MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!

I will be taking a short blogging break returning on January 6, 2010!

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS....

This is the last of the Christmas cards (paper) for this season. These were completed for class samples - the same card done in two different paper lines - Making Memories and Basic Grey! Simple, fast and easy!

Baked some shortbread yesterday, have some pastry ready for mince tarts, puddings are completed and will be finishing up Christmas cake this am - a very busy kitchen. Not much studio time this week but plan to spend most of next week in the studio working on a variety of projects. Picked up the latest edition of Sew Somerset and as always, so much inspiration! Received a lovely package of goodies from Trudi - thank you girlfriend!

I'll have another post tomorrow am with Christmas wishes......

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house......"

AND THE STOCKINGS......

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there....

Well, they are not exactly hung up but thought I would share these anyway. Several years back I was experimenting with stocking patterns and various fabric combinations, trims etc. I came up with these! Cuffs are fur, fringe trim and a feather boa. Fabrics are cottons and upholstery.

Two more sleeps.......

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Today I'm sharing a digital design I created for some gift tags. The tags measure 2x4" and I added an eyelet to one corner so a string/ribbon could be attached. I also ended up using the design in our Christmas cards this year which I'll be sharing later this week. I packed them up in cellophane bags with hand dyed perle cotton yarn and a christmas button. Have used them to add to several gift baskets and as smaller gifts. Products used are by Sande Krieger, Carla Gibson and Katie Pertiet.

I spent yesterday in the kitchen preparing the fruit for my Christmas cake which I'll make either today or tomorrow. The aroma is wonderful as it is currently marinating in sherry. Also made several traditional Christmas puddings, one of which we steamed last night and ate. It was very good but I always think they are better when left for a year then eaten. Richer and darker.....

Some last minute shopping and errands today. Until tomorrow.....

As Christmas nears, I thought it was about time to share Christmas decor in my home. Since photos were taken I've added tinsel to the tree - somehow it didn't seem finished without it! I have a rather extensive santa collection - seems like a walk down memory lane when I bring them out each year. I've had my glass vase for many years which sits on a sofa table. This year I went with a more natural theme. There are twigs, small wreaths resembling birds nests, birds and butterflies. I have two bundles of lights inside so at night the piece is lit up which looks lovely. I am lucky to have a very talented florist in town! Finally, our mantle which I had showed a sneak peak in a previous post several weeks back. It is very different than previous years, again more natural. I had seen a similar photo in a magazine layout. I used books I had around the house, depression glass, potpourri, twig balls, the blocks I had done, various ornaments for glitz and some votive candles. The "clocks" in the background are printed on paper!!! I am really happy with the results. Chat tomorrow....

Today is the last of my paper entries for the week, a Christmas album I designed for a class. I believe the chipboard accordian style album is by Melissa Frances as are the papers used. It comes in a box (first photo) so great for storage. Lots of pockets, envelopes and attachments to house holiday photos. Hope you have enjoyed my paper week. Enjoy your weekend! More goodies on Monday......

A couple more Christmas cards to share. Once again, the same card completed using two different selections of papers, both 5x5.

Am currently working on "skinnies" in the studio - will be sharing these in the New Year!

We are big So You Think You Can Dance fans and enjoyed the season finale last evening. So fun to watch the incredibly gifted participants grow on the show.

Ho Ho Ho!

Some gift tags to share today. I made these up with scraps of Basic Grey Figgy Pudding I had from previous projects. They make great additions to gift baskets when packaged up.

I came across this fabulous snowflake ornament on Karoline's blog - what a great idea!

Enjoy your day!

When I teach card classes, I always try to give students a comparison using different papers. You can easily change the look of a card simply by changing the papers but using the same design. Above shows this - the same design. One uses Basic Grey papers and the other uses Making Memories. Both cards measure 5x5".

Am currently working on several different fabric techniques in the studio which I'll be sharing once the holiday season is done.

Off to play with some digital today!

Hope all of you enjoyed your weekend! I see I have picked up some more followers - THANK YOU!

This week is all about paper!

These are hostess gifts of tiny little gift tags. The tins are available here. The tags and tin were decorated with scraps from various projects. I cut a strip of scrapbook paper and wrapped the tin sides. There are 12 tags per tin. Once complete I added a ribbon, small tag and button for decoration. The bottom of the tins have a label telling the receiver what is in the tin. I was happy with the results and so far, they've been a big hit!

Finished wrapping presents this weekend with some deliveries following. More to give out today.

More paper goodies tomorrow.......

Today I wanted to share what you can create with fabric strips. From my quilting days, I seemed to have a lot of strips of fabric so I compiled them in the colours of cream, black and white and added a bit of sparkly tule and came up with the garland in the first photo. The second photo is the last of the drapery rings I found at the thrift store tied with the same fabric strips - added a silver chipboard bird for a bit of glitz! Yes, I have a fireplace in my studio since in another time, it was our rec room!

Yesterday, I had several art friends over - what did we do!? We created a Christmas recipe album! All the pages are pockets that hold those treasured recipes.

So far, I've shared a week of buttons, a week of fabric and fibre so we are going to move onto paper next week. Enjoy your weekend - more ideas on Monday!

