Paper Obsession

All set for Christmas?

We've certainly had the weather for it this week..

Apart from the snow, a couple of fantastic TV programmes have really been getting me in the mood for Christmas. I caught three episodes of Kirsty's Home-Made Christmas (Channel 4) on Friday afternoon and was just smitten with all her amazing creations... you MUST check out the website for instructions and information.

Then yesterday I had the pleasure of watching 'Grow Your Own Drugs for Christmas' (BBC 2) with James Wong, an ethno-botanist who used traditional Christmas herbs and plants to make hangover remedies, gorgeous decorations and tasty gifts. Wonderful viewing while I conquered my ironing mountain!

I'm sorry to report that journaling my Christmas has made way for actually getting organised for Christmas this last week or so. Despite a lack of JYC pages to show, I have been crafting like crazy...

• Christmas cards - made and sent (apart from a few last-minute ones to be posted tomorrow)

As you can possibly tell, I am LOVING this little 'Merry Christmas' stamp! It was part of a set of clear stamps, including the dashed line Christmas tree outline, from Willow Tree Crafts. The first batch of cards were made with scraps of Doodlebug papers and red ribbon. The second one was made using my Cuttlebug Snowflakes #2 die. The third card is part of a big set of cards I made following instructions from The Craft Stamper magazine - details are in my Flickr photostream!

• Wreath for front door - fashioned from a faux-evergreen candle ring found in a charity shop, along with a cute flowerpot man from my mum:

I took off some plasticky gold flowers and added my own glass baubles, gold ribbon and flowerpot man.

• Christmas cards strung up on mini-washing lines with tiny pegs above the fireplace

• Gingerbread biscuits made (although a bad egg meant they actually tasted foul - but I still made them!)

• Christmas presents bought and wrapped - I have gone for a red and kraft theme in my wrappings, with a hint of silver and stars..

I don't know if I'm ever going to 'catch up' with JYC but at least I can honestly say I am NOT stressing about it.. Enjoy your Christmas!

It's 'Journal Your Christmas' time again!

This year it's going to be different.

This year I will be better organised, I will have my album and all my pages prepared in advance.

This year I will keep it simple and I will keep up!

I guess that just about covers Prompt One... my aim is to try my best to write, blog and {I hope} craft a little something every day... whether it is 'on-prompt' (ugh, what a horrible phrase!) or just notes on the day's activities and my progress towards getting ready for Christmas and the New Year.

....

Well, I am slightly better organised than I was last year.

At least this year I know what I'm doing and what the prompts are likely to be!

I have quite a few pages more-or-less prepared so it should be a relatively simple matter to add photos and words (in theory at least...).

....

Meanwhile.. On Saturday I attended my first every all-day crop, organised by Pat of Bromley Scrapaholics. It was a fantastic day, Pat kept everyone happy with cups of tea and choccie biscuits and had even organised a raffle and a prize for the best layout. I managed to complete my Karen Foster Countdown Calendar, using Love Elsie 'Noel' papers, and got a fair bit of my Christmas planner done too.

Here is the evidence...

The boys were thrilled to find a Malteser and a Cadbury's Snow Bite each in drawer no. 1 this morning. The rest of the drawers will be filled on a day-by-day basis for obvious reasons...

Here's my Christmas Planner as it is so far:

(Why, oh why, could I not see that 'Christmas' would not fit into that space?!)

These fab calendar pages - by Jane Dean - were downloaded from the Papercraft Inspirations website. The colouring-in was laborious but I do like the effect!

I made the 'To Do' list myself, totally inspired by Jane Dean's Christmas Planner!

I made these pages too - drew the outlines with a black fineliner pen and photocopied, then coloured in using pencils.

I hope it'll be a useful tool to keep me organised in the run-up to Christmas. Other sections will have pages for recording Internet purchases, holding receipts, Christmas menu ideas and recipes... and anything else I think of.

.....

Just to finish off, here are a couple of cards I made using my new Cuttlebug Snowflake die:

Think I might add a stamped 'Merry Christmas' on the bottom one, but I'm scared I'll mess it up (which is highly likely - I'm not the neatest stamper..).

.....

Time to get Harry out of bed and pick up Charlie from nursery... I'll be back later (I hope) with my first JYC page to share!

The UFOs are piling up!

I blame Julie Kirk and Kirsty Neale. I have a mountain of half-started/someday-to-be-finished projects, cluttering up every available surface, since their 12 Days: Copy + Paste Christmas Project.

