Leaves for your Paper Flowers!

I had created some LEAVES SCUT files before the holiday.  You can download them on Craft Edge for FREE - just click the picture of the leaf you like and it will take you to the download page.

Leaf #1

Leaf #2

Leaf #3

Each image has two downloads - one is the cutout you see here and the other is a blackout image.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Hope you have a good holiday, wherever you are, and whomever you are with.

I think I heard Reindeer on the roof...

For your post-Christmas crafting, my SCUT files to create your own paper flowers are online for FREE download from Craft Edge.  I have created a "Paper Petals List of Flowers" document, which lists a picture of each flower + the link to download from so you can access this easily.

Day 12: a Rose Ball Decoration

So I decided to make a 3D ornament of roses.  This project took 24 flowers, all roses cut from cream cardstock.  Each had a pink rhinestone in the center, except one, the rose that the whole ball hangs from.

I used my ""Paper Petals - Rose 1" file but I omitted all but the three largest layers, to make it easier on myself.  :)



Day 11: Mixed Tags

We celebrated Christmas last night, before we go home to celebrate with our families at the end of this week.  I got a FlipHD so that means a new tool to learn and use!

Snowman:

Tag cut from "Sentimentals".  I stamped in silver and blue snowflakes.  The snowman is stamped in archival black ink.

All Wrapped Up:
I cut out the stocking images from paper I had.  Wrapped them in "merry christmas" ribbon.

Ornament:
The ornament is cut from "Joys of the Season". I glittered the ornament with Martha Stewart glitter and zip dry pens.

Another ornament:
The ornament is cut from "Joys of the Season".  I glittered the ornament with Martha Stewart glitter and zip dry pens.



Day 10: Christmas Past

What was the best Christmas gift you have ever received?  I know the year I got my American Girl Doll - Samatha, now not in production.  I was about 8 years old.  Hugely exciting.  My sister got Molly and my parents videotaped us opening them.  "It's THEM!  I think it's THEM!"  I wish I could conjur that same child excitement leading up to Christmas, where you can barely containing your impatience and excitement.  At least now I have beer.

Most useful gift may be my original iPod Nano.  Changed my workouts by having music to move to.

Tags that emulate Christmas Past:

Hark, the Herald Angels

Cut the tag from Joys of the Season.  Holly stamped with shades of green.  Stamped "Happy Holidays" and used gold glitter glue in the lower right corner:

Joy to the World:

Also cut from Joys of the Season.  Stamped two different stars in shades of yellow.  Filled in the background of the star cutout with yellow glitter.  "Joy" is heat embossed with gold powder.

Santa:

I cut the Santa head from "Joys of the Season" and then decorated the beard in white glitter.  The hat is in red glitter and red flocking.  The frame is cream cardstock, inked in red and then spritzed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (color: candy apple).

Ornament:
The ornament is cut from "Sentimentals" and embossed, then I added red glitter.  The flower is my delphinium flower, petals curled inwards and then the tips bent backwards.

Antique Merry Christmas

Tag cut from Sentimentals Cricut Cartridge.  The rose is cut with my Rose 2 - petals SCUT file.  I curled the petal layers by curling the first layer out, the next layer in, the next layer out, the next layer in, etc.  The Merry Christmas is stamped in archival black ink, from a Tim Holtz stamp set.

Doe a Deer

The deer is embossed in copper powder, from a stamp I had.  Peace is stamped in Ranger Distress Ink.  The flower is my Generic Flower #5 SCUT file, sprayed with glimmer mist.



Day 9: Simple Pleasures

Enjoying winter sometimes is about the simple pleasures.  Not so much in the holidays, where everything is elaborate, large, colorful, over-indulgent, loud, busy.  But after the holidays, comes the calm.  Streets are silent with everyone staying indoors.  Watching snow out the window.  Reading.  Hibernation.

What are your simple pleasures?

Here are some simple tags:

Paper cut with Cricut Cartridge "Sentimentals".  Embossed the top half, ribbon, rhinestones, stamps.

Simply stamps.  All stamps, with 4 different shades of blue and silver ink:



12 Days of Glitter - Pause

Brief hiatus this weekend from Christmas glitter and tags.  We are celebrating my husbands 30th birthday!

Day 8: Seasonal Images

Happy Friday! I have made a dent in my Christmas shopping but still a ways to go.  It can be really hard to think of ideas.  We also do mystery gift games in our families, where we buy one general gift at a decided price point.  Then, we play a game to open them, where you can choose to steal an open gift or choose an unopened gift.  I can't post my mystery gift ideas, should my families read this...

