Hello everyone, Sanna here again today. How many Christmas/Seasonal cards do you send every year? I need quite a big pile for friends and family each year and it has become a tradition to make sure they are all handmade and every single one is different. Quite a challenge, right? Here is a start – a set of four; now I only need 40-something more!
Holiday Ornaments 2
September 30, 2016By Els van de Burgt
**GIVEAWAY**
Hello, Everyone. Today it’s all about Holiday Ornaments! It’s Els here with a blog post that’s a bit different from usual. Instead of the project with instructions I would like to invite you to join me over at Technique Friday with Els where I’ve got a video tutorial as well as a downloadable project sheet.
I hope you will enjoy it AND I hope you will sign up to receive an email every time a new Technique Friday with Els is available. Getting that automatic notification will ensure you never miss a video or project sheet!
The leaves are still falling here in Colorado, but the holidays will be here SOON. It’s time to make easy ornaments using a masking/stenciling technique and colorful Silk Microfine Glitter…See you over at the YouTube Channel. I’m just one click away.
We’ll be offering another GIVEAWAY for this week’s video. Five winners will receive the Els van de Burgt Studio Ornament Set 3, 3 Silk Microfine Glitter colors, and Clear Double Sided Adhesive sheets. Simply subscribe to our YouTube channel and comment on the video by Tuesday, October 4th. The winners will be announced on Wednesday, October 5th.
A Way With Words – New Merry Christmas
August 13, 2016Hello!! It’s Wanda here today and I’m super excited to be sharing a project using the brand new Merry Christmas from the A Way With Words line by designer Suzanne Cannon. Christmas will be here in a flash and it’s not too soon to start those cards!!! I’m also using the new CountryScapes Fence and, of course, some old favorites. I love how the glittery swirls on this background make me think of a snowy day in winter.
Hello, this is Jackeline from the Elizabeth Craft Designs Design Team. Christmas is around the corner and to stay in the spirit I prepared a decorative centerpiece for the Christmas dinner table using one of my favorite dies from the Els Van de Burgt Studio collection, the Poinsettia (1067).
Safety first: This project is for battery-operated candles ONLY, not the kind with wick and wax.
Let’s get started:
- Die cut 30 silhouette poinsettias in green cardstock to use as the leaves.
- Die cut 30 decorative poinsettia overlays in 100lb Soft Finish Cardstock. Then color the poinsettias with Barn Door Distress ink .
- Die cut 30 silhouette poinsettias in white cardstock backed with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape. Remove the backing from the tape; cover the adhesive with True Red Silk Microfine Glitter. Brush off any excess glitter and polish the glitter with a fingertip.
- Build the Poinsettias: Layer a decorative overlay on top of a glittered silhouette (shapes match and align). Add this to a green silhouette, offset to ensure that the green leaves are visible. Add a cluster of six Red Glitter Dots peel-offs to the center of each Poinsettia. Refer to the photo below.
6. Center the two decorated candles on the rectangular shaped holiday theme platter as shown above.
7. To create height in the centerpiece, use silicone glue to attach the foam half-balls on the plate around the candles.
8. Use silicone glue to attach the poinsettias, overlapping them as shown in the photo so they hide the foam half-balls.
Turn on the battery-operated candles and enjoy your centerpiece. Merry Christmas!!!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
Jackeline.
SUPPLIES LIST:
Elizabeth Craft Designs
614 – True Red-Silk Microfine Glitter
PSF102 – Soft Finish Cardstock 270gr /100Lb
502 – Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet – 8.5″ x 11″
801 – Fine Pointed Tweezers by Elizabeth Craft Designs
802 – Fine Pointed Scissors by Elizabeth Craft Designs
OTHERS:
Green cardstock
Silicone glue
Twine
Battery-operated pillar candles
Holiday theme buttons
Barn Door Distress Ink
Rectangular platter measuring 17″ x 7 1/2″
12 Foam half-balls (2 1/2″ diameter)
Hi there! It’s Marsha here again with a minimal but stylish idea to decorate your seasonal gifts.
Busy season has kicked in and I’m on the look-out for easy to do handmade projects that take minimal effort.
I was looking at a magazine and saw these beautiful gift tags with fresh greenery attached to them. I loved the idea, it’s easy to do, but you can’t really prepare this in advance, as the fresh leaves and berries won’t keep until the holidays. Unless… you make them out of paper!
The individual steps for these tags hardly take any time, so I think this is an excellent project you can do one step at a time, whenever you have a spare moment!
