Day 25 at Beccy's Place - V is for Village

  I'm playing along with the

Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards

at

Beccy's Place

Beccy's prompt for Day 25 is the letter "V"

(Beccy's post with "V" inspiration words and beautiful

embossed vellum card to inspire is HERE)

My "V" project is a Village ...

... a set of Gingerbread House accordion fold Christmas Village cards.

I confess, I haven't made or mailed any Christmas cards yet and thought I had better get started making some so that I could start sending them out in time ... kids activities will have to take a time-out for a bit.

I opened the cut file (details and link below) in Silhouette Studio and enlarged the village scene base to 11 3/4" wide.  I removed the score cut lines so that I could make smooth manual folds using my scoreboard and bone folder.  Enlarging this file has the smoke billowing from the chimney making it stand 6" high.  This is quite an ornate design and it took quite some time to cut and even longer to weed.  It was so fiddly and taking so long that I even considered scrapping them and cutting a new set but I was more than halfway done so I persevered.  I scored the folds for the bases, burnished with a bone folder, then adhered the ornate icing layers to the gingerbread houses making up this fun folding Christmas village scene.  I added a luscious layer of Frosted Lace Stickles to the chimneys, front and back ... you don't want to know why but I'm going to tell you anyway!  The first sign this set of cards would need "help" was when I adhered the second house panel in place ... yikes ... I had put glue over the entire panel but the "smoke" doesn't have any card base to stick on to ... that glue went so sticky on this hot day and didn't want to come off cleanly at all.  The second sign was when I had finished adhering all the panels in place and folded the cards to see how they looked.  EPIC fail ... remember the trouble I had weeding these delicate pieces from my cutting mat?  Well, the back of these panels was pretty messy, with some of the edges rough and torn.  This isn't usually a problem as you can't see it from the front side but because these panels fold together, the back of the smoke coming from three chimneys on each card was there for all to see and that was not good.  I didn't want to add sparkle, so I searched my stash and found Frosted Lace in my Stickles collection and it was perfect, giving a pretty texture with a subtle sparkle that covered all the blemishes and no-one will ever know.

   

I decided to add another "little extra" to two of the cards, I punched out some red hearts and popped them behind the hearty door windows, so the look pretty from the front and the back.

What do you think, add hearts to the other two?

The fun thing about accordion fold card designs like these is that they fold flat for mailing, they make a fun surprise when the envelope is opened and make a pretty display.

Even though we have a HOT summer Christmas and these cards look like winter snow, they are iced gingerbread, so I think it will be OK to make some more of these (using a NEW pack of cardstock).

*** INGREDIENTS ***

cardstock - white and brown

Silhouette Cameo

Silhouette Design Store - Design ID #235573

Gingerbread House Accordion Card by Nic Squirrell

Scoreboard and bone folder

liquid adhesive - Tombow Mono Multi

Day 26 at Beccy's Place - W is for Wreath

  I'm playing along with the

Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards

at

Beccy's Place

I'm not colouring at the moment but I am working on Christmas craft projects for creative little hands around our neighbourhood ... the endless months of Covid-19 lockdowns has brought our community much closer and I look forward to sharing more crafty adventures with them over the coming weekends and school holidays now that restrictions have eased.

Beccy's prompt for Day 26 is the letter "W"

(Beccy's post with "W" inspiration words and sparkling

Wink Of Stella ornaments cards to inspire are HERE)

My "W" kids Christmas activity kit is for a wreath ...

... a rustic mini wooden peg wreath ornament.

This fun peg wreath ornament started with a heavy cardstock ring.  I layered a 3" and 2" circle together to cut my wreath rings from textured cardstock.  I cut bundles of these, so have lots of bases for kits and lots of 2" green circles to use for an activity another day.

I glued two rings together to make the wreath base sturdier.

I gathered my stash of mini pegs together, they look so cute.

I decided to go for a rustic look and used the plain, unpainted wood pegs and started pegging ... and pegging ... and pegging ... 35 pegs later the wreath ring was surrounded by pegs.

