Second Annual Holiday Noodle Party!
It all begin around this time last year…
The linky party will open on December 12 and projects will be accepted until December 16. During that time, readers will be able to vote for their favorites. The creator of the winning project will receive some fun promotional goodies from Noodles & Company and I’ll also be giving away one of my Sizzix dies to a random commenter. Post early so everyone has a chance to see your work. Please share this with your social media friends! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
The Sock Monkey Goes Greek
I am excited to join the other members of the Designer Craft Connection on this Sock Monkey challenge!
Sponsored by When Creativity Knocks, FoxRiver, manufacturers of the Original Rockford Red Heel Socks, Rit Dye and Judikins, the challenge is to make a project using the supplies we were sent which included a pair of the famous red heeled socks from FoxRiver, Ana Arujo’s instructional DVD on how to make a sock monkey and a cute little sock monkey rubber stamp from Judikins.
The first sock monkey I ever got was a gift for our first child. It became a toy that was passed down from child to child. I lost track of it somewhere along the way in our 13 army moves. I happened to mention to my youngest daughter that I was working on a sock monkey blog hop challenge and I wondered where ours went. She said, “Oh I have it!”, ran upstairs and came down with this:
Hah! Well, how convenient! After watching Ana’s great DVD on how to assemble the monkey, I was sure I could do it, but then I started thinking… This was no ordinary sock monkey- this girl had gone to college and was even an Alpha Phi Omega fraternity brother! Perhaps I could fashion some accessories for our newfound family heirloom.
Well, you can’t go to college without some luggage. I decided to use one of my Sizzix dies to make this monkey a custom suitcase. I carefully cut up the sock to cover the pieces of the die cut, making sure to keep the stitches all going in the same direction. It looks kind of like tweed! After assembling the suitcase, I glued on a red monogram to match the monkey’s beautiful smile. FrayCheck was added around all of the raw edges to prevent fraying. I plan on making some thank you notes using the fun Judikins stamp and store them inside the suitcase.
Now, being a college graduate and all, I figured our monkey might need a cover for her laptop. So I cut one from my Business Card die. Before I cut it out, I trimmed a piece from the other sock I had left and adhered it on top of the matboard using spray adhesive, making sure to cut with the right side to the die so that it would score properly.
Although I’m sure I could spend many hours making a mini-laptop, I am pressed for time and ask that you imagine that there is an adorable little monkey sized laptop tucked inside this case.
Her attire seemed slightly scandalous to me (kids these days!) so I made her a quick red felt skirt which I cut from my Vase die and a matching red felt flower headband from the Flower, Layers #9 die.
I had a blast working on this. And glad that our sock monkey has a great new look!
For more sock monkey fun, visit the When Creativity Knocks website for details on a contest and giveaway. To enter, go to member login and Create An Account. The entry code is Sock Monkey. Enter now until December 19 and you could win the whole Sock Monkey Kit worth over $40.00 which includes: the Videobook “Sock Monkeys Go BanAnas”, One Sewn Sock Monkey Ready to be Stuffed, One Pair of the Original Rockford Red Heeled Socks, Button Eyes, Needle, Floss and Stuffing!
Please make sure to see all of the other fun sock monkey projects by clicking on the blue DCC button on the sidebar. It will take you to all of the participating designers’ blogs. Thanks for stopping by!
Go Longwood Lancers!
Designer Days Sale!
I just got the word that my next line of dies, It’s a Wrap is shipping right now! This collection is designed to help you package small gift items in a fun, yet practical way.
And to make a good day even better, Sizzix has decided to put all of my dies on sale for 20% off today, including the BRAND NEW ONES!
As you can see, these projects on the packaging are in purple, yellow and gray… so elegant and pretty… now imagine them covered with bright holiday patterned papers! These dies are so versatile- every project can be tailored to your style! Since the XL size dies are ScoreBoards (dies designed to be used with thick materials like matboard and chipboard), you will have a nice sturdy base to work with. Another beautiful thing about matboard is how great it accepts ink, paper, distressing, stain, mist, and paint. So much fun to embellish!
