Santa's Secret Window Frame Ornament

I know that Christmas is over and everyone has packed away their tree, however it is a great time to get junky ornaments at a clearance price and repurpose them into something nicer.

For this project I used the Tim Holtz Window and Window Box die to cut the frame from thick card stock which I painted with acrylics. I printed the Santa image (below) twice and used one for the background image and the other I cut away the background and used foam dots to layer him onto the background to give Santa some 'pop'. The little gem on the front was repurposed from a junky ornament.

If you would like full step-by-step directions on how to create this ornament you can find them on this page.

Entering this into the following challenges:

Crafter's Castle: Anything Goes

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge: Anything Goes

Live Out Loud

Hello again!

I think as crafters we go through creativity spurts where we find our passions ignited by various ideas.  For me, at the moment, it is mini albums.

I followed a pattern by Kathy Orta at Paper Phenomenom.  The pattern was very easy to follow, step by step photos and very clear instructions, I'll definitely be trying a few more from her store.  This is one of the more grandiose projects I have tried and it was quite difficult to photograph well due to the scale, but I hope you get the idea.

The album itself is constructed from chipboard which I covered with manila folders.

The front has a simple but elegant gold clasp to hold it closed, and a small spray of flowers and a pearl bling, both by Kaisercraft.

The edges have all been inked with Tea Stain Distress Ink and all the designer papers come from the Sweet Nothings collection by Kaisercraft.  This side on view shows you the depth of the album.  It's quite slimline, but as you will see shortly there is still a lot of space for displaying photos.

When you open up the sides the first thing you see is a flip style arrangement of three panels.  Each one is 6" x 4" and can easily hold a photo.  Each is also a pocket so small keepsakes can be stored within.

This is the view when the album is open.  Isn't that paper line just gorgeous, I love the colours, which is unusual, orange is not usually my thing!

On the inside sleeve are more pockets for photo mats, the photo above I have removed them so you can see the sleeves, the photo below you can see the mats inserted into the sleeves.

 

When you open up the flip sleeves you see behind the centrepiece of the album, the main photo mat.

 

On the feature mat you can see one of Mo Manning's beautiful images, called Mummu.   I have used a Sizzix die to create the strip of music, which acts as a catch for the photo mat and the coloured image.  The rubber stamp says "'If you ask me what I came to do in this world I will answer you: I am here to live out loud."  I have stamped this onto a clear acetate overlay, so a photo can be placed underneath.

But wait, there's more!  The main photo mat lifts back to reveal...

Tucked away behind the main mat are more 6 x 4 photo mats tucked into sleeves.   The album has a 2 photo mats on each sleeve, and 4 behind the centre piece, for a total of 8 removable photo mats.

 
 

This was the very first stamped image I coloured, digital or otherwise. I did this over a year ago and put it away in a safe place waiting for just the right project.  It's not perfect, but I love it, and it reminds me of my mother, who also is not perfect but I love her too.  I created this is album for her 60th birthday.

 

I am entering this into the following challenges:

 

Mo's Challenge Blog - Singing and Dancing

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Before I let you go, if you haven't heard yet, Christmas Crafting is celebrating it's first birthday, which is being extended, there's a blog hop and prizes so head on over!

Painting The Roses Red

Technique: Paper and String

Materials:
an old novel
thin beading wire
acrylic paint
matt spray sealer
hot glue
bamboo skewer
string

Tools:
scissors
paintbrush
wire cutters
hot glue gun

There are plenty of ways to make paper roses, a google search will even pop up with several videos. The way I made mine was a hybrid from floral artistry, first using wires to attach to the petals and leaves, and then using the wires to attach to and form the stem.

Stack five pages from the novel together and cut out 4-6 different size petals. You can do this free form without the need for a template and you will have a more natural looking flower. Start with a small teardrop shape, about the size of the fingernail on your ring finger and work up to larger almost heart shape petals. You will need about 20-25 shapes, depending on how big you want your bloom to be. Cut 2 - 3 leaf shapes as well. Cut one strip of paper about 6 inches long and half an inch wide and fold this in half so it is 6 inches long and one quarter of an inch wide.

Cut 20 or so pieces of beading wire, about twice the length of your index finger, and then fold them over in half so that they are the length of your index finger with a small loop at one end, and the two cut ends at the other. Use small dots of hot glue to attach to the pointy end of the petals.

Using red acrylic paint, colour 2 or 3 petals from each size, so that about one third of your petals are painted red and allow to dry before proceeding.

Put a dab of hot glue on the end of your skewer and attach one end of the long strip you cut, you are attaching the short end in such a manner that the folded edge is facing up and away from the tip of the skewer. Wind it around the skewer to form the inner bud of the rose. Secure with hot glue.

You should now have a skewer with a small spiral of paper stuck at one end, this will act as the foundation for wiring all of your other petals. One petal at a time, hold in place with your fingers until you have the position you desire, then twist the wire around the skewer to secure. Continue in this manner from small petal to large until your blossom is the size you require. Wire two or three leaves into position.

Cut the bamboo skewer and any long wires so that your stem is around 3 - 4 inches in length. Securing with hot glue, wrap string around the stem to cover the wires and give a nice finish. You could use green florists tape here, or ribbon, if you preferred, but I wanted to keep with the paper and string theme.