Christmas with Feeling Sketchy #133

Hi everyone!!  Welcome, and thank you for dropping by, so nice to have you visit.

I started making my Christmas cards for this year a few weeks ago.  Haven't made very many yet but am totally stoked that I actually managed to get them started this early.  Well, early for me anyway.  It's usually December before I even start thinking about them and to have actually started making them in November is amazing!!  I am so proud of myself!!  Anyways, I thought, seeing as I was making cards anyway, why not make one for a Challenge, and so the card I am about to share with you was made for the Feeling Sketchy Challenge # 133.
I saw the sketch thanks to Lizzy Crust at Crumbs of Creativity (love her work!!) and thought it would be perfect for one of my cards so ..

This is the sketch  ..

 .. and this is my interpretation.

I have used papers from Megs Garden's  'A Musical Christmas' Mini Paper Pack and turned the sketch upside down ('cos I could!!)  LOL!!

This large bloom was white originally.  I simply sprayed it with Dylusions Cherrie Pie Ink Spray.

I've had those gold 'Merry Christmas' stickers in my stash for years.  Found them again while I was cleaning up and they came in very handy!

The tickets to the North Pole are from an old Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet and the little bauble spray was pulled out of a Christmas decoration which was bought specifically for use on my cards!

Created a pocket for a Gift Voucher by fussy cutting one of the paper sheets.  The quote at the top is a cut apart from another Kaisercraft collection.

Created a bit of 'snow' on my card by adding some spots of gesso and then, while it was still wet, sprinkling it with some glitter.  You can't see it too well on these photos but it looks really pretty!!  Pamelia Johnson did a fabulous tutorial on the Frilly and Funkie site.  Her card is a lot snowier than mine but I did use some of her technique!!

So, another card done, and a Challenge entered!!
At the beginning of the year I had intended to enter at least one Challenge each month.  Well, that never happened so, I'm thinking, maybe next year!  Maybe!!  You never know!!

Thank you so much for visiting and here is the Link again for the Feeling Sketchy Challenge.  Why not have a go??  It's really fun and so easy to make a card following a sketch!

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!!
Happy Christmas Crafting!!
Take care and God Bless.

An Anniversary Card

Hello again everyone!!  A very warm welcome to my blog, so pleased you came for a visit and I hope you are all having a wonderful day!  I have some new followers as well.  A very warm welcome to you and thank you so much for joining me.

I am quite busy making my Christmas cards at the moment and really enjoying the process.  Will start showing them soon but not just yet.  Gotta keep you in suspense just a bit longer.  LOL!!

My oldest son and his beautiful wife celebrated their Anniversary a few days ago and so I am here to share the card I made for them. 

The papers used are from Prima's 6 x 6 Timeless Memories Paper Pad.  I  simply tore it at the top and bottom, rolled the edges and added a small piece of black lace behind the openings ..

.. then inserted my flower clusters along with some stamens and bits of twine.

Added some Prills, did a little doodling and splashed a bit of white gesso and black ink over the paper.

The flourish was cut with Die-namics Framing Flourishes die.  I actually cut two and glued them together for a bit more dimension.
I'm really enamored of this staggered style of card at the moment.  That extra bit at the side just makes it a little more unique!!  I think so anyway.

The inside edged with strips of  the same papers.

I really liked this colour combination .. will definitely have to use it again!!

Thank you so much for coming to visit. For my South Aussie peeps, hope you keep your cool over the next few days, it's going to be HOT!!!

Take care everyone and I hope you have a very enjoyable week.
God Bless.

Step by Step Tutorial for My Simple Christmas Planner!!

Hello you lovely visitors and welcome to my little blog.  Hope you are enjoying your day.  A very special welcome to my new followers.  Thank you so much for joining me on my crafty journey!!  Hopefully, I can give you some inspiration now and then.

So, as promised, here is the step by step for the Christmas Planner I shared in my last post.

If you've been to have a look at it you would have seen it is nothing fancy .. I wanted to keep it simple because it's going to be used quite a lot over the next couple of months and, hopefully, in years to come as well.

This is going to be a very long post so, grab yourself a nice cuppa and a comfy chair and here we go!!

