Hilary Kanwischer

Vintage Christmas tags with red, glittered bells...

I absolutely loved these tags when I first saw them on Beatriz Jennings' Etsy shop and instantly had to have them. I've been waiting for a chance to use them and when I signed up for a Christmas tag swap, I knew right away, these were the ones I was going to use.  I simply downloaded the tags, printed them out, inked the edges, and added a white scalloped border on the edge.  For the tops of the tags, I added red gingham ribbon, red glittered bells and bakers twine.  To finish them, I stamped "to" and "from" with black ink and added a vintage epoxy charm in the bottom corner. I hope you enjoy! ;)

here are some close-ups...

And to include in the swap, a little gift for Gloria who was gracious enough to host the swap.  I wrapped up one of my handmade gingerbread, and wrapped it up with a mint-chocolate candy cane.  

I hope you enjoyed this little project.  They were ultra-fun to make.  :)

 

Creating a Christmas Catchall...

With the Holiday Season in full bloom, I thought I would share a fun Christmas project with you.  I'm sure many of you have already started with Christmas projects and this one is, as usual, very easily adaptable to fit any Holiday or Season.  I think I may use this to store my Christmas cards this year, I never seem to know what to do with them when they arrive in the mail, and throw them away??? NO WAY!!  So this little Catch-All will be perfect to hold those wonderful cards that grace me during December.  This is very easy to make, but I can't take full credit for the actual design of the Catch-All, that came from Linda Albrecht, I just altered it for Christmas.  I hope you enjoy! :)

here is the side view...

First I used a scalloped chipboard shape from Melissa Frances, then using heavy chipboard I cut 2 more pieces, one 5x7, (for the front), and one 2 1/2x7. You'll then want to cut the 2 1/2x7 in half on the diagonal, (these will be your side pieces). Cover all the chipboard pieces with pattern paper using Therm O Web's 1/2 inch SuperTape for the scalloped piece and Sticky Tape Runner for the rest of the pieces.  Lay all the pieces in front of you so you can begin to see the design, then embellish the front piece with buttons, trim, rub-ons, crepe paper, vintage tinsel, Christmas bells, pinecones and sprigs and of course a little candy cane.  Also, be sure to add a diecut sentiment, popping it with 3D Zots.

Below are some photos to help you create your very own.

To finish, adhere all the sides together using hot glue and let dry.  Poke or punch 2 holes in top corner and thread a length of heavy gauge wire through the holes twisting up and around to secure.

I hope you enjoyed this little project and I hope it inspires you to create one of your own.

Thanksgiving is in the air...

Hello everyone!  Can you believe Thanksgiving is a mere 3 weeks away?  Where has the time gone and is it really November already?  All I can say is, "Wow"!!!  Time really does fly!  Anyway, as Thanksgiving approaches I've decided to create a card to celebrate the day, and if you are hosting on that special day, I've also made some place cards for your holiday table and a small gift box to hold a small little gift just for saying, thank you for coming.  I hope these projects inspire you to create a more "handmade" holiday.  All of these projects were created using my favorite adhesives from Therm O Web, 3D Zots and Sticky Tape Runner.  I hope you enjoy!

When I made the gift box, I first painted a chipboard tag and a paper mache round gift box with Magnolia White Acrylic Paint from Delta.  Then when the pieces were dried, I sanded the edges, distressed them with Vintage Photo Distressing Ink to give them a rustic look.  I wanted to keep the theme neutral so I stamped the images with the same distressing ink, then cut them out.  Adhering them was easy, I simply used the Sticky Tape Runner to adhere the images to the tag, then for added dimension, I used 3D Zots.   For the place cards and Thanksgiving card I used the same adhesives in basically the same way, adhering first your images, then popping them with dimension.

Have a wonderful, handmade Thanksgiving!! :)