Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Glass Ball Snowflake Ornament


This is the third project we did at my December stamp club. This one is also easier than it looks. I used this tutorial on Splitcoaststampers. Those ladies over there are amazing and I'm so grateful that they share all of these wonderful projects. I changed this slightly so that the snowflake is embossed instead of stamped with Stazon. I wanted to go for the light & airy sparkly look!

To emboss on the acetate circle be sure to use your embossing buddy as the static on the acetate really attracts the embossing powder. You can wipe off any residue after the image is embossed. The acetate heats up much faster than card stock so it only takes a moment for the image to be set--you don't want to over heat the acetate so be sure to pay close attention for this step.

Put a little bit of fake snow in the bottom of your glass ball. You don't want to fill it up too much as it will prevent the snowflake from "floating". If you get too much snow you can shake some out or use a pair of tweezers to pull some out. Ask me how I know! =)

Punch a small hole in the top of your acetate circle and run some silver cord through it. This will give you a handle to hold onto as you insert your snowflake into the ornament. Put a glue dot on the outside neck of the ornament. Gently roll your snowflake into a tube and slide it into the ornament. Make sure you hold onto your cording! If it slips out into the glass ball not to worry! You can use your trusty tweezers to reach down inside and pull the cording back out. (Again ask me how I know!) Affix the cord to the glue dot when you have decided on the right length to let your snowflake dangle.

Put the metal cap back on, trim the silver cord so you can't see it and attach some Whisper White grosgrain ribbon for a hanger!

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes

Paper: Acetate sheets

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: clear glass ornament ball, silver embossing powder, embossing buddy, silver cording, handheld circle punch, fake snow, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, glue dots

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tag Punch Star Ornament


Here is the second project we did at my December stamp club. I think when I showed this project to the ladies they all thought it was going to be super complicated and take forever! I hope they were pleasantly surprised by how easy it actually was.

I followed the tutorial on Splitcoaststampers here. This tutorial has great step by step instructions and photos. This star can also be attached to a card front as well.

To attach the 2 star layers together we used the Build-A-Brad kit and some of the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper. This red and white paper is flocked! Punch out a small circle of the specialty paper and adhere it to the brad base. Then take one of the clear bubble tops and put that right on the specialty paper. The bubble has adhesive already on the back so it sticks right to the base. This is the first time I've used the Build-A-Brad and I can see myself using it a lot more to make custom brads to embellish many more projects.

To hang the ornament cut a length of Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon and push the 2 ends over the brad prongs before laying the prongs flat.

Stamps: None

Paper: Old Olive, Real Red, Vellum, Christmas Cocoa Specialty

Ink: None

Accessories: small & large tag punches, 2 way glue pen, Build-A-Brad, taffeta ribbon

Monday, December 21, 2009

3D Ornament Punch Card


I've been slacking lately getting my stamp club projects posted online. I guess I can blame getting ready for Christmas on my lack of time! This is a super fast card to make and I told my stamp club ladies not to be surprised if they see a variation of this card next year for my Christmas card! There are a bunch of examples of this 3D ornament made from the ornament punch up on Splitcoaststampers. I don't know who originally shared this fantastic idea but thank you! This is also a great card because even though it has the 3d element to it, the ornament folds down flat so it will mail.

To make this card first punch out 5 ornament shapes and fold them in half. Designer Series paper works great for this not only because of the great patterns and colors but it is lighter weight than the regular card stock so it will fold easier. For this project we used the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper that is available in the Holiday Mini (*Note: this paper is only available for a little but longer- after January 4 it's gone). Then adhere the folded ornaments to each other, back to back with a small line of SNAIL adhesive. Leave one side of the first & last ornaments loose, these will be the ends that you attach to the card front.

Stamps: Berry Christmas (sentiment)

Paper: Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Ornament Punch, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, organza ribbon