Christmas is flying by

Even though I am talking about the new Christmas projects that I have completed, this could also mean "How Fast Christmas is Approaching".  I am glad I have had this last week to get a start on my Christmas handmade items for the store.

Three more projects completed today.

A gorgeous blue snowman, holding a battery operated tea light.  I have put some wire in his hat before stuffing and this allows him to be hung just about anywhere.  Put him on your door knob, hang him on a hook, off your curtain rail, just about anywhere

Using the same technique / pattern, two Santas. 

One holding a pipberry and greenery spray with a rusty star.  His beard is made from a piece of fake fur.

The next Santa has a piece of greenery threaded through his hands with Christmas lights dangling down.  This is a little hard to see, because of the garden in the background.

My friend has now gone back to Townsville, so unfortunately I will not be spending every day in the studio, but I hope to have some gingerbread men to share with you soon.They are next on my list of things to make

Judy

Santa with Snowmen

This Santa is in the lovely traditional colours of burgundy and green (my favourite). He has his arms full with two snowmen made from warm & natural.  I love how this fabric gives the snowmen a real fluffy look. In his other arm, is a bunch of greenery and pipberry sprays.  Please ignore the garden hose in the background of the photo, I should of moved it!  He is hanging in a lovely native tea tree in my garden, and as soon as Spring arrives this tree will be full of wonderful small pink flowers.  Not long to wait now?

Closeup of Santa's face.  Look at the rakish tilt to the little snowman's hat!

Closeup of snowmen

Enjoy
Judy

New Santa - Finished

Another Santa has been finished.  This one has a boxed body which allows him to sit very well.  He has "huge" sleeves that wrap around a Christmas tree as well as a reindeer.  I mentioned in yesterday's post how easy these reindeers were to make, therefore I had to be sure and make another one, he he.

Both the tree and reindeer have been glued to Santa, to ensure that they stay together as a group. 

A closeup of Santa's face, showing black button eyes, and a lovely mohair beard.

Can you just see the reindeer, tucked under Santa's arm?

I AM having fun!

Judy

To All A Goodnight

This is the name of a new pattern from The Olde Country Cupboard.  I had fun making it up today.  I stained a wooden crate that I had on hand to use as the bed.  Santa is sleeping soundly after reviewing his "nice" list.  One of his reindeers look on.  I have put a battery operated light at the base of the bed.  This can be turned on easily by twisting the top of the light.

The toy sack was stencilled with the word TOYS - this was the first time I used the stencil and I am delighted with the results.   The reindeer is freestanding, notice his cute stick legs, so he can be moved around.  Here he is looking at Santa from the base of the bed.

This photo is looking straight down on Santa, and you can see more detail on the reindeers face.

Only two more days before my friend Colleen goes home, and I will need to settle back into normal routine chores, eg NOT spending all my time in the studio.  It has been absolutely fantastic to get so many Christmas projects completed.  We are not finished yet, even though time is running out.

Hope you all have a great crafting weekend, no matter what the weather

Judy

Snowman Tree

My friend, Colleen from Colly's Christmas Crafts has designed a new Christmas tree decoration - Snowman Flakes.  These cute snowman ornaments have wire in their hats which enable them to be twisted around your tree branches.  Because I do not have my Christmas Tree up yet, I hung them in a tree in my garden.  They looked fantastic. 
All the cute snowflakes buttons can be purchased in store
These were quick and easy to make and the pattern will be available in my store, very soon. 

I will be putting these ones for sale in my store today

Enjoy

Judy

Snowman Fun

My friend and I visited the local Salvo's store and picked up some lovely glass sweet dishes.  We had been browsing through a Tilda pattern book and thought that they would look lovely as a base/holder for some little snowmen.

We used a basic snowman shape in two different sizes, stuffed them, gave them black bead eyes, and sculpted clay noses.  Wrapped them up in flannel scarfs and then glued them into the dishes.  We added some small polystyrene balls, and some fake snow, then sprinkled them with spiced snow flurries.  We were thrilled with the results...these would look great in your snowman display or as a table decoration.

It is amazing what you can use in your crafts...

More snow crafts coming ....

Judy

Santa in Chimney - Two completed

Today I completed two Santa's In Chimneys - this is based on a Sweet Dreams pattern.  It is a little different from your normal Santa projects.  The brick chimney effect is created by using a small zigzag stitch over a thin cord.  It looks really realistic.  The Santa is just placed inside the chimney, so it is a stand alone piece if you wanted to use it separately.

These two items will be part of a workshop that I will be teaching in our local area later in the year.  Simple enough for all levels of expertise.

As you can see from the above two photos, you can personalise the finished item, and make each one look different from the other.

Tomorrow we will be making snowmen. I love snowmen, even though it is not relevant to our Summer Christmases, I still like having a display.

Have you started your Christmas craft yet?

Judy

Another Finish - Reindeer

This reindeer has been adapted from a Tilda pattern.  Made from caramel felt and sitting nicely on a white rocker.
The reins are red cord and the Christmas bauble is from "Up In Annie's Room" and available in store.

He is available in store - $15.00 + postage

Hope you are having a great day

Judy

Santa's with Dangling Legs

I have had these two Santa bodies half finished for over 9 months, with a little free time, they have been completed.  The original pattern had been "put away" therefore a modified version was created.  The little doll shoes have been weighted, so that they dangle nicely over the edge of a bench or shelf.  What do you think of their string/jute legs? Each Santa is holding a toy ready to give to the children.  They measure 24cm seating, and approx 50 cm in total height

Next on my list was a felt reindeer, he has black cross stitches across the back of his body, and a hand sculpted nose,  Rusty jingle bells are on his stick antlers, and can you see the little red cardinal bird perched on the tip of his antler?  A big tartan bow around his neck completes him

It is great to start on my Christmas sewing, and having a friend in the studio with me is the best motivation

I wonder what we will play with tomorrow

Judy

Yummy Gingerbreads

Another Christmas project finished, a set of three cute gingerbread men (joined together).  These are made out of caramel coloured felt, and have been dusted with mica flakes and gingerbread spiced flurries.  They smell so sweet.  One of my handmade wooden signs completes the set

This will be added to the store today - $12.00 + postage. (SOLD)

I am going to finish off some string legged Santa's now, it is good to get some half finished projects completed. 

