Easy Nativity Centerpiece

We all know how crazy schedules can be during the holidays, so I really love a timesaver -- especially something that is quick and easy but still looks fantastic.  The ladies in our church congregation were getting together for a lovely Christmas dinner and asked for volunteers to decorate and set the tables, and I wanted to put together something that was classy and elegant, but not too hard to transport.  Solution?  The Christmas Village cartridge from ScrapbookPal.com!

I love nativity scenes -- just a sweet reminder to keep Christ as the reason for the season, right?  I cut the Baby Jesus at 5 1/2", Mary at 6", and Joseph at 8".  Then I gathered up some Christmas decorations from elsewhere in the house to put together the rest of the centerpiece -- an amaryliss, an apothecary jar full of ornaments, and a silver-colored charger with spanish moss to serve as a base for my nativity figures.  The red fabric is actually a twin sheet artfully folded, and the striped fabric is just a long strip of material.  The green runner I got on clearance at IKEA for 99 cents. 

Making this little centerpiece set my wheels turning about all sorts of handy reasons you might need a really portable nativity scene.  Do you have a loved one in the military or maybe away at college?  Maybe you're not in a position to buy a fancy nativity scene or you just don't have any room to store decorations through the year?  These pretty figures can be tucked into an envelope until next year, or you could just cut more out next year.

Many blessings to all this beautiful Christmas season! 

My "grown-up" Christmas trees...

When I saw this tutorial on Shanty2Chic (via Infarrantly Creative), I knew I had to make my own ASAP.

See, I had these paper mache trees that I bought years ago from Oriental Trading.  I always intended to do something cute and whimsical with them, but they just sat, unloved and uncrafted, in their box in the top of the closet.  Until now!  I've been loving all the natural, vintage-y Christmas decorations out in blogland this year, so I decided I was going to make myself some Christmas trees just for me!  Pretty much all our Christmas decor is the fun, bright, whimsical variety, which I love, but you gotta switch things up sometimes, right?

For the tallest tree, I cut 2" wide lengths of linen (I think it was 45"), folded them in half, and pressed them.  Then I sewed a basting stitched down the non-folded edge, then gathered each strip, just a little.  Starting at the bottom of the cone, I hot-glued each strip around and around the tree.  I think the big tree took 3 strips.  The star on top is a kraft paper-mache ornament from the craft store.  I was going to do something fancy with it, but I decided it was very happy staying kraft paper.

For the middle tree, I used a border punch to create 1 1/2" strips of paper.  I cut V-shaped slits every few inches so that I could fit the paper to cone as I wrapped it around.  I crinkled up the paper before hot-gluing it on, just to give it more texture.  This one took about 1 1/4 pieces of kraft paper.  After the cone was covered, I hot glue pearl bead "ornaments" to the tree.

For the littlest tree, I used the same technique as the big tree, but instead of fabric I used one of those cheap bolts of lace from Joann's.  I think the whole bolt was a dollar at most, and I only used about half of it.

Now, my intention when I started was to use the little pot bases that came with the trees, but they just didn't have the elegant vintage touch I was looking for.  Luckily I had already scheduled a trip to Star Mill in American Fork.  It's an amazing antique/junk shop, and it is my new happy place.  I found this PERFECT spindle for $1.50, just begging to be turned into tree trunks.  Well, I've never been one to crush the life dreams of inanimate objects, so of course I had to take it home and cut it into three fun tree trunks, which I then hot-glued to the cones.

But then, alas, the trees were so top-heavy they could not stand on their own.  I thought about gluing them all down to a plank of wood, but I wanted to be able to arrange them independently.  I hunted around my craft room for ideas... CD's covered with kraft paper?  Too flat and too boring and not vintage enough.  Empty ribbon spools?  Too much work to unspool ribbon and find it a new home, and then still not super stable.  And so on... Finally, inspiration!  One of my little hobbies is designing and cutting snowflake ornaments out of wood with a laser cutter, and I happened to have a little stack of unpainted snowflakes that worked perfectly as bases for my trees.   

(Happy sigh...)  Don't you just love it when something you've envisioned turns out even better in real life?  These make me happy every time I go through my entryway!

I hope you are all having a delightful Christmas with your families and giving yourself time to create something beautiful!

