12 Trees of Christmas Day 7

Hello Everyone!

Hope you're all having a terrific Sunday!  I recently got the idea for this adorable little tree.  It is my twist on a stacked box tree that I saw on Pinterest, which featured square boxes.  I thought it would be fun to do it with a pillow shaped box instead, and I was right.  I had a blast with this entire project, from designing the cut file, choosing papers and cutting them, to making the tiny origami lucky star for the top. 

I also had fun altering a tiny little apothecary bottle.  I "painted" it with ModPodge, and sprinkled on copper colored teeny weeny beads.  It wasn't quite as dark as I wanted, so after it dried, I dabbed on more color with Antique Bronze Distress Paint.  Some of the beads came off during the process, and added to the distressed look. 

The bow is the remaining half of the piece that I was gifted with my recent Funkie Junkie Boutique order.   I used the first half in one of my projects for the Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas challenge. ( I hope you are not tired of hearing me talk about that challenge.  I am so pumped up about it that it will probably be February before I stop mentioning it!)

 I pulled all  of the papers from my Christmas paper scrap drawer.  The largest pillow box is about 2.5 inches wide, and the smallest is less than 3/4 of an inch.  I used my SCAL software to easily add circle cut outs to the top and bottom of each box for inserting a skewer to hold it all together.  Of course, all the boxes were cut with my Silver Bullet Professional cutter.  A spray of glimmer mist and some quick hot glue assembly and tree number seven was done!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Wishing you the peace and joy of the season,

Elizabeth

A couple of Non Card projects!

Hello!

Believe it or not, every once in a while I find time to make a "non-card" project.  Here are a couple of fairly recent ones:

This is a DVD jewel box insert.  All of the red elements are foiled with my Foil Master from That's Scrap, Inc.  Sherri sells both the foil machine and the most wonderful foils I have ever used.  I wish I could do them justice in my photos.  They truly are a pleasure to work with, and add the most elegant touch to my projects.

Here's a project that took a few days to create:

It is a beverage station that I made for a friend who is heading off to college in the fall.  I constructed it all from chipboard that I recycled from cereal boxes.  The decorative papers are digital papers from Sassy Designs that I printed with my laser printer and cut to size.  I cut the chipboard pieces with my rotary cutter and ruler, as I find it a bit easier for simple shapes than using my electronic cutter.  I cut all of the decorative papers with my Silver Bullet Professional cutter, though, using the print and cut feature of my Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) software.  I love saving toner by printing just the shapes I need and being able to accurately cut them out; instead of printing whole sheets and having a lot of leftover scraps. 

Here is a different view, showing all of the goodies that I was able to pack into this caddy.  It is roughly 12 inches by 8 inches by 6 inches high. As suggested by my college aged daughter, whose love of hot drinks in her dorm room inspired this project, I opted not to add too many embellishments, so that it will pack easily.  The pull tabs on the drawers are reinforced washi tape, and fold flat for packing. 

I have two more of these caddies to make before September, and when my youngest DD graduates from high school next spring, I would like to make one for each of her close friends.  Probably I should start feeding my husband cereal for supper, to make sure I have enough boxes saved up by then!  No doubt he will be thrilled with that idea, NOT!

Have a happy day!

Elizabeth

Something different

Hi Everyone!

Happy Monday!  Today I am  posting a project that couldn't be more different than my last posted project.  It is an assemblage piece that I made this weekend for my house:

When I finished it, I decided that it really suits my style.  (I decided that about the really bright journal page, too.  I think that what I consider to be my style really depends on what kind of project I am working on at any given time.) 

When Junking, I am really drawn to rusty metal pieces, like the fork and the scroll-y cast iron piece.  I discovered both of them in a grab bag style jar of stuff that I picked up for $5.00 last summer. 

My base is a piece of distressed corrugated cardboard with gesso.  I added some Archival Ink stamping to some recycled tea bags, and collaged that over the dried gesso with matte medium.  To make the tiny oval frame, I used a Mod Podge mold and my hot glue gun.  When it was cool, I popped it out and added many layers of Distress Paints until it looked "right".

The vintage rolled papers are scans of the originals, all pieces from my personal attic treasures collection.  The Scrabble tiles are also from the attic.  I'm not sure where I found the zero that I used in place of an "o".  I have lots of  "o's" but I like the variation I got with the different tile. 

I toyed with changing the finish on the frame, but when I finished assembling everything, the original color seemed perfect.

