Christmas at my house 2012

 

 

SHARING TIME! 

 

The box and tags shown in the photos below are a workshop that I put together for the Holidays 2012.  We have been busy making Christmas tags/ornaments in my home studio at the Creative Hearts Workshops that I hold four times a month.  I am presently putting together the schedule for new workshops and classes starting in January 2013.  I can't believe the new year is approaching so fast!  I thought you might like some tag ideas to attach to gifts as Christmas is less than a week away! 

 

The following are a little gallery of close-ups for you to peruse.

 

Below is the embellished pillow box to store them all in!



 

 

Here are some little Reindeer that I created last year.  I think they are fun!

 

That is it for the crafty ideas.  Now I am going to share one of our Christmas traditions that we enjoy every year.

So!  Here is my Christmas card for you!  We traveled to a tree farm up by Silver Falls, Oregon to pick out our tree.  We shop at this one every year for our tree and love the family that owns the farm.  It gets us in the Christmas Spirit!

 

We walked through the forest of Christmas trees, looking for the perfect nobles to take home with us!  My daughter Lauren found the tree this year.

 It looked about the right height and was a lovely tree!  Think that is the one!

 

So, below she is marking our tree by tying a ribbon around a branch.  We also picked out a smaller tree for our family room.  As the years pass, I have to indulge my sentimental side by having a tree to accommodate all of the decorations that mean so much to me!  The smaller tree is a "country" theme and many of the homespun ornaments go on that tree.  I don't have a picture of it to show on here.....

 

Ok.  So we get this tree home.......and go to put it up......and guess what?!  It is a huge freaking tree and bigger around than we usually get.  It just didn't look quite this big in the forest.  It took a ladder to add lights and decorations.  The stool that I usually use to decorate just wasn't cutting it as you can see in the photo below!  My husband spent about four hours getting all of the lights on....just right.....had to be perfect!  Lol.

Viola'!  Shown below is the tree after we added the lights and decorations.  This is the living room and everyone gathers here to watch the TV when it is movie time.  BTW, my hubby got a new television that now takes the spot of the one in the entertainment center for Christmas.  It is already installed...we have the 3-D glasses ready to go and now I need to fill in the big hole that is gaping under the new television set.  I could use some ideas.......Had to move my Nativity scene too.....drat!

 

We like lots of lights at Christmas time.  They makes things merrier and brighter and also...cozier!  Funny though, as good as they make me feel, it seems like we are always ready to take them down and put them away when it is all over.  :-(

 

The final picture I will leave you with is the one of my "fake" tree in the dining room.  I love romantic country chic, so there has to be a little of that to look at as well!  I use boa on the branches and I love the way it kind of looks like snow and fluffs up the tree!

From my house to yours, I send wishes for a very happy Holiday Season and a Blessed Christmas!  May we all find joy in the little things and not forget to be thankful in all of it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

 

Blessings!

 

Marilyn

The Twelve Days of Christmas - in a gift book!

 

 

Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye!  I have designed a 12 days of Christmas book for a Workshop and I would like to share it with you today.

This little book takes some time to make because it has a lot of cuts from the Cricut machine as well as by hand.  I used Close To My Heart papers and the Cricut cartridges made especially for them.  This makes it even more special because a lot of loving care went into making it.

 

Pictured above is the book outside of the special box it is stored in.  You can stand it up as you turn the pages, as shown.  Each page has a pocket that can hold a gift card or special memento for that day.  The recipient will get a little surprise for each day as shown below.  Counting.....12, 11.....

10, 9.......

 



 

8, 7.....the 7th day actually has a detachable Christmas card!

 

6, 5.......

 

 

Day four has a little package that opens up... then 3...

 

two, one!

 

Merry Christmas!  Day 12 and December 25th!

Wouldn't it be fun to include a gift card from several of

your recipient's favorite stores or coffee shops?  Little

promissory notes or sentiments can be tucked in too!

