Magic Christmas Memories

One, two, three, one, two, three... keyboard test :). Well hello crafty peeps and a very happy New Year to you all! It's been a while since I last blogged... I hope you have been keeping well.

I don't get to craft much these days. My crafty mojo seems to come and go as it pleases and it's not always possible to catch it at a convenient moment lol 😀. It seems though that it tends to make a brief appearance around Christmas and the festive period so I thought I'd share my most recent Christmas themed make with you. 

This scrapbook layout took me a year to complete from when I made my background... I know! 😱 I guess, the creative process needed some time to mature ha ha ha. 😵 Luckily this sketch gave me an idea how to finish my layout.

I absolutely love this photo of my Dad and the little me (many many moons ago!) saying 'hello' to Santa. I wanted to create a page that would reflect my memories of Christmas when I was a child. 

In Poland, Christmas celebrations start with a festive family dinner on Christmas Eve and that's when we also get our Christmas pressies from Gwiazdor (a Polish equivalent of Father Christmas). It was my family's tradition that, before we sat at the table, my brother and I would always go outside to wait for the first star to appear in the sky. When it did, it was time to start our celebrations. 

In that short period of time that we were outside Gwiazdor would always visit our home to leave presents under the Christmas tree. As you can imagine the arrival of that first star in the sky always had something really magical about it.

NB. I've got no idea what used to happen on cloudy Christmas Eves where we couldn't see any stars... I don't recall having to sit outside all night so there must have been an alternative plan of some sort ha ha ha!

For my background I used a Sleigh & Reindeer (Dreamweaver) and a star background stencil and various embossing pastes from Dreamweaver. I also added some lovely shimmer with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls mist.

The wooden planks have been 'freestyled' from patterned paper, inked with distress inks, and embossed with wood texture embossing folders. I've not tried this technique before, and I love how these came out. The texture is just fab! 

The beautiful chippies are from Dusty Attic and I painted them with DecoArt paints. I secured them to the page using my trusty Adhesive Sheets.

I die cut some poinsettias and added lots of foliage to embellish my page. I also fussy cut a handful of lovely elements from old Christmas cards. I layered them using 3D Adhesive Dots.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed walking down the Christmas memory lane with me. That's all from me for now. Till next time... 

Big crafty hugs

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I am entering the following challenges:

Country View Challenges Jan 2022 - Your Year to sparkle and shine

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Something New

The Scrappy Sketches - Mapka

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Christmas is in the Air!

Yes! It's finally Christmas!!!

I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas, full of joy, love and blessings. I hope that the festive season allows you to enjoy the company of all your loved ones and that your hearts take comfort in remembering those who can no longer be there with you.

Here's the second Christmas card I made this year. In my last post with the vintage Poinsettia Card I mentioned that I have only been able to make a very few cards this year.

This year I was in a die cutting mode and for this card I played with the Tim Holtz Sizzix dies Victorian Carolers and Holiday Lamppost. The lovely glow in the lamp is down to the Rowlux illusion film, which is one of the coolest products ever! I previously used it in my Halloween lantern and I think it's perfect for light related accents.

The banner was stamped and heat embossed using Stampendous Christmas Air stamp and Detail Gold Embossing Powder.

To embellish my card a little I threw in some glitter and a few gold stars. As always, I've used adhesives from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

I also made these couple of cards, simpler in design, but as you will see I was still in the die cutting mode :)

For these cards, I die cut my Vintage Noel signs from 3D Foam Creative Sheets and sprinkled them with the super lush Lime Micro Glitterand Maroon Micro Glitter.

Oh, and I added multiple accents using tissue/washi tapes  :).

That's all from me for today! Thank you for stopping by and for all your sweet comments!

With warmest festive wishes

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I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Country View Challenges - December 2017 Christmas
A Vintage Journey - Winter Wonderland
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Celebrate

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On the Eve of Christmas Eve

Hello Friends!