The Inside Pages

You will need:

Two sheets of Card stock 8.25" x 10".  I actually used two sheets of A4 and simply trimmed the length down to 10".

Designer paper to decorate.

Double sided tape for adhering your papers.

A small amount of wet Glue.

 Score your card stock on the long side, at 7".

To create the gusset, score on the short side at 4" and again at 4.25".  If you're using an A4 sheet like I did, it will be the tiniest bit wider than 8.25" so, simply find the center of the short edge ..

 line it up on your score board (I lined it up on the 5" mark) .. 

.. and score 1/8th" on either side so that you have a quarter inch scored section running down the center of your sheet.

I rounded the corners on mine but, of course, that is optional.

 Fold along the score lines

Run a line of glue (I used Glossy Accents) along the gusset in the 3" section ..

 .. fold up the bottom and press it down to create the pockets.   You can glue the outer edges down as well but I didn't bother because it is much easier to insert your lists and receipts if the outer edges are left open.  It will still hold everything in place.

I would suggest that you decorate the inside of your pages at this stage.  You can do it once the book is assembled but it is a lot easier to do it now.  Don't decorate the outside as yet though. 

Repeat this process with the second sheet.

The Cover

You will need:

2 pieces of chipboard measuring 5" x 7".   Cardboard is also suitable or anything really that has a bit more strength to it.  You could just use cardstock but it wouldn't be as sturdy.  

1 piece of chipboard measuring 5/8th " x 7" for the spine.

Cloth tape.

Elastic -  3" for the pen loop and 10.5" for the closure.  I used two different widths of elastic but the same width could be used for both.

Designer paper to decorate.

Double sided tape. 

A small amount of wet glue.

Lay all three pieces of chipboard flat on your work surface (as shown) lining up the edges and leaving a small gap (about an eighth of an inch) between each one for movement.

Then, tape the three pieces together.  I used Cloth Tape (available at Hardware Stores like Bunnings) but you could use Duct Tape, Cardstock, fabric, anything that will hold the cover in place and still be flexible for opening and closing the booklet.  Whatever you use needs to be at least 2" wide.  This is enough to cover the spine and give you just over half an inch on either side.  Turn the cover over and also tape the other side in the same way.  On the inside, run an embossing tool between the cover pieces  so that the tape sinks into the crease.  This will help to ensure that it will open and close properly.

To add the pencil loop, take the 3" piece of elastic, loop it around the pen or pencil you wish to use and sew the loop closed.  Then use a hot glue gun to tape the ends to the cover making sure the loop sits in the center of the spine. I staggered the ends of the elastic so it wouldn't be quite as bulky under the inserts.

This is how it looks at this stage.

To add the elastic closure .. on the outside of the cover, mark where you would like it to sit ..

..   and glue approx. 1.5" of the elastic to the top of the cover using your hot glue gun.  Run your elastic around the back of the cover making sure not to get it twisted and glue the other end 1.5" to the bottom of the cover.  As you can see, I had already started putting on the double sided tape ready to add the papers before I remembered to take a photo of where I stuck the elastic.  Got a bit over enthused I think!  LOL!!

Here it is, all closed up and ready to decorate!!

Now, I know you are all well versed in how to adhere your selected papers to the cover of your book, but I thought I would show you how to glue it down around the elastic closure.

Turn the elastic to the inside of the back cover and then adhere your paper to the outside.  As you can see I only took my paper to the edge of the cloth tape.  I didn't bother trying to cover the spine.  I did say this was clean and simple didn't I??  Wasn't kidding!!  LOL!!

Turn the book over.  You now need to slit the paper so as to accommodate the elastic.

I've drawn a pencil line showing where you need to slit the paper .. from the edge straight down to the center of the elastic.

Turn the book over again. and make a tiny slit on each side of the cut to the width of the elastic as shown.  Sorry for the blurry photo.  I didn't realise how fuzzy it was until after I had already finished the book, but I think you get the idea.

Turning the book back again (getting repetitious isn't it??  LOL!!)  place double sided tape all around the edge of the cover.  You need to stick down the top and bottom edges of the paper first.  On either edge (doesn't matter which one you do first), start folding the paper over, gently ease it around the elastic (being careful not to tear it) and stick it down. 

 Then do the same for the other side.

