Modpodged Picture Frame Gift

I made these two frames as part of my Mum's Christmas present. Please excuse the reflection of my Christmas lights in the pictures! The frames were bought in the €2 shop (10"x 8") and were horrible plastic black and white things. I got an old French dictionary and inked up the pages with Tim Holtz Old Paper Distress Ink. Then I tore them into strips and modpodged them onto the frame. A few layers of paper and Mod Podge later and I let it dry out. Then I printed out some beautiful flower prints from The Graphic Fairy (free to download), cut them out and stuck them on with another layer of Mod Podge. I find that a sponge applicator is far better than a brush for this kind of thing. I got a great value pack of 25 for €2.99 from Cardz N Scrapz. The prints inside the frames were bought from an Etsy shop called Optic Illusions. I bought the two bird prints for $2.50 and they print beautifully on A4 photo paper. By the way I got the prints for 50% off using the coupon code CHRISTMAS. She has some great printables in her shop and the customer service was fantastic :) So here are a few more pictures. Thanks for looking!

Stamped Candle

I used my new stamp (Early 1900's Music Background Stamp) from Purple Onion Designs to jazz up this candle from the €2 shop. It is one of those ones with an LED light inside. It also has a very thin layer of wax on the outside so you can use the tissue paper and heat gun method on it. I have seen the idea on many blogs but it was Michele's version of the Pottery Barn candles that inspired me to try it. Check out the blog for the full instructions. There are loads of great ideas over there. I have some real candles to try it on next, so hopefully I will be able to improve my technique!

Christmas Bauble Wreath

I saw this bauble wreath idea on Eddie Ross and had to have a go. I used about 70 baubles from Homebase, using two different packs so I could mix up the colours. Think it cost about €7 to make altogether. They recommend using smaller baubles to fill in the gaps but mine are all the same size. I think it looks ok once you wiggle them around to hide the hanger. I just need to get some wide ribbon to cover up the hanger at the top. I love sparkly things at Christmas!!

New Stamp from Purple Onion Designs

I found a new website with these great stamps that look like letterpress posters.It's called Purple Onion Designs. I just love that retro look! I got the Birthday and Thank You stamps and they're great to stamp with. They're quite big so really take centre stage on the card. I made these two with the Birthday stamp.

More Christmas Cards

Just a few pictures of some Christmas cards I finished in the last few days. In the first one I punched out snowflakes using a MS punch. The stamps are Cuttlebug diecuts and the paper is from Payper Box. It's hard to see in the picture but it has an embossed surface.

This one has a Santa stamp and sentiment from Papertrey Ink, downloaded sheet music and gingham ribbon from The Ribbon Girl.

With this card I used scraps of the sheet music from above and an old topper that has been lurking around since last year. The baker's twine is from The Ribbon Girl and the dewdrops are from Papermania.
This one is more or less the same except for the Christmas tree, which I downloaded and printed out. The red dewdrops on the tree are from Papermania and the ones in the corner are from The Ribbon Girl. The "Joy" sentiment is from PTI

Welcome Home and Happy Birthday Card

This card is a "Welcome Home" card for my friends premature baby, who has finally come home after 2 months in hospital :) The plane stamp, sentiment and cloud die are all from Papertrey Ink. The frame is the negative of PTI's notebook die. I am trying to use up everything these days. It seems a nice shape so it seemed a shame to throw it away! The red and white thread is made from twisted wool.

This card is made for a friend's birthday. I HATE making men's cards, but I actually enjoyed this one. I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss the stars and then stamped stars onto black strips of card for the borders. The sentiment is a Letraset rub-on, which I have had for donkey's years. Never realised it was silver this whole time! The oval and scalloped oval is cut using nestabilities.

Jay Gee's Nook Challenge #2 Entry

This is my entry into Jay Gee's Nook Challenge #2. This is the inspiration picture below.

And here is my effort. The background paper is a free download which I cut up and inked with Antique Linen ink. I stamped and cut out a Christmas tree from PTI, coloured and stickled it, and then wrapped bakers twine around it. The ribbon and twine are from The Ribbon Girl. The card blank is from Hero Arts. And that's it! Thanks for visiting :)