Ok, its official. Christmas is now only 25 days away. Exciting, but YIKES! Time to buckle down and get busy!

I love this gorgeous antique copper Victorian key! Looks just like something Santa would carry-a magic key in order to enter homes that don’t have fireplaces. This would be a great way to put children’s minds at ease who worry about such things!

All of the ingredients to make Santa’s key card are found in the vintage Victorian Christmas kit. To start, I simply covered a thick piece of cardboard (cut down to 2″x5″) with sheet music, then trimmed the corners to make a tag. I then adhered the Santa dresden image and added some of the foliage that comes in the kit for a bit more texture. I used a punch to create the tab, but you could easily use just a small rectangle folded in half for the same effect. After writing “Santa’s key” on the tab, staple to the tag. I then added a large eyelet at the top and glitter along the sides. Add the key with ribbon, and its all set! Decorate a package, hang on the tree, or add an even longer ribbon and hang on the outside doorknob so Santa can visit!

Here’s a pocket card made again from elements from the Victorian Christmas kit. I love pocket cards-adds another simple dimension, and more surface area for stuff!

This little vintage crepe rosette was inspired by the one Anabelle made (check out Anabelle’s Guest Designer projects HERE).  Love how it frames that gorgeous vintage foiled Christmas label!

Ok, now this little sheet music disc is something I’ve enjoyed making so much, I’ve made several different types and I’m going to do a tutorial on it on Friday’s post.  It adds so much to the top of that tag! So, check back on Friday!

For the card insert, I simply covered a large manilla tag with sheet music, but added a cardstock area in order to write a greeting.

I think this pocket card would be a great not only as a Christmas card, but to also hold a gift card and stick in someone’s stocking…

See you Friday!
Michelle… Read the rest

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend.  Our family had a wonderful time with our families in Windsor and at our cabin in Estes Park.  It was a cold weekend, but there was a wood burning fire all weekend and good company to go with it.  When I get together with my sibilings we laugh so hard about old times and new times.  Our kids just look at us like we are crazy.  They will get it when they get older.

Today, I worked on a fun Christmas Layout and vintage Jar Decoration using our Victorian and Retro Christmas Kits.  They turned out really cute. 

The pictures on the layout are of our Christmas Tree last year and a cool picture of one of our windows early in the morning.  It was cold and we had had a nice snow storm earlier in the week.  It really was Home for the Holidays.

Along with my own pictures I added a vintage post card.  I just matted it on blue cardstock and layered it on the page with pop dots to give it a little more dimension.

Another fun thing I added was a cut out piece from some of the patterened paper provided in the kit.  The only additional thing I added to this piece was some gold glitter.  Everything looks better with a little sparkle.

The other easy and fun project I did was to decorate a vintage bottle I had.  This decoration could be left on and saved for next year or could be removed.  Here is a close up picture of this fun jar.

You could fill this jar with glitter, powdered sugar, red hots or some other vintage Christmas candy.  It would only add more fun color to your decoration.

I hope you enjoyed these projects and they inspire you to start or keep creating for this Christmas.

Have a great week and create everyday.

Allison… Read the rest

All Christmas is on sale through Monday. Now is the time to stock up on Retro Stockings, Reflectors, Christmas Labels and Christmas Kits to craft a most memorable Christmas! Check out the store for the savings!… Read the rest

Make these 4 project ideas from one collage created from vintage ingredients from the Retro Christmas kit and Vintage Victorian Christmas kit.

Ingredients:

Illustrated book paper (Retro Christmas kit)

Sheet music/book paper (Victorian Christmas kit)

Antique silver glitter

Mod Podge

Foam brush

12×12 cardboard

Corrugated cardboard pieces

Fan brush

White acrylic paint

Adhesive

ribbons, extra embellishments

Step 1:

Carefully arrange sheet music and book paper on the 12×12 sheet of cardboard. Once you have the desired arrangement, adhere each piece to the cardboard using Mod Podge and a foam brush. Trim out images and arrange across sheet music and book paper. As you are arranging, pay careful attention to placement of the images, and consider how the collage will be cut to create the projects.

Step 2:

Once the images have been arranged, adhere to the paper using Mod Podge. Then, add a layer of Mod Podge across the top of the entire collage. Allow to dry, then repeat 2-3 times, at least, or more if desired, allowing each layer to dry for a few minutes in between applications. Please note, that the paper will buckle, but once the Mod Podge is dry, will lay flat. After applying the last application of Mod Podge, sprinkle glitter lightly across the top. The glitter will remain in the Mod Podge when dry, and will keep the sparkle.

Step 3:

Once the Mod Podge is entirely dry, paint the edges of the collage with a very small amount of white acrylic paint using a fan brush. Allow the paint to dry.

Step 4:

Cut down the collage to create the fronts of your projects. From this collage, I was able to create a mini album, flip notebook, giftcard postcard, and gift pocket.

Project Ideas:

To create gift pocket:

Trim out the area of the collage that will be the front of the pocket. Be sure to use a ruler when measuring and mark cut marks using a pencil (which can easily be erased). It is important to cut the collage as precisely as possible.

Once the front is cut, measure the same size from a piece of corrugated cardboard (this will be the back of the pocket). Decorate the back of the cardboard if desired:

Either using a stapler, or a glue gun, adhere the sides together. Be sure not to glue the top, as this will be the pocket. With a Crop-a-dile, punch holes at each side, and create a hanger (this example uses the holly from the Victorian Christmas kit).  Further embellish if desired. This is a  great pocket to hold a CD, or a new pair of mittens!

To create giftcard postcard:

Trim out postcard from collage, and embellish front with ribbon. I also stamped a greeting on this one. On the back of the card, cover the exposed cardboard.

Decorate a library card pocket, and adhere to the card back. Insert a giftcard and put in someone’s stocking!

To create flip notebook:

Cut notebook cover from collage. This sample … Read the rest

There’s still time for Christmas creating! Visit the STORE to take advantage of these newly reduced Christmas items-now through Monday November 29th.… Read the rest