook really is a great tool when your sitting there 'stumped', got all your supplies out, and no where to go! I did in fact make myself one as well, but she is a little bland...just the plain ol' clear binder. When I have some free time, I think I will dress her up a bit!

Now, on to today's post! It might be a little premature to be posting Christmas stuff here(because I still have some cute Halloween ideas yet to share!), but I really was super excited to try out the new SU! stocking die! The size of the stocking is larger than I thought and I really like that. There are several dies I have by SU! and I will be honest, they are much smaller in person than when I see them on blogs etc. The wonderful thing about this larger stocking die is that you can make banners with it too! This stocking collection is for a SU! Swap coming up this weekend. I immediately thought of a gift card option and knew I had to try it! To create the stockings, you will need to cut out 2 stockings...1 in patterned paper for the front, 1 for the kraft paper in the back. Those 2 pieces together will create your pocket to hold the gift card. The Window Punch from SU! makes the perfect slot to slide your gc inside(I used my library card to ensure the pocket was just the right size!) Love, love, love these textured paper leaves! These leaves come in a large pack loaded with leaves of different sizes at Mike's. The red Dew Drops(Poinsettia Jar) were glued on with SU! Crystal Effects. Patterned paper is from the paper pack O' Christmas Tree. After I assembled the stockings, I wanted to add just a bit more glitter with my Stickles Vintage Copper. The glitter lines really POP with the bright Christmas colors.