Christmas Angel | BoBunny Christmas Collage

So, have you started decorating for Christmas? I started my decorating this past weekend. This is one of my favorite times of the year! I love to decorate for Christmas and I especially love to make some of my decorations. One of my new favorite Christmas decorations this year is a Christmas Angel that I recently created using the new BoBunny Christmas Collage collection and a Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit. Read on below for detailed instructions on how she came to life!

Christmas Angel by Juliana Michaels using BoBunny Christmas Collage and Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

DETAILS | CHRISTMAS ANGEL

I purchased the paper mache angel kit at Michael's. It comes with 7 pieces to create the angel. I didn't use the base, the halo or the hair that came with the kit. I'm not sure what will become of those pieces, but I'm thinking they would be perfect for creating some Christmas ornaments. 

Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

I knew that I wanted to give my Christmas Angel a glowing halo and gilded wings. To achieve this look, I began by coloring the wings with a Krylon Gold Leafing Pen. This gave the wings a nice gold colored base. However, that wasn't enough sparkle for me, so I pulled out the new BoBunny Glitter Paste in Gold. I applied two coats of the Glitter Paste and allowed it to dry completely between each coat. To create the halo, I cut a piece of scrap chipboard into a 3" circle and used the same process that I used on the wings.

Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit Wings, BoBunny Glitter Paste, Krylon Gold Leafing Pen

I painted the face with acrylic paint and added the eyes, nose and mouth with a fine tip black marker. The hair is doll hair that I bought at the local craft store and I attached it using a hot glue gun.

Christmas Angel by Juliana Michaels using BoBunny Christmas Collage and Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

To cover the base and arms of the angel, I began by creating a template using a piece of copy paper. I wrapped it around the cone shaped pieces and then trimmed it to fit. I then traced the template onto a piece of patterned paper, cut it out, wrapped it around the base and then glued it in place. I repeated this same process for the arms.

Christmas Angel by Juliana Michaels using BoBunny Christmas Collage and Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

To create the ruffled strips, I cut 1/2" strips of patterned paper and inked the edges. I then misted them lightly with water and the proceeded to wrinkle, crinkle, and fold the paper to create the ruffles. I used a heat gun to speed up the drying. This also adds a little bit of stiffness to the paper. I then hot glued the strips to the edges.

Christmas Angel by Juliana Michaels using BoBunny Christmas Collage and Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit


To decorate the Angel, I used a variety of the embellishments that are part of the Christmas Collage collection including the chipboard, die cuts, brads, flowers, and stickers. I lightly sprayed the flowers with the BoBunny Gold Glimmer Mist for an extra bit of shine.

Christmas Angel by Juliana Michaels using BoBunny Christmas Collage and Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

The back of the Angel is quite plain, but you could easily dress up this side if you have one that will be seen from all sides.

Christmas Angel by Juliana Michaels using BoBunny Christmas Collage and Darice Paper Mache Angel Kit

I have enough kits to make two more of these angels, and I'm really hoping that I'll have time to make them. I keep picturing the trio of them sitting pretty on one of Christmas tabletop displays. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have fun creating some of your own Christmas decorations this year!

Creative Scrappers & 17turtles | Creative December

17turtles and Creative Scrappers Creative December
17turtles is pleased to announce that we are sponsoring Creative Scrappers during the month of December! For your chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the 17turtles Etsy Shop all you have to do is create a layout using Sketch 283 and/or 284 and enter them using the inlinkz widget on the Creative Scrappers blog. The deadline to submit your layouts is December 31st at Midnight EST. Sketch 283 is live now and ready for you to play along!

And for your shopping enjoyment, you can use coupon code CS17TURTLES25 to save 25% off any order from the 17turtles Shop! I can't wait to see what you all create and share!

Christmas Card Ideas | Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection

I totally enjoy creating handmade Christmas cards and every year I do my best to make enough of them to send or give to my family and close friends. The set of Christmas cards that I'm sharing today were created using Elle's Studio Good Cheer collection.

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

I used the B side of the North Pole paper to create three of the card bases.
To create this Ho Ho Ho Christmas card, I embellished it with a 3x4 card from the November Exclusive Kit and a die cut from the Good Cheer Bits and Pieces set. The stars are from the Good Cheer Wood Veneer set. I added a mini clothespin, jute bow and red jewels for added texture and interest. You could certainly leave off the clothespin to make this easier to send in the mail.

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

This Joy Christmas card uses a die cut from the November Exclusive Kit. The Joy wood veneer from the Christmas Ephemera set fit perfectly in the center of the die cut banner.

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

On Season's Greetings Christmas card, I used a 3x4 card from the November Exclusive Kit. The sentiment is from the Merry and Bright Exclusive Stamp Set and the Christmas Tree wood veneer is from the Christmas Ephemera Kit. The bit of green and white twine provides some added texture and color to the bottom of the card.

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

For this Tis the Season Christmas card, I used a 3x4 card from the Christmas Ephemera Kit and some scraps of patterned paper. I didn't use the North Pole paper on this one. A simple jute bow and red jewels add a nice festive touch.

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

Christmas Card Ideas using Elle's Studio Good Cheer Collection by Juliana Michaels

So, have you already started on your Christmas cards? Or do you still need to make them? I still have a few more to make, but have a good start on them.  Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Countdown Calendar | BoBunny Candy Cane Lane

So who will be joining me in decorating for Christmas this coming weekend? I can't wait to have the house all decorated for one of my favorite holidays! And I'm sure it's going to be interesting to see how Lincoln handles the tree. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone and everything will survive!