Here are the steps to create the tags:
1. Die-cut as many leaves and berry branches as you think you’ll need out of watercolour paper.
2. Colour the leaves and branches with watercolours. Leave the watercoloured die-cuts to dry completely.
Don’t have time to wait for paint to dry? Replace the watercolours with a colouring medium that is instantly dry, like alcohol markers, brush tip pens, or coloured pencils!
3. Die-cut as many tags as you think you’ll need out of your favourite cardstock.
4. Add Glossy Accents and/or Puffy Paint to the berries. Leave to dry completely.
Don’t have time to wait for the accents to dry? Replace them with Glitter Dots or self-adhesive crystals. Or… just skip this step!
5. Adhere the branches and leaves to the tags with small strips of washi tape.
6. Add some twine to the tags and use the tags to decorate your gifts or your home!
Happy crafting!
Marsha
SUPPLIES:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1074 Leaf & Berry Branches
1033 Leafy Branch
958 Tags & More 5 – Sunburst
758 Berry Branch
703 Triple Leaf Set
Other:
Watercolours (Winsor and Newton)
Bakers twine
Glossy Accents (Ranger)
Puffy Paint White (Tulip)
By Judi Kauffman
Thank you for inviting me to be today’s guest designer. I thought it would be fun to make cards with candles, and as always I wanted to play with unexpected colors and a lot of patterned elements – the candles themselves, along with background papers.
To me, candles always conjure up some kind of celebration, twinkling lights and good times. It was fun to decide which of Elizabeth Craft Designs’ candles to use for my projects. There are several options including dies and peel-offs. I chose Candles Peel-offs 2545 for my three cards because of all of the stripes and dots. I made a card for our goddaughter’s husband’s 40th birthday, one for their children for Chanukah, and one for a neighbor for Christmas.
There are a dozen candles on each sheet of Peel-Off Stickers, and of course with dies there is no limit to the number you can make.
Design Strategies and Instructions:
- Place candle peel-offs on smooth white cardstock; color with markers. Use fine point scissors to cut out the candles, taking special care around the flame and wick. Candle peel-offs come in black, gold, and silver – pick the color appropriate to the project. Option: Add a Glitter Dot peel-off to the base of each flame. (As shown, Orange/Silver dots used on birthday and Chanukah cards.)
- For the birthday card and Christmas card, die cut a large greeting from Shimmer Sheetz. Options: Lightly sand the Shimmer Sheetz before cutting, cut the greeting a second time from Adhesive Velvet in a darker color to use as a drop shadow as shown on the birthday card. A Metal Adaptor Plate is required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s video’s HERE and HERE if you are new to this technique.
- For the birthday card cut Shimmer Sheetz and Velvet Adhesive numbers for the age of the recipient. Option: Add Glitter Dots Peel-Off Stickers to the numbers. (As shown, use the same Orange/Silver dots as on the candles.)
- To complete the Chanukah card: Use the glittering technique and alcohol markers with a Ribbon Swirls Peel-Off Stickers strip. Choose colors that coordinate with the candles. Review Els van de Burgt’s video HERE if you are new to this technique. Cut the glittered strip into 3 pieces: 6 3/8”, 1”, and 5/8”. Use Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to secure these pieces to Blue Velvet Adhesive sheet, leaving a 1/8” border on all sides of the first two pieces and a 1/8” border only on the long sides of the 5/8” piece. Center the menorah on a 4 1/4” x 7” piece of striped scrapbook paper in colors that coordinate with markers used to color the candles. Center the striped rectangle on a glittered cardstock top-fold card base, folded size – 5” x 7 3/4”.
- To complete the Christmas card: Color two holly berry/leaf clusters and one bow from the Christmas Ornaments 2 peel-off sheet. Cut around them, separating the berry trios from the pairs of leaves. Position the Red Iridescent die cut Shimmer Sheetz Merry Christmas on a 3 1/4” x 4 3/4″ piece of red cardstock. Use small pieces of Power Adhesive Tabs to hold the words in place. Tip: Cut Power Tabs with non-stick scissors. Mat to a piece of red glittered cardstock, leaving a 1/4” border on all sides. Center red rectangle on a top-fold card base made from diagonally striped paper, folded size – 5” x 7”. Add the holly, berries, and candles, positioned as shown in the project photo. Note: The berries are above the greeting, the leaves are tucked partially behind it.
