Day 6: Miniature House Dinner Favors

 

Happy Christmas Eve bloggers!This is the last day of my countdown to Christmas and I wanted to give you some inspiration for Christmas dinner favors, which also act as name cards as well.

Now you know what I said about houses the other day, I'm completely in love with them this Christmas so these fitted in quite nicely.

This house design came from Design Mom blog, where you will find some great inspiration and a printable house template that you can download. I imported the file into a design software so I could add a greeting and name on the side of the house. You can also add stamped images to add details to the house. I've also used these as gifts for friends and included a hanging ribbon from the top of the house so they could hang it on the tree.

Fill them with chocolates, small gifts or even Christmas puzzles to keep the children (or big kids) entertained!

Well that's a wrap for 2014, I hope you have gained a bit of Christmas inspiration from these past 6 days and we both hope you have a Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year!

Day 5: Vintage Snow Jars

 

Hi bloggers, so this idea may be a bit of a cheat since this was our Christmas workshop this year but I think they are just a fab idea to jazz up boring old kilner jars and if you are as crafty as us then you will know that a kilner jar can be used for almost any gift these days, from hot chocolate mixes to Christmas survival kits and everything inbetween. So why not turn your kilner jar into a festive scene. 

 

 

We used die cuts to make these adorable winter scenes but you could also use tiny ornaments or old decorations, so get creative!

Day 4: Miniature Birdhouses

 

Hi bloggers, with only hours to go I bet you thought I might not make it, but I couldn't let you down like that, its just been one of those days!

Day 4 brings us these adorable miniature birdhouse decorations made from corrugated card, painted and then glittered up. Add some tinsel around the hole, a seasonal greeting and of course a bird nesting on the roof! These look brilliant in a range of pastel colours hanging on the tree and make a change to the traditional Christmas decoration.

Day 3: Christmas Putz Houses

 

Hi bloggers, day 3 is all about Christmas Putz Houses and I have three beautiful houses to share with you. The first one above is handmade using a Melissa Frances kit, it's been covered with paper and then painted with an added sparkle of glitter. The kit also came with the three trees and the fence you can see in the picture and there is also a small hole at the back of the house so you could place some tiny lights inside or adhere a LED candle to the back to light it up at night. We've put ours in a candle dish with some added snow to make it a wintery scene.

 

This next example is a real vintage putz house that we collected last year at a Christmas Vintage Fair. This house is tiny in comparison and we've used it as an added decoration to our book shelf.

 

This last example isn't really a putz house but it is a more contemporary light up house decoration that we picked up at a Next store. It looks simply stunning on our bookshelf with a switch on the back to light it up at night. We know its not vintage but it fits in with the house theme which I have loved this Christmas..... houses everywhere!

 

 

Day 2: Christmas Wish Bottle

 

Hi bloggers, today I am sharing with you the cutest decoration! This Christmas wish bottle allows you to make a Christmas wish and hang it on the tree. The scroll inside can be written on with your wishes for Christmas then simply place it back in the bottle, give it a little shake with the glitter and hang on your tree. Loved ones can then come along and view your wish and hopefully make it come true! These decorations are ideal for children and let's the magic of Christmas live on in all of us!

6 Days of Christmas: Day 1 Vintage Merry Go Round

Hi bloggers, I am so delayed with my Countdown to Christmas this year that I've decided to cut it short to only 6 days to take us up to Christmas Eve. I almost thought to for-go the whole thing but I owe it to you guys to give you that last bit of inspiration for 2014. I have to say the last few months have been very hectic and a certain passion for writing on the blog had started to fade. However I love this time of year and for the last 6 days leading up to Christmas I want to share with you some of my favourite things about Christmas with some creativity thrown in-between.

So apologies for the late delay but I promise I've saved the best 6 ideas for this all important countdown.

So let's start with Day 1: Vintage Merry Go Round

 

 

So Day 1 starts with this stunning vintage merry-go-round ornament that we are proudly sitting on our sideboard this year. This was a very lucky find at a recent Vintage Christmas Fair in Penshurst and we have to say it was a very fair price considering the more modern versions around today - only £50. All in good working condition with a range of  non-Christmas and Christmas songs including Carol of the Bells ( an all time favourite of mine). The paintwork is gorgeous and its just one of those pieces that you look forward to getting out at Christmas.

There's still time before Christmas to try and get yourself an original piece, look out for Vintage Fairs happening near where you live.

K&A Pop Up Christmas Vintage Fair

Hi bloggers, I know its been too long since my last post and I do apologise, although now we are heading towards the festive season I hope to be making a few more posts, especially for my annual 12 Days of Christmas in December.

Anyway, today's post is about the K&A Pop Up Vintage Fair which is occurring next Saturday and we couldn't be more excited that we have a stall there next week. We have been working hard on new decorations this year and we can't wait to share them with you and for you to be able to get your hands on them. Of course we are still selling some favourites from last year so you can still get your hands on them, perhaps a different image or colour this year!

Here's a glimpse into some of the decorations on offer, however we have kept our new decorations a secret (until perhaps the middle of next week, check out our Facebook Page for any sneak previews!) So if you want to see them, come and see us in Lewes Town Hall next Saturday, pop by and say hello!

