Handmade Holidays Blog Hop

Hello and very welcome to my post for the 4th annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop! During this three day blog hop, we will share handmade holiday gifts with you, and there will be so much inspiration. We've gathered over 100 of our creative blogger friends in the craft industry as well as some of our fellow product manufacturers to bring you a plethora of inspiring gift ideas you can make now to give to your friends, family, and colleagues.

Pin and bookmark these ideas for this holiday season and to use throughout the year! Each day of the hop features approximately 30 gift projects and you can "hop" from one blog to another to check them all out.

Creating your own gifts, makes those gifts so special, especially because of all the heart put into the process of creating. And it is fun too!

I used new Sizzix dies by Tim Holtz for my project. I have had these plain fabric serviettes for probably ten years, and planned to use them for something but just never got to them. For this project, I thought it was time to alter them into something a little prettier. You can use the same techniques for a table cloth, fabric bag, apron or whatever you can think of, and it makes a great and quick gift.

 

These were the original serviettes.

 

Start by die cutting shapes from transparencies. It will work even better if you use Tim Holtz Masking Sheets, but I had ran out of them. I used ink jet transparencies, which means they are rougher on the one side, and that side sticks to the fabric a little bit, making it easier to apply the ink. I love using my dies to make stencils and masks and it is a great way to get even more out of your dies.

 

For this project, I used Ranger's Clear Fabric Medium to turn Archival Ink reinkers into fabric paint. Squeeze some medium into a disposable cup and add a few drops of ink. I used three blue/teal inks, but you can of course use any colour. Mix.

Place your homemade stencil on the fabric, with your craft sheet underneath, in case some ink leaks through. Use a mini round ink blending tool to apply the ink, holding the stencil in place. It might be easier if you dab some of the ink off on a piece of scrap paper first.

Continue until you have a shape in each corner of the serviettes. Vary the three colours so that the images are not uniformly coloured.

Use the Stacked Snowflakes die to die cut snowflake stencils.

Move the snowflake stencils around and add snowflakes here and there on the serviettes.

I like to add words to my projects and used a Tim Holtz Christmas stencil for that. Mix a little Sepia ink into the Fabric Medium. Use masking tape to mask out the words that you don't want to use. Continue until you have completed all four serviettes. 

 

Make a simple tag for the serviettes and tie them together with twine. To make the tag, I first smeared some Tumbled Glass and Picket Fence Distress Stain on my craft sheet, misted with water and pressed manila cardstock into the ink. The tag was die cut with the Tag & Tie die.

When dry, stamp with a deer stamp and Potting Soil ink. Stamp a snowflake background with Evergreen Bough. The three Mirrored Stars were coloured with alcohol ink.

Just to show you the finished serviettes. It might look nicer to let the angel face the other way, into the serviette, but I had run out of transparencies and wanted the rough side to face downwards when applying the ink.

I love this Prancing Deer die and also used it on my December Daily tutorial earlier this week.

You can add as many or as few images as you want.

These techniques will also look great on a linen shopping bag, or maybe an apron.

 

Fold the serviettes and tie them with a piece of twine and you have a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift to someone special. I hope this inspired you to use your dies to create your own stencils, which is great for papercrafting projects too.

Are you ready for lots more creative handmade gift ideas and projects?? Your next stop is Amy Latta from One Artsy Mama.

Follow along on our blog hop! Simply click on each of the links below to be taken to that post with additional information and photos on how to create a handmade gift project. Have fun and pin away!

Clearsnap 

Ellison Educational Equipment  

Walnut Hollow 

Graphic 45 

Neat and Tangled 

Therm O Web 

Westcott 

Elizabeth Craft Designs 

Pink and Main 

The Buckle Boutique 

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 

Rowland Technologies 

ICE Resin 

Hydrangea Hippo 

Clearsnap - Suzanne Austin 

Stencil1 - Ed Roth 

Graphic 45 -Nadya Lifa 

Cookies for Breakfast- Beth Pingry 

Cupcakes and Crinoline - Mary Beth Sharkey 

Elizabeth Craft Designs - Frances Byrne

Lazy Mom’s - Joanna Grzeszczak   

Homemade Ginger - Megan Kapple 

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L - Asia King 

Ellison Educational Equipment - Anna-Karin Evaldsson  (you are here)

One Artsy Mama- Amy Latta  

Therm O Web - Alice Golden 

Lovely Etc - Carrie Spalding

ICE Resin - Clare Horner 

Pink and Main - Yolie Burke

The Buckle Boutique - Stephanie Nericcio 

Modern Surrealist - Marisa Pawelko 

A Little Craft In Your Day - Tanner Bell 

Artsy Findings - Cheryl Waters

Stampin Mindy - Mindy Baxter

There are also great prizes to be won!

a
Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow our Handmade Holidays Gift Ideas
Pinterest board for even more inspiration!

