The nice people at InLoveArtshop.com sent me this die and I thought it would be perfect to use for our great niece’s 21st birthday card.. They’re also providing my viewers with a 20% off discount code which is G-42879.

https://inloveartshop.com/

Here’s the link to the Big Birthday Wishes die: https://bit.ly/3z3jb0o

Thin foam strips for shaker cards: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ujkfa

Tombow adhesive runner: https://tinyurl.com/44w86fec

Premade card bases A6 link: https://www.craftstash.us/anita-s-a6-cards-blanks-envelopes-white-250gsm-pack-of-50.html

I started with an A6 size card base and cut a piece of 6 x 6″ patterned paper I had down to 4 1/4 x 6″ to fit the base, then cut the big birthday wishes die link: https://bit.ly/3z3jb0o out of a light blue mirror cardstock. After it was die cut, I attached a piece of clear plastic to the back of the big birthday wishes die cut using tear tape to make sure the acetate stayed put. I added two thin rows of the thin foam strips link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ujkfa all around the outside back edge of the blue mirror cardstock that I die cut, making sure there are no gaps so the shaker pieces don’t come out. I laid the card base on a large cutting mat and used washi tape to surround the card base, then removed the card and laid the big birthday wishes die cut inside the spot I’d washi taped, making sure it was centered with the washi tape and was face down. I used an embossing buddy link: https://tinyurl.com/musk96z5 to the sides of the foam tape so the glitter won’t stick to the sides of the foam. Then I used some larger Recollections glitter link: https://tinyurl.com/yc2z52cr and put one color in the top portion of the die cut and another color near the bottom.

To put the card together, I took the card base with the opening facing the left side and laid it onto the die cut making sure it fit exactly into the washi tape I’d surrounded it with earlier, thus making sure the die cut is centered on the front of the card, and helps ensure the shaker pieces don’t fall out when you’re assembling the card.

I had some number cardboard pieces and painted a 2 and a 1 a matching blue color and then painted Brutus Monroe’s Glitter Glue link: https://tinyurl.com/4krnnu3n onto the numbers with a paint brush, then added a fine clear glitter link: https://tinyurl.com/yckrubv7 to both numbers and let them dry. Once dry, I added them to the center of the front of the card using the same thin foam strips to adhere them.

I’m tired of using the same Christmas paper pads, so decided I’d use all I have by making Christmas bags for next year. For each bag you make you’ll use either three pages of 12 x 12″ scrapbook paper for the 12″ x 12″ x 3″ bags or two pages if you make the bag from this video. I made a bunch of 12 x 12 x 3″ bags as well as the bag I make in this video. If you want to make the 12 x 12″ bags, here’s a video where I make them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oklXF8466c The papers I used, I’ve had for a while and were an old DCWV pack…couldn’t find the title, sorry.

To make 8 1/2″ x 9″ x 3″ bags, you’ll use two pieces of 12 x 12″ paper. You’ll need to score one piece of paper (the front) with the pattern facing the top of your scoreboard at 3″ and 11 1/2″ then turn one turn and score at 3″ and at 4 1/2″ but only to the first score line, then turn back to the pattern facing the top of the scoreboard again, and score at 1 1/2″ down to the first score. Take it out of the scoreboard but use your stylus and a ruler and go the the box I drew in the video and score on a diagonal from the top center score to the bottom left side of the box and from the center score to the bottom right side of the box.

The back piece has got a 4 1/2″ score that runs across the paper, so you should be able to tell the difference when you look at both pieces…Here’s the scoring for the back. With the pattern facing the top of your scoreboard, score at 3″ and 11 1/2″ then turn one turn and score at 3″ and 4 1/2″ then turn back so the pattern faces up again, and score at 1 1/2″ down to the 4 1/2″ score. Take it out of the scoreboard but use your stylus and a ruler and go the the box I drew in the video and score on a diagonal from the top center score to the bottom left side of the box and from the center score to the bottom right side of the box. Fold and burnish all of your scores.