 

P.S.  I'm entering this in the Kraft Journal's Holiday Challenge -- if you love kraft paper like I do, you should go check it out!

Sing Joyful Tidings -- ScrapbookPal.com

Looking for the Blog Hop?  Scroll down!

For the month of December, ScrapbookPal.com sent me the Christmas Village cartridge, and what drew my eye first were the fabulous vintage caroler silhouettes!  I have a secret ambition to dress up like that some day and go caroling, but don't tell my husband -- he already thinks I'm waaaay to crazy about Christmas...

I have a few vintage Christmas songbooks that I stole inherited from my grandmother, so I scanned in "The First Noel" and printed it out to use as my background.  Then I cut the caroler at 4" and adhered her to this vintage kraft tag my mom got for me at an antique fair in England -- ah, she knows me so well.  It needed a little somethin', but luckily I had also received some Christmas-colored Stickles in my package, so I added a nice big wreath with just a little bit of sparkle.  I distressed everything with chalk ink.  So fun and festive, but still with that elegant vintage feel.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Advent -- ScrapbookPal.com Christmas Blog Hop!

Welcome to old and new friends -- it's time for the ScrapbookPal.com Design Team Blog Hop!  We wanted to spread some Christmas cheer with a bunch of very fun projects AND give you a chance to win your choice of Cricut cartridges!  Full details below my project -- on to the good stuff!


If you've been here before, you may remember my Halloween countdown calendar project.  I got several requests for a tutorial, so I thought it would make a perfect project for our Christmas blog hop!  Once you see how easy this is, you'll definitely want to make one for your own kids.  (Or just for yourself... I'm not judging...)


Step 1:  Get a muffin tin.  I chose a 12-muffin version, but I've also seen super cute ones done with the 24-mini-muffin tins.  I'm just too lazy to do that one...  The only thing to keep in mind is that, if you want to punch holes for hanging ribbon, you need to get a tin without a big lip on it, as shown here.

Step 2: Punch holes at the top of the tin and set eyelets.  I did mine with a Cropodile, but you could probably also use a drill.  Seriously, though, if you don't have a Cropodile, it's worth the investment.  If you don't want to put holes in your tin, you could always display it on an easel.

Step 3:  Choose a few sheets of paper.  I always use a coordinating set that is double-sided, which takes care of a lot of the work.  Cut 12 squares at 3 1/4" each.  Use a corner-rounder on the corners.  Alternately, you could cut rounded squares with your Cricut.

Step 4:  Lay out your squares on your muffin tin to make sure you like the order and placement of the various patterns.  If you're like me, though, you'll still end up switching them around a little (as you'll see if you compare this pic with the finished product).

Step 5:  Decorate each square with die cuts, trim, and bits and bobs from your stash.  I know we're all suckers for Christmas embellishments, and this is a great project to use them.  I love the fun, whimsical artwork from the Christmas Cheer cartridge, and I always think it's fun to add little touches to tie it into the patterned paper (like the black pen outline on the die cuts).  And of course you have to add some glitter when it's Christmas!  Also, I used my Gypsy to plan everything out before I cut, which made things a LOT easier.*

Voila!  A fun 12-days-of-Christmas advent calendar!  I fill each tin with little goodies from the dollar store, like pencils, stickers, socks, and a few treats.  If the item is too big for the space, I leave a note inside telling what it is.  My kids LOVED the one for Halloween, and when they saw me making this one they were practically beside themselves.  What can I say?  I have them well-trained. :)

Oops, I forgot Step 6 -- Adhere little magnets on the backs of the corners of each square so they'll stick to the muffin tin.  After the holiday is over, you can just put all 12 into a little envelope and keep them safe til next year. :)



Materials:  Die cuts -- Cricut Mini-Monograms (scallop circles), Winter Woodland (numbers), and Christmas Cheer (everything else) cartridges; Patterned paper -- SEI; Felt shapes and ricrac -- Fancy Pants; Letter stickers and jewels -- Queen & Co.; Baker's twine -- Martha Stewart; Metal tag -- DCWV; Glitter glue -- Stickles; Distressing ink -- Clearsnap Cat's Eye chalk ink


Okay, so now I'll tell you how to win a cartridge...

