Peek-a-Boo Snowmen Christmas Cards / Journal Cards

I've been having a lot of fun joining in various papercraft challenges, and particularly enjoy combining several different challenges in a single project. I'm particularly enjoying Double Trouble, because they give a main challenge and then add a couple of optional twists.

The latest challenge from Double Trouble includes the following three elements:

• Peek-a-Boo, I See You
• Use Twine or any Type of ribbon, string, cord, or Tape on your project
• Use the sketch from Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday and enter your project in their challenge

The Design Team had created some awesome projects, but I was particularly inspired by Donna Scholz's side-fold card. It's been a while since I created a card with this type of side fold and it's perfect to go with this sketch!

I'm currently working on items for my Christmas-themed junk journals so I picked out some Crafters Companion "The Snowman" printed card blanks plus some Kanban snowman toppers. The card blanks are 5" x 7" and are printed on the front and back, so I picked out two of the cards, and was able to make two of the side-fold cards sized 5" x 3.5" and one sized 7" x 5".  

For the two smaller designs I used two different dies to create the windows for the snowmen to peek through. I used sentiments from the same Kanban collection, then added gemstones and baker's twine to one card and buttons and a fluffy yarn to the other. 

For the larger card I used some silver card-stock for the front of the card and layered on the second patterned card-stock, which allowed me to layer two dies for the window. I first used the larger die on the top (dotty) layer then positioned this on to the silver layer so that I could tape the smaller die in to correct place before cutting that layer. For this card I used a different sentiment and some silver thread / cord. 

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

1. Double Trouble - Challenge # 97b Peek-a-Boo, I See You
2. Try Stampin on Tuesday - Challenge #533 
3. Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - November Challenge - Christmas / Winter
4. Alphabet Challenge Blog - P is for Patterned Paper
5. Crazy Hazlenut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #268

Bookmarks for Christmas Junk Journals

I'm currently working on items to go in the Christmas Junk Journals that I've been putting together, so I decided to make some bookmarks, with a slight twist. Rather than a traditional bookmark, I wanted to create folded bookmarks which are held in place with magnets.

For my first bookmark, I used partial die-cutting with a Tonic tag shaped die to create a card base. I layered a  smaller die cut tag to each side with a magnet underneath. I decorated one side of the bookmark with a sentiment from the same die set, and the other side with a snowman and snowflakes. The inside is blank for journaling space. 

The first bookmark works for most pages in my larger junk journal, but the magnets aren't very strong and won't hold on some of the heavier pages, particularly the coffee-dyed cardstock which is a bit wrinkly. I'll probably use this bookmark in one of my smaller junk journals which don't have the thick wrinkly paper. 

I decided to create a second bookmark where the magnet is not covered, to see whether this would work well on thicker pages in my junk journal. The second bookmark was quick and easy, using a couple of offcuts of card and paper along with some die-cut elements from the Papermania "At Christmas" collection by Lucy Cromwell. I attached the magnets on the inside, and tested it on my junk journal. This bookmark holds well even on the thicker and crinklier pages, so I'll be making more bookmarks with the magnets uncovered to use in my other junk journals.

I'd like to enter this project in the following challenges:

1. The Paper Shelter Challenge Blog - Challenge #491 Bookmark
2. C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Challenge #617 Christmas
3. Craft Rocket Challenges - Challenge 87 - Winter / Snow
4. Allsorts Challenge - Week 650 - Christmas
5. Dare 2B Artzy - November Challenge: Tags / Bookmarks

Girly Christmas Card Using the At Christmas Collection by Lucy Cromwell

Today, I wanted to create a Christmas card using the Papermania "At Christmas" collection by Lucy Cromwell. I was browsing through the Paper Playful blog looking for a suitable challenge, when the sketch from the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown caught my eye:

I particularly liked the wide sentiment strip going across the design which isn't something that I'd normally think to do. 