Here's wishing you a wonderful Christmas season!  I will be giving this

book to someone special.  I hope you got some inspiration today and for lots more, make sure to hop forward or back on the blue button at the top of the page and see the ideas from other designers.  Have a great day!

 

Happy Holiday Crafting!

 

Marilyn



Decorating for the Holidays!

Wow!  It is nearly December!  By now, many of us have started our decorating, because we know if we blink our eyes, it will soon be January!  I love Christmas and I want to enjoy every minute of the month of December, so my decorating starts now! 

I love to decorate with garlands, banners, wreaths, and lots of other things that need to be hung up!  I have a little box that I keep my decorated Crazy TACKz in.  This one in the picture is one that I created for one of our sales team.  Take a peek inside and you will see some of the fun ways to decorate your CraZy TACKz before you use them to "hook it up" for the Holidays!

CraZy TACKz are especially useful in drywall, but they also work nicely in cork board, foam, and soft wood.  If I am affixing them to a surface where they will be permanent, such as a piece of wall decor, I use glue to secure them to the surface I am working with.

 

 

Here is a little closer view of the decorated Tackz.  I have used themed stickers, die-cuts, paper punches, rhinestones, sequins, and acrylic paint to embellish them.  A 1/16" hole punch works very well to make the little hole to push the Tackz through. 

I hope you are anticipating the Holidays and find time for joy in all the hustle and bustle of shopping, decorating and chores!  Make it a great December and a Happy Holiday season!

Happy Holiday Crafting!

 

Marilyn

Design Consultant for

CraZy TACKz

www.crazytackz.com

 

 

 

 

 



Celebrate the Seasons
with Smoothfoam
 

It won't be long now and we will be putting up our Christmas decorations and presents under the tree!  The seasons pass very quickly and this year, I for one, want to be ready!

For this Smoothfoam  challenge, I have come up with a winter decoration that can be changed up for Spring.

The Snowman is made from foam balls and disks.  The base is a large disk, covered with ribbon and burlap.  I used Snow-Tex to paint the snowman and acrylic paint on the face and for the birds.

Once the Holidays are over, you can change up your decoration by removing the snowman, placing the little birdies on a birdhouse made from foam and place it on your table for everyday!

 

Paint a block of Smoothfoam for the main birdhouse.  I cut a rectangle in two, positioned, glued, and secured the top of the roof with toothpicks.  Toothpicks work great to hold the foam pieces together along with some glue to secure.

The birdhouse can be embellished as much as you like.  I kept it fairly simple by painting it with acrylic paint.  Decoupaging with a colorful tissue paper or memory papers would also add a nice touch.  Multi-media techniques are very popular and can be applied here with wonderful results.

The little birds are two small Smoothfoam balls painted with acrylic paint.  For Christmas, they can be painted red or other colors, covered with glitter and glued to a clip to make a great Christmas ornament. 

Last Spring, I went to Ohio to film a segment for a product I represent called CraZy TACKz.  My project was wall decor and I used the Smoothfoam 12" square wall mounts for the base of my project.  Following is a picture of the project.  The instructions can be found on the Scrapbook Soup website:
http://scrapbooksouptv.com/projects/SS_200/210/Scrapbook_Soup_210-2.htm .  The segment aired on PBS in September, 2012.

That is all I have to share for today.  Hope you are gearing up for a great Holiday season and are getting lots of inspiration here and from the other great designers on the Designer Craft Connection.  Remember to go to the blue DCC button and "hop" to the next blog!

 

Happy Crafting!

 

Marilyn

 

www.marilyngossett.com

www.crazytackz.com

 

 





How do you show your Thanks?

 There are so many ways to say "Thank You" to someone special.  As the Holidays approach, we will be attending dinners, hosting dinners, exchanging presents, just for starters.  Since our theme this month is based on Thank You gifts, I decided to come up with something that was affordable, easy and handmade, as I want it to be a gift from the heart.  The theme can be changed up to match the occasion for the token of appreciation. I chose an everyday theme for my thank you.

