Christmas is Coming

Hi Crafters

Well here we are at the end of October and most of you are getting through half-term and starting to think about Christmas as the decorations, gift wrap and cards come into the shops.

I hope the 12 Days of Christmas Cards have inspired some of you to have a go at making your own cards this year. I still have about 30 to make but at the moment I am working on finishing my items for the Christmas Craft Fairs I am taking part in.

As November approaches fast and Christmas Fairs are upon us, my thoughts are with stocking fillers , small gift ideas and decorations

I have 3D stars in every cupboard and spare space I can find, as I have made them to make wreaths, and decorations as well as parcel adornments.

I also make a origami star, and an origami star card. The star card is quite straight forward folding, and I have posted this project for Day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas, while the decorative star a little more complex. The Star Card makes a lovely alternative card that can also be used as a decoration, whilst the decorative star is more of a gift. I had one given to me by a friend after she had received one from her German Exchange friend. They are sold in the German Christmas markets and given to friends at the festive season. My friend said "I love these and I bet you can make them" so with the challenge set I studied the gifted star and worked out how to make one.

I just love the way the bead closes the star up and then works as a way of keeping the star open

As the decorative star is not included in the 12 Days of Christmas Gifts I thought I would give you a peep of it today along with the snowflake decoration. The Snowflake does not fold up but will make a great addition to the Christmas Decorations especially when grouped 

Here they are on the work mat 

The folds on both of these cannot be explained easily without a video so if you want to have a go at making them yourself check out YouTube and Pinterest for tutorials.

Tomorrow we start with a really pretty (but simple) favour for Christmas and then throughout November more gift and decoration ideas in the 12 Days of Christmas Gifts.

Happy Crafting 
Dee

12 Days of Christmas - Day 12 - Simple Step Card

Hello Crafters

Well here we are, the last card in the series of 12 Days of Christmas, and it is one of the most simple cards to make. I have also put this one last as it can use up any of the die cuts not used on previous cards made, if you were making in bulk and cut lots of die-cuts to embellish your cards, this card is perfect for using your stash and tidying the desk

Day 12 Simple Step Card 

This is a small card with lots of interest.

You will  need: 
A sheet of card 12" x 6" 
Selection of embellishments that set a scene 

The basic Step Card is made by scoring your piece of card at 1",2",4",6", 9"
Fold all the scorelines and concertina them to make the three steps
Simply add your embellishments to the steps to form the scene
I have attached the die-cuts with sticky pads.


You could also use houses and church, 
Trees and stars
Houses and Santa and sleigh
Baubles
Stars
This will fit easily into an A6 envelope

You can place a piece of plain card on the back of the card that can be used to write a greeting 
A good measurement for this is 3" x 2" 

This completes the 12 Days of Christmas series. I hope you have enjoyed them and found them useful in getting you started on your Christmas Card making journey.
Please give a thumbs up if you like any of the cards and check back regularly for the next series 
12 Days of Christmas/ Paper Gifts

Dee

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 11 - Star Card 2

Hi Crafters

And here we are already at Day 11 of the 12 days of Christmas Cards.

Today is a Star Card. Not the one currently being shown on YouTube, with a stand up card in the shape of a star, but a card that also doubles as a decoration, almost an alternative to the traditional card.

Day 11 - Star Card 2

You will need:

5 pieces of heavy papers or medium weight card 7.5cm square

2 pieces of white or cream card cut to 3cm square

a piece of cotton cord or fine ribbon approximately 30-40cm long

a bead with a fairly large hole 

• Fold each of the coloured papers in half and then in half the other way 
• Turn over the paper and fold on the diagonal line 
• When you turn the square over again the diagonal lines will naturally form a valley fold and you can fold them in to form a square 

• Do this to all 5 squares and then making sure they are all lined up the same way with the sealed section at the base; glue the top of the folded paper and layer each one of the 5 pieces on top of each other to form one square 
• Next stamp one of the plain card with your greeting, remember to stamp across the diagonal 
• with the thread fold in half and thread the double folded end (not the open end) through the bead, and tie a loop about 2-3cm from the top with the bead underneath

• You will now need silicone glue or a hot-glue gun
• Place square on the table on the diagonal with the open ends at the top. Put one side of the cord across the middle of the card and secure then cover with the greeting piece of card

When the card is folded up the bead can be moved to the top of the card to hold it together - when you open the card just slide the bed up to the loop and open the star up, slide the bead down to hold the star open 

You can use the plain piece of card on the back to write your greeting or add an initial if you have the appropriate dies.

Tip: The first time you make this it is a good idea to put all the pieces ready and put together without gluing to see how each piece fits. You will see why you stamp on the diagonal and how the cord fits on, before committing with the glue.  

I will be making some of these for the young nieces and nephews and also to send to fiends abroad as they act as a card and little gift rolled into one.

Happy Crafting 

Dee

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 10 - Pop up Box card

Hi Crafters 

Here we are on day 10 of 12 Days of Christmas. 
Today we have a popular pop up box card finished with a Christmas scene.

Normally this card can be quite time consuming and I would not be recommended it for bulk makes, but if you get organised you could make a bunch of them in an afternoon.