Here's how to play:
Start at the ScrapbookPal.com blog, become a follower.  Visit each of the design team blogs below and leave a comment on their blog in their post regarding the blog hop.  When you've done this on all the blogs, go to the ScrapbookPal.com blog, leave a comment stating that you have completed the hop.  You can also become a follower of each of the designer's blogs but it is not a requirement to win.  

ScrapbookPal Blog (http://www.scrapbookpal.blogspot.com/)
Jamie Cripps (http://jamielanedesigns.blogspot.com/)
Rowena Valentine (http://www.creativegenealogyscrapbooking.com/)
Crystal Butler (http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/)
Amy Crockett (http://www.scrappingmommy.com/)
Tammy White (http://theeventqueen.blogspot.com/)
Leah Cornelius(http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/)
You are here!  ----->Tomi Ann Hill (http://tomiannie.blogspot.com/)
Cheryl Walker (http://sweeetdesignsbycheryl.blogspot.com/)
ScrapbookPal Blog (http://www.scrapbookpal.blogspot.com/)

Happy hopping and Merry Christmas!

*P.S.  If you'd like the Gypsy file that has everything I did for this whole project, please let me know.  I'm not at home right now because our furnace died and it's super cold so we took refuge at my parents' house, but I'd be happy to post a link when we get home!

Merry Christmas!

I have an album specifically for Christmas, but I am woefully behind.  So I was very happy to have my ScrapbookPal.com DT assignment to motivate me to dig out some old pictures and get to work.  This month I am working with the Joys of the Season cartridge and Glaze pens.  The only problem was I could NOT decide which cuts I wanted to use!  I decided that if I used the ornament feature, I could use a bunch of my favorite designs without making the layout too crazy.*

I used my Gypsy to plan out the whole layout.  First, I created a sort of sketch on my screen, planning where everything should go and making sure all the elements were the right size.  Then I rearranged the elements into one block for each color so I could cut out all the elements at the same time.  Saves a lot of time!  The row of small ornaments on the bottom are cut at about 1.75", and the big gold ornament at the top is about 2.5".  (The pointy ornament is a chipboard photo turn from this paper collection.)  I cut "Merry Christmas" using the shadow function at about 3", then used my Glaze pens to add the detail of the letters.  I love how whimsical and fun it turned out. I used a white Glaze pen to create the little numbers for the date.  Oh, dang it!  I just realized I put in the wrong year.  Well, I'll be fixing that as soon as I finish posting... :)

When I went to put everything together, the title was really getting lost on that busy ornament background, so I cut a gigantic red ornament to make a nice background for it.  The ornament is about 8" wide, and I added a yellow scallop-edged strip at the top to give it a little detail. 

Other materials: Patterned chipboard -- Daisy D's; Glimmer mist -- Tattered Angels; baker's twine -- Martha Stewart; scallop-edge punch -- Stampin' Up

When you're doing all your holiday shopping, don't forget some goodies to stuff your own stocking with!  ScrapbookPal.com has free shipping for orders over $25 and they ship same day.  After all, you've been good all year! :)

*Actually, this layout is a little crazy for my tastes.  But isn't that kind of how Christmas is?  All the decorations and the presents and the kids in their bright pajamas?  I'm just going to run with it...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I really, really love Christmas!  I would seriously start celebrating in mid-September if I could get away with it, but somehow that's not okay... unless you're Costco, I guess.  The people around here want to celebrate things like Halloween and Thanksgiving, the weirdies... :)  But one of the benefits of being a crafter is that you have a great excuse to start your own personal celebrations early -- after all, you've got to be prepared ahead of time, right?

This month ScrapbookPal.com sent me the "Joys of the Season" cartridge to play with, and I was very very happy.  This is one of my all-time fave cartridges -- I love the elegant shapes and all the different goodies on the cartridge.  My first assignment this month was to create a card, and I did start out with that in mind, but then I thought, "What good is a card at Christmas without some chocolate to go with it?!"  So I turned my card into a big tag for a jar of Candy Cane Kisses (oh, yum!).

I used my Gypsy to size everything on this tag just right, but I'll give you the basic measurements. I cut the ornament tag base at about 4", then the wreath at about 3 1/2" and Santa at about 2 3/4".  I used adhesive foam to give dimension to all the different layers.  I also used Creamy Brown chalk ink for distressing, and these awesome Glaze pens to add some accents.  The smaller tag is just a die-cut from this Basic Grey paper pack with a couple little paper strips added.