 I finished off the wreath by making a bow from tinsel trim and a loop for hanging from string with a gold metallic thread and gluing them in place.

   

I'm thrilled with how this wreath turned out and know that little fingers will have lots of fun adding pretty colours and sparkle to theirs.  I really like the rustic look and think I might try to "peel" the tinsel bow off and replace it with some burlap string to make it even more rustic.

*** INGREDIENTS ***

mini wooden pegs 

heavy cardstock

ribbon-string-twine-cord - for bow hanging loop

paints - optional for colouring the pegs or wreath base

glitter - glitter glue - to decorate the pegs

*** REFERENCE ***

This project was inspired by the "Mini Clothespin Christmas Wreath Ornament For Kids" post on "The Resourceful Mama" blog HERE.

Day 17 at Beccy's Place - O is for Ornament

 I'm playing along with the

Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards

at

Beccy's Place

I'm not colouring at the moment but I am working on Christmas craft projects for creative little hands around our neighbourhood ... the endless months of Covid-19 lockdowns has brought our community much closer and I look forward to sharing more crafty adventures with them over the coming weekends and school holidays now that restrictions have eased.

Beccy's prompt for Day 17 is the letter "O"

(Beccy's post with "O" inspiration words and

ornaments card to inspire is HERE)

My "O" kids Christmas activity kit is for ornaments,

suncatcher ornaments.

I decided on two ornament designs, created the shapes and cut several sets using my Silhouette Cameo.  (These can be fussy cut but I thought the activity time should be focussed on the making of the ornament itself, as there is plenty of fun things for little fingers to come.)  These ornament shapes are quite large, the Christmas Tree shaped ornament is 7 3/4" x 9 3/4", the traditional round bauble shaped ornament is 6 7/8" x 8 1/2", giving plenty of space to work with inside each one.  Each ornament uses two of the same shape, one for the front "starting" layer and one for the "backing" layer.  I was able to fit one tree and bauble on a 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock and it was lucky I had plenty of black sheets left over from our Halloween fun.

Cut a length of clear contact slightly larger than the ornament, peel off the backing layer and tape it flat onto the work area, sticky side up.  Place the ornament shape down on the sticky side.

Now the real fun begins.

Take assorted tissue paper sheets and cut or tear into small pieces.  Layer pieces of tissue paper over the inner section of the ornament, slightly overlapping the inner edge of the ornament shape so that there are no clear gaps.  The layers can create the most amazing colours and each one made will be unique.  My sample is only shades of green, imagine what it's going to look like when little hands let their rainbow of creative juices flow.

Once the ornament is covered, trim off any excess bits of tissue paper, run a line of liquid adhesive around the black shape of the ornament.

Adhere the matching ornament shape over the decorated one.  Take another piece of clear contact and place it on top of the ornament, sealing the outer shape and inner tissue paper design in place.  Trim off the excess contact from the outer edges and hold the ornament up to the light to see how pretty it is ... WOW!

  

I took my Christmas Tree Suncatcher Ornament out into the sunshine to see how it looked.

Even though I loved my green tree, it's not really a Christmas Tree until it has been decorated, so out comes the bling for another workout.  Adhere assorted self adhesive rhinestones over the tree to give it extra sparkle.  I added bling to the opposite side as well, lining them up with the front side.  Apart from adding sparkle to both sides, it means there are no shadowy dark spots when the suncatcher turns in the wind, making it a double-sided delight.  Finish off the ornament by punching a hole at the top and tying a loop of ribbon, string or twine for it to hang in the window and be enjoyed all day long.

   

It was such a pleasure watching my suncatcher spinning around out in the wind and know the kids are definitely going to enjoy this activity.