Blimey! Where has the time gone?! I know I always promise (including to myself) to craft and blog more, but life has been so busy... non-crafty things always seem to get in the way... I'm sure you all know what I mean. So please forgive me for being such a poor blogger and visitor of late... I do try to visit your beautiful blogs whenever I can, although I don't always have enough time to let you know I've been...  But I do and will try to organise myself better soon! :)

Last time I blogged it was Halloween, and now it's nearly Christmas! Sheesh... I'm almost ready with my preparations. What about you? This year I only managed to make a few Christmas cards, which I hope to share over the coming days...

The first one up... is this frosty Poinsettia card.

With this year's cards I was totally in a die cutting mode so I decided to dust off my lush Cut 'N' Boss Machine (one of the best and most memorable gifts I've ever received! - thank you Santa!). I played with a selection of dies I've had for years but (please don't tell anyone, especially my hubby!)) never actually used before...Gasp! Please don't judge me... I'm sure you all know all too well what happens when a good sale comes up and you end up buying supplies in wholesale quantities...! Some dies are like a good wine, you leave them unopened to mature and they just get far better with time.. LOL :)

For this card I used the following dies and punches:
Tim Holtz Sizzix Tattered Poinsettia
Stampendous Dreamweaver Holly and Swirls DL3005
Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia
Marianne Creatables Dies LR0181
Martha Stewart Pine Branch

I also used the following supplies:
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L: DODZ 3D, Adhesive Dots Small, E-Z Runner Grand Refillable Dispenser
Papers: Simple Stories - December Documented
Dylusions Ink Spray - White Linen

That's all from me for now! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve (yay!), and that's when me and my family will be gathering for our Christmas Eve dinner to celebrate the reason of the season... and that's when we get to open our Christmas pressies! Soooo excited to see what Santa prepared for me this year! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today and for any sweet comments you'd like to leave. Your time and thoughts are truly appreciated. Warm festive wishes to all



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I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Country View Challenges - December 2017 Christmas
A Vintage Journey - Winter Wonderland 
Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog - Most Memorable Gift

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A Light-Bulb Moment - A Christmas Wish to All Part 3

Hello Friends! How have the first weeks of 2017 been for you? Mine quite eventful, to say the least, but all in a good way! The Christmas tree and all decorations are gone now but I still have a Christmas/winter project left to share with you. This make is part of the Christmas lights trio I created for the Craft Stamper Magazine and you might have already seen my Altered Christmas Lantern and my Decoupage Christmas Candle. If you haven't,  be sure to check them out!

This is an upcycled large light bulb turned into a Christmas bauble ornament. After painting the bulb with Chalky Finish paints,  the image was transferred using a dry decoupage technique with Adhesive Sheets rather than through a traditional way of wet decoupage with decoupage glue. Then I heat embossed it with Kaleidoscope powder and coloured it with Inktense pencils, before sealing it all with matte varnish.

There's lots more of wintery and snowy inspiration on the Stampendous blog this week. Be sure to check it out!

Supplies:

Stampendous: Snow Queen; Crystal Micro Glitter, Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter; Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder; Spoonful of Pixie Dust
Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Snowflakes; Adhesive Sheets 4"x6"
DecoArt Americiana Decor ® Chalky Finish: Everlasting; Vintage
DecoArt Snow-Tex, DuraClear Ultra Matte Varnish
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Die: Tattered Poinsettia
Derwent: Inktense Pencils
Large light bulb
Seam binding ribbon
Pearl lace
Cheese cloth
Spray of foam berries
Decorative pins
Tissue paper

Thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comments!

Big hugs




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A Christmas Wish to All - Part 2

Hello Friends! I hope you had an amazing Christmas period, enjoyed together with your family and friends. Ours was lovely, too - spent with family, friends and... a leaking radiator! Not exactly my choice of Christmas entertainment if you ask me but it could've been worse :). We moved into our new home earlier this year and the house is still throwing surprises at us here and there!

As promised, here's the second companion from my Christmas Lights set - in my previous post I shared this Christmas lantern and I have one more item to share :).

I love how church candles can be altered with stamped images - they can easily transform ordinary candles into magical ornaments. I've previously shared on my blog another set of altered Christmas candles and I also have one in my Easter Home Decor set.