These Glaze pens are so cool, because the create a raised effect like embossing.  I was just going to use them for accenting my die cuts, but then I read on the package that they can write on glass!  Well, that's just cool, right?  So I used them to add some vine-y artwork to my jar, and it turned out beautiful.  They write really smoothly on the glass and dry quickly.  (It didn't show up very well in the first photograph, so here's another with a white background so you can see it better.)

Bonus projects!  Like I said at the beginning, this cartridge is one of my favorites, and I use it for all sorts of projects.  I thought I'd include a little trip down memory lane, sharing some of my favorite Joys of the Season cards and other goodies:

BBTB Scrapnfonts Challenge!

Another fun Christmas project for you! This week at Bitten By The Bug our challenge was to use the Christmas card from the Christmas Cheer cartridge along with a great font (SNF Classy Charm) and doodlebat (Tis the Season Modern) set from Scrap-n-Fonts. I used SCAL to cut the big snowflake from the doodlebat set and "JOY" from the font -- I LOVE having SCAL and being able to do that! I cut them from chipboard and covered them with white glitter, then added the cute little Santa from Christmas Cheer (he's cut at 2"). The papers are from Pebbles, Inc (the same collection I used on the nutcup project last week). So festive! TFL!

It's never too early for a little more Christmas!

I had SO much fun with this week's Bitten By The Bug challenge! Regina asked us to use the nutcup from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More for a Christmas project, which is really a great cut. It's cute as is, or it's a great blank canvas for all sorts of decoration! I cut the box at 5 1/2", which made a very good size nutcup. The finished project is about 3" tall, plus the ribbon. I added these adorable Hero Arts stamps, which I colored with Prismas and Gamsol and added some stickles just for fun. The round journaling spot above is from 7Gypsies, and I used a Stampin Up scallop punch for the circle behind it. PP is all from Pebbles, Inc. Check out all the other BBTB creations this week -- you'll definitely feel the Christmas spirit begin to flow! (And if you're still not in the mood for Christmas, there is a really cute Halloween take on it, too.) TFL!

Bitten by the Bug Christmas card

Ah, the first Christmas card of the season (for me, at least -- I know there are lots of you cardmakers who've been going since July!) -- this really gets me in the mood for my favorite season of the year! Our assignment at BBTB this week was to use this tree tag shape from the Joys of the Season cartridge with the card feature. I cut the card at 5 1/2", then cut the tree shape at 4" on real dial size in chipboard, light green, and polka dot green cardstocks for the different layers. I added rhinestones for a little bling and this great "celebrate the season" stamp from Stampin Up, done with white embossing powder. The pps are from Imaginisce. The scallop edge was done with the Fiskars Threading Water punch. TFL!

Christmas Cuties

Our challenge for BBTB this week was to use this adorable stocking from Christmas Cheer in a non-traditional color (anything but red). Although I don't usually make layouts before I have pictures, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this one! (Waiting for this baby has done this to me a lot!) My SIL is having a baby any day now, and we're so looking forward to having our two little babies at the same time. We'll be together at Christmas, and I thought this would be just perfect for some Christmas pictures of our two little lovies together. The only catch is, they don't know whether they're having a boy or a girl -- they're some of those crazy people who like to be surprised... ;) Luckily, this paper and layout have enough pink and blue that we could fit a baby boy in there if we HAVE to, hee hee!

Materials used:
Patterned Paper: Scenic Route
"Celebrate the Season" Stamp and Scallop Punch: Stampin' Up
Journaling Stamp: Autumn Leaves
Acrylic letters and heart: Heidi Swapp (I used acrylic paint to highlight the edges and sewed them to the page with pink embroidery floss)
"Christmas": Cricut Opposites Attract cartridge, sized and welded in CDS, in both chipboard and cardstock
Stocking: Cricut Christmas Cheer cartridge, cut at 4" and embossed with the Cuttlebug. Top and toe are covered in fun flock!
Snowflake: Cricut Christmas Cheer cartridge
Cardstock: DCWV

Here are some close ups of my favorite elements: