Festive Fridays Faux Flannel

Its that special Friday again -- a FESTIVE FRIDAY!


Festive Friday is a Blog Hop happening the second and fourth Friday of each month, showcasing Christmas projects.

If you're joining me directly, you will probably not want to miss the beginning of the hop over at Terri's Blog. If you've joined me from Brendas blog, You're hoppin' along just fine!
 
In attempting to get the count down on my Reader this week (hah - highly unlikely given my schedule these days), I happened across a neat technique called New Faux Flannel, (which you can read more about at Sharons blog where she kindly posts a tutorial) which seemed very soft and Christmas-y! I used the Letters to Santa designer paper again and tried out this technique:

Left is DSP - Right is DSP Faux Flannel

You are adding a layer of tissue paper to your base. Sharon used hers with stamped backgrounds, I thought it might be a nice way to mute a loud or strong paper. It has a very soft look in person, sorry I cant seem to capture that perfectly in the pics! I added an embossed snowflake pattern with my Northern Flurry folder. It seemed a bit too hidden, so I inked just the embossing with some blue to bring it out more.

Northern Flurry Embossing Folder



Inked with daubers onto embossing only



Added a little matting, a sentiment, and called it a day on this one.

I have to let the ideas percolate a bit on how I would use this technique, but its nice for winter cards as it can be either a snowy backdrop for your focal stamps or it can be a soft flannel blanket / pajama feel for a warm winter card. Perhaps the stripes, or maybe the square lattice embossing folders, even the polka dots, would add a beautiful fabric feel. I think its perfect for muting some of those patterns and colors that just scream across your page! :-)
It also seems to give a bit of a vintage or maybe a distressed look. I could see trying out some sanding - letting the vibrancy of the paper rub thru, or inking up the edges a bit. The tissue bleeds beautifully when you ink it, so you could also get a bit of a painted effect.
Lots of possibilities in this technique.

Thanks for visiting,
be sure to hop along to Becky's Blog for more Festive Friday Fun!

Happy Crafting!
~angie
P.S. Still waiting for you to contact me Alice, I've got your winnings packed up and ready to mail!

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Ready to make some cards?! (Lucky Winner)

Hello All, I hope you had a crafty weekend!
I did not - I had a Family weekend! (which I must confess is *almost* as good! :-)
Thank you to everyone who stopped by for the Festive Friday fun, I hope you got a chance to see all the blogs and inspiring cards! We return August 26th with another round, so please visit again!

From your lovely comments on the Festive Friday post, Random.org has generated the winning number:

Which happens to be a lovely lady named Alice:

Who said:

" I also loved the way you made such good use of that great paper! All the cards were delightful, again i have to say, I'm inspired :-D "
August 13, 2011 2:15 AM

Thank you Alice!! (obviously a Midnight Crafter also :-)
 
So if you will be so kind as to email me your info, Alice, (midnightcrafter at gmail dot com)

I will get THIS fun package off to you!


Again, thanks so much to everyone for visitng my blog and the Festive Friday Blog Hop - and for taking the time to leave your comments, they do brighten my day!
xoxo
~angie

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Festive Fridays Letters to Santa

Its that special Friday again -- a FESTIVE FRIDAY!
Festive Friday is a Blog Hop happening the second and fourth Friday of each month, showcasing Christmas projects.
If you're joining me directly, you will probably not want to miss the beginning of the hop over at Terri's Blog. If you've joined me from Brendas blog, You're hoppin' along just fine! Be sure to visit all the blogs on the Festive Friday Hop, we have a great offering of blog candy sprinkled throughout so see what goodies you can qualify for! (and don't miss my Blog Candy offer at the end of this post!)

Playing around this week with a new Designer Series Paper called Letters to Santa. I created these four cards from one 12x12 sheet. I love this paper!

Thank you for taking the tour this week, I hope you find some inspiration to get your holiday cardmaking going - Santa will arrive before you know it!
Please continue on to BC Designs and see what Becky has created for us this time around!

BLOG CANDY:

I am offering a Christmas Card Kit to pad your holiday card stash - or to get your card stash started!
Includes all the supplies needed to assemble 12 cards and a festive card keeper box to hold them, color printed instructions and 12 envelopes.

All Followers of this blog are eligible to enter to win!

Please leave a comment and let me know if you have started making your holiday cards!

 ( If you have how that is going? or if you haven't - are you nervous, or do you triumph in the mad rush?)

One lucky winner will be picked at random from eligible entries

and announced here on Monday.

(then you can email me for where to send your prize,

US or International shipping proveded free)

Have a Festive Friday!!

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Q&A How To Tie Great Bows

	Q&A Q: How do you tie great bows? I look at the catalog and see perfect bows, but mine never turn out looking that nice. What’s the trick? A: There sure are some amazing bows out there! You are right - there are a couple of tricks. First of all, there are many ways to tie bows. I’ll share a quick tutorial below with one of my favorite bows! Second, knowing which types of ribbons work best with certain bows is a big help. And lastly, once you’ve learned about the first two tricks, the last trick is just good old fashioned practice! Ribbons Picking the right ribbon for your size and type of bow is important. Our lovely 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon is ideal for bows on 3-D items, décor, and gifts. It can be used to make bows on cards that you intend to hand deliver, but is too bulky for standard mailing. Ribbons that are narrower and have a thinner, softer texture work best on cards you intend to mail. Ribbons like 1/2" Seam Binding, 3/8" Taffeta, 3/8" In Colors Ruffled, 1/4" Grosgrain, and 1/8" Taffeta make smaller bows with less bulk and work well for mailing. Ribbons like the 5/8" Satin, Crochet Trim, and 5/8" Organza can also work for cards you are mailing depending on the type of bow you tie. Visit my store HERE to see these great ribbons. Bows There are many different ways to tie bows. Some are basic bows like what you tie in your shoelaces, while some fancy bows can have double or triple loops. Some bows use a brad to hold the ribbon in place instead of a knot and other bows are tied around something, like fork tines, as a template. One of my favorites is the “fork bow". It always gets “oh’s, ahh’s, and wows"! The Elegant Bow is also one of my favorites because it is easy, flat, and looks like you know a secret bow-tying trick, which you will! I’ve included a quick tutorial for you below that I hope you enjoy! Elegant Bow Tutorial To create an Elegant Bow, you will need a 5" and a 2" strip of ribbon. 1. Lay a 5" piece of ribbon out flat. Add a dab of SNAIL to the center. 2. Fold in the right end of the ribbon and adhere to SNAIL. Add a dab of SNAIL on top of the ribbon end. 3. Fold in the left end of the ribbon and adhere to SNAIL. Add a dab of SNAIL on top of the ribbon end. 4. Place one end of a 2" piece of ribbon over the center of the folded ribbon creating an upside down “T" shape. Add a dab of SNAIL on top of the ribbon end that is over the folded ribbon. 5. Wrap 2" piece of ribbon around the folded ribbon until it overlaps and adheres to itself. Pull ribbon snug so it is flat, but not so tight that it causes the ribbon to gather. 6. Trim off excess ribbon. 7. The Elegant Bow is complete. Press it flat or push the ends gently to puff it up a bit based on your preference. Adhere the elegant bow to your project alone or layered on a strip of ribbon. Summary I hope you enjoy creating the Elegant Bow. I’d love to teach you and your friends a whole variety of bows, tips, and tricks that will really add that extra-special touch to your cards, scrapbooks, décor, and other crafting projects. Contact me today to book your workshop and we can decide what types of bows will “wow" you and your friends with!
© CraftyPerson Production. Images © Stampin' Up!

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Festive Fridays Berry Christmas

Its that special Friday again -- a FESTIVE FRIDAY!
Festive Friday is a Blog Hop happening the second and fourth Friday of each month, showcasing Christmas projects. By the time we make it to the end of the year, we will have quite the Christmas Stash - not to mention a whole library of inspiration!

If you're joining me directly, you will probably not want to miss the beginning of the hop over at Terri's Blog. If you've joined me from Brendas blog, You're hoppin' along just fine!