The weekend after Thanksgiving brings back fond memories of spending time making Christmas craft projects with my nieces. I really miss spending time together with them! These happy memories inspired me to create and share a Christmas Countdown Calendar that I created using the new BoBunny Candy Cane Lane collection. It is a fun and easy craft project that would perfect to work on together with your family this post-Thanksgiving weekend.

Christmas Countdown Calendar by Juliana Michaels featuring BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection

SUPPLIES

  • Cork Bulletin Board
  • Standard Push Pins
  • BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Countdown paper
  • BoBunny Candy Cane Lane 6x6 Paper Pad
  • BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Brads
  • BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Buttons
  • BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Stickers
  • Ranger Distress Ink Pad in Vintage Photo
  • Ranger Glitter Glue in Star Dust
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Twine
  • Mini Clothespins

BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Countdown Paper

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN CALENDAR

  1. Begin with a plain cork bulletin board. I painted the frame black but this is certainly optional.
  2. Cut out the countdown squares from the BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Countdown paper. 
  3. Cut squares measured at 2 5/8" from various patterns in the 6x6 Candy Cane Lane Paper Pad.
  4. Ink the edges of all of the squares. You can certainly skip this step. 
  5. Adhere the number squares to the other squares.
  6. Embellish some of the squares with stickers and buttons.
  7. Apply Star Dust Glitter Glue to some of the images for a touch of sparkle and shine.
  8. Create custom push pins (see below for instructions)
  9. Push the pins into the cork board and tie a length of twine to each end. Trim off the excess twine.
  10. Use mini clothespins to attach the countdown numbers to the twine.

Christmas Countdown Calendar by Juliana Michaels featuring BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection

Christmas Countdown Calendar by Juliana Michaels featuring BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection

Christmas Countdown Calendar by Juliana Michaels featuring BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection

CREATING CUSTOM PUSH PINS

To attach the numbers to the board, I created my own custom push pins using standard push pins and BoBunny Brads.

  1. Begin by selecting some brads from the Candy Cane Lane Brads.
  2. Remove the prongs from the brad using wire cutters. Fold any excess metal toward the underside of the brad using the wire cutters.
  3. Attach the brad to the top of push pin using a hot glue gun. I recommend using either a high heat glue gun or an adhesive that is made for attaching metal and plastic together. I had good luck with Glue Dots, however you have to be more cautious when removing the push pins from the cork board as this is not a permanent way to adhere the brad to the push pin.
Christmas Countdown Calendar by Juliana Michaels featuring BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection

Christmas Countdown Calendar by Juliana Michaels featuring BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection

I hope this project inspires you to do some family Christmas crafting projects this year. They are a great way to bring the family together and they can provide years of wonderful memories!

Beautiful Moment Scrapbook Page | Chantalle McDaniel 17turtles Guest Designer

Today, I have the talented Chantalle McDaniel, from The Anticlockwise Fish, guesting for 17turtles. She is sharing some scrapbook layout inspiration with you using some of my new 17turtles Digital Cut Files as well as some behind the scenes details on how she goes about planning and designing her layouts. Make sure you visit Chantalle's blog to see another layout she created using my Houndstooth Hello cut file. Now, let's hear what Chantalle had to share about her layout and the cut files.

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For this page, I have used the stunning script files, This Is Magic along with Butterflies No. 1. They helped me capture this gorgeous picture of my Sister on her recent trip to Australia, perfectly.

Beautiful Moment Scrapbook Page by Chantalle McDaniel using 17turtles Digital Cut Files

As a designer, I have the overwhelming urge to ‘plan’ layouts sometimes. I feel it’s super useful to get a feel for how big I want things to sit on the page, especially my photos, which I print at home. For this particular layout, I went about setting the image inside a mask in Photoshop. I then imported the image into a new document in a word processing programme (I use InDesign) to give myself a rough idea of where all the elements might be placed.

Beautiful Moment Scrapbook Page by Chantalle McDaniel using 17turtles Digital Cut Files
Once I was happy, I exported my page as a jpeg and imported the jpeg into Silhouette Studio. (The page set up to 8.5x11.)

I wanted the butterflies to look like they were rising out of the sunset, so I placed the designs in a scattered formation, colorizing them to match the hues in my image. When I was happy with the overall placement, I deleted the image and was left with the cut files.

Beautiful Moment Scrapbook Page by Chantalle McDaniel using 17turtles Digital Cut Files

I separated the butterflies into colour, so I could cut a batch at a time. (If you wanted to, you could do this as a print and cut instead.) The title was also cut separately.


When I had everything ready to go, I printed my image and text off onto white card stock and arranged my gorgeous little butterflies and title on the page.

Beautiful Moment Scrapbook Page by Chantalle McDaniel using 17turtles Digital Cut Files

Add some detail with pops of glitter and some machine stitching!

Beautiful Moment Scrapbook Page by Chantalle McDaniel using 17turtles Digital Cut Files

Thank you so much for having me Juliana!

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It was a pleasure to have Chantalle guest this week. I really enjoyed learning about her creative planning process. Don't forget to visit her blog for another fabulous layout.

If you want to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates from 17turtles, including free digital cut files and coupons, make sure you subscribe to the 17turtles Newsletter.

17turtles Digital Cut Files by Juliana Michaels
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