Follow Jennifer
Priest of RainMaker Media Works + Hydrangea Hippo's board Handmade Holidays on Pinterest.

 

A huge thank you to our sponsors for this hop - please visit
their blogs below and follow them. And be sure to come back tomorrow for another 30+ amazing Handmade Gift
Ideas! 

 

 

 

Clearsnap || Ellison Educational Equipment || Walnut Hollow || Graphic45 || Westcott || ICE Resin || Therm O Web || Rowland Industries || Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L || Pink and
Main || Elizabeth Craft Designs || The Buckle Boutique || Neat and Tangled

Additional Sponsorship provided to bloggers by:

Sakura || Fairfield Processing

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

 

Happy holiday crafting!

 

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Dies: Sizzix: Layered Snowflake, Angelic, Prancing Deer, Sleigh Ride, Stacked Snowflakes, Tag & Tie
Surfaces: Ranger: Manila cardstock; plain linen serviettes
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Styled Woodlands, Simple Sayings, Christmas Nostalgia
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink reinkers: Sepia, Ultramarine, Aquamarine, Manganese Blue; Archival Ink: Potting Soil; Distress Ink: Evergreen Bough, Gathered Twigs
Stain: Distress Stain: Tumbled Glass, Picket Fence
Alcohol ink: Ranger Adirondack: Sail Boat Blue
Medium: Ranger: Clear Fabric Medium
Stencil: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Christmas
Embellishments: Tim Holtz idea-ology: Mirrored Stars, Linen Ribbon, Merriment Tissue Tape

Tools: Sizzix Big Shot; Ranger Mini Round Ink Blending Tool

Christmas Daily Tutorial

Hi and welcome!! It is time for another Tim Holtz Media Team tutorial, and now I am moving into Christmas projects. Today's tutorial is my December Daily journal for this year and I wanted to share it early so that you have plenty of time if you want to make your own. I really like Ali Edwards idea of a December Daily journal, and this will be the third year when I do this.

 

Like last year, I decided to use a worn cover for the base of my journal. This gives me plenty of space and it is easy to add or move around pages, which I like. The cover was embellished relatively simply and I didn't want too much dimension, since this book is going to be used quite a bit. You can find my previous December Daily tutorials here and here.

 

This is a long post, so let's start. I wanted fabric covered embellishments for that cosy homemade feeling and used Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabrics. Cover a piece of grungeboard with fabric using a Collage Glue Stick.

When the glue is dry, die cut the Prancing Deer. I love this new die and will be using it again in a post later this week.

Fray the edges slightly with your finger nail and ink with Gathered Twigs, using an ink blending tool.

I decided I wanted more shapes and die cut a sleigh, angel, stars, hearts and holly leaves, using two different fabrics.

 

Since I wanted each of my pages to have a date, I decided to use the new Countdown Coins which are perfect for this purpose. Paint them with Picket Fence paint, leave to dry for a short while and wipe most, but not all, of it off. This gives a snowy frosty look to the numbers. Give a Word Band and Tidings Token the same treatment.

Since I was making a lot of pages, I wanted a quick way of adding colour and texture to them. Press Distress Stains on your craft sheet. I used Picket Fence and Tumbled Glass. The Picket Fence stain gives the blue ink a chalky and less transparent look. Remember to always shake the white ink first. Mist slightly with water.

Press a 12 x 12 sheet of manila cardstock into the ink and move it around slightly. Repeat on the second side, applying new ink to the craft sheet. Colour enough paper for your pages and leave to dry.

Die cut thirteen tags with the Tag & Bookplates die.

Stamp them on both sides with the ledger stamp from the School Desk set. This is one of my favourite stamps. I used Tree Branch Archival ink.

Sand the edges of Christmas Ephemera papers, revealing the white core. I inked some of them with Gathered Twigs and left others as is.

I like to add pockets and interactive features into mini books and die cut three Pocket Envelopes from Merriment Paper Stash. The die both cuts and scores the material, making it easy to assemble the envelopes. Sand the edges.

I decided to use a mix of papers for my journal this year and used both the Tags Page Pockets and Assorted Page Pockets. The latter have three different types of divided pockets: a larger and smaller rectangle, three smaller rectangles and two squares. It makes for a fun and varied look to a mini-album. Cut the left over manila cardstock to fit into the pockets. Also cut some backgrounds from patterned paper for variety.

