Jot Christmas projects

It was a super-busy month at Jot Magazine throughout December (isn't it for everyone?!) but we saw the release of our 'regular' Issue 12, as well as a special edition Christmas Gift book - which meant lots of beautiful projects getting shown off and it's quite possible you missed some of them in the hubbub.

Probably also because I forgot to share any of them here that doesn't help right?! ;-)

Some of us Jot Girls were lucky enough to be given a bunch of Stampin' Up Hello December goodies to play with and to share in the magazine. The Hello December collection is Christmas-themed and it's actually released in conjunction with Project Life, so it's a series of PL cards along with coordinating embellishments and a stamp set of course ;-)

We were given the supplies way back in October I think it was, and since I had already scrapped all my Christmas photos from the year before (gasp!!) I went with some non-photo projects instead. I did the two greeting cards above a little 3D. The gold deer was a favourite so I created a little scene around her, and the star became a shaker-card. Absolutely everything you see here is from the collection. Not a single thing added except for the cardstock for the card itself.

And then I turned some of the 3x4" Project Life cards into present labels or filler cards or tags or whatever you want to use them for!

I started off thinking I would make 3 - that's a respectable number to call it a series, and if I were to use them in a PL spread later on then 3 is probably all I would need. But I was so inspired by each new card I picked up and how I could embellish it further that 3 turned into 4 and then 5 and before I knew it I had made 7!

I ended up using them as gift tags on my presents this year. I purposely made sure I had left room on each of them to write the recipient's name.

And speaking of presents, I also created some gift boxes to feature in the magazine as well. These aren't made with the Stampin' Up goodies, but rather they're made with a lot of upcycled products and packaging I had lying around my craft room!

You might recognise those boxes as what you used to receive your Project Life kits in from Studio Calico (before they changed to the plastic zipper bags). The crepe paper ruffled ribbon was made from leftover streamers from Bethany's rainbow party!

I embellished with more Project Life cards and other Christmassy things from my big box of holiday supplies and made them as bright as can be. And yes, I really did use all 4 of them to give away Christmas gifts in too, so not only pretty, but highly practical too.

There's still time to pick up the Jot Magazine Christmas Gift book here. 
And you can download Issue 12 for FREE here.

GDT for Pink Fresh Studio part 3

Oh yes, I think I saved the best for last!
Ironically this was actually the first project I created when the Happy Things collection from Pink Fresh Studio landed on my doorstep when I guest designed for them earlier this month.

The combination of the Dream Big paper and those gold-tipped vellum feathers instantly inspired this idea in my head that I should make a dream catcher.
It's not a totally outrages idea. My sister Emily from Jasper Lane Designs is the Queen of Dream Catchers, but hers are the proper fabric and ribbon kind of deal. She comes up with the best designs, different each time, and can whip up a custom order in no time (yep, totally spruking her Facebook shop!)
And I also had the embroidery hoop, thread and white feathers hanging around from a Makers Box project that I hadn't quite got around to starting yet. So it provided the base for my version of a dream catcher instead.

So I made it all up with the vellum feathers, the transparent triangles and blinged it up with the addition of some pearls too. I was pretty happy with how it turned out so I hung it up and took my photos for the Pink Fresh Studio blog.

But then I started to play some more. I couldn't help myself, and then went to town adding in a bunch of ribbons and fibres to it as well!

I love all the rainbow of bright colours this created, although I'm still looking back at the original design and wondering if I took it too far now? Doesn't matter though really because one look at it and Moriah gasped in delight and instantly claimed it as her own. Which is only fair because Bethany has her own original Jasper Lane version ;-)

Thanks Pinkfresh Studio for having me Guest Design. I loved every minute of it! And since I have enough Happy Things scraps to keep me going for a few more projects you'll no doubt see more of it around here!

xx

Delving into The Makers' Box

Things at The Makers' Collective have changed this month. The previous (slightly confusing) membership system has been simplified so that all members will have early access to purchase each month's Makers' Box at a deeply discounted price. There is no obligation to buy a kit each time if it's a project that doesn't appeal to you. Alternatively, if you wanted to gift a Makers' Box for a friend as well then you have the opportunity to get more than one! 

Here's what I got in my Makers' Box this month....

Firstly, there were tassels. And you all know my recent addiction to tassels! I've been adding paper tassels to my layouts and cards like crazy, so the fact that this project came with instructions on how to make these miniature ones out of embroidery thread was a huge winner for me. The kit includes three different coloured thread and 5 different size jump-rings so you can already make five tassels with HEAPS of thread left over for more later.

Next up was the (slightly more tedious) task of threading beads onto elastic. A bit difficult given that the elastic was quite a snug fit through the hole in the beads. However, what I love about this now is that the beads don't move around on the elastic and make that annoying clicky sound when you walk or wave your arms :-)

Straight up I made these two bracelets for my girls - letting them choose what colour tassel they would like. Moriah, who had previously been obsessed with all things purple has shifted her attention to blue since it's the colour that features so prominently in the movie Frozen, so that's what she chose. Whilst Bethany was rather taken with the bright yellow.

