Sending you wishes in a gift card Melissa Frances and Scrapbook Adhesives

Happy Holidays everyone.  My family’s culture is European so for us Christmas is not just on the 25th but we celebrate the full 12 days with gifts of gratitude.   Many of the ex Commonwealth Countries celebrate Boxing Day as the day you traditionally give small gifts to the tradespeople or staff who have worked with you through the year.  In Ireland they have St Stephen’s day and across Europe there are the fests of Le Jour des Rois and  dia de los Reyes Magos.

In the spirit of gratitude and giving I am sharing free tutorials over the next few days.  To say thank you for your support through the year and as a sampler of our workshops we have hosted in the past.  Today we are kicking off with a Melissa Frances supported by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L. 

 

This project has lots of layers of envelopes, tags, stickers, embellishments and trims that are the personalization and make your project  uniquely U.    A tag is a good base to build a gift card, with little pockets for the gift certificates and personalized with special messages that tell them what they mean to you.

 

Products

Ranger Craft Tag size 10 ( 8 ½” or 22cms)

Scrapbook Adhesives  E-Z  tape runner

Versa Color Inx Petal Pink

Thin ribbon to tie off the tags

Grey felt tip pen or copic

 

Melissa Frances Products:

Green Honeycomb paper

Holiday Notes paper

Green velum envelopes

Tags and die cuts from Holiday Notes, Hopeful, Vintage Treasures, C’est la Vie

Resin frames and a heart

Green pompom trim

This is a classic and  pretty project that does not take much time to finish.   One of my favourite time savers is to use the right tools or products, like Scrapbook Adhesives tape runners.   Their velum tape is very clear or hardly shows at all. All of the Scrapbook Adhesive tapes hold really well on all kinds of surfaces. Even the fabric pompom trim holds firm with Scrapbook Adhesive tapes.

Directions:

Cover the jumbo tag with Melissa Frances Honeycomb paper.

Cut the countdown date strip from Melissa Frances Holiday Notes and attach to the left side of the tag. Add pompom trim behind the tag on the left side.

This post card tag is from Melissa Frances’ Christmas Collection but there are lots of postcard images in the Melissa Frances range of papers and tags, if you wanted to try something different.

The Melissa Frances velum envelopes come with plain white tags.  You can use these as a template to cut colorful tags from matching papers.    Or use some of the tags from C’est la vie, Hopeful, Vintage Treasures, or the Holiday collection.  This is a great place to add special messages that tell the recipient how much they mean to you.

To build up the postage corner, there is a small tag from the Hopeful collection, recycled postage stamps and a Dec 25 tag cut from the Holiday Notes paper.

One of the things I love about the Melissa Frances resin trims is that they take colour so well.  Because we want this to be a quick project I rubbed them down quickly with a light touch of the petal pink ink and set it aside to dry.  Then to give the details emphasis, another quick wipe accented the details nicely when the 2^nd coat dried a deeper shade.

 Start building the envelopes in the left corner, biggest envelopes first, pointing to the right, another on top of that pointing up. The large envelopes are just the right size for gift cards.  Finish with a tiny tag and the resin heart.

A good trick for bringing a collage together is to hand draw  stitching around the edges of all the trims and envelopes with a pen  or doodle lines. That tricks your eye into seeing everything as being connected. 

There you go, a quick and easy gift card holder with personality.  Would love to see you soon in one of my full workshops that include introductions to mixed media techniques on the My Creative Classroom website.  This is a little peek from one of the Mail Art workshops.

Happy Holidays

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." Norman Vincent Peale

Happy Holidays to all my blogging friends.  2013 has been a humdinger around here, am thankful for friends and being able to enjoying the great outdoors for holding me together.  Sharing photos this week that show a little of my mixed up Christmas themes,  with a photo of the decorated windows at the historic Bay in Toronto (Hudson Bay Trading Company in previous eras) we have lots of special memories associated with this day out and one from the sunshine filled beach where we will spend the 25^th. 

 

I love altered art and  the reflections of the wintery skyline in the window over the cute decorations makes me smile.

For the next few weeks this will be my skyline, big blue horizons reflecting sparkling sunshine.

For a giggle, this is a video clip of local black swans, who have taken to body surfing at the beach.  Nature at play ~ got to love it.

To say thank you for visiting and cheering us on, the next few weeks I will be posting tutorials for workshops that I am retiring this year.  Be sure to come back for a visit, there will be designs using all of my personal favourites Melissa Frances, Scrapbook Adhesives, Maya Road, Basic Grey and Crate Paper.

Link Parties: Sky Watch Friday,

Thankful

 “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them” John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American family and friends. As long as we remember to say please, thank you and appreciate all that is good in our lives it sure does make a difference in this fast paced modern world we live in. 