Once the top and bottom edges have been stuck down, turn the elastic back to the outside of the cover.

Before folding the end edge over you will need to trim the corners of the paper so it will sit neatly.

Once it's stuck down you can round your corners if necessary.  As you can see, the paper doesn't sit flat once you've done your corners but I simply stuck it down with some wet glue.

 And here is the cover, all finished!!

Now to add your pages.
Adhere double sided tape on both sides of the inserts.  You need to decide how you want this planner to open up.  If you are doing it the same way as mine, the closed end of the insert needs to go to the outside edge of the Planner.   Adhere your selected paper to the front of the insert.

Remove the backing from the double sided tape, center the insert on the cover and stick down. You can see that it leaves about 1/2" of the cover showing on both sides of the insert.  It doesn't really matter how far in from the outer edge you glue your insert, but you must leave at least that 1/2" on the inside to accommodate your pen or pencil when the cover is closed. 

Adhere the other insert to the opposite cover and, that's it.. your planner is finished!!  You can, of course, add any other decoration you wish.

About the lists, I created my own in excel but, unfortunately haven't yet worked out how to convert them to PDF so I can't offer them to you.  I am still working on it though and hope to get it done (with a little help from a friend) soon. 

I hope I have made these instructions reasonably clear but, if you have any questions, simply leave your query in the comments section with a way for me to contact you and I will get back to you with the answer.

Thank you so much for taking a look at my little step by step and sticking with me to the end.  If you decide to create your own planner based on these instructions, please let me know as I would really love to see it.

Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.

 

A Clean and Simple Christmas Planner.

Hi everyone and welcome to my little blog.  Hope you are all enjoying your day.

Well, I can't believe it .. I have actually started on my Christmas projects and it's only the beginning of November!!!  I have actually made my first Christmas card!!  Not showing that just yet but it's a total miracle!!  I have amazed myself .. crikey, I might even get everything done before the end of the month!!  Whoops!!  I might have just jinxed it all by saying that.  LOL!!

Anyways, as the Title suggests I have a simple Christmas Planner to show you.  Having never had one of these before (I just wrote everything down on some spare bits of paper which would inevitably get lost and then I would have to start all over again and try to remember what was on the original list!!  LOL!!) I wasn't really sure just exactly what I wanted.  I knew I wanted something simple that would keep my lists safe and secure and which I could use from year to year.  Well, of course, the first place you look for inspiration is on the web but I couldn't find one that I thought was just right for me so, using some different ideas from different places, I came up with this ..

As I said, Clean and Simple!!!  The papers I've used are from Kaisercraft's 'Holy Night' 12" x 12" Paper Pad and this is how the Planner opens up.

Might seem a bit strange having the pages open out this way but I will explain shortly.

  
There is a small elastic loop attached to the spine to hold a pen or pencil and each of the inside pages is a pocket.
The left hand side holds a Card List and a Gift List ..

.. and the right hand side holds the Menu with a shopping list underneath and also an envelope for receipts, etc.  Any recipes, ideas for cards, ads for pressies I may be interested in, can all be slid into the pockets behind the lists.
The lists themselves I actually created in Excel.  There are three to a page so, after printing them, I just have to cut them out and staple them together.  Easy peasy!!
 

The reason why I positioned the pages to open from the inside out was so that I could see all of my lists  at once without having to turn pages to get to the next one.  'Cos I'm lazy!!  LOL!!  Actually it just seemed more convenient that way.  (My story .. sticking to it!! he! he!)

 This is how it looks without the lists in place.

 The back of the planner ..  the elastic band is the closure.  Wish I had used something prettier but I was too impatient to get it finished and this was all I could find.

The book is small, only 5" x 7", so it will easily fit into my handbag.  One of the reasons I didn't do much in the way of embellishment is that I knew I would want to carry it around with me and it would all just get damaged.  Or, of course, I only need to take out the relevant lists when I go shopping.

So, I now have all my Christmas info in one place!!  Now all I need to do is NOT lose this book!!  LOL!!

If you like this project, I will be posting a step by step tutorial on its construction in the next few days.  Would love to have you back to take a look and, maybe, construct one of your own.

Thank you so much for visiting and do enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.
Happy Christmas crafting!!!