   

   

... even side on it looks pretty
this was a lucky click of the shutter while it was turning in the wind

*** INGREDIENTS ***

black cardstock - cut into ornament shapes

tissue paper - assorted colours

clear contact - yes, the stuff we used to cover our school books with

liquid adhesive - I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry

scissors - I used teflon coated non-stick

assorted self adhesive rhinestones

small circle plier punch - to cut hole for ornament loop

this can be done with the point of your scissors, the punch gives a neater finish 

ribbon, twine or cord - to make ornament loop

*** REFERENCE ***

This project was inspired by the "Christmas Ornament Suncatcher Craft" post on the "FUN365" blog HERE and the "Christmas Tree Sun Catcher Holiday Craft" post on the "Fantastic Fun and Learning" blog HERE.

Day 30 at Beccy's Place - Do What You Love

I'm playing along with the

Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards

at

Beccy's Place

I'm not colouring at the moment but I am working on Christmas craft projects for creative little hands around our neighbourhood ... the endless months of Covid-19 lockdowns has brought our community much closer and I look forward to sharing more crafty adventures with them over the coming weekends and school holidays now that restrictions have eased.

Beccy's prompt for Day 30 is "Do What You Love"

(Beccy's post about Doing What She Loves and very

merry hot chocolate card to inspire is HERE)

My "Do What You Love" kids Christmas activity is for

crayon colouring cards with a non-traditional image.

I love making things, I love giving people a reason to smile

and I love encouraging creativity in kids,

so this activity ticks all the right boxes today.

This is my ninth crayon colouring card design this year,

you can see the other ones via the links at the end of this post.

These crayon colouring cards use the Neville gnome image

from the Gnomes In My Garden digital stamp set by Beccy's Place.

I love using the gnome images from this stamp set, they make me smile all year long.

I used a cut file for the crayon colouring card (details and link below), enlarged it to 5 1/2" square front panel (1/2" spine and 5 1/2" square back panel), added a fun wavy matting layer (details and link below) for both the front image panel and for the crayon holder inside.  I removed the perforated cuts from the crayon holder (I found that it was easily torn by little hands removing the crayons when I last made them and hope this will make them stronger) and added the crayon holder to the inner wavy matting layer for inside the card.

I opened the Neville image from the Gnomes In My Garden digital stamp set in Silhouette Studio, sized the him to fit nicely on the wavy panel for the front of the card.  I added the "naughty or nice" question as a sentiment (he looks like he is asking the question and thinking deeply about the answer), printed the image panels and cut with my Silhouette Cameo.  I cut the card bases and crayon holder layers, burnishing the folds with a bone folder then adhered all the layers in place.  It was fun choosing the crayons to go inside and I know that little hands will enjoy colouring this cutie.

Can you hear Neville asking the question?

I'm sure he has a gruff but kind voice.

*** INGREDIENTS ***

Beccy's Place - digital stamp - Neville gnome image from Gnomes In My Garden

Silhouette Cameo

Silhouette Design Store - Design ID #249841

Happy Birthday Coloring Card - Cactus - by MiniLou

(note: I enlarged the outer card frame to be 5 1/2" square, 

removed the perforated fold lines from the crayon holders,

added the original sized crayon holders to a wavy square (link below),

I also used the Neville gnome digital stamp by Beccy's Place

instead of the cactus image supplied with the cut file)

cardstock

crayons

Helmar 450 Quick Dry liquid adhesive

*** REFERENCE ***

This project was inspired by the crayon colouring cards I made HERE for "Day 6 at Beccy's Place - CASE Yourself" (with others made several years ago linked in the Day 6 blog post), HERE for "Day 9 at Beccy's Place - H", HERE for "Day 10 at Beccy's Place - I", HERE for "Day 23 at Beccy's Place - U", HERE for "Day 13 at Beccy's Place - K", HERE for "Day 16 at Beccy's Place - N", HERE for "Day 11 at Beccy's Place - J" and HERE for "Day 24 at Beccy's Place - Something Sweet".

Day 15 at Beccy's Place - M is for Music

 I'm playing along with the

Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards

at

Beccy's Place

I'm not colouring at the moment but I am working on Christmas craft projects for creative little hands around our neighbourhood ... the endless months of Covid-19 lockdowns has brought our community much closer and I look forward to sharing more crafty adventures with them over the coming weekends and school holidays now that restrictions have eased.