Here is my collection of tags with Christmas images.  I have a bunch of stamps, plus cartridges to create pictures or images that represent Christmas.

Stocking Tag:

I cut the tag using "Joys of the Season", with the stocking cut out in the lower right.  I also cut a stocking and colored it with glitter, upper right.  Then I had paper with stockings on it, so I cut out the images and slid them behind some ribbon.

Peace Wreath:

All from Joys of the Season.  The Tag shape is from Sentimentals.

Tis the Season:
Gift packages cut from Joys of the Season.  Three different colors of glitter on the packaging bows.  The copper presents are a stamp, heat embossed with copper.

Glitter Bell:
The bell and the background are cut from Joys of the Season, the background cut on shadow.

Reindeer:

I did these two tags free hand with my Cuttlebug, stamps, ribbon, and a rhinestone brad:

 Seasonal Trees:

Day 7: Black and White

Black and white is my favorite color combination, so here is a day of tags devoted to Black and White.  All the tags are cut from Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge and Sentimentals Cricut Cartridge.  I like the first one below and the "Joy" one the most.

My Iris flower is shaded in gray, and tipped in black and white gitter. The edge of the tag is embossed with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder, and filled with dark gray glitter. Gray rhinestones in the flower center and the bottom of the tag:

Swiss dot embossed and filled with glitter.  The white flourishes have rhinestones at the tips:

Heat embossed with white powder on white paper.  Spritzed with water and then smeared with black ink, leaves a negative image of the snowflake background.  The flower is one of my irises.

Round ornaments, glitter, heat embossing:

Embossed with swirls and filled with glitter.  The "Joy" is a stamp that I then added glitter around the edges.  Red rhinestones:

 Stamped images of snowflakes, gray ribbon, and a stamped "Happy Holidays":



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Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

Since I am not traveling this Christmas Season, I am actually in town during the week for evening events.  Like a Christmas Cookie exchange!  So the secret is, I don't really like cookies.  I like cakes, frostings, fillings, I love pies.  But crisp cookies and sugar batter is just not my thing.  I can keep my hands off.  At least I have self-control over one sugar category.

But I am still doing the exchange for socialization!  I made two "cookies".

Reindeer Droppings - Oreo Balls (No Bake)

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos

1 8 oz package of Cream Cheese (I used low fat)

1 lb of white chocolate

Directions:
1. Put all cookies in food processors until crumbs, including the cookie filling.
2. Cream cheese should be room temp
3. Put all cookie crumbs into a large bowl, add cream cheese. Blend with a spatula. Easier to just use your hands and crumble together by hand.
4. Take a tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and place on wax paper. Continue to roll Oreo balls.
5. Chill for at least one hour.
6. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler.
7. Roll oreo balls in the white chocolate to coat them
8. Let cool on wax paper. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

I had leftover white chocolate, so I added red food coloring and started to splatter it across the Oreo balls.  Hello addictive.  I had these at a friend's 1 year old's birthday and they are a-ma-zing.

Baklava

Baklava is a traditional Greek or middle-eastern dessert.  In Detroit, we have large Arabic, Middleeastern, and Greek populations, so traditional dishes are found everywhere, including on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables.

 Ingredients:

1 package of filo (phyllo) dough (frozen dessert section)

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ground cloves

1 lb of crushed nuts (the smaller the better) - walnuts, or I used a mix of walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts

1 cup of butter, almost room temp

zest of one lemon or small orange (or try 2 tablespoons of flavored liquor but do so in the syrup as opposed to in the nut mixture)

Syrup:

1 cup honey

2 cups of water

2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In a 9x13 pan (or baking dish), either spray with non-stick or grease.

