Welcome to the final day of The Sketchbooks Build Up to Christmas. I can’t believe its almost the end of November and 26 days until Christmas. I have loved all the ideas the other contributors have come up with and enjoyed doing my ideas and I hope we gave you some inspiration. If you make anything from the ideas during the build up to Christmas we would love to see them in the gallery.

Today I have an altered tin to show you - its very simple to make.

The tin before transformation:

and after the transformation:

Products used:

Chocolate tin
Crate paper
Snowman and Christmas blessing cut from unknown patterned paper
wooden snowflake inked to match paper
lace ribbon
beads
twine
paint

Instructions:

1. Cut out the patterned paper to fit around the tin.
2. Adhere this to the tin - I have used double sided tape.
3. Cut out a smaller strip of patterned paper.
4. Adhere that onto the top of the other paper.
5. Cut out the first paper to fit on top of lid.
6. Adhere this piece to the top.
7. Paint the sides and a little over the top edge of the lid to match paper I have used gold paint.
8. Cut out a snowman or use a diecut.
9. Adhere the snowman to one side of tin using dimensional tape.
10. Cut out some Christmas words and adhere to tin.
11. Ink and adhere snowflake to top of lid.
12. Once paint is dry attach ribbon to sides of lid.
13. Thread some beads on twine and tie or glue dot this to the lid.

Have fun! and MERRY CHRISTMAS

This week I’ve made a little angel decoration from a peg, paper doily, ribbon and embellishments.  You should be able to find the peg and paper doily from your local craft / spotlight store.  For everything else just use your supplies.  I’ve used a little scrap of music paper, some felt for the wings and flowers, ribbon and bling for on her dress.

Cut the doily in half and wrap around her body attach with glue. Wrap ribbon to cover the top of the doily.  Cut out wings  and attach to body.  Add embellishments.

And here is the back, because she has to look pretty all over …..

Thanks for looking and have a great day

Rachel

Todays inspiration has come from a magazine and something my sister has being creating. The original creations were matchboxes but I went with cardboard ring boxes ($1) and a small gift box - both found at a $2 shop as these are not nearly as fiddly. I have not used the lids and left the ring inserts in the ring boxes so they are not so deep.

Instructions:

1. Cover the box in paper leaving the top undone
2. Attach hinge on top with brads (or attach ribbon straight to the box with staples)
3. Adhere the paper flap onto the bottom of the top edge to cover brads up.
4. Attach earring to the bottom of the box (much easier then threading beads)
5. Attach ribbon to the earring and hinge
6. Then embellish as you like.

Cream and brown box products used:

Ring box
patterned paper
hinge (I found much pretty hinges after I did this)
brads
feather boa
beads
one half of beaded earring set
flowers
gold button
ribbon
glimmermist

Blue and cream box products used

Ring Box
Patterned paper
hinge
brads
Bird diecut
earring
beads
wire
metal flower and brad
feather boa
ribbon
glimmermist

Hexagonal box products used

gift box
patterned paper
Xmas decoration
material leaves
chipboard bird
Kaisercraft adhesive rhinestone
Earring
feather boa
the diecut at the back is from a Xmas card from the $2 shop that I bought for a $1 - very delicate and pretty
glimmermist

In Sweden, pretty much every household with kids has an advent calendar up during December. We fill it up with small pressies rather than lollies, but if you’re lucky - the odd chocolate is snuck in there… So, I decided to make a small one for my daughter, as our house is not very big.

But it’s only three socks, you say?!? Yes, that’s the clever part… I have put velcro under the nubmers, so that I can just change numbers as the days go by.

How to:

Draw a template and cut out; trace onto patterned paper - two mirrowed socks for each sock you want to make. Sew together around the edges of the sock, leave a small border. If you’re lucky enough to have a sewing machine - use it! It takes quite a while to do it by hand, trust me… Decorate tops with felt, paper or ribbon, and whatever you fancy. Glue a ribbon loop inside.

And, if you don’t want to make 25 socks, just do a few and put velcro onder your numbers, and they’re easy to change! I got velcro by the metre at Spotlight.

Hope you like, have fun!!!

For today’s inspiration I’ve made a small wall hanging that can either be put up somewhere around your house or even on your Christmas tree.  It measures 8×5.  I first came across this idea at one of Nic Howard’s classes at SENZ.  Where she did a layout and then an extra project. 

The base of the hanging is an old cardboard box that has been cut up and torn to reveal the corrugated cardboard underneath.  I have then painted it with blue and pearl paint to match the yummy Basic Grey paper I have used.  Then you just need to add your photo and some other embellishments from your stash and your done.  Have fun.

Rachel

At and before Christmas we are so busy running around I thought todays inspiration would be a Off the page list board. It can be either a Christmas themed one or a different theme to be given as a gift or kept for yourself :eyebrows: . It can either be hanging list or a magnetic list for your fridge.

Here is what I made:

Products used

Piece of hard card just a bit smaller then A4
patterned paper
cardstock
ink
Alphas
ribbon
bling
other embellishments
post it note pad or shopping list pad

Instructions

1. Adhere patterned paper to hard card
2. Either use your scallop punch or hand scallop strips of cardstock (one strip thicker then the other)
3. Adhere thicker cardstock strip on bottom edge of the board and then adhere second strip over the top.
4. Ink or paint the edges of the board
5. If you are doing the board as a hanging item make two holes near the top on both sides to slip through twine ribbon or beaded wire. If you are using magnetic strips do a few as board may become quite heavy.
6. Glue the back page of the pad to the board ( I have used a partial prima post it pad)
7. Attach alphas and embellishments (the holly on the bottom right is three sprigs of it attached with glue dots on the front and threaded through a hole in the scallop and taped at the back.

Hi everyone - hope you have had a great week -sorry I am a little late my broadband has run out so its a bit slow until tomorrow

My challenge for you tonight is to do a Christmas scrapbooking creation using haberdashery (eg material, buttons, stitching etc). You may do any size layout,card or Off the page project. For those of you who don’t have Christmas photos and you want to do a layout for the challenge an added criteria is that you use traditional Christmas colours on your layout (eg gold, red and green or blue and silver). If you do a Christmas creation any colours are allowed.

Here is my sample

You have until midnight Sunday the 16th to upload your creation to the gallery

Have fun and have a great weekend

You will need:
Crepe paper in 2 contrasting colours
Scissors
Glue or double-sided tape
Punch (I used a snowflake)
Coloured twine

1. Cut a piece of crepe paper in each of your chosen colours. Decide which colour will be on top, and pleat it lengthwise until it is folded up like a fan.
2. Using a punch, cut shapes out through all the layers along one side of the pleat. I used a snowflake punch. In order to get an entire snowflake shape on my paper, I only punched “half” of the design.
3. Open up the top paper and flatten it out, then glue it onto the bottom paper.
4. Wrap your gift up. You can use glue or double-sided tape (you don’t want the sellotape to show).
5. Decorate using some co-ordinating twine.