Beccy's prompt for Day 15 is the letter "M"

(Beccy's post with "M" inspiration words and

Christmas mouse card to inspire is HERE)

My "M" kids Christmas activity kit is for Music

... a Magical Music Maker.

This wasn't the "M" project I had originally planned but the kids had so much fun picking up sticks for our "Y" activity and started using them as Magic wands that I had to do a search for search for Christmas stick activities and this is the result.

All you need is a stick, pipe cleaners, bells, beads and creative little fingers.

My little helping hands are not well at the moment, so this sample is

my effort while they're on the road to what I hope is a speedy recovery.

I took a sparkling green pipe cleaner, some silver bells and white beads, threading the bells and beads along the pipe cleaner.  I twisted the pipe cleaner around the top bell then started winding the pipe cleaner around the stick until the end.  The bells made a very merry sound as they twisted and turned.  I know my design is quite conservative, so I look forward to seeing the more creative and colourful designs made by little hands.  They might even paint their sticks before transforming them into Magical Music Makers.

I couldn't resist a having a test run

... can you hear the jolly jangle of Jingle Bells?

   

... imagine how wonderful it will sound when several kids start playing their Magical Music Makers together ... I just hope they keep playing music and don't start having musical sword battles.

*** INGREDIENTS ***

sticks, twigs or dowel

assorted bells

assorted pony beads

sparkling pipe cleaners

optional - paints and brushes

*** REFERENCE ***

This project was inspired by the "Day 5: Christmas STEAM Challenges" post on the "Innovation Kids Lab" blog HERE.

Day 8 at Beccy's Place - G is for Gingerbread

 I'm playing along with the

Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards

at

Beccy's Place

I'm not colouring at the moment but I am working on Christmas craft projects for creative little hands around our neighbourhood ... the endless months of Covid-19 lockdowns has brought our community much closer and I look forward to sharing more crafty adventures with them over the coming weekends and school holidays now that restrictions have eased.

Beccy's prompt for Day 8 is the letter "G"

(Beccy's post with "G" inspiration words and

cute gnome card to inspire is HERE)

My "G" kids Christmas activity kit is for Gingerbread Man ornaments.

These tasty cuties start out as jumbo craft sticks.  Paint the sticks with brown paint.

... I could tell you how I only have a very dark brown paint in my stash ... and how I decided to make my own "gingerbread" colour by adding white and yellow paints ... and how I kept on adding and mixing, adding and mixing ... and how my little jar was filled to the brim by the time it looked almost right ... but I digress, lets get back to our Christmas baking ...  

Once the gingerbread paint is dry, it's time to start icing.  Take a white paint pen and draw two wavy lines across the top and bottom ends of the stick.  Paint on eyes and mouth with a black paint pen.  Add a bow under his smiling face.  Tiny ribbon bows can be very fiddly, so I decided to try some cardstock ones using punches, the little hands love using punches, so, even though I think they'll be busy punching, I do have some assorted die cut ones ready if they prefer different designs.

Finish decorating the Gingerbread Man by adding three buttons/sequins below the bow.  Make a loop from ribbon/string/twine and glue to the back of the ornament so that it can be hung on the Christmas Tree.  I adhered a brown circle over the ribbon ends to make a neat finish on the back of the jumbo craft sticks.

What do you think?  Good enough to eat?

I think they're a fun, high fibre, low calorie alternative to the real thing!

... I sure hope the kids like them because I have plenty of gingerbread paint.

   

*** INGREDIENTS ***

jumbo craft sticks

brown paint

red/green buttons, sequins or bling

red/green ribbon or cardstock & punchdies - for bows

black paint pen / gel pen

white paint pen / gel pen

string/twine/fine ribbon - to hang ornament

*** REFERENCE ***

This project was inspired by the "Craft Stick Gingerbread Ornament" post on "The Resourceful Mama" blog HERE.