Wee winter birds

I love little winter birds. The chickadees and the sweet little dark-eyed juncos. The squirrels are certain that the feeders are filled for them, but it's those wee feathered bellies I'm trying to fill.

Once in a long while those wee dudes are very cooperative and pose oh so nicely for me (especially when bribed with seed!)

Inspired by those visits, I've painted a series of tiny canvases measuring between 2.5" and 2.75" square. You can find them all HERE. But here they are one by one...

Chickadee listed here

Chickadee listed here

Chickadee listed here

Chickadee listed here

Robin listed here

Robin listed here

Robin listed here

Robin listed here

Jolly Little Christmas Floats with tutorial

My kid decided he was too old for trick-or-treating this year, but not too old for a Christmas parade. Before moving here I was never really into parades. Standing around in questionable weather? Nah, thanks. Discovering night parades swayed my grinchy mind. The lights! The magic! *swoon*

And while these wee things aren't all lit up (although you could absolutely add lights!) I'm smitten with the bright sparkly cheeriness of these wee floats.

To make these little floats I simply added Wheels 1 inch Fancy and Wheels 1.5 inch Straight to Chunky ATC Blanks.

Glittered Chipboard Shingles - Pointed added around the edges complete the base.

Then it's just a matter of filling up those floats! I've used bottlebrush trees, miniature packages and decorations and a vintage looking Santa. All of those bits were bought in the holiday aisle at the discount shop.

Cute. Easy. Inexpensive. Yes please!

I have a little video to show you exactly how to put these pretty things together right HERE.

I need to make a slew of these to create an entire holiday parade for my mantle!

Want to make your own too? Here are the supplies I used:

Wheels 1 inch Fancy 

Wheels 1.5 inch Straight 

Chunky ATC Blanks

Chipboard Shingles - Pointed

Ribbon

Glitter

Holiday paper

Buttons

Bottlebrush trees

Tiny gift and ornament baubles

Plastic vintage looking Santas

White glue

Hot glue

Acrylic paint

Thin dowling or bamboo sticks

Big Fat Christmas Greeting Matchbox

I think my forced break from crafting while I was on my trip kind of reinforced the notion that crafting helps to keep me sane. It quietens the world around me. Although I do feel like I'm playing catch up with laundry and dishes and cleaning... I've been thoroughly enjoying making things, and savouring the 'stillness' creating brings.

But enough deep thoughts! Can we talk about the Christmas Vintage 12×12 Paper Pad? It's from Stamperia and it is full of old Christmas charm. Here I've used some sweet chickadees and cut out a rustic winter scene. I've fussy cut loads of holly and berries too (fyi there's some great Christmas puddings and cakes in the collection too.)

In addition to the background sky, I've added some clear glitter to the edges of the buildings and on the tops of the hills. It think it catches the light just right.

The top corner has a nice grouping of chickadees and holly and baubles. 

On a side note, the chickadees are out in full force here! They peck at the feeders and make a huge mess on the ground below. It's all good though the snowbirds prefer to forage and clean up after them. The whole while we have blue jays who swoop in and squawk like maniacs. Seriously, you'd link such handsome fellows would have a beautiful strong whistle. Nope!

But back to beautiful things!

This scene is set in a nice fat  Big Chunky Matchbox with Window and topped with a wired bow.

Want to make your own? Here's the list of making!

Big Chunky Matchbox with Window
Christmas Vintage 12×12 Paper Pad
Christmas In The Village Tiny Houses (background)
Wired ribbon
Clear Glitter

*I am an absolute stinker and have no idea which holly paper was used on the exterior of the box but I CAN say that it can be found in the Christmas Paper section at AlphaStamps

Flutter Cards with 60 Second Tutorial for Graphic 45

The holidays are coming up so fast, and for many people that means Christmas, winter celebrations, and Thanksgiving, but I couldn't help but make a big batch of beautiful general purpose cards with "Flutter"

Because even with all those holidays peering around the corner, there always seems to be a thank-you that needs to be sent, or someone who could use a pick-me-up 'thinking of you' card. I am absolutely certain that these will not go to waste!

These cards are simple. There's a bit of fussy cutting, but that's about as difficult as it gets . No fancy cutting or folding with these beauties. They are so easy that you'll whip up a big batch in no time at all.

I've made a 60 second video to show you just how quickly they'll come together.

Easy as pie!! So grab a mug of something warm (or a glass of something tasty) and create a big beautiful stash of cards for those unexpected important moments that happen year round… even when the holidays are looming.

Here are all the supplies you’ll need to create your own collection of “Flutter” cards:

G45 Supplies

Flutter 12 x 12 Collection Pack
Flutter Ephemera Card (back in stock!) Clearsnap Decades Dye Pad Venetian Lace

Other Supplies:
Adhesive foam squares
Floral Stamp
Gold embossing powder
Corner punch (optional)
White paper
Glue Stick

Holiday Shadow Pillow Boxes

Do you ever wake up with an idea? I do, then immediately forget what it is. But not this time! This time I an idea struck me as soon as I awoke and by george I made sure it stayed in there. Not only did I make it stick, I followed through and made the thing I thunk up!

