last night we had our annual scrapping Christmas dinner. the bunch of regulars including Christine who came from Prague for the big event, old friends and new friends from Bulgaria we literally represented the entire planet. it was so awesome to come together as friends and creative partners! we each designed a place setting for our secret Santa that had to include a hat, place mat, napkin, cracker and name tag. this is a small glimpse into my place setting...
my cracker of course could not be the normal - instead i used a postal tube and decorated it as the cracker. but let me tell you - it's not the easiest to open since the top and bottom gets sealed off with plastic lids....part of the anticipation of getting to a small little gift.

i covered the tube in old book paper and gel medium. the top features a small little bird house made by hand and decorated with moss (kindly donated last year by my friend Niki), glitter, old sheet music, vintage images, bling and charms.

and don't forget the silk ribbon! the base of the little bird house are 2 wooden frames glued to each other - and really really old. they are one of those oh my why do i have these 'cause i will never use them things in my stash - well they were meant to be...

the place mat is a piece of wood painted in a layer of dark brown craft paint, then a layer of cream. the reindeer was drawn onto the wood, some silver leafing added and then a layer of brown paint. i then sanded the whole bunch to distress it and then added a layer of antiquing liquid oil.

the bird house template is an old favourite by PSX (personal stamp exchange) from way back when. they made the absolute best rubber stamps with stunning images...but sadly not around anymore.

i love the vintage antique feeling of this project.

the front is a chipboard star covered in dimensional glaze and glitter, a large button and a large diamante to finish off the center. two silver leaves from Prima adds some texture.

and then there's the silver bauble ! aah yes the bauble that took 4 hours to complete as i very patiently sat and added each sequence piece with a pin into a Styrofoam ball. these are my favourite baubles to make. i made my first one for a Christmas photo shoot in 2005 and have loved making these for all kinds of occasions. a great go to craft doing in front of the TV if you will.

hope you are having a peaceful week! thunder is roaring in the background outside as i type...here's hoping and praying for much needed rain and relief from the pressing heat - and a couple of dogs at my feet scared of lightning...so logging off!