You can add even more interactive features to your album by cutting some of the paper double the necessary length and folding them in half. Tuck one half into the pocket and let the other hang down on the front of the pocket (see the paper to the left).

To embellish the pages I used stamps, since stamping doesn't add any bulk and since you can stamp an almost indefinite number of designs. I took out my Christmas stamps and simply stamped along, using the same inks on all the pages.

Stamp on both sides of most of the pages, except the ones that will be covered with ephemera. You can also add stamping to the patterned paper and ephemera pieces.

 

Time to assemble everything. Tie a Tidings Token with a piece of twine around the neck of the deer and glue the deer to the cover with matte multi medium. Add some white rub-on words here and there.

 

Apply a rub-on to an Enameled Tag and paint white paint into the 24 on a Number Brad. Glue two fabric stars to the cover.

 

Stamp the label from Simple Sayings with Red Geranium Archival ink on a piece of inky left over paper. Place the Word Band on top. Also add metallic corners to the covers, for a finished look. Pinch them with a pair of pliers to make them stick.

 

I used a large binder clip for my journal to have space for all the pages. Tie it as tight as you can with a piece of Linen Ribbon. Hang some ornaments from a Swivel Clasp. I used a Heart Charm, Letterpress Letter, Christmas Token and Tidings Token.

 

I also decorated the inside covers, using fabric covered shapes, ephemera pieces, Flash Cards and tissue tape. Make a title page, you might also want to add the year, I forgot doing that before I took these photos.

Plan where everything will go and alternate the assorted and tag pages. Adhere the date circles with a brad to the papers in the assorted pages, making sure to hide the prongs of the brads with something on the back.

You can add any Christmas embellishments that you want to, such as Chit Chat stickers.

Each day has a spread in the journal, consisting of one side of the assorted page pocket and one side of a tag. The tags will be the main place where you write the journaling. The pockets have place for more journaling, photos, and ephemera. I didn't add a lot of photos to my previous December Daily journals, wanting to focus mainly on the story, and using my photos on scrapbooking pages instead. If you want more space for photos, you can easily just remove some of the ephemera pieces. 

The pocket envelopes are also great places for extra photos, ephemera such as Santa wish lists, receipts, tickets and so on. You can also tuck more pages into the pockets.

 

To the left you can see one of the interactive pages, also giving more space to words and photos.

You lift the flap up and find hidden space underneath.

 

I liked the different sized pages in this journal. Last year, I only used tags, and some pockets.

 

The flash cards can be sanded and inked. They are double sided, with different words on each side, so you have a lot of words to choose from.

 

The combination of inked and stamped, patterned and ephemera pieces makes for an interesting looking album.

You can create little scenes with stamps and ephemera such as to the top left here.

I am not going to share all the pages with you, then this post will be too long.

I love that snowman, looking out into the distance.

I can't wait to fill this book with memories, especially since our December is going to be unusual this year.

My grandmother used to write a few sentences about each Christmas on the packaging of her Christmas tree lights and those few words say so much today. I enjoy reading them at Christmas time and I hope my Christmas journals will have the same meaning.

I hope this post inspired you to create your own December Daily journal. You can make it as simple or intricate as you want, and the important thing is to document those Christmas memories, both the big and the small memories.

 

Happy Christmas Crafting!

 

Anna-Karin

 

Supplies:

Surfaces: Ranger: Manila Cardstock; Tim Holtz idea-ology: Christmas Wishes Worn Cover, Merriment Paper Stash, Grungeboard, Tags Page Pockets, Assorted Page Pockets
Dies: Sizzix: Angelic, Sleigh Ride, Prancing Deer, Mini Hearts, Tag & Bookplates, Pocket Envelope, Mini Pine Tree & Holly, Mini Cardinal & Poinsettia, Crescent Moon & Stars,
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Christmas Nostalgia, Old Fashioned Christmas, Mini Holidays, Mini Holidays 2, Mini Holidays 3, Mini Holidays 4, Simple Sayings, School Desk
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Red Geranium, Potting Soil, Branch Tree, Jet Black; Distress Ink: Gathered Twigs, Evergreen Bough
Stain: Distress Stain: Tumbled Glass, Picket Fence
Paint: Distress Paint: Picket Fence
Fabric: Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements: Game Pieces in Neutral, Music
Embellishments: Tim Holtz idea-ology: Merriment Tissue Tape, Christmas Word Bands, Christmas Ephemera Pack, Countdown Coins, Holiday Flashcards, Tidings Tokens, Seasonal Chit Chat Stickers, Number Brads, Letterpress Letters, Heart Charms, Enameled Tags, Linen Ribbon, Large Binder Rings, Swivel Clasps, Christmas Tokens, Christmas Time Remnant Rubs, Long Fasteners, Mini Corners, Paper Strings Stripes

Grid Layout

Hello everyone! I hope you had a good weekend. This week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge we are having a good ol' days challenge. Lots of possibilities with this one!

