Friday, July 31, 2020

Festive Christmas Home Decor - New Authentique Paper



Christmas Home Decor

Can summer get any better?  Yes it can! 
Why?  Because I love creating Christmas decor in warm summer weather - the perfect blend of seasons in my opinion.  That and the fact Authentique's new Christmas collection,  "A Magical Christmas", is now available adding a special magic to summer.  Throw in some sensational holiday chipboard from Creative Embellishments and I have a prefect summer day.

 I have a few Christmas cards completed with the new collection so now I'm turning my attention to a home decor gift using "A Magical Christmas".  


"A Magical Christmas" is a classically wonderful collection filled with the greens and reds of the season, the Christmas plaids that are so popular, "candy cane" stripes and vintage ephemera images that are perfect for quick card making.  

Here are the papers used on this project.   
This piece is actually a plain DIY wooden plaque bought at a big box store.  I thought it would make a cute Christmas house for the front door.  I painted the wood first with a vanilla cream acrylic paint.  Once totally dry, it was covered with patterned papers. 

The heart layer has some additional faux stitching on the edges made with a white paint marker.  
Next I added the "Merry Christmas " sentiment sticker from Authentique Paper - A Magical Christmas Collection - Cardstock Stickers  backed with foam to add dimension.  

The berries are generic cheap foam berries from a craft store. 


Now to discus the Creative Embellishments chipboard accents. 

 The image below shows the chipboard pieces featured on this project:

Creative Embellishments Customizes Upon Request
I make a special note of mentioning the Creative Embellishments - Love Joy Peace  pieces used have been custom ordered to be card sentiment sized.  Originally, these words are 3.5" to 4" wide.  I wanted them much smaller as an accent on the card and not the main focal piece.  While this is not a card, it still works perfectly here as an accent.  

 Creative Embellishments makes custom sizing super easy and convenient.  Just add your request in the comments section at checkout.  It's that simple.  
Chipboard embellishments were added to the piece for a warm seasonal feel.  The chipboard is from Creative Embellishments and has been painted or inked to match the paper. ( Creative Embellishments - Pine Cone Clusters and Creative Embellishments - Love Joy Peace  -custom sized for cards.



Here are the cards I made using Authentique's new "A Magical Christmas". 
Believe Card details - click here
Joy Santa Card - click here

 Patriotic Slider Pop-up Card

Patriotic Slider Pop-up Card





"A Magical Christmas" is a classically wonderful collection filled with the greens and reds of the season, the Christmas plaids that are so popular, "candy cane" stripes and vintage ephemera images that are perfect for quick card making.  
Authentique Paper - A Magical Christmas Collection - 12 x 12 Paper Pad

Thanks and Happy crafting.  


Supplies: 
Creative Embellishments - Love Joy Peace (Custom sized for cards)DIY Wooden plaque
Ribbon
Vanilla Cream Acrylic Paint
White Acrylic Paint Marker 
Dark brown vintage ink
Foam Berries

Friday, July 24, 2020

Christmas Shaker Cards - Christmas in July





I'm celebrating Christmas in July. We're at the halfway mark to Christmas festivities and time starts moving quickly as we get closer. 
I am trying hard to be prepared in advance this year.  
With that, I hope I am shaking some inspiration into your day with the featured cards today.   

Creative Embellishments has an amazing assortment of chipboard shaker sets for the holiday.  
You can find the shakers here.  

The image below shows the chipboard pieces used on the cards featured today.  I kept the chipboard treatments super simple and inked them with a rich brown to bring out the browns in the paper.  





The sweet Gingerbread Cookie Shaker is from Creative Embellishments and has been filled with new Sprinkletz shaker mix from Buttons Galore that look like tiny peppermint candy and gingerbread cookies. Buttons Galore Santa Treats Sprinkletz are adorable. 

 There are also 3D buttons adorning the card from Buttons Galore and More.  




I cut apart Creative Embellishments - Gingerbread Men Banner and glued to the card as accent pieces.
The smiles on the gingerbread men make me happy.  Other than the delicious factor, I think the smile is the reason they are so beloved and ageless.  