You’ll trim both pieces the same way: Where you scored at 1 1/2″ and 3″ on the left side of your paper, at the bottom on that 3″ score, you’ll cut up to the other 3″ score cutting out the score lines and cutting a wedge out of the left and right side of the “box”. Then on the 11 1/2″ score, cut out the bottom section up to the 3″ score (including the score line) and then cut a small wedge out of the top and bottom of the 11 1/2″ scored area.

You’ll also need a piece that will act as a lid, it’s 4″ by 8 1/2″ scored on the 4″ length at 1 1/2″ then round the two corners that are the furthest away from the score line you just made. My corner rounder is a Kadomaru Pro and here’s the link on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/2rvchj2x (I’m not affiliated with Amazon and don’t get paid for YouTube, so only tell you about products so you know how to find them.)

Put tear tape on the face of the 11 1/2″ score line and on the face of the “box” you cut out on the left side of your paper at the bottom. I put tear tape on the inside of the bottom 3″ score section for the front of the bag and on the face of the back of the bag. Remember, the back has that extra score line that runs across at 4 1/2″. I added wet glue to the tear taped area so I could pick the paper back off if I laid it on the wrong spot.

To adhere the papers to each other, lay them both face up with the 11 1/2″ score line of one sheet is laying between the two papers. You’ll want to lay the left paper up the 11 1/2″ score line lining up the 3″ scores near the bottom of the pages and the top of the pages should also line up. Then fold the bag and when you do this you should be able to close the bag onto the other 11 1/2:” score to close the bag. Then take the bottom of the back of the bag and fold it into the bag, then take the side flaps and adhere them to the piece inside the bag, and fold the front piece’s 3″ scored area onto the other pieces and rub them well with a ruler to ensure they’re all well attached to each other.

I took ribbon that was 18″ long (I think mine was too long) and straightened it with a hair straightener and then took the lid I mention above and laid one end of the ribbon under the “lid” 2″ from the right side and attached the ribbon with tear tape and wet glue and then laid a piece of tear tape on the outside of the lid straight up from where the ribbon comes out of the underside of the lid and lay the ribbon on it . Take the other end of the ribbon and attach it the same way 2″ from the left side of the lid. Attach the lid to the back of the bag after pinching the bag to make it flatten out with tear tape and wet glue. I added an old Tim Holtz embellishment to the front after adding two pieces of Velcro to the underside of the lid about 1″ from each side.

I distressed my bag with Soft Suede ink from Stampin’ Up.

Thanks to the nice people at InLoveArts.com for the 20% discount code for my viewers and for sending me these dies to try. The code is G-57831

I found foamIran here in the USA at Ecstasy Crafts link: https://ecstasycrafts.com/products/254000.

I used the following die sets from InLoveArts.com:

Inloveart Christmas Theme Little Decorations (Poinsettia) Metal Cutting Dies： https://bit.ly/2YU4hNH

Inloveart Santa Claus Driving a Car Full of Presents Metal Cutting Dies： https://bit.ly/3zd9Zqi

I took a blending brush and Gina K Cherry Red ink and colored the poinsettias. If you want a lighter color, use the blending brush with ink on it, but with most of the ink rubbed off, to ink white foam. For a darker look, add more layers of ink until you like the color.

Cut the leaves on a branch from the poinsettia die set and ink with different green inks. I used Always Artichoke from Stampin’ Up and then added Distress Inks in Forest Moss and Iced Spruce on the leaves. You can use the small cubes to touch the edges of the leaves for shading or make up sponge brushes work great for adding ink to the edges and then blend out with a blending brush.

I colored three poinsettias in a range of reds from adding more ink to ones I wanted darker, and two of the leaves on branches, as well as six small leaves. I also colored three of the bows from the set, but decided not to use the bows on the tag I made.

I took a piece of white cardstock that’s 5″ x 2 1/2″ wide and then added a piece of Christmasy paper to it. I took a ruler and measured 1/2″ from the top down the side and 1/2″ on the top across the top and made marks, then cut on a diagonal to make this look like a tag. I used my Hay Phi scissors link: https://www.gardenista.com/products/hay-phi-scissors/ to cut the marks on an angle. Take the paper you’ve just cut, and lay it over the opposite corner of the tag then trim the tag using the piece of paper as a template. Then hole punch at the top center of the tag.