I wanted to combine this with another challenge which I spotted a couple of days ago - the latest As You Like It Challenge is to use your favourite circle embellishment. As soon as I saw that, I knew that I needed to create a card using self-adhesive gemstones. The packs that I have are from DoCrafts and each pack includes a variety of shades of the same colour in a range of sizes. I bought these a few years ago and have used them a lot. I still have quite a few in some colours, but the red and pink are nearly finished, so these ones are clearly my favourite! Even though I'm trying to use up and reduce my craft stash, these will definitely need to be replaced once they're used up.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

1. 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - November Sketch Challenge
2. As You Like It Challenge - Favourite Circle Embellishment
3. Alphabet Challenge Blog - P is for Patterned Paper
4. Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - November Challenge - Christmas / Winter
5. Just Us Girls - Word Week #609 Merry
6. Unstampabelles Challenges - November: Colour My World Twist: Make It Colourful
7. Crafty Calendar Challenge - November Challenge 'Anything Goes'

Tall Journal Cards Using the Geometric Mocha collection

This month's challenge on the Die Cut Diva's Challenge Blog is to create mini slimline and slimline cards, whilst the current challenge on the Double Trouble blog is a Tall Card with Thin Dies. I wanted to create some taller journal cards to tuck in to the pockets of my Geometric Mocha junk journals, so these challenges seemed like a great starting point. I'm going to create a few sets of cards using different sketches, and decided to start with challenge #530 from Try Stampin' - or not - on Tuesday:

For these cards I layered some scraps (left over from making the journal pages) on to pearlescent card-stock. For the first card I added a die-cut tag and circle from the collection, and for the second card I used a die-cut label and tag from the collection along with some circles that I die cut using Spellbinders thin circle dies. The base card and the card and paper used to cut the circles are also used elsewhere throughout the journal.

I'm entering these cards in to the following challenges:

1. Die Cut Divas - November is a Time for Mini Slimline and Slimline Cards
2. Double Trouble Papercrafting with Thing 1 and / or Thing 2 - Challenge #96 - Tall Card with Thin Cut partnering with Ellibelle's Crafty Challenge (including Tags, Triangles and Teardrops for Thing 3 challenge)
3. Ellibelle's Corner - November Challenge - Die Cuts and Punches - Partnering with Double Trouble
4. Try Stampin' - or Not - on Tuesday - Challenge #530

November 2021 Crafty Goals

I didn't do too badly on my crafty goals for October:

1. Make a birthday card and some gift tags for my Mum's 70th birthday
2. Complete at least 4 different papercraft projects using challenges for inspiration
3. Get started on at least one journal using one of my Bigz dies (make the cover and at least one signature of pages, more pages and other items can continue next month)
4. Sort out 5 pages of dies or stamps
5. More sewing practice - some sewn journal pages and some sewing on actual fabric!

I also made quite a bit of progress with the Geometric Mocha collection. This collection was in my "Use It or Lose It" challenge: my plan was to try and use all of the different types of elements that I have from this collection, and I'll dispose of any items that I can't find a use of. So far, I've created 3 junk journal style travellers notebooks along with several journal cards and other elements to go in them. I'll post about these once they're completed. 

I think that I'll put off  organising my stamps and dies until the New Year - hopefully the Totally Tiffany Get Organised Challenge will run again, which helps me get motivated. In the mean-time, tidying up my desk area would make it easier to craft and to get my sewing machine out!

