Xmas shortbread

Sorry I've been away from here for a wee while, having a bit of a break from crafting to concentrate on my garden for a change.  Everything has slowed down in the crafting world for a week or three, so its now catch up time. 
Today I'm sharing with you the small xmas gifts I made for everyone at work.

 

The ladies were all given a small bag of homemade shortbread, while the men received 'Snowman Poop'.  All were gratiously received.  Below is the template to create the 'wrapper' around the shortbread, while many tutorials can be found on Pinterest for the Snowman Poop and others.

 

 

Fold at the dotted lines, then cut a 'window' in the front.  Here I've used a Fiskars Oval template sized 2.0" x 2.5", then using a circle punch make a small slot for the plastic bag to slip thru the top.  Attach the shortbread (or similar) then create the packaging around it.  Decorate as desired.

 

Simple but very much appreciated, with minimal cost.

Twelve Days of Christmas

Wow who would have thought, here we are with the last Imagine if . .  blog hop for the year, and of course its our last chance to show off all the awesome Xmas goodies Jo has designed for us all.  This time we are showing off either a chipboard book or a MDF box, all beautifully xmas themed.  Not only are we sharing our creations with you we are running a wee competition for you all to WIN xmas goodies for yourself . . . but more about that later.

Time has been very much against me this week, so luckily the paper collection I've used in this book has made my life A LOT easier.

 

The G45 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' collection has been used throughout.  I adore this collection which I bought last xmas with the idea of making xmas decorations for this year . . . no time for that option sadly.  To accommodate the 3 double page spreads I actually removed one of the chipboard pages from the book, then created a pocket for the tags to slip into.

 

G45 has cleverly captured the spirit of this 'story line' well here with the design work on these pages, they have been ideal to create my tags with.

 

On the reverse side of the tags are the lyrics of some of my favourite 'non-traditional' xmas carols.  Sadly my printer 'ate' one of the songs, and is still presently jammed with paper, I think due to this damp humid weather we are experiencing at the moment.

 

Lots of Imagine if . .  chipboard and felt have been used to embellish this book.  Apart from being a very rushed job, this has been a fun project to complete.

 

The competition I mentioned above is infact similar to the theme of this book.  We are asking you to visit all the Design Team posts (as per usual) following our links provided and gather a clue from each site. . . . my clue is "2 running deer".  When you have visited all the sites and have gathered all the clues, simply follow this link to the Imagine if . .  facebook page and simply write "I WANT IT ALL".  Leaving a comment at every visit I'm sure will increase your chances to win .  If selected Jo will then ask you for all the clues, and you will WIN IT ALL.

 

Easy peasy, now for the necessary directions.  Before me you would have visited Katrina and next follow this link to see what Ngaere has instore for us all this week.

 

Imagine If . . product used here are:  stockings

                                                            flourish frame

                                                            candy canes & santas hat

                                                            mini xmas tree

                                                            chipboard book

                                                            felt xmas tree decorations

                                                            lettering

 

Thanks for visiting today and over the last year.  Good luck with the competition.

 I hope you all have a happy and safe Xmas and New Year. 

 

Stocking for Santa to fill

Jo threw us a real curve ball for this weeks blog hop, as in our box of goodies she sent was a burlap stocking in all its naked glory just waiting to be decorated.  Oh dear, what to do ? ? ?  After thinking long and hard I had several ideas going on in my head but when I actually sat down to attempt something nothing was working . . . duh! !  So off to my local Spotlight store with the idea to buy some red & white gingham for my next idea . . . came home with a bag full of other goodies and no gingham.  This is what I ended up with after the rather shaky start.

 

 

After stripes of fabric & trims coloured the background, I then added lots of Imagine if . .  xmas chipboard pieces, along with ribbon, handmade poinsettia & gorgeous holly leaves.



 

This is the 'raw' product, which upon first sight was quite daunting.



 

Here is the stocking with the background stripes attached, now ready for the decorations.  Everything was hot glued in place - I have a burnt finger to prove it.

 

Enjoy these close ups of the decorations.

 

 The poinsettia was relatively each to make, follow the tutorial here and I found a easy to follow tutorial for the double bow on You Tube here.

This has been quite a tricky project to complete within the time frame I now have available at this busy time of year.  I can't wait to see what the other girls on the Design Team have come up with  on their stockings.  If you are following the blog hop correctly you would have started with the newsletter from Jo, worked thru the girls to Carol before me, then follow this link to go back to the Lilian who is at the top of the list.

Imagine If products used: stockings    
                                          candles
                                          frame
                                          bows
                                          gingerbread men, candy canes & santas hat
                                          mini xmas tree
                                          jandals
                                          reindeer

We hope this has really put you in the xmas mood, as there's not too many sleeps to go now.

More Xmas cards

Believe it or not I've actually managed to find time to make a few more different xmas cards.  Again I am entering them in another Artfull Crafts challenge, this time the challenge is for 'Fancy Cards', so this was a great chance to try something a bit different.  As I'm sure you're aware I am not a card maker, so I really chuffed with how they have turned out (luckily I had the help of awesome tutorials to follow).

 

I followed a simple tutorial here. This awesome plaited card was actually very easy to make, using BoBunny card stock, burlap & G45 paper.  Topped off with Imagine if candles and I am Roses flowers.

 

When I saw this awesome idea I just had to give it a go.  Very easy instructions can be found here again using BoBunny cardstock and papers, Imagine if . .  chipboard & Prima flower.

 

Come along to the Artfull crafts site and join in the fun, they are having a new challenge each week before xmas and there are lots of entries already.