Day 12: Polar Express Magic

 

Its finally Christmas Eve, which is my most favourite day of the Christmas season. There is an air of magic around and you almost feel like a kid again, believing in something magical.

If you're a big kid like me then I am sure you would have seen the Polar Express and I have to say by far this is the most magical Christmas movie I have ever seen, with The Santa Clause (with Tim Allen) coming in second. Why not take part in the fun and print yourself out some Polar Express tickets, a hot chocolate in hand and set out on this magical journey.

There are so many more ideas out on the web and especially on Pinterest if you have young kids, so have a look and if you don't have time to put in place all the finishing touches this year, there is always next year.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Day 11: Vintage Bauble Decoration

 

 

Materials:

Melissa Frances glass dome

Marianne Christmas Village Die cuts

Marianne Banner Die cuts

Penny Black Snowflake Trio Die Cut

Bo Bunny Burlap

Rayon Seam Binding

Fancy Pants mini trees

 Epsom Salts

Glitter

Spray Snow

Glossy Accents

 This vintage bauble by Melissa Frances has definitely got to be the most magical decoration you could make this year. They look so glamorous hanging on your tree and the bonus is that you can fill them with whatever scene you would like.

Here are a few simple instructions to guide you through making this beautiful decoration:

1. Firstly use a can of spray snow to spray inside the glass dome. Make sure you spray the snow from a height to reduce forming big droplets.

2. Using the die cuts, cut out the house, lamp post, reindeer and snowflake. You can either use patterned paper or create your own by stamping a script stamp onto paper that has been pre-distressed using Tim Holtz inks.

3. Glue the shapes into position using glossy accents glue and leave to dry.

4. Spread some glue over the base of the scene and sprinkle with glitter - leave to dry.

5. Turn the glass dome upside down and put two teaspoons of a mixture of glitter and epsom salts into the dome. Spread some glue around the edge of the chipboard base and turn it upside down to fit into the upside down dome. Once stuck in position, turn the glass dome up the right way and leave to set.

6. Wrap some burlap round the base of the decoration and glue in place. Also wrap some seam binding round the base and glue the snowflake in place.

7. Tie a bow with the seam binding through the loop at the top of the bauble. Add that finishing touch by sticking a banner with a seasonal greeting on the top of the bauble.

2 more sleeps.....

Day 10: Vintage Stocking

 

 

Christmas morning would not be the same without opening a stocking full of little treats and goodies. Why not make your stocking extra special this year by adding that vintage touch. Using similar materials to the mitten decoration, just gather a few embellishments and a vintage image and you are ready to make your stocking.

The design doesn't need to be complicated so keep it simple and stress free - only 3 more sleeps.....

Day 9: Mitten Decorations

 

Materials:

Cream coloured felt

Mitten Template

Ribbon

Lace

Buttons

Mod Podge glue

Glitter

Rusty wire

These adorable felt mitten decorations look fantastic on the tree, with the glitter glistening under the Christmas tree lights, they will definitely be that added touch of vintage.

Either find  a template on the web or create your own and you can even personalise your mittens with your own choice of ribbons and buttons and it doesn't have to end with just using felt, why not try using different fabrics and materials, even paper to create a truly mixed media decoration.

Day 8: Christmas Wrapped Up

 

For us crafters, Christmas is sometimes more about what the present looks like on the outside rather than what the present actually is. So why not get creative this year with your wrapping and make the whole experience of gift giving a much more rewarding chore.

Personalise your wrapping

 

Putting names on tags can get a bit tiresome and I'm sure everyone has been in those situations where you have a whole bag of gifts to give out and you are having to struggle to open the tags to remind yourself who each gift belongs to. Why not put a photo of the recipient on their gift, making it easier to see who the gift is for and also jazzing up the look of your present altogether.

It could also be a photo of a memory you share from that year and what better way to remind them then by putting it on the front of their gift. This year I'm using photos I took from last Christmas to jazz up family gifts - make the experience more exciting!

Lace and Decorations

 

Make use of old decorations or buy a cheap pack of new ones to add some sparkle and glamour to gifts this year. This present features a glitter gold bauble, making the appearance look extra special. It can also count as an additional gift.

Or how about a glitter snowflake.

 

These beautiful presents above were delivered to me today by my sister and I love her use of lace on top of the gold paper with the added accents of ribbon and decorations. Not only am I excited to see whats inside the present but I can also be delighted by how they look for the next few days leading up to Christmas.

Don't make gift wrapping a chore this year, give someone more than just a present, even if it is just a pair of socks!

Day 6 & 7: Christmas Shadowbox / Vintage Frame Decoration

 

The 12 days of Christmas has finally resumed again today after a couple of hectic days I am now back on track and ready to catch you up with two beautiful decorations to hang on your tree this Christmas.

Day 6: Christmas Shadowbox

 

Materials:

Spare box from one of Tim Holtz' Configuration Box / any small box

Vintage Christmas Papers - brands such as Kaisercraft/Maja/ My Mind's Eye

Maya Road Chipboard Frames

Gold Paint

Stickles Glitter in Platinum

Tissue Tape

Christmas Decorations/Ephemera

Hand Drill

Ribbon

This decoration is a wonderful way to add some dimension to your decorations on the Christmas tree by building your own christmas scene in a box. You will firstly need to cut your papers to size to fit on the outside and inside of the box and then cover any edges with any brand of tissue tape.

Before you begin to build your christmas scene be sure to drill a small hole in the top of the box to be able to add some ribbon for hanging the decoration on the tree. I would recommend adhering all the embellishments on the inside with either glossy accents or a hot glue gun and once you are happy with what you have created simply add a Maya Road frame to finish it off.

