12 Tags of 2016: December Edition

As usual, I've cut it right down to the wire getting my tag done for this month, but I did spend a lot of time thinking about it. The ideas all fell into place a few days ago. As Christmas has now passed, I used the upcoming new year as my inspiration.

I wanted to use brushed pewter stain, but wasn't sure how that would show up on the burlap, so I opted for a piece of the textile surfaces linen instead and used the Nordic stencil. I really like the subtle shimmer of the pewter stain on the linen. I distress the edges a bit and inked with stormy sky and chipped sapphire ink around the edges. 

I continued to use silver throughout the tag, including silver embossing powder on the 'go see do' shadowpress, used some silver metallic ribbon trimmings behind the shadowpress panels and obviously the snowflakes and gears are all cut out in silver as well.  I actually added some metallic mixative alcohol ink to the arrow to make it more silvery.

The arrow on the calender tile piece is symbolic of the start of a new year, as well as the ball dropping in Time's Square on New Years Eve. I used alcohol ink to tint a gumdrop a lovely aqua color (a favorite color of mine) and added it to a few layered mini snowflakes to represent the infamous ball. I added some mercury glass Stickles to add a little bling reminiscent of the sparkling ball as well.

The snowflakes (mini paper snowflakes thinlit) and gears (gearhead thinlit) represent the transition from the holiday season into the new year and time to get back to work and busy with new endeavors. 

The snowflake with the hope token and mirrored star is a tribute to Carrie Fisher. I've been a huge fan of Star Wars since I was a child and have lived long enough to have seen every single film in the theater. It was a sad and sentimental day when I saw Rogue One the day after her passing. Anyone who has seen the film will understand why I chose the message of hope to represent her.  

The clock and 17 number brad represent the passage of time into the new year, 2017. The 17 was filled in using picket fence distress crayon. I mounted it on a square of green Nordic print from the Tidings paper collection and edged it with some stormy sky and chipped sapphire ink before deciding to add some rock candy glitter too. Love the icy sparkle this adds. 

Last, I used some brushed pewter stain over the 'auld lang syne' chit chat sticker and attached it with the mini attacher to a remnant piece of navy cardstock. 

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my tag and last blog post of the year. I can't wait to see what 2017 brings! Go. See. Do. 

Wishing you all a very happy new year!

Tis the Season

The holiday season is upon us, and as with most, I've been busy working on projects, Christmas shopping and a whole list of other things I never seem to get ahead of! In fact, I made this fun tree luminary weeks ago and am only now getting around to posting it.

This project from Bird's SVGs comes from the Home for Christmas collection (shown below) and is a fun way to create some glowing home decor for the holiday season. The paper is used is printed with colorful pom poms and I added some sequins here and there for some extra sparkle.

What is so neat about this tree is that Bird designed it in three different sizes, so you can create a forest, or pick just one to fit in where you'd like it. I made the largest version of the tree and it's large enough that it will fit an LED pillar candle inside. I opted to use a color-changing electronic tea light as it seemed to go well with the colorful paper. I must confess that I've been thinking about doing some gold and silver trees, maybe using glitter paper. The possibilities really are endless. Now all I need is an extra week in December and I should be all set!

Something I plan to make a bunch of are the cupcake boxes from Bird's Celebrate with a Cupcake collection. 

 Every year I tend to load up on fun chocolates and other sweet treats and give away little bags or boxes of them to friends and family. The individual cupcake box is perfect for this!

I eliminated the insert which would hold your cupcake in place, and I replaced the cupcake embellishment on the front with a little bonbon I found in Cricut Design Space. The box holds quite a bit of candy and I love the look of the top when it's all folded up...I think it looks like a swirl of icing on top of the box!

This is a very quick and easy little box to assemble, and will come in handy for lots of little gifts and treats this year. 

Last but not least, since I'm jumping all over the place with projects I thought I'd mention this lovely bag from Bird's For My Mum collection. 

I made this bag shortly after the collection was released, but only had this one picture of it before I added the ribbon handle and gave it away. 

I just recently stumbled across this photo and started thinking how lovely this bag might look with a poinsettia on the front for holiday gift giving. Red on white maybe. White on pink? Your imagination is the limit.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope your holidays are a joy!