Here are my crafting goals for November:

1. Make a birthday card for my sister
2. Make and write my Christmas cards
3. Complete at least 4 different papercraft projects using challenges for inspiration (this can include projects for any of the other goals)
4. Finish the Geometric Mocha junk journals and items to go in them
5. Make some Christmas cards to use as pages in Christmas junk journals
6. Make another Christmas journal using the Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook die 
7. Make a Christmas junk journal using the Eileen Hull Full Size Journal die
8. Make a Christmas junk journal using one of the vintage books in my stash
9. Make some Christmas-themed journal cards, tags etc to go in the journals
10. Use at least two of the "Use It or Lose It" items that I picked out last month (accordion journal and Sara's Surfaces pockets)
11. Find storage for my junk journal supplies
12. Tidy my desk

Mini Christmas Junk Journal

One of my goals for October was to start working on a journal using one of my Bigz Dies. The aim for this month was to make the cover and one signature for the journal. I decided to create a mini Christmas junk journal using the Pocket Notebook die by Eileen Hull. 

I've had some rolls of double-sided adhesive sheets in my stash for a long time, but never actually used them because I was worried about 'wasting' materials. I always tried to be frugal using my materials, but I've realised that I have so much stuff, and I should just use it! Using these sheets to attach my card to the mountboard before die-cutting was much easier than trying to line up the cover and card after cutting them.

The journal cover is created by joining the spines of the 2 pieces together. The spine for this journal has 3 scored sections. Initially I joined the two covers together by overlapping one section of the spines and attaching them with red-line tape but I wasn't very happy with the results, so I cut off the joined section and tried again! The second time around I overlapped the remaining two sections of spine and again joined it using red-line tape. The result seemed much sturdier. 

I wanted to create two signatures for my journal which are similar in style but not identical. I started by cutting pages for the journal from Christmas papers and plain cardstock. For the first signature I created a pocket page using plain card-stock and a window page using some snowman vellum. For the second signature I used a pearlescent card blank to create a page with side pockets and patterned paper to create a page with a diagonal pocket. Each signature has a pearlescent envelope to create a central pocket page, and a cover made from foiled and embossed cardstock.

I created 3 different journal cards to go with the journal:

1. A simple card using the aperture die-cut from the vellum page, decorated with peel-offs
2. A card featuring a tree and snow-flakes made by layering two die-cuts together, then decorated with some stickers and peel-offs
3. A card with a vellum window and the word 'winter'. To make this card , I folded a piece of white card and placed the fold just inside the edge of the die. This meant that the two die cuts were joined along one edge, so I could add some vellum in between and the two layers lined up perfectly.

This journal is a handy size and pretty quick to make, so my goals for next month will include a second Christmas journal using this die, along with some more items to go in both journals. 

I'm entering this journal in the following challenges:

1. ABC Christmas Challenge - V is for Vocabulary (on the journal cover and journal card)
2. Tic Tac Toe Challenge - TTTC #137 (Dies, Snow and Tree)
3. bastel-traum Challenge Blog - Christmas
4. Christmas Crafts All Year Round - October Challenge - Something that starts S or T (Snow, Snowmen and Trees)
5. CraftyHazlenut's Patterned Paper Challenge - October 2021 Patterned Paper Challenge
6. CraftyHazlenut's Christmas Challenge - CHNC Challenge #566
7. A Bit More Time To Craft Challenge - Challenge #146 October / November Anything Goes

Gorjuss Foxes

While I was working on my previous project, I realised that I have a lot of products from the Gorjuss range including toppers, paper and other embellishments. I recently bought a couple of second-hand copies of Little Women to make junk journals, so these may end up with a lot of Gorjuss girls in them! 

I decided to make a couple more cards using the Gorjuss range. I put together two decoupage toppers featuring Gorjuss ladies with cute little foxes. I mounted these on pearlescent card blanks layered with blue pearlescent paper and some purple patterned paper from the Gorjuss range. For embellishments. I added some Gorjuss ribbon and a sentiment.

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

1. Alphabet Challenge Blog - O is for Outdoors
2. Little Red Wagon - Challenge #625 Outside
3. Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - WWC327 - Dawn's Challenge: All Things Feminine
4. Crafty Catz Challenge Blog - Anything goes with optional twist add some layers
5. Lemon Shortbread Challenge Blog - Challenge #157 Anything goes