This piece is now hanging in one of the boxes in my new "wall o' boxes".  I don't think I shared a picture of it yet.  My husband very patiently hung all 17 boxes a couple of Sunday afternoons ago. 

I have been playing around with accessories ever since.  This is an early photo, and most everything has changed now.  My assemblage piece hangs in the upper left box, which is the lid of a rescued silverware box.  The bottom is in the lower right corner. 

The tin tray now looks like this:

I used individual boxes from a Tim Holtz Configurations Printers Tray.  I used layers and layers of Distress Paints, using all of the metallic colors, plus black.  I love the aged patina that I got. 

Here are some close ups of the different elements:

 

An awesomely shabby silver salt shaker

 

A couple of grungy keys, shadow box style.

 A collection of clock parts, a tiny watch part tin, and a game piece framed with another hot glue frame.  Again, lots of colors of Distress Paints applied. 

Here is another watch part tin. 

I attached the boxes to the metal tray using magnets. 

Hope you all have a wonderfully creative week!

Elizabeth

So I thought to myself....

"Why not do seven posts this week?"

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I am back with an unprecedented (for me) seventh post of the week.  First up, I am sharing a quick pic of a project that my DD created before she headed back to college. 

The photo doesn't really do these snowflake blooms justice.  They are really gorgeous in real life.  I am more than a little jealous!  At least I got to enjoy them for a few days before they went to school with DD.

 

And as a little gift for DD, to celebrate her first day of classes, I made this:

 



The files are all from SVG Cuts, except for the tag.  I have used this one piece box from the Christmas Open House kit a few times.  I love how easily it goes together.  I glittered the snowflakes by running them through my Xyron and dipping into a pile of glitter.

 



 I made one for DD's new roommate as well.  I used my Digital Die Cutter and my pen tool to write their names on the tags.  I love the pen tool! 

Hope everyone is having a terrific weekend so far. 

Elizabeth

12 Trees of Christmas Day 12...

Happy Day, Everyone!

Wow, that 12 days flew by!  Here is my final tree for 2013:

For this project, I altered and combined two different files.  I wish I could give credit for the votive holder file, but I have no idea where I got it.  Sorry!  I wasn't totally in love with the tree that used in the original file, so I dug through my files to see what might work better.  As happens so often, I discovered this tree file in my SVG Cuts collection.  It is from the Comet's Candy land set.  I stretched it a bit to make it fit the base. 

I found some beautiful gold toned green vellum in my stash.  It is perfect with this paper.  A bit of red glitter glue adds just the festive touch I wanted.  Want to see my tea light with the candle "burning"? 

 

I was pretty sure you said yes, LOL! 

 

Thanks for visiting my blog for my 12 Trees of Christmas Series.  I hope that you have enjoyed it.  I know that I have!

 

I wish you all the very merriest of Christmases!

 

Elizabeth



The one with the..... ?

Happy Day, Everyone!

This evening I am going to surprise you and myself by posting an as yet undetermined photo of one of the many Christmas projects I have made lately.   I guess I should have some idea by now what it will be, but I don't, LOL!  It is the end of a very busy week for me, with things being hectic both at work and at home.  I have been a busy girl, shopping, packaging, mailing, and planning parties and special meals.  All the usual holiday stuff that I love.

Ok, I have decided!  I made this bird house for DD's dorm room by altering one of the Gingerbread houses from the SVG Cuts Gingerbread Chalet Village set.  DD saw a pretty Christmas bird house at a shop, so I decided to make on for her. She picked the paper, and I did the cutting (actually, my Black Cat Cougar from That's Scrap, Inc.  did the cutting) and assembly.  DD loves it, and I got to go visit her this week and see how she placed it in her room. 

Here are a couple of different views:

 

This is with the battery operated tea light turned on.

 

That's it for now.  I will be back soon with more Christmas goodies.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Elizabeth

The one with the Cute, Quick, and Easy - Did I say cute? Houses....

 Happy Day, Everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to show you  the super cute houses I made recently for my nieces.  One has her first apartment, and the other is in a dorm room for the first time, and I thought they might like some decorations.

 I was so honored when my friend Glynnis asked me to test drive her new file set!  She has created a fabulous set of houses, which can be used individually or in multiples as an Advent Calendar. 