- To complete the flat* birthday card: Center a 3” x 4” piece of glittered cardstock on a 4 3/4” x 5 1/2” piece of striped paper. Add a double border to the striped rectangle, leaving a scant 1/8” border on the darker color and a generous 1/8” border on the lighter color (the bottom layer). Arrange and adhere the die cut greeting and shadow, the numbers and shadow, and four candles, as shown in the project photo. *Flat cards are meant to be displayed on a Card Stand/Easel or hung on the wall. Use a side-fold card base instead if you prefer.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs –
2545 Candles Peel-Off Stickers (Black and Gold)
1271 Ribbon Swirls Peel-Off Stickers (Gold)
2536 Christmas Ornaments 2 Peel-Off Stickers (Black for Holly, Berries & Bow)
7018 Glitter Dots Peel-Off Stickers (Orange/Silver)
SS0226 Red Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz
SS0109 Orange Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz
803 Metal Adaptor Plate (required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz)
407 Blue Velvet Adhesive Sheet
505 Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape 3mm
(Other options for candles – 732 Candles die set, 0355 Candles Peel-Off Stickers)
Other –
12” Whiteout Solitutude #19101229 (striped paper) – BoBunny
ProMarkers – Winsor & Newton
Sanding block
Fine point and non-stick scissors
Tombow Power Adhesive Tabs
Solid color, glittered, and diagonally striped cardstock
Merry Christmas Poinsettia Home-Deco Candle Holder
December 4, 2015Yogi here with a decorative home decor item for your festive table or mantel. I usually just make cards during this time of year, but thought I’d make something a little out of my norm… BIG GRIN.
I LOVE the Els van de Burgt Studio Poinsettia, Holly Leaves and Berry Branch and Suzanne Cannon, A Way With Words dies. I reach for them continuously.
Safety first: This project is for waxed battery-operated candles only, not the wick and wax variety.
Instructions:
- Cut a piece of tissue paper and copy paper a little larger than the size of your die. Paint one side of the tissue paper with the Deco Art Dazzling Metallics “Emperor’s Gold” acrylic paint (or paint of choice).
2. (Note – I’m using a layer of copy paper to protect my tissue paper.)
The sandwich: with the cut edge of your die facing up (Merry Christmas), copy paper, tissue paper – painted side down (facing the die) and the rest of your machine’s cutting surfaces. PS I ALWAYS use a metal adapter plate to help with cutting, but also to keep my acrylic plates pristine… run thru machine.
Remove from die, while still layered, remove negative pieces, then carefully separate the tissue from the copy paper.
3. Create a cradle to hold your candle steady using a piece of copy paper with the ends rolled toward the center, then just place your candle within the cradle.
I use Ranger’s “Heat It” tool because it produces less ‘wind’ than many heat tools and my tissue paper doesn’t blow away…
Position the tissue paper word and while holding it down, start heating a small area of the candle. You will start to get a glossy wet look. Stop heating and use the metal spatula, gently press the tissue into the melted wax. It will cool rapidly so you need to work quickly.
Once this first section is adhered with the wax, the rest goes real easy. Do small areas at a time until all adhered.
4. Cut at least a 4″ circle from heavy box type cardboard (or chipboard (at least an 1″ larger than your pillar candle (3″)). Die cut with your machine. It will not cut through, but will give you a good guiding cut line to continue the cut with your x-acto knife.
Paint the surface and edges with the gold paint.
5. Die cut your various Shimmer Sheetz elements. Two large solid base Poinsettia pieces from red metallic, two pink Iris filigree pieces, 3 green holly leaves, 2 bronze metallic berry branches.
6. Place the filigree onto the solid poinsettia base matching the petal shapes and while holding both together, fold down 2 of the petals above the center dots. Shimmer Sheetz holds the folds nicely. The side view should look like a right angle. Place a drop of hot glue onto the dot area of the solid base the size of a pea, then press the filigree piece down. The glue will seep through the little holes and create a nice bond.
Place a line of hot glue about an inch long, along the outer edge of the circle and press the poinsettia down to adhere.
NOTE: For the best fit, leave at least a 1/8″ gap between the candle and the Shimer Sheetz elements when holder is finished.
Repeat with 2nd poinsettia.
Place a drop of glue in the center of poinsettia and carefully press the large half pearl down.
Cut the berry branch into 2 smaller pieces. Put a drop of hot glue on the end of the berry branch pieces, working one piece at a time place a branch on each end. Be careful – the glue slightly softens the branch but when cooled the branch will be stiff again.