Here is a close up of the card showing the adorable, chipboard gingerbread and the adorable Sprinkletz shaker mix from Buttons Galore.  


The second card is more traditional featuring Creative Embellishments - Stocking Shaker and holiday wreath design.  

I did decorate the shaker using patterned paper from Maja Design's Holiday in the Alps paper collection.  Imagine the possibilities for personalizing the stocking with someone's name?   



The shaker mix on this card is from Buttons Galore's new collection called Doo Dadz.   I used the Doo Dadz gems to decorate the card as well. This is Buttons Galore Cool Yule Doo Dadz.
Buttons Galore -Cool Yule Dd114

Shaker Maker Essentials for Making Shakers

I have a few favorite products that are my shaker maker essentials.  These are my "go to" supplies because they have made shaker making so much easier. 

Glue/Adhesive:   adhesive choice can make or break your shaker making experience.  If the shaker layers do not hold together, then I'd say you're not going to have a shaker.  If you get glue globs all over the layers and acrylic window, you'll be unhappy.  

I like Nuvo - Deluxe Adhesive because the nozzle is very small allowing for maximum control when you are assembling the layers.  The glue is not super runny so it stays where you place it.  It dries fast and crystal clear and has a strong bond. 

Pick - up Tools for Shaker Mix /Sequins/ Gens  -  Either the embellishments these days are getting smaller or my fingers are getting....well let's just go with embellishments getting smaller.  OK? 

After purchasing a variety of pick up tools, I finally found one that works consistently and doesn't get gunned up with glue. Meet the Crystal Ninja CRYSTAL KATANA 
Mixed Media Pick Up Tool.  This tool was designed specifically for crystal crafting, so I was pretty confident it would help pick up sequins, small paper die cuts, and what-nots. 

  



Maja Design Paper
My cards feature the festive Maja Design Holiday in the Alps collection.
I combined three beautiful paper patterns from the Holiday in the Alps collection.  They coordinate so well together. to create a festive look.   


Thursday, July 23, 2020

Believe in Santa - Authentique's A Magical Christmas Collection



Christmas In July - Cards
Christmas in July is in full swing.  Authentique Paper's new holiday collection, "A Magical Christmas", is now available adding a special magic to summer.  

 I completely believe it's not too soon to start checking off that card list.  What a feeling of accomplishment you'll have knowing your projects are started. 


 Here are the papers I used on this card.  
This inspirational "BELIEVE" card was created by combining some other magical products:





"A Magical Christmas" is a classically wonderful collection filled with the greens and reds of the season, the Christmas plaids that are so popular, "candy cane" stripes and vintage ephemera images that are perfect for quick card making.  
Authentique Paper - A Magical Christmas Collection - 12 x 12 Paper Pad


This card has been embellished with a fussy cut Santa from on of the ephemera cards found on  A Magical Christmas Collection - 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper - Eight.  He holds a sign that says, "I believe in Children".  What a beautiful sentiment.

   I've tucked Santa next to Christmas presents I created from simple rectangles - nothing fancy but certainly fun to make because it gave me a chance to play with different patterns in Authentique's Paper - 6 x 6 Paper Pad  .  


The festive die cut letters and the decorative leaf branches are from Spellbinders Large Die of the Month.  They celebrate the sign that Santa holds.  

This alphabet set has big and thin letters which means you can fit a rather large word on a card quite easily - for more sentiment options all year round. 
Large Die of the Month Membership


A bit about the embellishments used on the card.  Buttons Galore has a new collection of shaker mixes/project accents available called Doo Dadz.  I describe them as project accents because they make the best shaker mixes,  they can be used to bedazzle your cards, mixed media, layouts and anything you can imagine.  

Buttons Galore -Merry Mimosa Dd100


Here's another Christmas card made using the same main products;    Spellbinders Large Die of the Month

You can see the details for this card here: 
My parting words... Believe.  
Thanks for stopping here today.  Happy crafting.

Spellbinders Extras