remember those chines lantern style lights that were so popular way back when...well i think they are making a come back - even if only in the crafting world. i decorated this light using a range of flowers and some elements mad using the beautiful Pretty in pink range by Glitz. I so love this range. i had 2 curved rows going down the front and back of the light using a selection of the pretties collected.

i used a four piece die set from Cuttlebug to cut the leaves. I sewed 2 leaves together folding the top one upwards for dimension. I did the same with some of the butterflies.

to alternate the butterflies i hand sewed some pearls to the centers of the butterflies. with the paper scraps left over i punched some smaller flowers and added diamante or pearls to the centers.

vintage pearls....

after sewing i left long strands of thread hanging from the leaves and butterflies - i loved the messy look they bring to this project.

i am still trying to get the actual light hanging with a bulb inside LOL - and will then post a pic.

every year i want to do something different with my Christmas cards. So this year i decided to make some fun postcard style cards - they had to be quick and easy but also feature real postage stamps, some stamping with ink and some texture. what better way to achieve all three than to grab for my cuttlebug and some of my other favourite goodies from The Wholesaler. this little postcard project is featured in the new scrapping & kie magazine.

i used some Teresa Collins Christmas patterned papers for my base as well as for the embossed baubles. i love how a large embossed image can be trimmed down into an accent.

to add texture to my photograph i used a Christmas tree embossing folder turned on it's side to represent a swirl at the top of my photo. i lightly sanded the raised surface so that the texture would be more visible.

some of my favourite rubber stamps...

and more rubber stamped images on top of real postage stamps...

the cuttlebug is truly a versatile machine. and if you don't own one by now...you still have time to add it to your wish list for Santa to deliver.

photograph credit: 

Barbs du Plessis and Alistair du Plessis

there's a new challenge up over at Scrap Africa today. This challenge is hosted by the talented Elizna and it's a good one - film strips! They come in many shapes and sizes as well as die-cuts and pre-made. so it's time to get creative!i cheated a little bit with my film strip and printed my photos onto a digital film strip. remember that you can play along with us and stand a chance to become a guest designer or win some awesome goodies - but you have to swing by the Scrap Africa blog.

punched circles surrounded by diamante on top of the custom made background

embossing and inks combined together to create a visual feast of colour and texture

and some punched circles adhered to the background creating an interesting effect

just for playing along you can win some awesome goodies like these custom designed buttons - wouldn't mind some of these myself.

hope you are having a creative weekend! thanks for stopping by....

Christmas festivities are loads of fun when you have fun toys to play with - referring to the new Cuttlebug v2 machine. this week i used my machine to create some fun cubes by embossing patterned paper and adhering them to wooden cubes.

for this cube i used the Christmas village embossing folder to both blind emboss and add colour to the images transferred onto the paper.

for the top section of my decor cube i used a recycled bottle cork and added a glitz giant gem to the top. a beautifully coloured seam binding ribbon from Scrapbook Studio was added on top of a glittered snowflake die-cut.

colours to dye for....

the embossed papers were finished off with some glitter using glitter glue and a pigment mist.

beautiful gold american crafts glitter was added on top of a die-cut snowflake. the festive season will be extra special when you add some glitter to your projects.

i am building a Christmas village using some of these festive blocks alongside other simple vintage decorations covered in book paper. what are doing around the house to get into the festive mood? and just in case you need some festive crafting supplies - Scrapbook studio is well stocked up with products distributed by The Wholesaler. for a detailed step x step on using the cuttlebug head on over to www.thewholesaler.biz/blog

it's been a while (ok maybe a week or so) since i have been so excited by a new collection of papers and embellishments released. I simply love the new Little Bo Peep and Little Boy Blue ranges. again, it's the vintage feel and look that appeals to me, as well as the versatility of it all - the papers although themed can be mixed and matched with any theme. for more details and to see the layout i created you can visit www.thewholesaler.biz/blog - and why not check out the entire collection and orders yours from your nearest scrapbook store.

the easy to use embellishments and accessories makes for quick projects with loads of dimension

beautiful kaisercraft rub-ons match perfectly with the colour and theme

adding texture with brads and ribbon

layer upon layer the tags and papers compliment each other.

Products used