Decorating Candles

Helloooo there :0)

As promised I'm back this morning to share the gifts I made for James's teaching staff and it's a technique I hadn't tried before!!!

I had bookmarked this video tutorial from Lawn Fawn DT member Yainea and finally got round to trying my hand at decorating pillar candles too. I've used the lovely Christmas stamp set from Lawn Fawn called 'Let it Snow' and simply stamped the four smallest trees in a variety of green inks onto white tissue paper.

I found it best to cut them out individually and arrange them on the candle using just a small dab of Pritt Stick to hold them in place.

I used a sheet of greaseproof paper to wrap around the candle whislt melting the tissue into the wax.... you really must keep the heat gun moving as it doesn't take long for the magic to work and keep the greaseproof taught and smooth too. I kept it simple and didn't try coloured images or embossing as Yainea did in her video but I was sooo pleased with the technique and may go on to give it a go :0)

I added a few wraps of jute twine and topped the bow off with a wooden star before placing them in cellophane bags (they are from the baking section of Sainsburys and are meant for sweeties but the Ikea candles fit them perfectly!!). The tags carry the woodland theme on and all those browns, greens and twine just make me happy..... yep I was quite chuffed with how they turned out :0)

If you haven't tried it yet I urge you to watch the video and give it a go.... you'll become addicted too..... yep quite a few people are receiving candles this Christmas from us :0)...... these two were very gratefully recieved.

That's all from me now before the big day on Wednesday so I'd like to wish you all a peaceful Christmas with your loved ones and that you stay safe in these horrible storms that are tormenting patrs of the UK!!

Jenny x

Last minute gifts

Morning all, if your house is anything like mine at the moment then I'm sure that crafting is pretty low on the agenda of things that must get done.......

However, however much chaos is around me, I usually have a few last minute homemade gifts to make so need a few inexpensive and easy to make ideas up my sleeve and thought I'd share one with you today that you can make in under 5 minutes and costs just pennies which has to be a good thing right?

Now I must admit I've used a set that is not in store - but as the store will be closing down shortly, you might find we keep tempting you with out of stock sets so you have lots of lovely inspiration for when we re-open in January.

I bought these paper blocks for 99p from Waitrose a while ago and one block will actually make two of these little Christmas notelet sets.  I simply clamped them tight (an extra pair of hands is helpful here!) and then stamped the twigs and berries from Woodland Wreaths by Wplus9 and then added one of the greetings to the centre.  A little cellophane and a bit of ribbon and hey presto a perfect little gift for around 60p but looking like it cost a lot more!

I actually bought a lot of note holders in the John Lewis January sales that have been waiting to be turned into Christmas gifts so I added my stamped notes to them (and yes I really could have made them MONTHS ago instead of my usual last minute panic - will I ever learn????)

As I said, the wreath is out of stock, but if you don't have it, you could use just about any stamp set you have from a simple sentiment to some flowers or even fruit and vegetables - just clamp the edges of your paper tight as you stamp on them.

I may well have another last minute idea next weekend so I'll see you then!

Little Gift Tags

In between projects, I always clear my desk of leftovers, but to make tidying feel a little less like a chore, I like to gather up some of my scraps and make something small. I find it helps me to use up those teeny, tiny scraps while I still have the incentive!

Stamps help with this process, because the smaller designs really make the most of those scraps - and there's very little waste. 

During my last desk clean, I decided to make a few little gift tags. I chose my designs and colours based on a few leftover pieces of ribbon which were floating around.

This first tag uses a sentiment from Cruising Through Life, a little cloud from Bon Voyage and a circle element from Blossom Stackers. Doesn't it look like a little sun when it's stamped in yellow?

On this second tag, I've used some leaves and floral elements from Blissful Botanicals and FlutterBy. The two sets compliment each other so perfectly.

And lastly, a simple little tag made with a sentiment from Boob Tubes and an embellished star element from Learning Year By Year.

*** Please note that although the new website for Make The Day Special is now open, Emily is still working on the shop and we're currently unable to link to each stamp set. We'll let you know as soon as everything is re-stocked on the website. ***

Super Simple Saturday Stamping

Just a quick 'dashing off to a birthday party' type of post. Left without a suitable gift tag this morning, I hauled out my Make The Day Special stamps and my box of cardstock scraps. Inspiration struck when I spotted my favourites - the You Deserve set.

I stamped the sentiment into the middle of the cardstock, then stamped the beautiful florals off the edges of the cardstock to make a border. A quick inking of the edges later and the addition of some spare ribbon and my makeshift gift tag was good to go.

Super quick and super easy. You now have no excuse to leave those scraps languishing in your craft room. Give them a bit of stamping love.

Clair x

You Deserve The Best

Hello Everyone! It might seem a little odd that I usually find myself creating gift tags in January (when you'd have thought that I might be sick of the sight of them!) but I generally have huge piles of scraps lying around after Christmas and I enjoy trying to use them all up so that I can start afresh.

This beautiful stamp set - You Deserve - is perfect for creating gift tags and cards for all occasions as it combines some bang on trend houndstooth print, with some beautiful blooms. So, there's something for everyone.


To make my gift tag, I've just used the houndstooth corner stamp to add a pop of colour and additional pattern to my cardstock and simply stamped the sentiment onto a chipboard element for extra dimension.

It might be quite simple, but it adds a fantastic finishing touch to your gifts, so scrounge around your craft room for all of those leftovers from your Christmas card making and whip out your Unity or Ippity stamps for a spot of weekend crafting.