Stamped images can easily transform ordinary candles into magical ornaments

For my altered candle I stamped this beautiful image onto tissue paper and I coloured it with Spectrum Noir markers first. I also used the alcohol ink markers and an air spritzer to give my Crystal Angel a whimsical look. Then I adhered the image to the candle by gently melting the tissue into the wax.

Use alcohol ink markers and an air spritzer for a whimsical look

To melt tissue into the wax evenly, wrap the candle tightly with grease-proof paper, carefully heat with a heat gun until the image underneath looks sharper and continue to hold the sheet until the wax cools down.

As a finishing touch, I added a glittered 3D foam snowflake, some handmade poinsettia flowers with glass glitter 3D DODZ centres and some lace and seam binding ribbons.

Add handmade poinsettia flowers, ribbons and lace to create a shabby chic look

Supplies:

Stampendous: cling Crystal Angel; Crystal MicroGlitter; Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter

Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Snowflakes; 3D DODZ

Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Die: Tattered Poinsettia

Crafters Companion: Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers

Church candle

Seam binding ribbon

Pearl lace

Cheese cloth

Spray of foam berries

Decorative pins

Tissue paper

Air spritzer tool

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. Thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comments!

Big hugs


I would like to enter the following challenges:
Mixed Media Place - December mood board
Country View Challenges - Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make It Sparkle
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Anything Goes
Mixed Media Monthly Blog Challenge - Merry and Bright

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Wishes From The Snow Queen

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my Christmas Train Card and if you missed my post & tutorial for the Easy Glitter Ice Skates ornaments, be sure to check it out here.

Here's another Christmas card I haven't had a chance to post yet. This one is sporting a frosty Snow Queen look :). Hope you like it! I chose one of my favourite winter colour palettes of whites, blues and pink/purples - I love this colour scheme for frosty makes.

Supplies:

Stampendous:
Cling Snow Queen
Yule Diamonds Perfectly Clear Stamps™

Holiday Words Perfectly Clear Stamps™
Lavender Micro Glitter

Crystal Micro Glitter
Medium Perfectly Clear™ Acrylic Handle
Mixed Media White Paper

Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink by Tsukineko®

Plus: Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®

Adhesives by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Squares Regular - White, Thin 3D Foam Squares Mix - White, DODZ™ - Medium, DODZ™ - 3D, E-Z Runner® Permanent Strips

Chameleon Color Tones Markers: NU1, BL3, BL6, BV4, PR4, PK3

Deco-Art Snow-Tex; Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Faded Jeans, Broken China, Peacock Feathers; Liquid Pearls; background paper - Sandylion Sticker Designs - Snowflakes; May Arts ribbon; decorative brad; paper distressing tool, cheese cloth, metal spatula, glitter pens.

Instructions:
1. Prepare an A6 card blank from purple cardstock.
2. Trim a background panel from Snowflakes paper 1/16 inch smaller than the card base on each side. 3. Using Yule Diamonds and Holiday Words stamps add some stamping to the background panel with the Distress Inks.
4. Distress the edges with a paper distressing tool or scissors. Adhere the panel to the card base.
5. Stamp the Snow Queen image in black onto the Mixed Media Paper and colour in with the Chameleon markers. Fussy cut the Snow Queen and the big snowflake.
6. Adhere the cut - out images to the card over the 3D foam squares - varying the height of the elements.
7. Adhere a piece of cheese cloth along the bottom edge of the card as if the Snow Queen was behind it.
8. Using a small metal spatula randomly spread some DecoArt Snow-Tex over the cheese cloth and sprinkle with Micro Glitters. Allow to dry fully.
9. Tie a double bow from coordinating ribbon, embellish it with a pearl brad and attach to the card using DODZ™ - 3D.
10. Finish the card with Liquid Pearls and glitter pen accents.

Also sharing today:
Pam Hornshu
Tenia Nelson

I am hoping to be back tomorrow with my favourite projects of 2015 - hope you will get a moment to pop in before your New Year's celebrations begin :). But I am certainly back on the 1st January 2016 with a BIG SWEET SURPRISE and to wish you all a Happy New Year :).