Day 7: Vintage Frame Decoration

 

Materials:

Ranger Inkessentials Memory Frames - see Craft Obsessions

Ranger Inkessentials Memory Frame Glass - see Craft Obsessions

Scraps of patterned paper

Small photo - on a Windows PC print your photos from Windows Live Photo Gallery using the contact sheet option.

Jewellery Embellishments

These decorations make wonderful gifts for friends or family to hang on their tree and also to capture a memory.

Simply cut a piece of scrap paper to the size of the memory glass and then begin to layer and collage different scraps of paper and the photo. Try not to add any thick layers as it may cause a problem when you place your collage inside the frame.

When you are happy with your collage, sandwich it between two pieces of memory glass and then slide into the metal memory frame. Add some ribbon and embellishments and your masterpiece is complete.

There is still time to make these wonderful decorations and don't miss Day 8 of the 12 Days of Christmas which I hope to post later this evening.

 

 

Day 5: Vintage Christmas Scrapbook

 

Materials

Tim Holtz Grungepaper

Distress Ink Pad in Tea Dye or Vintage Photo

Distress Stain in Tea Dye

Ranger Crackle Paint in Rock Candy

Variety of stamps, including Postcard stamps/Christmas sentiments

Heat gun tool

Archival Ink

 

Today brings you a fantastic gift idea for someone special in your life who you want to give a present that really means something. This vintage scrapbook will allow you to add photos from the year or even photos from past Christmasses, which is exactly what I did.

 

I have put some basic instructions below to guide you through how to make the scrapbook - but these can be altered how you like to get the result you want. Remember most of our projects are only a guidance as using Tim Holtz products you can't really go wrong.

1. Cut some grungepaper to size.Choose a stamp design to stamp on the cover using Archival Ink.

2. Emboss the grungepaper using any patterned texture fade.

3. Cover both sides of the grungepaper with Distress stain and dry with a heat gun tool.

4. Once dry add a bit of distress ink with a blending tool to the edges of the cover and dry with a heat gun tool.

5. Cover one side of the cover with Distress Crackle paint and leave to dry for approx 1 hour.

To make the pages:

Using a distress ink pad and a heat resistant craft mat, stamp some ink on the craft mat and spray with some water. Once large droplets have formed on the mat, slide the paper through the ink until you cover most of the paper - dry with a heat gun tool.

I hope these basic instructions will be useful to get you started with your scrapbook and remember to just have some fun with it and any handmade gift will be cherished.

For more inspiration please take a look at my Vintage Scrapbook post which also provides a video demo on how you can make your photos look aged and vintage.

Day 4: Christmas in a Bottle

 

Materials:

Melissa Frances Miniature Bottles

Miniature Trees

White craft glitter/ Epsom Salts

Today brings you Christmas in a bottle. Well...... a miniature tree in a bottle in fact but an adorable decoration nonetheless. This is the first of many decorations we have to share with you in our 12 days of Christmas and probably the easiest.

Simply glue a miniature tree inside a bottle and fill up the bottom of the bottle with a mixture of glitter and epsom salts, enough to cover the base of the tree. Finish it off with a bit of gold thread to tie round the bottle and hang on the tree.

Day 3: Christmas Mason Jars

 

Materials:

Recycled Jam Jars

Gingham Ribbon/ Christmas Ribbon

Holly sprig decoration

Tea light

Hot glue gun

Welcome to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas and tonight we have Christmas mason jars. These jars are the simplest Christmas home decoration you could ever make and they are excellent for anyone doing Christmas on a budget.

Just simply wash out an old jam jar, grab a bit of gingham ribbon to wrap round the top of the jar and adhere in place with a hot glue gun. To finish it off, add a bit of holly sprig to the center and you are finished.

To add further decoration you could adhere more holly leaves and even rub on some Christmas words or phrases around the jar using craft rub ons or if you are very good at calligraphy grab a white sharpie pen and write round the jam jar yourself.

All you have to decide next is where to put them around the house........

 

Day 2: Glitter Pegs

 

So day 1 of the 12 days of Christmas brought you ideas for making your own Christmas cards but what about those cards that you receive through the post - how can you display these in a festive way.

These glitter pegs are so easy to make and you can pick up cheap packets of pegs in most homeware stores. However I would recommend using a good quality glitter such as Martha Stewart as the consistency of the glitter is much better than some supermarket own brand or cheaper makes of glitter. And it doesn't have to end with glitter pegs, you can easily adhere glitter to most surfaces - so get creative on Day 2.

Vintage Follie 12 Days of Christmas 2013

 

Our 12 days of Christmas has officially begun today and it has been a bit of a race against time. All you crafters will know that this time of year can be quite demanding for everyone but especially those of us who like to create. The past few days I have been rushing around trying to get Christmas cards finished and also putting the finishing touches to handmade presents.

If you feel like you need a bit of a creative inspiration leading up to the big day then look no further than Vintage Follie's 12 days of Christmas. I have a variety of different ideas and inspiration and even if you don't have the exact products to make the item you can tweak it how you like to fit in with what you might have at home.

So lets kick things off with Day 1:

Anna Griffin Vintage Christmas Cards

 

 

These beautiful Christmas cards were made using the Anna Griffin Christmas Card set that was featured on QVC back in the summer. Some of you may remember some pictures I posted on Facebook when the kit arrived and there is so much included. As you will be able to see below I still have so much left and I have made over a dozen cards already so lots of different ideas and inspiration to work from.

 With only 12 days left to go, create some extra special Christmas cards this year with a vintage twist!