Black Friday and Marketing 101 (or something like that)

I am terrible at marketing. It's one of my least favorite parts of being an independent artist crafty type trying eek out a living. So I'm just going to get all the markety bits out of the way in one big post.

If you haven't already enrolled in Art Walk Alchemy 2020, this weekend is the perfect time to do it. Extra special pricing is just $89 US from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. You'll get a boatload of projects throughout 2020 with some great instructors, in a fabulous community. I'll be teaching how to create a really cute miniature Irish faerie cottage, but I'll totally be joining in a few of the other classes as a participant. Pop over HERE and use the code BFCM89 at check out for the special pricing. 

If you prefer your crafts pre-made and free I'm have a giveaway over on my Facebook page. Pop over, like the contest post and leave a comment on that post sharing your favourite holiday memory or terrible Christmas joke. Entries accepted until December 1st, 11:59pm EST. A winner for all that stuff in the photo will be selected at random on December 2nd. It's open to world-wide entries as long as you can accept regular parcel post if you are the winner. If you don't have or like facebook I apologize, but it was just a bit of last minute fun and running a giveaway on every platform becomes confusing (also, I am a scatterbrain).

And the final bit of business...

I'm jumping on the Black Friday bandwagon and offering 40% off all instant downloads and tutorials in the etsy shop. Hurry, because at midnight everything turns back into pumpkins!

Phew! Now, as you were...

Miniature Victorian Christmas Mantle

FA LA LA LA LA!!!! Are you filled with holiday spirit yet? Pretty sure I'm driving people nuts with my gung-ho yule-tiding and my out of tune carol warbling.

When I was deciding on what sort of project to create for gslcuts.com this month I saw the 

"Narrow Victorian Fireplace" in my stash and knew I wanted to create a cozy Christmas mantle.

It's a pretty little thing. Just a few little additions, extra wee touches, make a big difference here.

Some simple strips of cardboard are added as decorative elements. I've also trimmed the outer arch from the "Wrought Iron Window Grate" as it perfectly reflects the curve of the opening of the fireplace. Finally, a flourish from this Silicone Mold is added as a focal element. But don't feel limited by these suggestions! You could use any elements you like and by painting everything with a heavy coat of white paint it will all come together.

Inside the fireplace I've used 1/2 Inch Tiles on the floor, and Red Brick Wall Scrapbook Paper to line the interior. 

Note: There IS a small notch in the back of the fireplace so that you can easily add lighting. I'm not quite ready to add lighting yet so I've papered over that hole. When I install this inside a dollhouse I'll cut out the notch so that I can have a glowing hearth.

Because I've been a bit holiday crazy, I've decorated this mantle with all sorts of seasonal bits. Miniature jingle bells, ribbon and garland. Fairy sized Christmas cards dot the mantle. There's a plate of tiny cookies and a glass of milk too.

See that little iron grate? It's the gate from this Mini Fence and Gate painted matte black and curved slightly to fit the opening perfectly.

Want to create your own? Great! I have a walkthough to show you how I put the fireplace together.  You can find the video HERE.

And here are all the bits you'll need to create this project:

Narrow Victorian Fireplace
Wrought Iron Window Grate (Item No.C23X)
1/2 Inch TilesRed Brick Wall Scrapbook Paper
focal element such as these Architectural Flourishes
acrylic paint
glue

The decorative elements I used include:
Fairy sized Christmas cards
Green Leaf Garland
wrapped chocolates
1" sisal tree
miniature jingle bells, gift boxes, stocking, candycanes, cookies and milk
ribbon

Free Photo Friday

Once a week I share an old timey photo from my personal collection. Feel free to use them in your mess making, art and crafting.

The images are not polished and left in their grungy, smudged and speckled glory. Just how I like 'em! Without further ado... 

Do NOT sell, give, or distribute the images as your own, digitally or printed, alone or as part of a collection, collage sheet or group. BUT DO absolutely make stuff with them and sell the stuff you make. If you share your project, a link is appreciated.

Violators will be turned into toads, given warts, all the bad stuff... I mean it... It won't be pretty. 

Christmas Magic Altoid Tin Tutorial

It did not go smoothly, but I did it! I've made a tutorial/guide for you to make your own Christmas Magic Altoid tins.

A few notes:

• Don't feel that you HAVE to use altoid style tins (or any other exact supply mentioned for that matter). The tutorial is a guide to help you along. Apply the same steps/directions to whatever you have on hand or in mind.

• For the front of the tins I printed the A Merry Little Christmas Label Download at 115% for a better fit. You can sometimes get away with printing things slightly larger without too much pixelation.

• If you don't celebrate Christmas, you can 100% make one of these themed to your own preferred seasonal holiday, or even fill with non-seasonal things you love!