Thanksgiving has always been my favourite holiday, it can be a beautiful day, quiet and simple and uncomplicated as simply taking time to be thankful for all that is good.

Plymouth  was our home for many years. The things I love about the region include being able to smell pine and salty beaches at the same time, fresh seafood, sandy beaches, quiet forests with unexpected encounters with nature at play, the many little local artists and markets and shopkeepers, going to school and hanging out with kids with names that connected us to history.   The Plymouth Plantation is a fantastic adventure to visit to get a feel of life for the pioneers and appreciate their accomplishments.

 

This photo was taken on one of the beaches at Plymouth not far from the famous rock.

 

Psalm 71:14

"As for me, I will always have hope."
Started working on the calendar and schedule for the next few weeks and realised 2013 is almost over. It has been a blur of all kinds of events around here but focusing on the future and appreciating all beauty that does surround us. Sharing a photo for fans of Sky Watch Friday from the beautiful north coast of New South Wales were we could almost call this a room with a view.
Putting the finishing touches on a new workshops as well, including this gift card holder for the holiday season based on a jumbo tag with lots of special little details.

The class is part of the My Creative Classroom offerings, lots to choose from for all kinds of crafters. Have a wildly creative weekend friends!

Sharing a video clip from time lapse photographer Louie Schwartzberg and TEDx on the topic of living with gratitude that can't help but make you smile.

 

It is that time of year .... the holiday music has started.

Hopes & Dreams

"There is a world where hope and dreams can last for all times."Ariel

Happy Sky Watch Friday my friends, click the link to see what bloggers from all over have found in their skies to share this week.  Have been busy with a few projects the last few weeks, taking up new roles with the Craft and Hobby Association Designers Group and launching new on line workshops including this one on textures called Bricks and Stones.

Whatevers is a challenge site hosted by 3 creative friends Cat Scanlon, Vicki Chrisman, Nat Kalbach,  to celebrate found photos and the stories that could be told.    My creation is Charles and Chelsea which started here  

This edition is titled the colourful world down under.

Dearest Charles,

We have been motoring across the countryside and our timing could not have been better, the desert wildflowers are in bloom everywhere.  The hills are a rainbow of bright vivid hues of every colour.  Catherine has been sketching the many pretty flowers.  Tomorrow we are travelling on the city of Grafton for their famous Jacaranda festival in a blaze of purple.

Write more when we get there! 

Chelsea

 

Found photos of weddings, babies, or young people going off to war are often for sale at jumble stalls and antique centres.  Rich with details of fashion or landscapes that have changed and vintage automobiles, but sadly with no voice to tell their stories.  Do you ever wonder, who are these people and what is their story? Click the link to the Whatevers and see how some of collaborating creatives are taking their stories, everyone is welcome to join in.

The flowers on this page are cut from Catherine Scanlon’s Art Journal Coloring Book.

Possibilities

"There are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.”  H. E. Fosdick
Ordinary days, ordinary walks, and ordinary moments, you never know when they can turn extra special on you and one of the reasons why I like Sky Watch Friday, it is great fun to see what bloggers from all over the world have found in their sky to share with us this week.

Have been busy creating new tutorials for My Creative Classroom, Shadowboxes for an early start on holiday gifts and mixed media quickie tutorials. The stamps on this card are from Catherine Scanlons's new collection with Art Gone Wild.

Welcome to Country

"My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for.”  John Wayne

Being who he was, everyone would know what country John was referring to, but I hope we all feel the same about our own little patch of the earth. There are so many beautiful places to be appreciated and protected.  View of the horizon looking towards Nightcap National Park.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what bloggers from all over have to share this week.
 

Happy Days

"Happiness,
not in another place
but this place
not for another hour
but this hour”
Walt Whitman 

Celebrating spring in the tropics, all the trees are bursting with flowers and the birds are enjoying the sweets of the season.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what bloggers from all over have found in their sky to share this week.

 



Today

"Today I shall behave as if this is the day I shall be remembered." Dr Seuss
Walking unspoiled beaches like this, we leave trails, foot prints, hopefully no rubbish, and simply enjoy the show that nature provides us.  Click the link for Sky Watch Friday to see what bloggers from all over the world have found in their sky to share this week.
 

Courage

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to ones courage" Anais Nin

Love these quiet salty marshes full of nooks and potential adventure.  Sharing a vacation photo with friends in Sky Watch Friday the biggest and best linky party celebrating the simple joys of watching the sun go by.
 

Light

In the right light at the right time, everything is extraordinary, Aaron Rose

How very true, a pretty afternoon and view can turn spectacular with a change of light.  Am sharing a photo from one of my favourite beaches showing off a pretty play of light off encroaching clouds.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what 100s of bloggers from all over have found in their sky to share this week.

Putting the finishing touches on a new mixed media workshop for My Creative Classroom. 