McGill stylus set link: https://tinyurl.com/apwkscuy I used a piece of thicker foam under my flowers and leaves and then rubbed the underneath of the leaves with a larger ball stylus to make them 3d and then the center of the flower I rubbed face up, but did the leaves of the poinsettia from beneath.

I added small gold balls (not sure where I got them) into the center of the poinsettias with wet glue. I laid the two leaves on branches onto the tag and glued them in place with Bearly Art Glue and then I used Colall Silicone glue link: https://tinyurl.com/3pwd5xy8 to adhere the poinsettias and the leaves to the tag, but you could also use silicone adhesive from the hardware store, link: https://tinyurl.com/44rmt935 in place of craft glue. I added big dollops of silicone glue under the center of each poinsettia, and under the leaves to they have a lot of dimension.

For the tag with the truck, I simply cut another tag and colored it with blue ink, then die cut the truck set out of white cardstock and colored them with alcohol markers. I colored the wreath with a green marker and then added diamonds to make it look more festive. I colored the bow from the wreath with a red alcohol marker. The bumper and grill I used silver embossing powder on and heat set, and the tires, I rubbed in black ink. The tag seemed to need something, so I added leftover diamonds from diamond paintings and glued them all over with Zig two way glue pen, link: https://tinyurl.com/y2fz23h8 There were a lot more dies for this set, but I was struggling with my coloring, so decided to stick to the larger die elements in the set. You could use these dies for any masculine cards all year round and there are a lot of small dies in the poinsettia set that could be used with any flowers to create a larger bouquet.

I’m not sure where you can find the gnome, as I’ve had it in my stash for a year or so and don’t remember where I got it from. Sorry.

Take a foam wreath from Dollar Tree link :https://tinyurl.com/2p85cbpt and wrap the entire wreath with white ribbon, holding it in place with hot glue. I used a combination of white satin ribbon, and seam binding ribbon to accomplish this. The snowflakes were cardboard from Stampin Up, and although they’re retired, I did find some on ebay, link: https://tinyurl.com/2p82bnvs. I painted the snowflakes with white paint from Dollar Tree link: https://tinyurl.com/bde6njk8 then once they were dry, added Brutus Monroe Glitter Glue link: https://tinyurl.com/57tt5w7a to them with a paintbrush, and added clear fine glitter link: https://tinyurl.com/22hzmuaw, then let them set until they were dry.

I took a popsicle stick and cut one end so it came to a point, and jammed it into the inside back of the wreath, so I could prop the gnome against the stick so it would stay in place. Added hot glue under and behind the gnome so it wouldn’t move, then placed the snowflakes around the wreath. stopping so about 1/6th of the wreath only showed the ribbon I’d wrapped around it. I had some smaller foam glitter snowflakes that I added in spots where the larger snowflakes wouldn’t fit, and here’s a link to snowflakes similar to the foam ones I used. https://tinyurl.com/298bkd8p. I took a piece of extra ribbon that was about 8″ long and made a knot about one inch from the end (after folding the ribbon in half) and then I took three small straight pins with pearl heads and attached the ribbon to the inside back of the wreath as the holder.

I wanted to try to use more hardware supplies, so used a foil tape that I thought was used in plumbing, but might instead be used for HVAC…link: https://tinyurl.com/mr3zcjp6

Ornament #1 Blingy –I took a styrofoam 4″ ornament (remove the hanger before starting) and covered it with the HVAC foil tape link: https://tinyurl.com/mr3zcjp6. You need to be really careful with the edges of this tape, as they are really sharp. If you don’t have a styrofoam ball, use a balloon that you covered with paper mache..here’s a simple recipe using minimal ingredients you should have at home. https://tinyurl.com/szfmeb6m. After the paper mache is dry, simply stick a pin through to pop the balloon and then proceed with the next steps below. Note: If you don’t have the foil tape above, you can also use standard aluminum foil with the matte side glued to the ball. Since the foil tape I used is already sticky, I didn’t need to use any adhesive, but whether you use foil tape or aluminum foil, you need to make sure you use some kind of tool, the edge of a ruler, a popsicle stick, back of a spoon, to flatten the foil to the ball. The flatter the foil, the better it will look. Make sure the edges of the foil are well adhered to the ball and cut off any excess, so the ball doesn’t appear lumpy.