Thank you so much for stopping by and for any kind words left to let me know you've been - every comment is much appreciated.

Big crafty hugs





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Challenges for this card:
DecoArt Mixed Media Blog - Winter Wonderland Challenge
Frilly and Funkie - Holiday Hues
That's Crafty Challenge Blog - Anything Goes

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hello and warmest welcome to all peeking in here on this fine Christmas Eve evening. While some of you might still be busy with last minute shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking or any other pre-Christmas pottering about, I will be sitting down to have the Christmas Eve meal with my beloved family.

Being Polish I get the privilage of celebrating Christmas one day early. And yes, we get the pressies early,  too! Yaaay! :)

So allow me to wish you all a wonderful, happy and peaceful Christmas, full of magic and miracles and that this special time can be shared with all those who are close to your hearts.

I have a special festive train waiting for you today to take you straight to Christmas! :)

Stampendous:
Christmas Train
Aged Hunter Embossing Enamel
Aged Scarlet Embossing Enamel
Green Glass Glitter
Fresh Green Glass Glitter
Red Glass Glitter
Mixed Media White Paper

Boss Gloss Embossing Ink
Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink by Tsukineko®

Plus:Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®

Adhesives by Scrapbook Adhesives® by 3L: E-Z Runner Permanent Strips, Keepsake Envelopes, DODZ-3D

Chameleon Markers - GR3, BR5, CG8, BK4, RD4, NU1
Embossing Heat Tool

Ribbon by May Arts; metal holy leaves and bells; glitter brad, thin metal wire; assorted sequins.

Christmas Ephemera & Papers: Simple Stories - December Documented, Fancy Pants - Be Different

Instructions:

1. Create a square card blank 5" x 5". Cut a panel from background paper 1/16th inch smaller on each side than the card blank.
2. Adhere the panel to the card. Cut out Christmas ephemera and add to the background as shown. 
3. Stamp Christmas Train in black onto Mixed Media paper and colour in with Chameleon Markers. Fussy cut the image.
4. Insert the train image into a Keepsake Envelope and add a mixture of Glass Glitters and sequins.
5. Peal off the protective tab to seal the Envelope. Peel of the backing sheet and adhere the Envelope to the card.
6. Wrap a red and green gingham ribbon around the front card panel and tie a bow. Embellish with a glitter brad. 
7. Cover the metal holy leaves with Boss Gloss ink and sprinkle with Aged Hunter Embossing Enamel. Heat using the heat tool.
8. Cover three metal bells with Boss Gloss ink and sprinkle with Aged Scarlet Embossing Enamel. Heat using the heat tool. Secure the bells to the leaves using a thin metal wire.
9. Adhere the holy cluster to the card.

Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for being part of my Christmas,  too!

Big festive hugs 

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Challenges for this card:
That's Crafty Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
Emerald Creek Dares - Celebrations Around the World

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Christmas Is In the Air And A Snowy Postcard

Re-eited: Yaaaay! My card was featured in the Designer Spotlight at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! Woot woot!!! :)

Hello everyone and my warmest welcome on this pre-Christmas weekend :) I thought I would pop in to share another Christmas card I made - this one was inspired by Tim Holtz's December tag from 12 Tags of 2015.

I don't often play with tags (although I always promise myself to create more of them) so I extended the theme of Tim's inspiration tag onto a card.

I more or less followed the steps on Tim's tutorial. For the sprayed burlap panel I used Red Pepper Color Wash and Dreamweaver Holiday Greetings And Holly stencil. The main panel was stamped with Brilliance Pearlescent Olive ink (my fave ink ever!) using this gorgeous Stampendous Snowy Postcard stamp (my fave stamp ever!) and I added some shading with Inktense pencils (my fave pencils ever!). I also heat embossed in Detail Black the Christmas Air sentiment.

For the wreath I used a punch and dies from Martha Stewart, Spellbinders and Marianne's Designs and mounted the foliage with heaps of DODZ™ Small. Then I added a handful of baby cones (picked up outside my work office lol) and a Bella Bow sprayed with Red Pepper Color Wash. Spraying the felt bow made the ink concentrate in some parts more than in others and I loved the vintage, washed out look it created.