 

 The SVG cutting files are very well designed, and the PDF instructions are well written and easy to follow.  I love the "architecture" of these little houses, with their steeply pitched rooflines and flattened peaks.  They are surprisingly easy to assemble. There are several different window styles, so multiples can be as varied as you like.  I made my houses a bit larger than designed, and added a battery operated tea light to give them some glow.    There is also an option to have opened or closed doors, and numbers one through 25 are also included, to make creating the Advent set even easier. 

 

You can purchase this file, and two other beautiful files (guess who will be trying out the delightful snowflake tonight?!)  from Glynnis' Etsy store here: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/LittleBitsOnly.

I encourage you to check them out.  I think you will love them as much as I do.  I have about a thousand different ideas for decorating with these adorable houses!

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you are having a creative holiday season so far!

 

Elizabeth

 

PS:  The paper is from an 8.5 x 11 pack by Recollections that I picked up at Michael's. 

And the Christmas projects posts begin....

Happy Day, Everyone!

Today I am sharing a project that I completed more than a month ago.  I wanted to wait and post Christmas projects for the entire month of December.  This box was made from a file from SVG Cuts.  As usual, it was a breeze to put together, thanks to Mary's video instructions.  I gave it as a gift to friends who hosted an early Christmas party early last month. 

I used a bunch of Christmas paper scraps left over from last year, a pretty, sheer red ribbon, and a tiny bottle brush tree.  I had a bit of a hard time giving this one away.  I guess I need to find time to make another just for me!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Stay tuned this month for lots more Christmas crafting. 

Elizabeth

The one with the Thanksgiving Mantel....

Happy Day, Everyone!

Today I am sharing photos of my Thanksgiving mantel which was inspired by lots of blog-hopping and Pinterest perusing.  It is the first time in ages that I have decorated  my mantel for Thanksgiving, because I am usually in a big rush to get Christmas crafting done.  This  year, I decided to make some time for Thanksgiving.

 

I was inspired to use a monochrome palette and vintage items for this display.  It gives me a nice visual break between the bright colors of Halloween, and the rich colors of Christmas.  I pulled from my collection of ironstone and creamware pitchers, my recently growing tinware stash and put the brass candlesticks from my Halloween display to use, as well.  The frames were pulled from the basement dusted off and put to use.  Pretty thrifty, eh? 

 

 

This ironstone pitcher was a gift from a dear friend.   The wooden box is a fairly recent antique store find.  I love that some of the type is still there.  It is from an optometrist shop, and has dovetail joinery and a working slide lid. 

 

 

I made this banner with paper from my stash and my digital cutter.  I added stamping from a Bo Bunny harvest set that I purchased on clearance over the summer, and vintage book page scraps leftover from another project.  I love using my scraps, especially when the vintage ones.  As usual, I used lots of Distress Inks here. 

 

 

You may recall seeing these tins mixed in with my skulls on my Halloween sideboard display.  I simply moved them over to the mantel, brass candlesticks and all.  The creamware pitcher was lifted from my bathroom, and the antique books were a terrific find at the recycle center.  (yes, I occasionally "pick the dump", much to my mother's dismay! At least I don't gift it to you, Mum!  LOL!) 

 

And finally, my favorite piece of the season:

 

 

I absolutely love this piece so much that I may have to decorate a room around it after Christmas.  The board, the newspaper and the bent hat pin are "attic treasures".  (This is when I comb my parents' attic for useless junk that I can turn into "art".)  I found the Thornton Wilder quote earlier this fall, and love it so much that I have already used it twice.  The calendar page and tag are also attic finds, but I photocopied them onto cardstock, so that I can use them over and over.  I have a hard time gluing original ephemera onto my pieces.  (the newspaper here is the exception.  I have a pretty large source of it, and don't mind using it once in a while, especially if I have already scanned it.)  The feather was given to me by a bird hunting friend.  The book spine layer a the bottom peeled off when I removed the covers from the books at the other side of the mantel.  It was still sitting in my scrap bowl, and was perfect for this piece. The bottle cap is not vintage, but I bet I could find some like it in the attic!  It is from a bottle of vanilla.  I stamped it with a number 4 from the Tim Holtz Little Labels stamp set, using Distress Paint.  The word "bountiful" was stamped with a cool alphabet set I found at a discount store.  I have no idea who the manufacturer is. The ink is Archival, either Coffee, or Wendy Vecchi's Potting Soil. 

 

If you're still here, thanks for sticking with me through what is, for me, a very long post!  I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

 

Elizabeth

 











The one with my Halloween Decorations(Part Four)

Happy Day, Everyone!