I used hot glue and wrapped Dollar Tree plastic gem ribbon link: https://tinyurl.com/2v8m34m4 and wrapped the first color completely around the ball leaving a small gap at the top for the hanger. Then I added red, blue, gold, and green ribbons and started with the first two colors and laid them so they form a t at the top and bottom of the ball. Then the next two colors you’ll need to trim the very ends so they fit into the gap left between the first two colors. After all ribbon is laid, I added some blue plastic snowflakes I had in my stash, three in a row between each ribbon, and then after, I added small silver flatback pearls above and below the snowflakes link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8rp4tf .

After hot gluing everything in place, I reattached the hanger.

Ornament #2 Floral Ball

Using the same 4″ styrofoam ball, I covered it with aluminum foil so you could see the difference between using the foil tape and aluminum foil and hot glued the foil down. Then I took an old Stampin Up petite petals punch link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9pkrjf and punched probably fifty white flowers, then took a pokey tool and punched a rather large hole through the center, then pushed a Darice Red Holly Berries #3 link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8rp4tf folded in half with the end flattened so it can be pushed into the hole and then hot glued once the berry’s close to the flower. I added leaves I had in my stash link: https://tinyurl.com/3xv87myv and glued a leaf under each flower. I poked holes deep into the ball so the stems could be pushed into it and started at the top of the ball and covered as much space as possible. I think this ball would also work well as mistletoe to be hung over a doorway.

Ornament #3 Christmas Tree

For your hanger, take some kind of cord, thread, ribbon that’s about 10-12″ long, folded in half and knotted about 2″ from the bottom opening. Cut off any excess at the bottom and lay aside. Take an old book and rip the pages out so you have a full page as it will be easier to make it smaller if you need to.

First make your trunk. Fold a couple of pages about 1/2″ to 3/4″ wide , folding the entire page, then hot glue or wet glue, or glue stick the edge, so it stays folded together. I cut mine in half so it’s about 4″ long, but it can be shorter, it just needs to fit inside your tree. I distressed the edges with two colors of Distress Inks, Old Paper and Tea Dye, making sure to cover the bottom edge so it looks complete once it’s in the tree. Take 3-4 sheets of your book and make a diagonal fold from the right side of your paper (the top should be the clean outside edge of your book and the bottom should be the ripped, center of your book) Make the first diagonal fold then put the hanger into the center making sure the knot is outside the fold, then continue folding until the entire page is folded into the tree. Glue the paper to the tree and trim off any excess paper that hangs past the side of the tree and cut the bottom of your tree so it’s straight across. Distress with inks as desired. Squeeze the tree at the bottom and glue the trunk inside. You can use this as a gift card holder, by placing the gift card inside and then putting a thin line of glue at the bottom to hold the card inside. I decorated my tree with e beads knotted on green elastic cord and red tinsel ribbon that I glued to the tree on an angle. .I wanted to add cute silver charms but they wouldn’t fit on either the cord or the tinsel..bummer.

Rich and I love this hot chocolate/coffee mixture and have a friend who loves it too, so we made her a batch for Christmas in a decorated Mason quart jar.

I began by decorating the Mason jar’s lid. I took some white lace trim and hot glued it to the outer rim of the metal lid, then took a piece of red and white checked fabric and cut a circle about 2″ wider than the jar lid. I used pinking shears to cut the fabric so it wouldn’t fray, and it leaves a fun border. I used Christmas metallic elastic cord link: https://tinyurl.com/6w3wv2h3 and threaded some beads and a Christmas button link: https://tinyurl.com/2p844ucr on it, then tied the cord in a knot so I could loop it over the lid making sure it’s tight enough to stay put. I took some Christmas scrapbook paper and cut it 3 1/2″ long by 2″ wide and stamped Christmas onto it in black ink under where it says “Holly Jolly.” On the back of the tag, I stamped to and from. I used an old Stampin’ Up fancy tag topper punch link: https://tinyurl.com/mrj5kj7p to make the top of the tag. I added the tag to silver elastic cord link: https://tinyurl.com/yckp4xzx and tied a knot and looped it over the lid so the tag hangs onto the side of the quart jar.

To make the hot chocolate/coffee, you’ll need: If you buy a standard jar of hot chocolate mix and dry coffee creamer, you’ll be able to make three batches from them. If you want to make more, you’ll need to buy two jars of each.

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 to 1 1/2 cups of instant coffee…I only use 1/2 cup and I think it adds enough of a coffee taste to it .. I used Walmart’s instant coffee and found it needed to be more finely ground, so I put the coffee into a strainer and rubbed my thumb over it to make the coffee very fine

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon you can use more

2 cups dry coffee creamer

1 1 /2 cup cocoa mix—I used Walmart brand, OR you can make your own by mixing the following: ingredients …but you’ll only want to use 1 1/2 cup of this once the ingredients are combined.

2 c. confectioners’ sugar

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c. powdered milk or instant nonfat dry milk

Stir all of the ingredients until well combined and then put into your quart jar…you’ll have more than a quart jar if you use the ingredients above.

I write the directions on the tag which are: Add 3 tablespoons of the hot chocolate/coffee mixture in a cup with hot water then stir. Some people use larger mugs, so you’ll want to taste how strong 3 tablespoons makes it, and if it needs more, add it.

Although you normally use metal stencils for this technique, I did try this with a plastic stencil and Dollar Tree soap, and got good results..here’s the video if you want to check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQjOAb-A7fQ

As always, I look for ways to do a technique for less money and this video is no exception. This is an older, tried and true technique, usually done with double sided (expensive) craft tape. I thought I’d show you how to make it for less, using double sided carpet tape link: https://tinyurl.com/mtasb2hm. Again, if you want to use your plastic stencil and regular soap, watch the video I mention above first, so you don’t damage your stencil.

To make this card, I cut a piece of white cardstock to the size of my Dreamweaver metal poinsettia stencil link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9etaat (that’s retired) then covered the cardstock with the carpet tape from above. You’ll want to use a bath soap to rub the back of the metal (or plastic) stencil. The soap makes it so the carpet tape will be able to be released from the back of the stencil, as without the soap, trying to remove the stencil from this tape is almost impossible to do easily. I bought some Hawaiian soap at a craft show specifically sold to use on metal stencils, so used that on this stencil, but again, if you watch the video I mention at the top, you’ll find the other soaps I tried that worked perfectly for this technique. After you’ve covered the back of the stencil with bar soap (you can see the soap when you look at the stencil), lay it directly onto the cardstock, (after removing the backing paper off the carpet tape).. making sure the stencil is sitting squarely on the cardstock and no edges are showing.

Then, making sure the stencil is well adhered to the tape, decide the colors of glitter you want to use. I started in the center with the gold glitter from a set of 54 from Arteza link: https://tinyurl.com/4cvserd3 that I like very much. I used two red colors and a green for the leaves, and once the flower was completely filled in with glitter, I took the backing paper I’d removed from my carpet tape, and gently rubbed all of the glitter to ensure it was well adhered, then gently removed the stencil. I then took a clear glitter and added it to the rest of the paper surrounding the poinsettia, then again, rubbed it with backing paper to make sure it wasn’t going to fall off. I took an A2 sized white card base (8 1/2 ” x 5 1/2″ scored on the 8 1/2″ side at 4 1/4″) and added a patterned piece of Christmas cardstock from Craft Perfect Santa’s Workshop link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8d2kbx that was slightly shorter, added Wink of Stella clear ink to the images on the green paper, then put foam tape (I’d give you a link to it, but hate this foam tape so don’t want you to waste your money on it) and put several rows on the back of the poinsettia image.

I laid the poinsettia to the top right of my card base, then found an old punch that I don’t know the name of, and punched white cardstock with it, then stamped in black ink the sentiment “Wishing you Joy” from a Yulekito stamp set link: https://tinyurl.com/ybcrcuay/ .

I stamped “with love at Christmas” on the inside of the card in the same black ink, then took some red half-pearls that were all attached in a row, cut them apart, and added four to the corners of the sentiment on the front of the card, and called it a day.

I’ve seen this ornament made with fabric, and thought I’d give it a try with paper. To be honest, I think hot glue would have worked a lot better than using tear tape and Glue Dots, but that didn’t occur to me until I was hot gluing the trim in place.

I started with a 4″ Styrofoam ball ornament and recommend you make this with a 3″ or even 2 1/2″ Styrofoam ball instead, as 4″ is a lot of work.

You’ll need three different paper patterns and I recommend very light weight paper for this project, the lighter the better. If you use a 4″ ball, you’ll need four patterns.

Cut your paper into 2″ squares. Fold each 2″ square in half and then fold that piece in half so you have a 1″ square, then open the square and fold the sides into the center line on an angle..do this with both sides so you have a piece that is a triangle with an opening in the center. I added tear tape to the back near the bottom, but I think hot glue might be easier. I added a mini Glue Dot to the back at the top, as well as one inside the opening to make sure the two pieces that might stick up, is now not going to move.

The first pattern will be for the very top and bottom, and you’ll only need a total of 8 squares. The second pattern takes a total of 16 squares and the third takes 16 as well (remember you need 8 for the top and 8 for the bottom.) I had to do another row and that 4th row took 18 for one side, so I needed a total of 36 of those.

You’ll start with your first pattern and you’ll want to start at the very bottom of your ball, completely opposite from the hanger. Lay one of your folded pieces so the center point is at the very top of the ball, and then put the second piece so the point touches the point of this one..they are at opposite sides from each other, then lay the next piece so it’s between these two and then add the fourth one so it is opposite that piece, making sure they all touch at the center. When you add the second row, you want to follow the center line of your first pieces down about 1/2″ and make sure the first piece’s center line is a continuation of the center line of the first row. Continue around the ball making sure each piece’s center line is lined up with the row above it. When you get to your third row, you’ll still try to line these up, but make sure you don’t leave any gaps where there’s no paper, so you might not be able to go 1/2″ below the row above. The fourth row, you’ll lay pieces on either side of the ones you are continuing their lines on, as you’ll have gaps in the paper if you don’t put these extra one in. Try to make sure all of the bottoms of your paper are lined up, as this layer is the one you need to have an even bottom for adding trim.

Remove the hanger and do the same steps on the other end of your ball trying to make sure the two ends are lined up.

I painted my ball with acrylic paint in a stone color, to hide the white under the gold trim. I bought the trim at Dollar Tree but couldn’t find a link for it online, and since I bought it several years ago, I’m not sure if they still sell it. I used hot glue to adhere the trim down and then added a very thick red and gold trim on either side of the gold trim to hide the paper edges. You definitely need to add a thick trim to the edges to hide the thicker paper…

After the ball is finished hot glue the hanger back in the center of one end of your ornament.

I found an amaryllis bulb that was already sprouted at Walmart for under $6, and thought it would be fun to decorate the planter for my girlfriend for Thanksgiving. I added masking tape to the top, to help keep the dirt inside and to protect the bulb, but that didn’t work well and after I removed the masking tape, I unfortunately tore a lot of the label off the top. I’m not sure what else I could have done to protect the plant, as the leaves sprouting out of the top did not allow for me to take the label off. If I didn’t have the label to consider, I might have dumped the bulb and dirt out of the bucket and cleaning the inside of the bucket before attempting this.

