In Sweden, pretty much every household with kids has an advent calendar up during December. We fill it up with small pressies rather than lollies, but if you’re lucky - the odd chocolate is snuck in there… So, I decided to make a small one for my daughter, as our house is not very big.

But it’s only three socks, you say?!? Yes, that’s the clever part… I have put velcro under the nubmers, so that I can just change numbers as the days go by.

How to:

Draw a template and cut out; trace onto patterned paper - two mirrowed socks for each sock you want to make. Sew together around the edges of the sock, leave a small border. If you’re lucky enough to have a sewing machine - use it! It takes quite a while to do it by hand, trust me… Decorate tops with felt, paper or ribbon, and whatever you fancy. Glue a ribbon loop inside.

And, if you don’t want to make 25 socks, just do a few and put velcro onder your numbers, and they’re easy to change! I got velcro by the metre at Spotlight.

Hope you like, have fun!!!

For today’s inspiration I’ve made a small wall hanging that can either be put up somewhere around your house or even on your Christmas tree.  It measures 8×5.  I first came across this idea at one of Nic Howard’s classes at SENZ.  Where she did a layout and then an extra project. 

The base of the hanging is an old cardboard box that has been cut up and torn to reveal the corrugated cardboard underneath.  I have then painted it with blue and pearl paint to match the yummy Basic Grey paper I have used.  Then you just need to add your photo and some other embellishments from your stash and your done.  Have fun.

Rachel

At and before Christmas we are so busy running around I thought todays inspiration would be a Off the page list board. It can be either a Christmas themed one or a different theme to be given as a gift or kept for yourself :eyebrows: . It can either be hanging list or a magnetic list for your fridge.

Here is what I made:

Products used

Piece of hard card just a bit smaller then A4
patterned paper
cardstock
ink
Alphas
ribbon
bling
other embellishments
post it note pad or shopping list pad

Instructions

1. Adhere patterned paper to hard card
2. Either use your scallop punch or hand scallop strips of cardstock (one strip thicker then the other)
3. Adhere thicker cardstock strip on bottom edge of the board and then adhere second strip over the top.
4. Ink or paint the edges of the board
5. If you are doing the board as a hanging item make two holes near the top on both sides to slip through twine ribbon or beaded wire. If you are using magnetic strips do a few as board may become quite heavy.
6. Glue the back page of the pad to the board ( I have used a partial prima post it pad)
7. Attach alphas and embellishments (the holly on the bottom right is three sprigs of it attached with glue dots on the front and threaded through a hole in the scallop and taped at the back.

Hi everyone - hope you have had a great week -sorry I am a little late my broadband has run out so its a bit slow until tomorrow

My challenge for you tonight is to do a Christmas scrapbooking creation using haberdashery (eg material, buttons, stitching etc). You may do any size layout,card or Off the page project. For those of you who don’t have Christmas photos and you want to do a layout for the challenge an added criteria is that you use traditional Christmas colours on your layout (eg gold, red and green or blue and silver). If you do a Christmas creation any colours are allowed.

Here is my sample

You have until midnight Sunday the 16th to upload your creation to the gallery

Have fun and have a great weekend

You will need:
Crepe paper in 2 contrasting colours
Scissors
Glue or double-sided tape
Punch (I used a snowflake)
Coloured twine

1. Cut a piece of crepe paper in each of your chosen colours. Decide which colour will be on top, and pleat it lengthwise until it is folded up like a fan.
2. Using a punch, cut shapes out through all the layers along one side of the pleat. I used a snowflake punch. In order to get an entire snowflake shape on my paper, I only punched “half” of the design.
3. Open up the top paper and flatten it out, then glue it onto the bottom paper.
4. Wrap your gift up. You can use glue or double-sided tape (you don’t want the sellotape to show).
5. Decorate using some co-ordinating twine.

I keep making my teacher’s gifts, so here’s another one for you. This is soooooo easy, it will be the easiest of all our tips guaranteed!!!

Candy canes with a treat:

1. Put the chocolate of your choice (I used milk chocolate) in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly.

2. Dip candy canes in chocolate; spoon grated white chocolate/coconut/hundreds & thousands/your choice of poison  over chocolate. Stand candy, coated end up, in a loaf pan filled with dried beans or similar; refrigerate until set.

3. Package the canes in cellophane bags. Cut rectangles out of card stock the width of the bags.

4. Decorate your rectangels, and then staple them over your cellophane bags.

5. Tie ribbon around the bag, and you’re done!

HOW EASY IS THAT?!?!?

So here is a little bit of christmas inspiration for today …..

I have covered the lid of this jar to look like a Christmas pudding and filled it with lollies

I like to recycle and alter things so keep a “box” of containers, boxes and other things that I think may be useful.  

 You will need  -Brown felt, cream felt and a sheer fabric (mine has little jewels attached to it).  Stuffing, string, green cardstock, red pom poms, . Most of which you should be able to get from Spotlight.  And stick on alphas (Basic Grey chocolate chip – piper / micro-chip stickers).

 The fabric is adhered on by a glue gun half way round then its stuffed with a little bit of filling and then adhered the rest of the way around.  I have cut two holly leaves from cardstock and then attached “cherries” on top. (all done with the glue gun). Fill your jar with lollies and tie a bow with string.

Thanks for looking

Rachel Tucker

Welcome to day seven. Today features mini canvas ornaments about the size of an Artist Trading Card. They are pretty simple to make. You can either include the handle to hang them on the wall or tree or leave it off to stand on its own (if your embellishments don’t hang off the bottom edge). I bought a pack of four mini canvases for $2.70, some ribbon and the rest of the products I already had.

Here are the canvases:

Products used:

Mini Canvas
ribbon
flowers
chipboard
glimmermist
kindy glitz
brads
glitter
star chain
Adhesive pearl
Mini Alphas

Instructions:

1. First paint the canvas on the sides and front.
2. Adhere patterned paper to the front (just slightly smaller then the canvas)
3. Then adhere a strip of ribbon down one side - make the ribbon long enough to go to the back of the canvas for a neater look.
4. Attach “handle” to the canvas at the back - I used staples as the canvases are light.
5. Then embellish as you like .

An idea I thought of was that you could include photos on them as well (small ones) eg children, pets etc.

Being a true Swede, Christmas is alot about having candles lit for me. All the time preferrably… I have to admit, it’s a little bit weird in summer, but I still do it. And I hope other people do it, because some of Tova’s teachers at daycare are gonna get some this Christmas!

This is an example of how you can wrap them nicely.

The idea is not totally mine, I saw it somewhere on the web a while ago, just can’t remember where… This is my version anyway. I hope I can inspire someone else!

Please check out the forum here on how to make these! Have fun!!