Judy

Remember Ernie?

Can you remember when I posted this article, back in June "Still Waiting"?  Ernie was looking a little neglected.

It is amazing what can be accomplished when you have a craft friend staying, it is the best motivation to get half finished projects completed.  This is just the first of many, that I hope to get finished this week.

This is Ernie, all dressed and looking fantastic.  He is available for sale for $20.00 plus postage.  If you are interested, just send me a email.

A great closeup of his "cheeky" face

He is MUCH happier now!

Ernie was made from a pattern from The Olde Country Cupboard

Have a great crafting weekend

Judy

Something Different

Just for something different, and something that could be completed in front of the TV, I put together these three sweet snowman boxes.  They were made from a printable purchased from Sunflower Friends and are designed to be cupcake boxes.  Not sure of the cupcake, but I will certainly be able to find lots of other uses for these boxes.  I think they would look nice filled with white Christmas or some other type of homemade chocolate treat, maybe layered on white marshmallows (to reflect snow) at Christmas time. 

I also received a parcel in the mail today from the USA, from a fellow blogger who read about my alternative to using freezer paper for printing on fabric.  I explained that it was not always easy to purchase freezer paper here, especially in a small country town, and she offered to send me some.  Some, it is a HUGE roll of 75 square feet, or for us Aussies 15.2 metres.  Gosh I will be able to go mad with my printing now, however I think I will share Selina's generosity with some of my fellow local crafters.  Thank you Selina.

Have a great weekend

Judy

Pink ribbon table decorations

My friend Sonia has made more fabric bon bons and little tissue covers for the Pink Ribbon Dinner in October.  We are going to fill them with goodies, chocolates, tea packets, mint matchbooks, all reflecting the "Pink Ribbon" theme closer to the date.

She has been able to source a variety of fabric, and they all look so cute

This is just a small sample of the ones that she made.  I will be adding the extra items closer to the date, and will share a photo when they are finished.

Thank you Sonia

Judy



Cards using embellishments from Store

Sister Sue has been helping to promote the new papercraft products which have been added to the store in the last month.

These cards have been created using some of the new products in store:

Happy Birthday Card - Using ribbon charm with heart (PBRC3631) and Martha Stewart bird punch ..

Floral card - Using flower embellishments, brads, ribbon and rub-ons

Happy birthday card - using a ribbon threader and vellum tags

Thank you card - using oval vellum tag  - this one is mine ... love the colours she has used, and it will be sent to a lovely lady in the USA.

Check out the store for more of these embellishments for your own card making

Judy

Clip Bookmarks

Just a little play time today, as I was busy preparing for a special guest to arrive.  My spare room becomes the "storage" area and a room where the clothes can be draped to dry.  With the arrival of my best friend on Friday, it was time to clear it out ...and make it look like a bedroom.

Two little paperclip bookmarks were made using Jumbo paperclips (75mm, available from your local newsagent) .  I glued a fabric brad to a large button and then glued it to the top of the paperclip.  Cut out a circle of felt to cover the back, and that is it.. this would be a great gift for a teacher, or to attach to a  gift voucher for a book store ...

Easily attaches to the pages of your book. These little gifts are great to have on standby for a quick present.

What did you make today?

Judy

Online Store updated

I have just spent the evening updating the online store with rusty tin products from the USA.  As well as wooden and cardstock shipping tags. The new core'dination core tags are quite interesting as they have a canvas like texture, and I believe you can emboss, sand and tear them.  I will have to try that for the "prim" look - I wonder how they will stain?  I will also try the distressed ink on the edges ... but what I really love about them is the metal ring around the tag hole, this will make them much stronger.

The other really cute and useful product is the foam cube christmas stamp - this will be ideal for smaller children as it is very easy to grip.  Imagine using these to stamp brown wrapping paper or white butchers paper for your gift wrap this christmas, very nice!

SOLD

Well, a lot of new products to try, so hopefully I will get a chance tomorrow

Judy

Wonderful Weekend Away

It is always nice to take a break and I had a wonderful weekend catching up with friends in Yass .. it is a half way location for friends from Sydney.  We had a birthday to celebrate and we had organised lunch at the fabulous "Flint In the Vines" restaurant at Murrumbateman.  This restaurant is located at Shaw Vineyard Estate.  On a rainy Saturday it was a warm and cozy place to settle in for some great food.  I can highly recommend the Rabbit & Nut Terrine with English pickilily & brioche - it was yummy

Back home, and time to catch up on online orders, but the two days of R & R was great and it recharged the batteries.

Hope you also had a great weekend

Judy

Christmas Mulberry Paper Die-Cuts

How sweet are these die-cuts for your Christmas projects.  They are designed for card making and paper crafts, however I cannot see any reason why they cannot be used for your other Christmas projects.  I can see this gorgeous Robin in the arms of a snowman... how about making a Stocking garland with the little fluffy topped stockings.  They are being added to the store this evening.

Mulberry paper has distinctive markings & texture that give it character & interest. No trees are cut down to make Mulberry Paper. The paper is made from the bark of the Mulberry Tree which peels from the trunk of the tree at the end of each rainy season - how good is that?

Judy