2. In a large bowl, combine crushed nuts, cinnamon, cloves, 1/2 cup of sugar, zest.

3. Unwrap filo dough.  Take 15+ sheets (doesn't have to be exact) and lay on the bottom of the greased pan.

4. Take 4 tablespoons of butter and crush across the top of the filo

5. Spread 1/3 of the nut filling across the butter, all the way to the edges.

6. Top with 5 sheets of filo.  Add more butter.  Add 1/3 of the nut filling.

7. Repeat one more time.

8. Add 10 sheets of filo to the top.  Spray with non-stick or spread with more butter to ensure it bakes golden brown.

(9. Score into diamond or squares)

10. Bake at 350 for 45 min until golden brown.

11. While baking, make syrup.  Add water, remaining suagr, honey to a pot and bring to a boil.

12. Simmer syrup for 10 minutes (I did 15 minutes to reduce the water and get a thicker consistency).  Add vanilla.

13. When the baklava comes out of the oven, turn off burner on the syrup.  Let both cool slightly.

14. Pour syrup (all of it) over baklava.  Let the baklava marinate in the wonderful honey syrup.

15. Serve and store room temp.  Store in open container - a closed container can make the baklava soggy.

Notes:

- Directions I have say score into individual servings before baking.  This is hard because the top layer of filo does not easily stay in place.

- I am taking the baklava in individual cupcake containers.

Leftover baking dish after putting into the cupcake liners - my favorite part of baking is "licking the bowl" - just dig in to the leftover dribbles with a spoon:

Day 6: Double-sided and 3-D

Working on some double-sided and 3-D tags and decorations.

I made this snowflake from "Joys of the Season" Cricut Cartridge:

 1. I cut out 5 on blackout at 4.25" each.

2. Fold each snowflake in half with my bone folder.  Creates a spine to adhere the snowflakes together.

3. Line up one half of the first snowflake to a half of another second snowflake.  Glue together.

4. Line up one side of a third snowflake, and glue to the remaining side of the first snowflake.

5. Line up one side of the fourth snowflake to the unassembled side of the third snowflake.

6. Line up the fifth snowflake - one half on the snowflake should line up to the fourth snowflake, and the other half to the second snowflake (the one remaining with an unglued side).

7. Decorate!  Punch a hole in the top and thread through some ribbon for hanging.

 

Also cut from "Joys of the Season":

1. Cut a 4" circle and a 5" bulb.

2. Cut the strip of paper for the "merry & bright" from Heritage Cricut Cartridge.

3. Carefully glue the circle into the bulb, giving a two-faced ornament.

4. Decorate!

 

Cut from "Joys of the Season":

1. Cut two bulbs: one blackout and one with the holly image cutout.

2. Keep the holly image that remains from the bulb.

3. Coat the blackout bulb with red glitter or embossing powder.  Coat the holly cutout with green glitter or embossing powder.  On the blackout bulk, coat one side entirely in red glitter or embossing powder, and on the other side, with green.

4. Glue ornaments together, so that the window of the holly ornament overlaps with the blackout bulk in opposite colors.

5. Glue the holly green cutout to the back of the blackout bulb.

Download my SCUT files for Poinsettia flowers from Craft Edge - here.

Christmas Decorations Up!

The super sale at Michael's this weekend was awesome!  I got a Santa figurine, a new wreath for our door, and a basket for holiday cards.  I also set up our (little) Christmas tree, put up the stockings, and hung ornaments from our air ducts (15 foot cielings are great for hanging holiday decorations).

I hung gold, red, and green bulbs from our air ducts.  I use really fine black yarn and ornament hooks so that they appear to float.  Look closely: 7th from the left is a Michigan ornament!  (Don't tell Craig, he is an MSU and Marquette fan.)

Our 4' Christmas Tree - gold and green:

 I love this feather and glitter bird that I got last year.  Maybe this is a partridge?  In a pear tree.  The tree is green and gold, which is pear-like.

Our stockings hang way up high on one of our interior walls.  I can't even reach them.  :)

Day 5: Rosy Antique

This tag is cut from "Joys of the Season" Cricut Cartridge.  The cream background is embossed with my Cuttlebug and the houndstooth folder.  Then I used zip dry glue and glitter to the houndstooth pattern at the bottom of the tag layer.  The 'Merry Christmas' is stamped in red ink and I used a strip of ribbon that says " 'Tis the Season"

I used Cricut Cartridge "Sentimentals" to cut out the tag and the tag background:

Stamped snowflakes in different colors and used a sheer auburn ribbon.  I really like how this one turned out!
I used "Joys of the Season" Cricut Cartridge to cut out the ornament shape and the 'peace' shape:

The Lily flower is cut using my Sure Cuts a Lot "Paper Petals - Lily" files, from cream cardstock.  Dusted with pink chalk ink, intensifying the color on the very edges so that the petals fade from light in the center to dark on the outer edges.  I filled in the 'peace' letters with zip dry ink and then sprinkled wtih glitter, before affixing the shape to the background ornament.

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