I've been experimenting with some fabric backgrounds and molding paste to create various textures. The star is created with one of my experiments - sewn and stuffed. Edges are crocheted yarn stitched on.

I found the drapery rings at the thrift store for 75 cents and since I had created my previous wreath which was larger, thought these would work well for gift accents. The green one is fuzzy yarn, a sentiment printed up on the computer and glued down. Finishing touch is an accent of glitter. The second one is wrapped with a thin red yarn, wrapped again with coloured wire with some ribbon and a small bow attached. I'll show you the third one tomorrow.

Cooking day yesterday for a luncheon today. Open House at our local scrapbook store later so off to see what goodies I can find there.

More tomorrow - enjoy your day!

My friend, Judith McCarthy is a doll artist in Australia. She recently posted photos of felted flowers she had made on the www.fiberartsmixedmedia.ning.com site. I couldn't resist giving them a try as I've been learning some stitches and practicing of late. I cut two circles of felt in different greens then attached various beads and buttonhole stitched the edges. Although not specifically geared to Christmas, I thought these could make nice additions to parcels in place of bows. Give it a try, they are quite fun to make!

I know many of you know Dawn but for those who don't go over and visit her blog. She is having a lovely giveaway to celebrate her 1200th post and almost 400 followers! Way to go Dawn!

I came across a site recently in the U.K. , Talking Threads profiling various textile artists. Scroll down the page and there is a list of 8 episodes, all about 30 minutes in length. It is well worth a visit!

More tomorrow.....

Last year I came across a tutorial on making this fabric ball on Melissa's blog. The ball was made as an accompanying piece in a photo of a card she had made but I gather there were so many requests on how to make it she later added a tutorial. Start with a styrofoam ball - I'd recommend small as this does use up quite a bit of fabric. I picked up a container of some straight pins at the dollar store and tore various Christmas fabric and scrap ribbon in strips. These were then folded over and attached to the ball with a pin working from the bottom up. A bow was added on the top as a final touch. Quite an easy addition to your Christmas decor!

Studio day yesterday "playing". Am experimenting with some backgrounds for several upcoming skinny pages. Errand day today then I hope to spend some more time in the studio. More fabric/fiber tomorrow.......

I've been working with fabric and fibers! I'll be sharing fabric/fiber projects for Christmas this week!

I came across a yarn wrapped wreath in a Christmas magazine several weeks ago and have been on the lookout for something I could use at the thrift store. Low and behold, found the above for 25 cents last week. Picked up a very inexpensive ball of wool and wrapped the wreath, attached some Christmas ribbon and a Christmas button. Simple yet effective. This will make a lovely addition to a larger parcel or as a house decoration - not sure where it will go yet.

Had a creative weekend with all day Sunday spent in the studio, some Christmas socializing, wrapping presents and odds and ends around the house. Always lots of activity this time of year.

I visited Marie Otero's blog last week. She had a most entertaining YouTube video on the site. It is worth watching - you can find it here. Enjoy!

My last post for buttons this week. Saved the best for last! During my blog hopping a few weeks ago I came across this site which has a tutorial on making this button wreath. What a great idea so naturally I had to give it a try. Rather fun to make. I have spent minimal time in the studio over the last number of days so this weekend is studio time - yeh! There are a few craft shows so think I'll stop by and see what's new - you just never know where ideas are going to come from. Next week I'll be sharing fabric and fibre projects for Christmas. Enjoy your weekend!

In the past I have instructed card and album classes. Designs are generally based on the paper line the retailers wish to market. These two cards were part of a Christmas card class two years ago with the very popular Basic Grey Figgy Pudding line. Since they both included buttons, thought I would include them for today's button idea! Both measure 5x5 inches.

Woke up to frost this morning with with a chilly temp of 0 (32F). Many of you easterners will be laughing as this would not be considered that cold - here on the coast it is cold! Brrrrrr....

Experimented with some fabric backgrounds in the studio yesterday and went on to play around with constructing some Christmas ornaments. Don't like them so will have to experiment some more.

I came across an incredible site out of the UK yesterday for textile artists at www.talkingthreads.co.uk. Scroll down the main page as they offer 8 - 30 minute video segments on various textile techniques. Worth the visit......

Company tonight for dinner so preparation day today with a little art mixed in!

Enjoy your day......

MORE BUTTONS!

More buttons! I believe the latest edition of Somerset Life showed some ornaments with buttons in them so here is my version. Of course the ornaments could be filled with anything you wish - beads, quotes.

Not much to report art wise today as yesterday was an errand day! Today is an ART day!

Thank you all for your kind comments about my being published and my tags!

Back with more buttons tomorrow......

PUBLISHED and BUTTONS!

I received an unexpected surprise yesterday with the arrival of the winter Take Ten! My fabric stars got published! They are super easy to make - just take some muslin, stamp it as desired and cut into shapes. I used a cuttlebug and spellbinders star dies.

I did say I would be focusing on buttons this week. The last photo shows using buttons to create a snowman and as a tree topper. Fun and easy.....

I spent yesterday printing up my christmas cards and polishing up my christmas newsletter so all are ready to be mailed this week.

More tomorrow.......