Santa Tag

Hello friends! Today I have a quick and simple Santa tag to share. You can also turn it into a card.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

I was in the mood for a traditional Christmas project and thought this Santa stamp from Tim Holtz Letter To Santa would be perfect. I also used traditional green, red and gold colors. 

Using my MISTI, I inked the stamp with Red Geranium for his clothes and then added Jet Black. I repeated the stamping with only the black ink, adding some to the red areas too. 

Ink the tag with Distress Ink.

Stamp with a holly stamp and then gold emboss the sentiment from Tim Holtz Mini Holiday 4. Apply some embossing powder around the edges too. Restamp the sentiment with dark brown ink for a shadow effect.

Add sequins as berries to the holly.

Next I added some white details with a gel pen to Santa and Stickles to the beard and trimmings on his hat.

I die cut a gold star using Simon Says Stamp Holiday Window Decor and added a sentiment sticker and some pretty ribbons.

The Stickles adds a much nicer effect in real life than photographed.

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Notebook

Hello crafters! Today I have a notebook to share, which I made with a Christmas theme. You can also turn the design into a card.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

I really like the worn and distressed plaid papers in Tim Holtz idea-ology Christmas Backdrops pack. Here I decided to turn it into a notebook cover, so that most of that lovely patterned paper would show. I embellished the book with die cut pieces and a sticker.

There are so many pretty papers in the Christmas Backdrops and most would work well for a notebook cover. I folded the paper using a bonefolder and did the same to all the inserts. 

It was stitched with three strands of embroidery floss along the spine. Always pierce holes before stitching in paper.

Tie the floss on the inside. 

Die cut the title, lamp posts and holly using Tim Holtz Vault Christmas 2021 and Festive Gatherings. I die cut them from silver, black and gold kraft stock paper, as left-over inky paper.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Fir Branches from Simon Says Stamp Midnight Green cardstock. 

Layer them on the cover. Off-set the gold word slightly.

The lamp post was sanded and inked. I added Simon Says Stamp gold glitter paper to the back.

Since the backdrops papers are double-sided, you get a lovely crackle pattern on the inside covers.

The back cover looks like this.

I die cut the berries from the same inky pink paper as the title. I only had very little paper left, but luckily, the berries were small enough.

Use the notebook to write down Christmas memories, or recipes, or traditions. You can also give it away as a gift.

I hope this project inspired you to make some notebooks.

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

December Countdown Tags 2025

Hello crafters! It is time for my yearly December Countdown Tags project. These will go into my December Journal as date cards.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

This year I made shaped tags using scraps of watercolored paper and die cut the papers with Simon Says Stamp Petal Tipped Labels die set. I die cut numbers and stamped some patterns, images and words on te tags. 

These tags are meant to be hanging in my Advent calendar that I made years ago, but after our move, my Christmas things are still packed away and I haven't been able to find it yet. You can see it here, in last year's December Countdown Tag post.

I picked out a whole bunch of different watercolor or inky scraps. Many of these were papers where I had just tried out different color combinations of paints. Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Petal-Tipped Labels.

The numbers were die cut from kraft cardstock with Tim Holtz Sizzix Emporium Alphanumeric set.

I stamped the tag with various background, Christmas and word stamps. The background and image stamps were inked with Distress Ink, misted with water and stamped, for a watercolored effect.

Later, the tags will go my December Journal as date tags. You can find the December Journal here.

Even small scraps of inky or watercolored papers can be interesting when you die cut them. 'Magical' comes from Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery.

It was a bit tricky finding small enough words to fit on the tags.

I also used some clippings stickers from Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book.

The holes were punched with my Crop-a-dile. I might remove the twine when I add the tags to the journal.

The tag to the right got an accidental inky heart.

Watercolor stamping fits with the background and makes it easier to stamp on the textured watercolor paper. 

More tags, where I just tested how different colors would blend on the paper.

On the darker tags, I stamped with dark inks. 

Pine needles of different kind are a favorite for Christmas and winter projects.

Getting closer to Christmas.

I also add Boxing Day to my tags since Christmas is celebrated all three days in Sweden (24th-26th).

You can find the previous years' countdown tags here: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Window December Journal Tutorial

Hi friends! It almost December and time to share one of my favorite projects each year. It is inspired by Ali Edwards concept of documenting the month of December. I have been doing this since 2012, making this my fourteenth December daily journal.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

My journals have looked different through the years, but the focus is on words rather than on adding photos, to make it easier to document each day. This year I made a journal with a frosty window through which you can see a Christmas scene. The book is 5x6 in and my December countdown tags will go into it. I will share that post in a couple of days. 

I used mainly Tim Holtz Idea-ology pieces to create this journal.

I started out with some Idea-ology Christmas Baseboard pieces and sanded the edges.

I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp acetate to fit the window and colored with Latte Alcohol Ink. I also cut a paper from Tim Holtz Christmas Backdrops papers 2025, making sure the elements I liked the most could be seen through the windows.

I used Sizzix Little Sizzles Mat Board for the covers and cut various Tim Holtz Christmas Backdrops paper to fit both sides of each cover. I cut away a piece of the brick paper, to use on another project. Adhere with matte medium. Place under a heavy book.

I added a piece of acetate to the lamp post, inked with Butterscotch alcohol ink and, when dry, coated with Stickles.

The sentiments were stamped with Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas and Watercolor Trees.

I also added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Prism Gems to the window.

I picked one of the the sentiments and used it as my title. I don't know if you can see it, but I removed some of the alcohol ink where there are lights in the background, to make it look like they shine.

Punch holes with a Crop-a-Dile and bind with Tim Holtz Mini Book Rings.

I used one of my favorite writing papers for the inside.

And the back of the journal. I might later add some photos to the inside covers.

It is almost time to start filling this journal with memories. I will soon share the countdown tags which will go into it and become labels for the dates.

You can find my previous Christmas Daily journals here:

2024 - Frostie December Journal

2023 - Home December Journal

2022 - Folio December Journal

2021 - Snowy Hills December Journal

2020 - Peaceful Winter December Journal

2019 - Snowy Mountains December Daily

2018 - Birch Forest December Daily
2017 - Narnia December Daily
2016 - Winter Village December Daily video
2015 - Believe December Daily
2014 - December Daily
2013 - Christmas Daily
2012 - December Mini-book

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.