Finally I gave the card a light dusting with the Dylusions White Linen ink spray (my fave ink spray ever!) and a light brush with Everlasting Chalky Finish paint (my fave paints ever!).

Looks like I managed to squeeze in quite a few faves of mine in this little card lol. Oh well, I hope it was worth it and that you'll like my card! :).

Thank you for stopping by today and I'm sending you all lots of warm pre-Christmas hugs! xx




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Also linking to:
Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015 - December
That Craft Place Challenge Blog - Christmas
Vintage Stamping Challenges #39 - Winter Trees
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Die Crazy
Country View Challenges - Create a Scene
The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Tree
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Just a pinch (of snow dusting)
Emerald Creek Dares - Celebrations Around the World

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Easy DIY Shabby Chic Bauble Ornaments

Re-edited: Yaaay! My baubles are within the top picks for the 'Wish Upon a Star' challenge at Our Creative Corner! - Yippie!!! :-) :-)

Hello my lovelies! How are your Christmas preparations going? This year I am far more organised that I have been for years, yet still plenty to be done - will I ever be happy with the progress of my pre-Christmas prep? :)

Today I am over at Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L's blog sporting a tutorial for these super cute and super easy Styrofoam bauble ornaments. I made these for my BFF who's just moved into her first very own home :). To see how I made these you'll need to hop over to see my tutorial but I'll secretly mention that there is some glitter, Donna Salazar and DecoArt magic going on there!

Supplies:

E-Z Stars Runner - Refillable Donna Salazar with Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®; Home and Hobby: Quick and Easy Dual Tip Glue pen.

Other supplies:

Stampendous Crystal Micro Glitter
DecoArt MagiKote medium, Metallic Lustre Radiant Red, Americana Dimensional White Writer

Styrofoam balls, pins, ribbon, bells

Thank you for stopping by today and for all your heart warming comments - I read every one of them and they make me very very happy!

Big pre-Christmas hugs




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Also linking to:
Live & Love Crafts #42 - Sparkle
Our Creative Corner - Wish Upon a Star

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Togetherness At Christmas

Hello lovely peeps! A very warm welcome to my newest readers and the regular followers, too! So happy to see you here :). My heartfelt thanks also for your lovely comments on my Vintage Santa card!

Today I am back with another seasonal make - this one celebrates Christmas as a time to be shared with your close ones. I hope you enjoy it! :)

Supplies:
Stampendous:
Cling Christmas Love
Cling Magnolia Rose
Mixed Media White Paper

MEM01 Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink by Tsukineko®

Plus:
Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Adhesives by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Squares, E-Z Runner® Permanent Strips, DODZ™ - 3D

Christmas Floral Picks and Embellishments, Ribbon by May Arts, Spellbinders Decorative Labels Thirty Four die, papers - Graphic45 Place In Time
Chameleon Color Tones Markers: YO3, YG3, GR3, OL3, BR2, RD4, BR5

Instructions:
1. Fold a 6" X 12" panel of red cardstock in half to form 6" square card base.
2. Distress the edges of a 5-7/8" square panel of patterned cardstock, adhere to the card front.
3. Stamp Magnolia Rose on white cardstock in Tuxedo Black ink and color as desired.
4. Run stamped cardstock through die cut machine to create interesting edges. Lightly brush sepia ink on edges to antique the stamped panel.
5. Adhere stamped panel to card front in lower left, apply adhesive 1/2 round jewels to area near the image.
6. Stamp greeting on a 2-1/4" X 3-1/2" panel of white paper and distress as for magnolia panel.
7. Adhere greeting panel to a 2-3/8" X 3-5/8" panel of red cardstock. Add tiny red jewels in bottom corners.
8. Adhere greeting to card front.
9. Create bow with May Arts ribbon and add parts of a sparkly floral pick to bow center and corner of card.
10. Adhere bow above greeting, add additional jewels to card as desired.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and for your lovely comments! Have a wonderful week my friends!

Big crafty hugs


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