Day 10 The Pop-up Box Card

For this card you will need

1 sheet of A4 card stock white 
Mirra card or and white card for die cutting
Tree dies, I have a set of 3 basic fir trees and a Christmas word shaped tree.
Polar bear die or if you have a village scene die you could use that for the front border

From the sheet of A4 card cut a width of 4.5" 
On the long side score 2" 5.5" 7.5" 11" 
Turn and score at 2"
With the 2" at the top and 2.5" on the base of the card, cut off the small 1/2" side tab from the 2.5" score line to the top
The bottom part of this tab will be used to secure the box base.
Then cut along the score lines from the 2.5" line to the top of the card to form the flaps try to cut either side of the score line to the centre to form fine v cuts, as this will make them sit tidily
Next cut an 1" strip from the remaining A4 card and from this cut 2 pieces 4 7/8" long, score 5/8" either end of the 2 pieces 
Burnish the score lines on the main card, and form an oblong box, glue the short flap to the inside of card.
with the two cut strips fold over the scored ends and glue on the outside of the flaps attach to the main box. The first one sits just under the top line and butted up to the back of the box. The second piece sits at the same height and butts up to the first strip. This forms 2 parallel lines across the width of the base box 
Next cut some trees from any white card or silver card and using foam pads stick the trees to the cardboard struts across your box. I have used white and silver for the trees with the word tree in white and the family of polar bears in white card. The bears I have attached to the inside of the front of the box. 
The flaps can be layered with mirra card or Christmas patterned card  and decorated with greetings or left plain to write your message 
Once you have made the basic Pop Up box card you can use any embellishment to decorate your card 
here are some I did earlier 

  
  I have used coloured card and and gold snowflakes or wreaths and heart baubles to decorate the other cards. For birthdays I use card toppers and flowers 

To make in numbers 
First cut out your decorations placing them in groups that are colour coordinated and themed 
Next cut all you blank box bases and score them ready to put together 
Cut your struts and score the ends 
Put the boxes together and glue on the struts 
While the glue is drying start placing your decorations along the struts to find the right layout for you.
Then add the dimensional foam tabs and place on the card
once you have done this you will see if you want to layer the flaps and add greeting or decorations
I often place a small bell or topper to the side flaps and place a piece of plain card to the front flap for the sender to write their greeting
Happy Crafting 
See you soon with Day 11
Dee

12 Days of Christmas Cards Day 9 - Slimmers Christmas Card

Hi Crafters

I told you today would be something different and it is, I hope you enjoy it.
It was designed as a card to give to friends I have made at Slimming World, where they are a friendly bunch who make everyone welcome and always on hand to offer encouragement

This Card appears to be a straight forward Christmas card from the outside
And when you open it a centre section Greets you
"Have a Great Christmas
See You in the New Year"
When you lay the card flat centre section reveals 4 friends weighing together .

Day 9 - The Unofficial Slimming World Christmas Card 

To make this card you will need a piece of card 6" x 12"
A piece of white card 4.5" x 3.75"
Piece of background card to coordinate 5" x 4" (I have used silver mirra card) but you could use a Christmas print
Artist Impression stamp in the "Friends" range as shown
Paper and embellishment for the front of the card
Small Greeting stamp for the front
I could not find a stamp that said 'See You In The New Year' so I printed it on the computer.


Score the card on the long side at 5",6",7"
Tuck the scored panel into the card and burnish the folds
On the outside of the card glue or red tape the bottom edge of the centre fold
Open the card and cut a sliver of card off the folded section
Stamp the layer piece of white card with the 'Friends' stamp, I used distress pens and water pen by using the acrylic block from the stamp. Rub some ink from the pen onto the acrylic block and then use your water pen to colour the image. You could use crayons, water colours or just pens, but I like the soft colour doing it with the water pen.

Mount the image onto the background card and when dry, slide the whole piece into the slot cut from the centre fold.
Decorate the front of the card   

Tips: If you want to make a few for friends at a club, once you  have stamped and coloured your image, photocopy the original.
The front of the card can be decorated in any way you prefer but keep it simple so as not to detract from the pop-up. 

I have made several versions of this card and I will post them soon

Happy Crafting 
Dee

12 Days of Christmas Day 8 - Joy/Noel Cards

Hello Crafters 

Still more Christmas cards for inspiration, in the 12 Days of Christmas Cards series.

Day  8 
JOY/NOEL greetings

Here we are back to a simple layered card 

You will need for the NOEL card
15cm x 15cm  scalloped card and envelope 
mirra card cut 13cm x 13cm 
white card cut 12cm x 12cm
large letter dies NOEL
card of your choice to cut the letters 

Cut the letters from the coloured card you have chosen
Place on the white card and when you are happy with the position, glue into place
Layer onto the mirra card and then onto the base card 

JOY Card 

This is made in the same way with the background white card being 13cm x 6cm 
mirra card 14cm x 7cm 

This is a great way of using up any scraps of Christmas Card 

I have a set of letters purchased, but you could use any large Capital letters you have in your stash , fancy finished letters are best as they are the central point of the card.

Check in soon for Day 9 (something quite different) 

Happy Crafting 
Dee  

12 Days of Christmas Day 7 - Teepee Card

Hi Crafters

Today is very different. It is a shaped card and colourful.
Called the Teepee Card as it stands up like a teepee.

Day 7 Teepee Card

It is very effective and yet simple to make. Also it requires no special tools so a great project to do if you are a starter, or with the children.
It also folds flat to post. 

You will need 
3 pieces of 4"  squared card stock, 180gsm or over 
1 6" square envelope
Fold each square on the diagonal

I have used the card in the pictures below as it shows the folds easily but you will want to avoid this style of pattern as it is too directional.

Next place two of the pieces flat on the table with the diagonal creases forming a pyramid 

Add the third piece diagonally in the middle lining up with the lines

Mark with a pencil where the card comes over the end and the sides as you will need to glue inside this section on the bottom two pieces of card
Take off the top panel, glue inside the pencil lines and place the top piece back on making sure there is glue all around the the edge 
The card will now fold up into a triangle 

You can either secure the back panel with velcro dots or glue it down and fold over so the card sits flat for posting

                                                          

Now decorate as you wish. Here are other ones I did earlier (in the true Blue Peter fashion)

Hope you enjoy making these fun cards 

Happy Crafting

Dee