I am back with what will probably be the last installment of my Halloween house tour.  Today, I amsharing my mantel décor. 

This was a really simple project to throw together.  Some thrift store candlesticks, Tim Holtz Configurations boxes spray painted black, and a nice bold black font printed on some Sassy Designs digital papers. 

 

On the other side of the mantel are some more TH configuration boxes that I spritzed with spray inks, and stamped, and/or covered with washi tape.  I printed and cut to size some really awesome vintage skeleton prints.  These are displayed on a couple of bud vases from Goodwill. 

 



This mantel clock has to be one of my best antique scores of the entire year.  I purchased it for $20.00 at a local group shop.  I had lots of fun disassembling the innards, with a bit of help from DH.  I printed the witch image on a sheet of acetate, applied some Ranger Alcohol Inks and cut it to fit the clock.  I stuck it in with poster tack, which is concealed behind the brass fitting.  I didn't want to use glue, as I am certain that this piece will be used for every season.  It looks so cool with the lights out and a candle flickering behind it!

 

I stamped the domino with a Tim Holtz stamp and black Archival ink.  I rubbed on some Coffee Archival with a sponge as well.  I also used a black Archival and a TH stamp on the little poison bottle.  I have a ton of these tiny vaccination bottles that DD brought home to me when she worked for a vet.  I filled the bottle with some of my self made paint spray, and stuck a label and game piece into the cork using a label pin. 

 

 

The seasonal rosette features some acetate bats, a dollar store crow, and a cool skull button that I made using an image from the The Graphics Fairy, and my button machine. 

 

Here is the final result:

 

 

 

Because I am linking up to the The Grapics Fairy Brag Monday Party, I wanted show you a close up of another cool thing I did recently:

 

 

 This really cool spider is hanging on the antique window in my game room.  I printed it on acetate, cut it to fit, and stuck it on with some of that clear gluey stuff that sometimes comes on plastic packaging.  Believe it or not, I peel that good stuff off and save it in a milk jug lid on my craft table.  It really comes in handy sometimes.  It's very hard to deny my New England Yankee roots when I share stuff like that, LOL! 

 

 

Today, I am linking to the http://thegraphicsfairy.com/ Brag Monday Party. 

 

Have a terrific today!

 

Elizabeth

 

 

 



 

 



 







The one with the candy basket....

Happy Good Morning, Everyone!

I have a quick project to share with you today.   Late last week, I took a little time to make four of these cute baskets from the SVG Cuts Caramel Apple Pie collection:

 

 

There are lots of pieces, but they went together really quickly.  I cut the flowers and leaves from white card, and colored them with Distress inks.  Three of these treats went back to college with elder DD, who came home for the weekend, for her and her roommates.  The other was for younger DD, who wasn't feeling well, and needed a treat. 

 

Thanks for stopping by to have a peek!

 

Elizabeth

 

 

 

 

The one where I hold back my tears.....

Hi Everyone,

Ok, so maybe I can't hold back the tears.  My oldest daughter is going off to college for the first time tomorrow, and while I am incredibly proud of her accomplishments, and secure in the knowledge that she is ready for this, I am going to have a very hard time letting go.  I am going to miss her terribly.  And that is all I am going to say about that!

Earlier this week, DD asked me if I would have time to make her a box for her tea bags.  But of course!  I would pull an all-nighter if necessary to make her happy with one last project before she leaves.  Luckily, I knew could whip up a SVG Cuts Tea Caddy in no time.  I made it to co-ordinate with the vintage key holder I posted earlier. 

 

This was such a fun project to put together.  I used  the print and cut technique with my Black Cat Cougar for the box pieces and the "ribbon".  The green ribbon is a digital paper from Sassy Designs.  I printed it on white cardstock, and inked it all over with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I love using Distress inks with  patterned paper.  I have no idea where the brown floral paper came from, but I love it.  The buttons are from my vintage collection.  The stick pin is almost identical to the one on the key holder, which I probably already mentioned matches the one on her Prom corsage.  The rose brooch is from Recollections.  The tiny bow is made from thread from my great  grandmother's sewing box. 

 

I know DD loves it because she immediately put her tea in it, before I had a chance to photograph it.  (That is the purple you see.  The inside of the box is green to match the trim.)

 

If you are looking for the file, it is part of  the Tea for You and Me collection at SVG Cuts.com.   It's a really fun collection, and this particular box is very versatile.  I made it a few weeks ago as an ATC holder. 