I guess I should also blame my *tiny* attention span and easily-distracted nature.

Here's a quick run-down of a few of my current UnFinished Objects...

Exhibit A:

An antique printer's tray, bought off eBay last week, now propped up on my desk behind the laptop. Someday I will paint it and fill it with fascinating found objects and hand-made treasures (Kirsty: I definitely blame you for this one ;o)

Exhibit B:

A pile of gesso'ed clothing tags, inspired by Julie's project. Someday I will get around to transforming into a miniature art journal full of insightful quotes.. just not quite sure when.

Exhibit C:

A mod-podged and napkin'ed mini canvas (Kirsty - I actually leaped for joy when I saw your project with the same IKEA napkins as I'd been hoarding for months). Someday I will complete the artwork with a silhouette of something cut from patterned paper.. or maybe felt.. or fabric..?

Exhibit D:

A painted canvas, complete with fabric and felt collage of tree and bird. Except it's not complete yet. Someday I will decide I like the way I've stitched on the leaves and stick it all together. No really, I will.

I hope that by publishing this little list I might, just might, get round to finishing something. Someday soon.

A money-saving top tip for Tim Holtz fans?

For a while now I've been trying to get into Tim Holtz's distress inks. Having watched a few of his You-Tube videos and stalked his blog, I've been dying to get my hands on some Distress Inks and have a good play. I bought three of them at the Big Stamp & Scrapbooking Show back in September but have been almost too scared to have a go in case I just can't do it right! Not to mention the fact that I don't have a non-stick craft mat like the one Tim uses in his videos. I saw one at the BSSBS but couldn't justify the £15.99 it was selling for.

Then a couple of weeks ago, in the new Clas Ohlson store in Croydon, I saw something that looked, for all the world, exactly like a Tim Holtz non-stick craft mat. It was actually a TFX Non-Stick Baking Sheet... it says on the back of the box, 'Suitable for cooking and baking in the oven... nothing burns or sticks to the surface...'.

And the best thing about it? The price... £2.99! I don't know what the difference is between this and the Tim Holtz version, but I can honestly say it does the job just fine.

OK, so my first distress-inked tag was by no means a masterpiece - but at least now I'm having a go. If you have a Clas Ohlson store near you, get down there and invest in one of these.. and get inking! ;o)

{By the way, Tim - if you happen to read this - please don't get the hump with me.. I LOVE your products and my lucky find will only encourage me to buy more of your fantastic stuff, honest!!!}

Trick or Treat?

{Digital kit: Thrilling October Free Kit by Cherie Mask - from 2 Peas in a Bucket}

On Wednesday, I had a delightful message from Kirsty Neale and Julie Kirk inviting me to take part in their Copy + Paste Trick or Treat blog party to celebrate Halloween. To say I was thrilled would, of course, be something of an understatement!

My mission - which I chose to accept, thank you very much - was to make a Halloween-themed project (my TRICK) and post it here on Saturday. After a fair bit of brain-racking, I decided to make a cuff bracelet using felt and buttons in Halloweeny colours - orange, lime-green, purple and black.

After measuring my wrist, I cut a strip of black felt 6" long by 2" wide, followed by a strip of purple felt 6" long by 1.5" wide. I stuck them together with a bit of Wonderweb hemming tape, then sewed them together using a blanket stitch. 

 
Next, I gathered a heap of buttons in the chosen colours and sewed them on randomly using contrasting embroidery thread. At one end I sewed a loop of black elastic cord and made sure there was a nice big button sewn centrally at the other end.

As if by magic, the bracelet goes round my wrist and is held together by the button and loop. Tidy! Not sure how many outfits this will go with post-Halloween but I am rather pleased with it :o)

 

Now for the TREAT part...

As you will no doubt be aware, Kirsty and Julie are hosting a workshop called 12 Days:: A Copy + Paste Christmas which starts next Thursday (5th November). As a special treat, if you sign up for the workshop this weekend, you will also receive a FREE bonus download! Just click here for details of this special offer.

And finally...

I have two sources of inspiration I want to thank: firstly the Green Gal, who has some beautiful hand-made pieces on her blog, including some gorgeous button bracelets. Secondly, the Hero Arts blog which included some Fall colour palettes a few weeks ago as part of a challenge. I thought the orange/green/purple/black combo just screamed Oct 31st.

If you've read this far... thank you SO much for dropping in.. and enjoy the rest of the Halloweeny fun!