 

I went through some of my old scrapbooking albums and decided to be inspired of the very first layout I posted online, in 2006, about two years after I began to scrapbook. It contained quite a few elements which I still use a lot, such as a grid design, scrap paper, stamping and stitching. Instead of using patterned papers, as in the original layout, I made my own papers with stencils, texture paste and Distress Stain.

 

This is the original layout.

 

I cut squares from watercolour paper and used stencils and Ranger's Texture Paste to get the pattern. After the paste was dry, I squeezed out Distress Stain on my craft sheet, misted with water and pressed the paper into the stain. All the edges were distressed and all the papers were stitched to the layout.

 

When the ink was dry, I used Picket Fence Distress Paint to add some highlights and white to the paste parts. Finally, I stamped the blocks with Tim Holtz graph stamp. Most of the stamping will up on the raised patterns. 

 

The circles were die cut from scrap gelli printed and inky papers. I like how even the smallest scrap gets interesting patterns with this technique. They were stamped with various small stamps and Jet Black ink. The title was die cut with the Wanted die.

I hope you will join us this week and remember those good ol' days. As always, one random participant wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and can do some fun Christmas shopping.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Ranger: Watercolor paper; Bazzill: Kraft, White, brown
Dies: Sizzix: Sized Circles, Wanted
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous: Tiny Things, Mini Ornates, Graph & Croc, Worn Text
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black
Stain: Distress Stain: Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Gathered Twigs, Frayed Burlap, Barn Door, Iced Spruce
Paint: Distress Paint: Picket Fence
Stencils: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Bubble, Cargo, Measured, Stars, Eye Chart, Arrows, Gothic
Medium: Ranger: Texture Paste

Scenic Winter Canvas

Hello stampers! It is a new month and a new theme at Craft a Scene - Trees. I love trees, and add them to most of my scenes. This is unfortunately going to be my last scene for the Craft a Scene DT. I have loved being on this team and I am so happy that Nancy started a challenge focused on scenic stamping, since it is such a passion of mine. I'll never stop stamping nature scenes and inventing my own environments, but I need to have fewer deadlines for a little while since we have a very hectic time ahead of us.

 

I made a 6 x 8 mixed media winter scene on canvas board, using some of my favourite techniques. If you want to see a step-by-step description of these techniques, check out the Craft Stamper November 2014 issue. Today's project is not the same, but the techniques are pretty similar. I also used some of these techniques in this seaside canvas tutorial. I used Wendy Vecchi's Crackled Texture Paste for the sky and Embossing Paste for the snowy areas. All the stamps are by Stampscapes and were stamped on tissue paper and adhered to the canvas with glossy multi medium, remember to add the medium both to the canvas and on top of the tissue paper, to make sure the paper disappears.

 

It is hard to capture the texture of the snow area, the paste isn't applied evenly, but instead more like dunes of snow. When the first layer of background paint was dry, I added more paint, particularly white to increase the snowy feeling. White paint is also splattered on the canvas.

The crackled sky is a really cool effect. I used it on this Halloweeen canvas too. The thicker you apply the paste, the larger the cracks will be. A combination of thick and thin often looks nice.

 

I hope you will continue to visit my blog for scenic stamping inspiration, even though it will be a little more quiet for a few months. Remember that you can click the 'scenic stamping' label on my sidebar if you only want to see these types of projects.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

 

Happy stamping!

 

Anna-Karin 

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampscapes: Spiny Branches Sm. 331B, Snowy Covered Bridge 357F, Snowy Rocks Sm. 356A, Winter Bush 366C, Winter Twigs 367B, Tree Duo 085A, Migrating Birds 152D, Pines and Rocks 195G, Old Fence 293C, Leafless Limbs 052C, Scenic Sentiment Sheet 6, Scenic Sentiment Sheet 7
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black
Paint: Distress Paint: Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Salty Ocean, Spun Sugar, Picket Fence, Walnut Stain
Medium: Stamper's Anonymous Wendy Vecchi: Crackled Texture Paste, Embossing Paste; Ranger Gloss Multi Medium