 

Have a happy rest of the week.  If I am not curled into a blubbering ball and hiding under my quilt after tomorrow, I will post a couple of new projects. 

 

Elizabeth

 

 



The one that took forevvvvver.....

Happy Monday, Everyone!

I hope you all had as much fun this weekend as I did.  I am brimming with excitement to share photos of a project I finally finished this weekend.  I started it way back in January, after picking up a few Tim Holtz Alterations Configuration Trays on clearance.  I think I even posted a sneak peek way back when.  I started out filling it with items from a junk box that I had rescued during a previous trip to my parents' attic.  It never came together quite the way I wanted it to, and is part of what prompted my recent trip North. 

With the bits and pieces I collected this time, as well as vintage newsprint for the backgrounds, I was finally able to make it match my vision.  So without further delay:

 



Here is the completed tray, in all of its vintage glory.  Most of the items are from my family, although some were picked up at local antique stores.  There are three items that are not vintage.  I'll let you play I-Spy to see if you can find them.

Here are some close ups.  I love all of the pieces so much it was very difficult to choose which ones to highlight.

I love this original tin type!  No idea who these guys are, or what uniforms they are wearing.  Rail Road, possibly?  The little silver buckle was an antique store purchase. 

Here is the bird that is proof that I am not the original paper crafter in my family.

I thought I needed a bit more apple green, so I used a vintage card in this

box.  I'm not sure I like it.  The  brooches belonged to my Grammie.  I KNOW I like them!

 

I love this little copper hat and tag from Perry's Nut House, a classic Maine Tourist Trap.
 



This may be my favorite.  I found this ring box with the note behind it folded it up inside.  It says "To Marm, from the Boys".  I believe that "Marm" was my Great Grandmother.

 



 



I was very careful not to harm any of my precious family pieces during assembly.  With the exception of the newsprint, which was on its way into the trash bag, all of the paper items are photo copies.  I tried to fold the copies exactly as the originals, and added a bit of Distress Ink to the edges as necessary.  Many of the pieces are attached with wire through the back of the boxes.  For anything that couldn't be wired, I used Alene's Tack it Over and Over glue dots.  (made by leaving dots of the glue to dry overnight on nonstick paper.)  I used yards and yards of tissue tape and washi tape to cover the raw edges of all of the boxes.  The name brand tapes work so much better than the ones from the dollar bin at the craft store.  I guess this shouldn't be a surprise!
I have another fun project to post, as well as some art journal pages, so I hope to be seeing you here later in the week.  Thanks for stopping by!

Elizabeth

The one with the ATC storage box....

Hello, People!

Hope you all are having a terrific weekend!  Recently, I discovered that the Tea Bag Carton, from the SVG Cuts Tea for You and Me collection is the perfect size for ATCs!  I am so happy about this discovery.  I had all of my lovely ATC's from the last two plus years stuffed in a storage box, so I rarely looked at them.  Now, I can display them on top of my shelving units, in pretty boxes, where I will be able to easily thumb through them, and ooh and aah over the incredible talents of my "online friends". 

The box is super easy to put together, and as always, there is a terrific video tutorial on the SVG Cuts site.  Embellishing it, however, turned out to be quite an involved process for me.  I started with basic black, and added some cream and black print paper with a rhinestone buckle for the band: 

 

 

I like it, but as usual, when I started editing the photo, I decided that my box needed more work.  Am I the only one this happens to?  Why can't I see it before I take the photo?

 

 

I decided to let it rest for the night, and took a fresh look at it in the morning.  I decided that what I really didn't like is that the buckle "bar" shows at the top and bottom.  So, I added some ribbon:

 

 

 

Problem solved!  Except now I think the center looks too plain.  Having just sorted out my "stuff bowl" of leftover bits and pieces, I knew that I had a few coffee filter rose sections cut out, so I painted them with Distress Paint, assembled them into a rose, and hot glued it on:

 

 

Now I'm getting somewhere.  I really like it, but that rose looks kind of lonely.  Hmmm.  I do have a box with about 30 completed roses that I haven't used yet.  Maybe one will match?  Nope. No match.  But I did find three more unassembled layers.  So I repeated the last few steps and added a second rose: 

 

 

Voila! Now I think I am done, (unless I listen to that little voice complaining that there should be 3 roses! Shut up little voice!)

 

Now that I have this one done, I can't wait to make some more. 

 

Have very happy rest of the weekend!

 

Elizabeth