I'm sure it's all the matchboxes I've been working on that inspired these shadow-pillow-boxes. Using the pillowbox template found on the inside cover of Graphic 45's 8" paper pads, I traced and cut out pieces from Christmas Magic, then simply cut a window from one side of the box before assembly.

You could put all sorts inside... a wintery scene, a photo of this years visit with Santa, a picture of your cat. I've opted for a simple sentiment cut from Christmas Magic, and more of the winged Santa's Little Helpers that are fluttering all over my studio.

I seriously love these wee fellows. They are utterly charming and delightful!

**SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: The wing transparency is available HERE. A download to print at home can be purchased HERE.**

I mean... come on... my teeth hurt from all the sweetness!

A paper sprig of greenery, some red holiday berries, a bow...

... and tah  da! You're all set!

Oh! I added a very sensible amount of glitter too.

NOW you're done.

Here's the list of goods I used to make these cute shadow-pillow-boxes.

Christmas Magic

I used the 8" pad for the boxes, the wee fellas were fussy cut from the 12" Santa's Helpers sheet
Wee Wings Transparency Sheet
Fancy Red Holly Berries Mix
1/4 Inch Red Holly Berry StemsGreen Ribbon
Waterfall Stickles

Clear glitter

Santa's Helper Holiday Cards

I found a set of card blanks and envelopes at the DollarTree and thought I'd whip up some sweet holiday cards. So I grabbed some Christmas Magic and set to work.

I say I whipped up this set, but I began by spending a night fussy cutting an entire sheet of "Santa's Little Helpers" from the 12" Collection Pack. (I was watching Filmworker which was a really great documentary btw).

Next I added some wee transparent wings to the little dudes. I can just picture these little fellas fluttering about, switching out burnt out christmas lights, taking care of all the tiny chores that go unnoticed.

A band of gold embossing power backdrops a length of holly from Christmas Magic "Gifting Gala". An iridescent acrylic snowflake is added and a sentiment from Christmas Magic "Gifting Gala" or the Christmas Magic Ephemera pack.

Finally, those sweet little winged helpers!

I mean, how cute! Right?!

Some of the cards have a bit of jute twine added and a smidge of stickles sparkle because... well... glitter!

Want to make your own sweet wee cards? Here's the list of all the bits I used:

Christmas Magic 12" Collection Pack
Christmas Magic Patterns & Solids PadChristmas Magic Ephemera pack
Wee Wings Transparency Sheet
(or Wee Wings PDF Download to print your own)
Gold embossing powder
Acrylic snowflakes
Jute twine
Stickles
Card blanks

And I've still got a load of these cuties hopping around the work table. They might be making appearances until Easter!

Pretty Pink Christmas Things

A few years ago I would have laughed if you told me I'd be all about pink Christmas. This year I'm all about the pink Christmas.

I've used two paper collections: Pink Christmas 12x12 Paper Pad and Christmas Vintage 12x12 Paper Pad for the following projects and I'm loving the way they work together.

Add some faux snow and a Gold Dresden Christmas Tree swoon!

There was a quite a bit of fussy cutting involved in these projects, but the results are terribly sweet. Just look at this Peaked Roof Matchbox...

...and those little birds and inside. 

What a lovely holiday treat for someone nice.

It's totally worth mentioning that the Pink Christmas 12x12 Paper Pad has a super cute tag, envelope, ephemera elements that come together really, really swiftly. 

I did some gold embossing around the edge of the vintage Santa image and it looks so authentically old timey. And while old envelopes probably would have been plain white, the envelope element is the perfect compliment. Swoon!

The final two pieces (yes there's more!) are more of a kitchy rather than antique vintage. Still totally cute though.

Here I've used Jingle 6x6 Paper Pad and Tree Ornament Matchboxes. I'm thinking that i might pop these on top of presents instead of a standard bow. Afterall, what could be nicer than a gift topped with another wee surprise?!

I usually start Christmas crafting in September so this is a very late start for me, but I gotta admit, I'm really enjoying it this year. It's far less work and much more pleasure this time around. I hope you're enjoying holiday creating too.

NOW, if you want to make your own slew of pretty pink Christmas things, here's the supply list:

Tree Ornament Matchbox
1 Inch Clear Acrylic Snowflake Mix
Jingle 6x6 Paper Pad
Mini Candy Canes
2x3 Chunky Matchbox
1 Inch Clear Acrylic Snowflake Mix
Pink Christmas 12x12 Paper Pad
Gold Dresden Christmas Tree
Peaked Roof Matchbox
Santa Sleigh Silver Charm Set
Christmas Vintage 12x12 Paper Pad

And everything all in one place