Blue Sky Afternoons

click to enlarge

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life, it turns what we have into enough and more"  Melody Beattie

Am grateful to have taken time out to travel, enjoying beautiful blue sky afternoons, spending time with family and friends.  This cool weather vane is typical of the New England and Maritime regions and sits a top the Loring Cranberry Warehouse.  This beautiful old building is for sale,  you can click the links for a walk through to appreciated and the interesting crafted details.

Adding a link to the Sky Watch Friday party with 100s of bloggers from all over the world sharing their view of the horizon.

Colourful Post Cards

Jot Magazine is a new digital publication from Kim Archer with a fresh new look to papercrafting, Project Life, off the page and more.  This month's colour challenge is pink & yellow that makes me feel all fresh and summery.  Click the link to see what Kim and the creative team have going on.

 

I am road tripping for the next few weeks and researching my next mail art workshop.  Click this link to My Creative Classroom to check out my current workshops.

 

Friends have been asking what is happening with my OLW (one little word) project with all that is going on how does one maintain their 'zen'.  When I picked the word it was all about finding a balance between the unexpected events, things that take too long to happen, where we would like to be or what we have to do. 

So far zen has been fun, then I found a post about the zen of chocolate and a yummy new find The Nutty Islander from Cape Cod ~ life is full of discoveries ~ life is good.

  

À bientôt   

Little Treasures

Treasure this day, and treasure yourself. Truly, neither will ever happen again. Ray Bradbury

click to enlarge

Happy Sky Watch Friday my friends, our days have been busy with creative projects and things that have to be done.  Looking forward to a beach holiday with the family soon and trying to remember to enjoy every day in any way we can.                 

Where & What

Catching up on lots of creative posts.  Next week we double celebrate with Canada Day and then 4^th of July.  In celebration of the town we called home for a large part of my childhood am sharing a project life style page on Plymouth.  If you get to that part of the country, Plymouth has so much to offer in history and culture and a magical environment.

Whatevers is a challenge site hosted by 3 creative friends, Cat Scanlon, Vicki Chrisman, Nat Kalbach to celebrate found photos and the stories they tell or could be told if someone took the time to write them down.  Found photos at tag sales and antique centres always make me curious, who are these people and where are their families.  There are interesting things to see with different clothing styles or old motor cars and pieces of life in days gone by.

My first post tells where I started the story and these are my last few contributions and their stories.

 

Featuring Maya Road stamps, Julie Fan Balzer stencils and Splash ofColor paints

Dear Charles
We are having the most amazing adventures in the East. The photo is of my exchange school tutor with her amazing collection of origami balls, she does the most amazing things with folded paper.  The circle is my attempt at calligraphy, it looks so simple but the symbols mean so much.  The symbol for ZEN is curious, almost full circle but not.  Practicing these graceful skills takes lots of concentration and I often find my mind wandering and wondering about how busy our lives are, almost out of balance and certainly out of zen!  warmest hugs from Chelsea 

 

Dearest  Chelsea

The last few months have flown by.  Your newsy letters always full of interesting snippets from afar bridge time and miles. Reading words can’t beat being together but for now all those words and letters a building a strong bridge.  warmest hugs from Charles

Whatevers photo challenge, this time I took the boys to Paris, using Liz Hicks new number stamps, Luminarte paints, Graphic 45 papers, and Balzer Design stencils

Dearest Chelsea,

This will be a quick message as we are off and racing again this morning and heading towards Paris.  This Great Race as they are calling it has taken weeks for our little motor car to cross oceans, tundra, hills and many many miles, often without a real road as we know it.   What a wild adventure this road trip has been, so many different cultures and styles of living but you know one thing that struck me is that no matter where we go, people are people, they are all curious about the motor car and excited about the potential for more people to be able to travel great distances to see the world for themselves.

Hugs and looking forward to seeing you soon. Charles

 

A project life page with a bit of a mixed media twist on the theme of ‘our town’ Using Bo Bunny Anthem paper collection and a lot of stamps and inks.  Lately I have been using Donna Salzar Mixed Media Inks from Colorbox, they blend so beautifully.  I love using papers and trims in a new way and building pop out journaling into the pockets. We counted ourselves very lucky to have an opportunity to move to Plymouth. We were there for  bicentennial celebrations, record breaking blizzards, and many fun adventures on the beaches and around the pine scented forests.  Pretty amazing to see history on most every street corner and to go to school with descendants of the original settlers. 

Happy Canada day for everyone north of the 49^th parallel and happy Independence Day to everyone in Plymouth.

 

 Blog links to Jenny Matlocks' Alphabe-Thursday, a fun party with weekly themes rounding the alphabet and really fun to see how people interpret the theme, cooking, photos, funny stories, always something interesting.