I don’t know about you, but know we give a lot of gift cards for the holidays and special occasions because they are so easy to keep on hand and stick in the mail. However, they are not the most personal gift- but with a little creative thought you can customize the gift card holder to make it special. Several of the It’s a Wrap dies are designed to hold gift cards so make sure to check them out.
- Cover the front of the matboard with paper using spray adhesive.
- Lay matboard on the die paper side down and run through die cut machine.
- Bend all of the folds 180 degrees so the fibers of the board are broken.
- Fold box in half and thread ribbon through the corresponding holes across from the top, making a hanger.
- Cut Doily from white fleece and trim about one third of it off. Adhere to top of box and cover with a length of red ombre wired ribbon tied in a bow.
- Add “joy” glitter embellishment (.29 for three at Ollie’s Outlet!) to label die and adhere to front of pocket.
- Add gift card and head off to your holiday parties!
Head on over to Where Women Create for some more great ideas for holiday crafting!
Handmade Holidays
Around this time every year, I get the itch to start making things for family and friends. Is it a reaction to all the commercials and electronics that surround us as the countdown to Christmas begins? Maybe. The act of planning a project in my head, gathering the materials, and finally, assembling the design into a pleasing finished product just soothes my soul. While I am working on the project, I am thinking of who I will give it to, where they might put it, the significance that it has of the relationship between us, and that is something you just can’t buy.
- Coat candle liberally with ModPodge. Wrap a page of sheet music around candle and smooth so there are no air pockets. Add another coat of ModPodge.
- Roll candle in tray of glitter or Epsom salts, making sure to cover surface well.
- Use Big Shot die cutting machine and star die to cut stars from matboard. Coat stars with ModPodge and press into glitter/salts.
- Trim where needed. Allow to dry.
- Place candle base in a berry wreath and add glittery stars to the wreath.
- Be careful when lighting candle and do not leave unattended.
Give Thanks!
I really wish there was a little more time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Store decor seems to go from Halloween right straight to Christmas. I think Thanksgiving is getting short-changed! We should dedicate more time to giving thanks for all we have, don’t you think?
A few weeks ago, the Duetica Design Team was privy to a sneak peek at a new font soon to be released! It’s called Woodwynds and I love it! Lots of swirls and curliques. I decided to do a matted piece reminding me to give thanks every day. And who knows, I may just keep it up all year!
There are 15 versions of this font. Starting with a plain serif, each successive version contains more and more swashes as you click through Woodwynds A through P. The good thing about this system is that if it starts looking too swirly (really? is there such a thing?), you can intersperse your phrase or title with a balance of undecorated and decorated letters creating a truly unique final project that pleases your eye.
- Decide what size you want to make your project. (I used an 8″ x 10″ frame without the glass. I triple matted the artwork using my Logan 750 Simplex mat cutter– favorite tool of all time!)
- The artwork was designed in Illustrator to fit in a 5″ x 7″ cutout. The text “give thanks” was added using the Woodwynds font by Duetica Lettering Arts Studio. Make sure to balance your type so that all of the swirls add value and do not distract from the message you are trying to get across. Plain and more decorated letters were alternated resulting in a fun yet still readable result. (I’m loving that “k” that descends below the line!)
- In keeping with the fall theme, the message was printed on kraft paper in orange and green text. After printing the artwork, Stickles glitter glue was added on top of the letter forms to accentuate them. A fairly heavy line was applied to the larger letter strokes and then spread out to thinner areas with a toothpick.
- Acorns and 3D flowers were adhered with Thermoweb Zots. The flowers were die cut from fall colored cardstock using the Sizzix 3D Flower die designed by Beth Reames. The larger flower was cut from a page in a child’s Golden Book. Other accents include dimensional leaf stickers.
- Since the flowers added dimension to the project, a spacer from foamboard was built to bump up the matboard from the artwork. Omitting glass from the frame helps with photographing the project since there is always a glare with glass!
- You can use this technique for many different occasions. Quick and easy!
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