Put drops of Liquid Pearls “White Opal” onto the berries.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
Els van de Burgt Studio – Poinsettia (1067)
Els van de Burgt Studio – Holly Leaves and Berry (926)
Els van de Burgt Studio – Berry Branch (758)
A Way With Words, Merry Christmas (1056)
Shimmer Sheetz – Iris Sampler (SS 0227)
Shimmer Sheetz – Metallic Sampler (SS 0231)
Shimmer Sheetz – Bronze Metallic (SS 0215)
Other:
Waxed battery-operated pillar candle (at least 3″ diameter)
Tissue paper
Gold metallic acrylic paint
Die cutting machine
Ranger Heat It tool (low-temp heat tool)
Metal spatula
Scrap cardboard or chipboard
Hot glue gun
Liquid Pearls (White Opal)
Large half pearl gems
Merry Christmas Ornament Card
October 26, 2015Hi, it’s Wanda and I am thrilled to be sharing a project on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog!
With Christmas quickly approaching, it’s always fun to a have new ornament (or several) for the tree, and even more fun when we get a handmade one from a friend. With that in mind, I’ve created a card with a removable ornament just perfect to give to that special friend.
Here’s how I created the card:
1. Cut red cardstock 5 ½” x 11” and fold in half.
2. Cut a piece of Soft Finish Cardstock 5” square. Rub the Distress Ink pad on your craft sheet, spray with water, drag rough side of cardstock through ink, dry.
3. Die cut Fitted Frames 4 – Curvy Squares from Soft Finish Cardstock. Attach largest frame to inked square. Color the inside of the circles with gold marker.
4. Die cut one solid heart from red cardstock and one from white Soft Finish Cardstock.
5. Die cut two holly hearts and individual small hearts from Soft Finish Cardstock backed with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape. Run the small hearts again through the die cut machine with embossing material.
6. Attach one holly heart to the solid white heart. Color in all areas using markers. Add Glossy Accents to each area and allow to dry completely. Attach second holly heart over first one to cover any marker that got on the outlines. Attach layered hearts to red heart. Re-color “berries” on heart with gold marker. Add gold eyelet to heart and tie on ribbon.
7. Determine placement of heart ornament and add eyelet to frame panel. Attach frame panel to folded card with foam tape.
8. Die Cut Quietfire Design ‘Merry Christmas’ from Shimmer Sheetz. Attach to card with small pieces of foam tape being sure not to put tape where the ribbon needs to lay under the die cut.
9. Add ornament to card by running the ribbon under Merry Christmas and threading it through the top eyelet. Leave the ribbon untied so it can be pulled out, tied and hung on the tree. Optional – add a note in the card stating that the ornament is usable.
10. Attach small white hearts as shown.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this project and are inspired to make a Christmas ornament, with or without the card. Happy Creating!
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1064 Fitted Frames 4 – Curvy Squares
1056 Quietfire “Merry Christmas”
SS0214 Red Metallic Shimmer Sheetz
502 Transparent Double Sided Adhesive Sheet
Other:
Red cardstock
Distress Ink – mowed lawn (Ranger)
Distress Markers – tattered rose, festive berries, mustard seed (Ranger)
Green Marker #256 (Tombow)
Metallic Gold Pain Pen (Posca)
Glossy Accents (Ranger)
Ribbon
Gold 1/8″ Eyelets
Hi, it’s Angela and today I want to share with you a simple yet elegant Christmas Box. The new “A Way with Words” dies and Silk Microfine Glitter from Elizabeth Craft Designs give a stunning effect to a box decorated with paper. Let me share with you how I created this project.
1. Decorate each side of the box with Christmas paper backed with black cardstock.
2. Apply a piece of double sided adhesive to a scrap piece of cardstock.
3. Die cut Merry Christmas using Quietfire Merry Christmas die.
4. Remove release sheet and cover adhesive with Vintage Pink Silk Microfine Glitter. Brush off excess glitter and polish.
5. Adhere glittered Merry Christmas to box using liquid glue.
6. Optional: add ribbons and charms to the side of the box.
Elizabeth Craft Designs products used:
1056 Quietfire Merry Christmas die
617 Vintage Pink Silk Microfine Glitter
502 Transparent Double Sided Tape Sheet
Other products used:
Graphic 45 Book Box
Kaisercraft Silver Bells paper
Black cardstock
Ribbons
Charms
Liquid glue