• Don't worry about filling every last little nook with a labeled glass vial. It looks great, but it's absolutely ok to pad out the space with other items

• Don't pack the vials too tightly. These small glass vials break easily PLEASE USE CAUTION.

• Consider gluing the stoppers in place, especially when filling with glitter.

• Don't like something? Want to try something different? TRY ALL THE THINGS!!!! Change everything if you like! Make it your own!

Here's the list of supplies I used for the actual tin part:

• blank Altoid style tins
• A Merry Little Christmas Label Download
• A Very Vintage Christmas Download
• old paper

• glue (mod podge, crazy glue, white glue, hot glue, glue stick)
• thick card
• acrylic paint (white and yellow ocher)
• ink stamp pads
• scrapbook paper (I used a red patterned paper from Graphic 45's Communique collection)
• ribbon
• fake snow (aka buffalo snow)
• gold dresden trims
• acrylic snowflake

Here's a list of fillers and suggested fillers:
• assorted small vials/jars

• tinsel

• glitter
• sequins
• fake snow
• little bottle brush/sisal trees
• holly, mistletoe (crush up some bay leaves and no one will be the wiser)
• pine needles
• small acorns, pinecones
• Fairy Sized Christmas Cards

• letter from Santa
• chocolates/sweets

• charms
• buttons
• thimbles
• coins
• rolled up $
• scroll of 'nice list' names
• miniatures of every sort!
• bells
• coal

• stickers
• tiny wrapped presents
... whatever you can dream up and squish inside!

Ok, so are you ready to make a lovely jumbled Christmas tin of joy the video tute is below?! Or off you pop directly to youtube.

If you're quick... the vid might not be done processing yet. Check back in a few minutes.

Christmas Magic Altoid Tins

Whoooo baby! I am SMITTEN with these. Another project made with the "A Merry Little Christmas Labels" download. Altoid tins jam packed with all sorts of Christmas magic!

There's everything in there from jingle bells, to bottled Christmas magic, to lumps of coal!

All of the important Christmas bits packaged in a neat littletin. I'm pretty sure these would be perfect for tucking into stockings.

While I am 100% a-ok with making do and using ingenious alternatives... there's real holly, mistletoe, tinsel, jingle bells and coal in those tiny vials.

There IS a video tutorial for this project, but it's in the editing stages at the moment. It will be ready to guide you along soon, but I figured a heads up to give you a little extra time to collect your bits of Christmas magic would be good. I know time is of the essence at this time of year, every day counts!

Here's the list of supplies I used:

• blank Altoid style tins

• A Merry Little Christmas Label Download
• A Very Vintage Christmas Download

• old paper

• glue (mod podge, crazy glue, white glue)

• thick card

• acrylic paint

• assorted small vials/jars

• bottle fillers (glitter, candy canes, leaves, tinsel)
• other fillers 1" bottle brush trees, jingle bells, lace
• scrapbook paper

• ribbon

• fake snow (aka buffalo snow)

• gold dresden trims

• acrylic snowflakes

Please, please, please feel free to deviate from my list and improvise. You absolutely do NOT need to replicate these exactly. Use your imagination and ingenuity to add your own dash of Christmas magic.

P.S. How incredibly cute is this gathering of vintage Christmas gnomes?! They're on a new holiday sheet "A Very Vintage Christmas" available HERE.

Now, off you pop to gather your goodies and meet me back here so we can make these cuties together!

Free Photo Friday

Once a week I share an old timey photo from my personal collection. Feel free to use them in your mess making, art and crafting.

The images are not polished and left in their grungy, smudged and speckled glory. Just how I like 'em! Without further ado... 

Do NOT sell, give, or distribute the images as your own, digitally or printed, alone or as part of a collection, collage sheet or group. BUT DO absolutely make stuff with them and sell the stuff you make. If you share your project, a link is appreciated.

Violators will be turned into toads, given warts, all the bad stuff... I mean it... It won't be pretty. 

Hot Chocolate, Baby

I said I was going to post some gift ideas for the "A Merry Little Christmas" label download I posted the other week. Today I'm sharing the first of those sweet little ideas.

I'm using some of the square 'Holiday Magic' labels for hot chocolate garnishes. I bought some inexpensive spice jars and filled them with crushed up candy canes and a homemade sugar/cinnamon spice blend.

Glue the appropriate labels to the front and they look pretty snazzy!

I'll package these up with a tiny spoon, an over-sized mug, and some packages of hot chocolate.

My kid is a hot chocolate fiend and I'm sure he'll love these 'fancy' toppings. 

Don't like hot chocolate? Never fear! You could make a similar set for tea or coffee drinkers. Swap out the mug and spoon for some cookie cutters for your favourite baker, and gift them baking blends or cookie toppings. I'd love to hear YOUR ideas, and what YOU come up with for the nice people on your list.

The "A Merry Little Christmas" sheet is available HERE and I'll be sharing more gift ideas and projects using it over the next few weeks.