First, I painted the bucket with old Dylusions white paint that they now have repackaged link: https://tinyurl.com/2k4spwvf and a sponge dauber. I used a heat tool to dry the paint and then used Artminds Decoupage matte finish (similar to Mod Podge) sold at Michaels link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9fzaa8 below the tissue and over the tissue to seal it.

I used tissue paper that I found at the Dollar Tree https://tinyurl.com/52t86ycr and using my Fiskars guillotine paper trimmer (link: https://tinyurl.com/mstnkbsz) I cut strips from 1/2″ to 1 1/2″ wide. I have to say, the strips that were a little wider gave me more options for lining up the Christmas trees with the tissue I already laid on the planter (bucket). I tried a very wide strip (3″ wide) and because of the tree pattern and the top of the bucket being so much larger than the bottom, the really wide strip made the pattern angle too much, so I tore it back off and went back to the thinner strips.

When you use a tissue that has a design, you need to overlap the strips to make sure the pattern looks good on the bucket. I forgot to put the camera on after the strips were dry and I wanted to add more sheen, so took gold mica powder (LA Colors gold eyeshadow is what I used from Dollar Tree) and a spray sealant to make sure the mica powder stuck to the bucket. The sealant I also found at the Dollar Tree link: https://tinyurl.com/559c4dn5

I decided it would look nicer if I added some gold rhinestone trim that I’d bought at the Dollar Tree a few years ago to the top of the bucket, so I took my Gorilla Glue hot glue gun and glued the trim to the top. I wanted more embellishment, so took a gold plastic poinsettia and glued it over the trim. Then found some fabric leaves and glued them and a couple of swirls from a floral pick around the poinsettia. It isn’t the greatest project, but in the end, I was happy with the results.

These cards are so simple and inexpensive to make, as all you truly need are photocopies of your image and then whatever embellishments you choose to accent your card. The only accents I used were by using a Wink of Stella type product for sparkle and Sharpies to outline my images.

I used a Google search “free printable Thanksgiving or Christmas vintage postcard” and chose three from the choices I found. Then I printed on cardstock, three images of each postcard.

The links to the images I used are:

Merry Christmas postcard link: https://www.pictureboxblue.com/pbb-cont/pbb-up/2019/11/Merry_Christmas_typography-1.jpg

Santa Clause postcard link: https://www.inspirational-quotes-short-funny-stuff.com/image-files/printable-christmas-cards-vintage-ellen-clapsaddle-child-santa-claus-letter.jpg

Thanksgiving postcard link: I don’t know why I can’t find the original link, but here’s a good image to use for this technique. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OlpdHd4L__0/TNN2wOHZDiI/AAAAAAAAJMw/HbC2MgQk3R4/s1600/vintage+thanksgiving+postcard+1927.JPG When you print these images, you’ll want to make sure the image size is 4 x 6″ so it prints all three the same size as a postcard.

Use a 5 x 7″ card base and add a layer of color coordinated cardstock that is 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ over the base, then cut out one of the images you printed, cut the full image, and add that to the card base with a layer of foam tape under it, to add dimension. I used a Sharpie in matching ink to outline this layer. Then choose whatever portions of the image that you want to make three-dimensional, and cut those pieces out…You may want to cut that image twice, as it will really enhance the 3-d look if you add one on top of the other. I used Colall decoupage glue link: https://www.craftstash.us/collall-3d-decoupage-silicone-glue-kit-80ml.html.. I said I bought it from HSN but was wrong, as I bought it from craftstash.us.com, sorry. If you don’t want to buy this glue, you can use either hot glue to add dimension or, use a clear silicone sealant for use with sinks and tubs…link: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Loctite-Clear-Silicone-2-7-fl-oz-Waterproof-Sealant-908570/303769575.

Make sure when you glue these pieces in place, that you lay the bottom of the image close to the card base and make the top stick up more, as it will help make it look more 3-d. I also recommend you ensure laying each layer so it is completely lined up with the image under it. I used Smooch Pearlized Inks in this video, that I’ve had in my stash for a long time, and found it’s since been discontinued, sorry.