 

Most of us have paper supplies these days and personal cutting machines.
I gathered a few supplies and cut out a card that says thank you at the top.
Then I embellished it with some more die-cuts, handmade paper flowers, rhinestones and ribbon.  I wanted damask patterned paper and didn't have some on hand, so I created my own using white paper, black ink and a rubber stamp. 




Inside the card is where the real thank you gift is found.  I chose a coffee card from Starbucks, but any gift card would be a perfect fit for the little pocket envelope on the inside flap of the card.  The inside was embellished  and a square of contrasting paper was glued to the bottom flap.  This is where you can write a personal message.

 

 

This is the card right after it came out of the Cricut machine.   I used the Artiste cartridge from CloseToMyHeart.

 

 

Here is a close-up of the front of the card.  I love the aesthetic of France
and the black and white with a punch of color.

I hope you feel a little more inspired than when you first stopped by!  Have a Blessed Holiday Season and HAPPY CRAFTING!

 

Marilyn

 

www.marilyngossett.com

 



Paper Crafting for Halloween!

My project for this challenge is a box of cards that I designed for one of my Creative Hearts Workshops that I hold in my home studio.  After sending the cards, a little gift or candy can be tucked into the owl box and given to a friend!  I think he is really cute and hope you do too!

The owl is made from a pillow box pattern cut out on my die-cut machine.  I used the die-cut machine, paper punches and coordinating embellishments to decorate the greeting cards.  I have provided a little tutorial in photos to give you a better idea of how the box was put together.

Start with Fall papers, cutting tools and punches.....

Punch, cut and assemble all of the parts.....

Shade the edges a little with some distressing ink....

 Assemble all the little parts....voila'!  Hoote'nanny time!

 All of these 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" note cards will fit in the box for safe keeping!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN CRAFTING!

Marilyn

Cozy up with a Preview to Fall!

Hello Friends!

Here we are at the end of our summer and with our kids back in school and shorter days, our thoughts are starting to turn to FALL.  I haven't been in my local craft store for a couple of weeks, but I am willing to bet that shelves are beginning to fill up with the colors of Fall and spooky little critters.  Did you know that "Halloween" is the second most celebrated and decorated holiday after Christmas?  It comes and goes faster it seems, but that doesn't stop people from stocking up on decorations and candy!  Remember as kids, dressing up and parading through the classrooms in your costumes?  Creating special decorations for mom to hang up on the fridge? The childhood memories are what make it a magical time of year for me.

I want to show you a solution to hanging up your Fall decor using an inexpensive, dual purpose tack with a hook called CraZy TACKz! They are the perfect solution to apply a die-cut decoration to the wall and hang up a garland or lights.  CraZy TACKz are the perfect solution for dual purpose jobs.  Check out the photos below:

Secure the die-cut to the wall with the clear, round tackz.

The die-cuts were cut out with a Cricut machine.  You choose the size.

Hang the garland on the hooks.  Add balloons, lights, letters, or other ornaments.  

There are various colors of CraZy TACKz, but I prefer the clear stopper for projects like this one.

Hang lightweight decorations from the ceiling with CraZy TACKz and filament line.  Glue the tackz to the decoration and attach a second tackz to the ceiling.  Voila'!

Look for CraZy TACKz at your local retailer.  If they don't have them yet, ask them "why not"?

They are available on the website, www.crazytackz.com.  Check out the project sheets and ideas that we offer there.  It won't be long now until we bring out the decorations to celebrate the glories of Fall and the favorite party day for little kids and big kids alike!  Hope I have sparked a little creativity and excitement with these ideas.  Enjoy the final days of summer because Fall will be here soon enough!

Happy Crafting!

Marilyn

Designer/Consultant

for

CraZy TACKz

www.crazytackz.com