Welcome Christmas- Dasher !! Team gifts

Hello there lovely friends hope you are well and you keep on smiling as you sorting out the last few bits.

Today I am sharing my team gifts, each year I send a Christmas ornament and each year I usually purchased one. However this year was the first year I didn’t work so I though it would be a good idea to actually make them instead. So I set to work all the way back in October and here’s what I came up with

They turned out so sweet, well I like them and the girls seem to as well as I had lots of lovely emails from them this week.

You can see 2010 Here, 2009 ornament here, and 2008 I seem to have missed off my blog, I do have one myself so I will have to photograph it.

The heart was cut from a thick card board and the Petal Cone die, for mine I recycled the backing that comes with our designer speciality papers.

I covered the hearts with newsprint designer paper and covered the seam with a mixture of silver and gold glass glitter, I used Tombow multipurpose glue as my choice adhesive.

The leaves were cut from the brushed silver card stock on the Big Shot and dazzling diamonds were added using the fabulous adhesive sheets. I cannot tell you how easy and brilliant those sheets are. You simply place your cut shape onto them and after removing it you have a sticky shape ready for the glitter, no messing and when you have over 100 leaves to make very quick.

Now for the pinecones.

I have to say I agonized over this bit for ages as I just couldn’t find any tutorials out there on how to make them. I knew how I wanted them to look but I didn’t know how I was going to get there and after a bit of head scratching it finally come to me.

I have used the same technique like you would for making a paper bead, using a scallop border punch to add a border on one side. Then roll and glue shut. Simple right? well it is but it took my poor brain a while to come up with it I can tell you.  So after making LOADS of cones I glued them into place with a hot glue gun and topped with a sweet banner from the Welcome Christmas set . It was the perfect sentiment for my heart ornament. 

Some vanilla seam binding and Victoria lace were added to the heart with a metallic brad, the only non SU item on there actually.

Next I needed some packaging and I used my recycling skills again. If you ever had an order delivered from STampin’Up! you will know that you get some brown paper in with your goodies to protect them. well it would be fair to say that I get a few meters of this paper frequently,ok I get REAMS and REAMS of the stuff that I always throw in the recycling bin. Not this month I didn’t!!

  Instead I used it to make a sweet bags for each of the ornament. Using some metallic thread and my trusty sewing machine I whizzed these bags up in no time.  They look so sweet do they not?  Sorry what was that did you say? I have used that stamp again? Oh yeah so I did !! I am sorry but I still cannot tell you much about it yet *wink*.

And these are my cards for this year.

My theme is white with lots of gold and silver this year so the ornaments and the cards I sent out  do match a bit.

Serene Snowflakes stamp set and the gorgeous Dasher, I laughed at myself as I had all these new stamp sets this year that i was going to use for my cards and I ended up choosing something I already had for a few years now, I do have a bit of a love for Dasher though.

A subtle combination of Very Vanilla card stock with Sahara Sand and Early Espresso ink. More lace trim and some retired Early Espresso satin ribbon that I had in my stash.

I brayered a snowy mound for my Dasher to sit on and the sentiment  from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set was punched out with the word window punch.

And that is my lot for today folks, I hope you like it.

Right thank you visiting, off I go to collect my meat and fresh flowers and do a bit more cooking. Stay focused the end is near LOL>

Till next time big hugs xxx