Vintage Christmas Snow Jars Workshop

 

Hi bloggers, I have exciting news about a new Christmas workshop we have coming up in October and November this year. Due to the popularity of our Christmas workshop last year we decided to split this workshop over two dates to give you guys more space and an even more enjoyable experience.

At this workshop you will be making not one but two Christmas Snow jars, each filled with a different scene. These jars will look so magical sat on a shelf or bookcase and make excellent handmade gifts for friends and family.

To view more details about this workshop click here.

Here are a couple of extra pictures of the jars for a closer peek....

 

 

Hope to see you there!

 

Paper Bag Mini Album Workshop Review

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a craft workshop, with the sun shining, what a glorious start to the weekend. This workshop was made even more exciting for us as we had four new craftsters joining us; Angela, Jane, Carly and Maria. We love seeing new faces at our workshops and just spreading the joy of what we do so we hope everyone had an enjoyable day.

Anyway let's get to the exciting bits, the results of everybody's creativity. I created four themes for everyone to choose from which included: Sew Vintage, Botanical, Vintage Lady and Tea Party. Botanical was evidently the most popular choice, however with the extra embellishments that everyone could add we had some variations across our results, so lets delve in.......

First up is Pauline's Vintage Lady Mini Album

This album includes a beautiful mix of pink hues, flowers and damask patterns with of course the Vintage lady on the front cover. Stunning!

One of the first Botanical albums is Jane's beautiful album....

I love how the colours on the paper flowers compliment the colours on the front cover of the book, popping with pinks and browns with stunning buttons and metal embellishments layered throughout. Good work Jane!

The first of our Sew Vintage theme is Lynne's Mini Album....

This book is full of beautiful lace and doily embellishments to compliment the haberdashery theme, with stunning metal embellishments adorning the front cover. Beautiful!

Our second Botanical theme comes from Carly....

Carly used some lovely fine lace around the edges of her front cover to frame the image which works beautifully with the flowers acting as a corner piece layered together.

The second Sew Vintage theme comes from Jen.....

This stunning album from Jen frames the mannequin on the front cover beautifully with a lovely heart charm hanging down from the flower arrangement (at a great low price from Primark I must add!). Crafting can make you see jewellery in a whole new light, with tons of possibilities for tons of projects!

The third Botanical theme comes from Angela.....

Another stunning album with this floral theme and everyone still adds their own twist. I love the lace rose embellishment in the top corner, a great compliment to the paper flowers below.

Our final Botanical album comes from Maria....

Another stunning album with lots of lace entwined throughout. I particularly love the metal bee embellishment on the front which has been placed perfectly with the background scene. Lovely!

When I look at these albums altogether the colours look amazing and you can honestly use this album as a template for any theme and to show you thats possible, my sister had a head start with a Halloween album that looks great, check it out below....

I was gonna save this for Halloween but to be honest I know what I'm like when it comes to updating this blog and I didm't want you guys to miss out. Also it's never too early to start on a Halloween or come to think of it, a Christmas album. The months just pass by way to quickly.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing this amazing work from some amazing people. We want to thank everyone who takes part in our workshops and we just hope we can inspire more of you to get crafting, whatever that craft may be!

Paper Bag Mini Album

 

Good evening bloggers! A new workshop is here and it is amazing what you can do with a plain old paper bag! This beautiful vintage album made from brown paper lunch sacks uses some gorgeous vintage style papers and embellishments and by the end of the workshop you will have a decorated album that you can either fill with you own photos or you could give as a gift and all the recipient would have to do is add their own photos and ephemera.

Bookings are now taking place for this workshop which we will be hosting on Saturday 13th September.

For more details about the workshop, please click here.

We hope to see you there!

Believe in Imagination Workshop

 

Hi bloggers, time has flown past since our last workshop and I've realised that I haven't posted the results from the workshop yet. Everyone loved this project and as usual all the outcomes were original and unique, so lets check out the photos from the day.

 

As usual we like to greet everyone with their own individual workshop pack.

 

 Before anyone could start layering all their ephemera on the panel the base needed to be prepped first with tissue paper and paints.

 

 

So that was the progress throughout the day, now onto the finished results....

 

 

 

Cathy's panel really embraces the collage feel of this workshop, layering paper and paint at different angles across the panel.

 

 Pauline chose to collage with the 'Vintage Lady' photo and I love the way she cut out flowers to frame the photo on the panel.

 

 

 

Next up is Julie and I love how Julie decided to also have ephemera hanging over the side of the panel and gives the impression that she has clipped something onto the board.

 

 

 

Joanne's parisian panel really does give the impression of travel with the tickets and also the use of the reverse of the ruler ribbon to look like a strap around a suitcase. I also love the use of the negative pieces from the Tim Holtz trellis die cut at the top left of the panel.

 

 Aileen chose to also collage with the vintage lady image and I love how she turned the clip on its side, excellent with adding small bits of ephemera to layer across the panel.

 

 

 

I never like to say that I have favourites as everyone produces something amazing at our workshop but I do love Jean's panel. Jean decided to bring her own image to use which was a vintage image of her mother when she was young. I love the composition of the collage and all the elements work cohesively together.

All in all the workshop was a great success and we had a lovely sunny day as well which meant lunch was served in the garden. As another workshop goes by I try and look to the future for the next workshop, better get some ideas flowing!