A Softer take on Christmas, I share with you the Make Merry card:

Softer colors like Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Soft Suede, with just a pop of Real Red for holiday flavor. A strip of ribbon adds accent to one side, while the button and flower with a brad add some texture. This card is made from a kit I found while cleaning out my craft room. (oh, the wonders we find when we clean :-)

Don't forget to embellish your envelopes for a truely festive touch!

You're off to - Yolondas Crafty Scentiments, Enjoy!

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Cardboard Box Drive In Movie Playdate

 

With the recent release of Cars 2, I thought it would be fun to have a play date for my Moms Club where the kids could get a refresher look at the first Cars movie, and get their craft on!

I set up a play date movie night where the kids could come and make their own car, then drive to the "Drive Ins" for the movie. It was (more than a little bit) chaotic, but also loads of fun! This was originally inspired by a Tip Junkie post about a Cardboard Box Birthday, so you could glam it up alot more for a party - I opted to keep it simple for our playgroup.

I work for a company that has plenty of boxes for free, you could save up your diaper boxes or ask around at local copy shops or appliance stores for boxes too. I collected a box for each child (roughly 18x24x18"), then I cut all the flaps off top and bottom except for one - for a windshield/dashboard. This makes the box light and maneuverable for the kids to pick up and "drive" around.

At the dollar store I got paper plates (5 for each car - wheels, steering wheel or spare tire) and poster borders and accents, glue sticks and tape, and markers. Letter stickers, or yellow paper cut-out for lights, flame cut-outs would be awesome additions, and for a smaller group I would have added more decoration options, but we had 16 kids coming and a 3 hour window to do this in!

As each family arrived, I handed out a box and showed them to Ramones House of Body Art where the plates and decorations were divided and prepared in packs for easy hand out. They could pick up a couple markers and a glue stick as well. The kids decorated the car as they liked - with Moms help, for the smaller ones. I printed off some license plate templates so each child could personalize their car. I allowed only 40 minutes for decorating, in the interest of time saving, but you could opt for longer - the kids loved adding on after they scoped out each others designs.

After the cars were decorated, all the kids paraded around the yard while clean-up inside happened and the movie was set up. Then they all drove back inside to the Drive In to start the show.

I used some of the cut off flaps from the boxes to make Directional signs. Leading to our door I used sidewalk chalk to draw a road, and posted some Route 66 signs and Cars pictures. For movie snacks I popped popcorn and bagged it with a trophy cut out decorating the bag, handed out as they "parked" at the Drive In. They could also grab (from Flo's Cafe) juice boxes or water, and licorice, chips, or some chocolate donuts I arranged to look like Luigis Leaning Tower of Tires.

Decorations were simple and low key - it was a play date, but the kids LOVED it and it was really fun to put on! You could do this for any movie, everyone loves the Drive Ins!

My biggest tip:

Limit the number of kids. It was awesome having 16 kids over, and it worked for the most part, but they do get rambunctious! If you do have a large group, be prepared by having a large space to decorate the cars in. And, be prepared for clean up. Maybe a blanket on the carpet under all the cars, to avoid any major clean up? (not that it was bad, popcorn and chips vacuum up in a jiffy, and limited to water and juice the spills were nothing major either!)

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've enjoyed!

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Festive Fridays Delightful Decorations

Its that special Friday again -- a FESTIVE FRIDAY!
Festive Friday is a Blog Hop happening the second and fourth Friday of each month, showcasing Christmas projects. The goal is to work on a few Christmas Cards a month so you're all ready to mail a gazillion cards by December! Past the Halfway point now, are you seeing the benefit yet?

If you're joining me directly, you will probably not want to miss the beginning of the hop over at Terri's Blog. If you've joined me from Brendas blog, You're hoppin' along just fine!

In honor of this patriotic month, I'm kicking it off with Red - Cherry Cobbler red no less. A little touch of embossing with the Northern Flurry (#102902) embossing folder, and some bling. The stamp set used is the Delightful Decorations (#116517), which coordinates with the Ornament Punch (#119817), tied up with some Natural Hemp Twine (#100982).

Joy. What I hope my holidays are all about this year, with all these Christmas cards already made!

You're off to - Yolondas Crafty Scentiments, Enjoy!

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