Of course, I tried them on for size. Quite cute hey?! I definitely need to be making myself some next. The project kit came with enough black beads to finish these two bracelets with some left over (but not enough for another full one). There is heaps of the elastic left though, and as I said, at least another three tassels already made. So I'm thinking I just need to stock up on the beads and I'll be all set to make a bunch more of these, especially since the process was so quick and simple I was able to complete them during one of Judah's naps!

 To sign up for a Makers' Membership check out all the details here.

The Story of the Macrame Jar Project

The second project that was included in my Makers' Box was a hanging macrame jar kit. To be completely honest, macrame was one of those terms that I've heard of before but didn't actually know what it meant. A quick trip to Wikipedia informs me that it's a form of textile-making using cords tied into a series of elaborate knots that's used as a decorative or hanging item most commonly.

Now that I had that straightened out I could better visualise where I was heading with this project. The item that I would be hoping to hang was this glass jar which comes with it's own snugly fitting glass lid. I say hoping because at first glance of the instructions I was wondering if I would be able to master this retro craftform! But I figured I could just tackle one step at a time, so lets start with something I know.

What I know is that I always want to add my own little special touches to these projects. So whilst the glass jar and lid was nice, it was made spectacular by the addition of some bright pink paint. Seriously, all I did was pour in some rather thin running paint, swirl it around a bit and then wait for it to dry. But it looks so much cooler don't you think?!

When it came time for the macrame bit I needn't have worried. I had it all spread over my kitchen table when my Mum came to stay. She's a crafty type person herself and curiosity had her investigating what exactly all these cords and instruction book etc were about. Once she saw the word macrame I could see her eyes light up with recognition. "I haven't done this in years, I wonder if I still know how?" she exclaimed as she quickly set up her own experimental knot-tying station. Let's just say that by the time I got home from running an errand, my macrame project was done! ;-)

It'a little uneven and the knots are a little wonky, but I'm thinking that adds to the handmade charm of it all. The bright pink paint complements the neon green cords and I love the overall appeal of it. Very retro isn't it? It looks perfectly at home hanging next to a framed vintage Sassafras Lass print above Moriah's bed. And as for the possibilities of what I'm going to store in this - well, they're endless. Small toys is what Moriah will fill it with, she's got a Squinkies collection that's looking for a new place of residence. Or I'm thinking of reclaiming it either for my craft room to fill with embellishments, or to turn it into an air planter and hang it in the kitchen.

I'm really enjoying my Makers' Box subscription - both this macrame jar project and the clay cloud magnets that I shared earlier in the month have been really fun and super-cool. Mikaela is up on the Makers' Collective blog sharing an insight into the latest project kit too. And if you want all the information about how to sign up for a subscription for yourself then you'll find that over here.

Happy Making!
xx

The Story of the Clay Cloud Magnets

Have you heard me talk about the Makers' Collective yet? It's a non-scrapbooking Design Team I joined recently. Yes, I said it's not about scrapbooking! What it is instead is a subscription based system where you get sent kits to make home DIY projects. The projects are interesting and varied in nature, and I'm here to share my February project from my Makers' Box (sorry, it's a little late!)

So I totally forgot to take the photo which showed you everything that came in this kit, but obviously it has everything you need to create these air-drying clay cloud magnets, with enough supplies left over for other projects. It also comes with a complete set of instructions which make it really easy to follow along. So easy in fact, that I knew my 5 year old was going to have a ball creating her own version of the project alongside me. So that's what we did!

The templates themselves are totally adorable, and the first step was to cut them out.

We rolled out the clay to about 0.5cm thick... or as much as Moriah could manage. Then placed the templates on top and cut around them. Obviously I didn't let Moriah use this sharp knife to cut hers, all I let her have was a butter knife, which actually worked just as well.

The best part was that the clay is air-drying so no need to worry about baking it. But it takes a lot longer obviously, and we left ours for 24 hours as recommended. After both me and Moriah had made our own versions of the cloud and raindrops from the template, we still had at least half of the supplied clay left over which meant that once Bethany came home from school and saw what was going on she wanted to join in as well. She didn't want to make clouds though, she preferred a flower. We simply printed off a flower shape from Google and then she followed the same set of instructions.

Now the project kit came with a couple of suitable markers for drawing on the simple cute face on the cloud that you can see on the template. But if you know me, I'm not usually one for taking the simple way out, and I thought we could get a lot more creative with paints instead... but these don't come with the kit.

Moriah doesn't need direction when it comes to this sort of thing, and she simply painted what she felt like, which was this fabulous block pattern. Bethany, suffering from a lack of patience at that point in the game went for a very simplistic approach with her flower. Not that it's any less effective!

Strong glue and magnets to adhere onto the back was what finished off the project. After I used up the supplied magnets on one set of the cloud and raindrops, I simply cut up pieces of those flat 'junkmail' advertising magnets that you probably have a thousand of if you're like me, and stuck them on the back instead. The clay is thin and light, so those flat junk magnets do the trick just as nicely.

Now whilst I'm super late on showing you my February project, I have already done my March project as well, and let me tell you, it's completely different whilst being just as fabulous. But I'll leave that sharing for another time ;-) All the details you need to sign up for the Makers' Box for yourself can be found here.

What I will tell you about in the meantime is the celebrations going on at the Makers' Collective right now!

Which means it's also time for lots of giveaways!!

Check out all the details on how to win this (and other prizes) here.