Monday 13 November 2017

Christmas Decor DCWV Very Merry and WRMK Punches

Hello again!

Just a quick one to share this little Christmas scene I've created with an op-shop find, some of my fave WRMK punches and the new Very Merry Premium 12x12 Paper Stack from DCWV.


I've admired the tiny Tim Holtz trees for so many years and finally added some to my stash a few weeks ago. I figured I should actually use them not just stare at them, lol, so I created this little woodland scene on an old record that I found at a second hand store.


Initially I was just going to use the record flat and pop some alphas around the circumference but then I found out how easy it was to bend records to create other things, so I folded it into a taco shape (my kiddo's description!) and used the bottom as the base and top part to hold a festive message.


For the top part, I used my circular Thicker Alignment Guide as a stencil to cut out a sentiment from the journalling element sheet from the Very Merry paper pad. Obviously, this isn't exactly what the guide is supposed to be used for, but as I mentioned earlier, I was going to run some lettering around the record (which I will still try out on another project for sure!)

I then used my WRMK Reinforcer Hole Punch to create enough little circles to fill the top area of the semi circle. On top of the reinforcers, I then popped some tiny floral shapes which I punched using the same paper pad and my Marquee Elegant Font Punch.


The teeny florals bring a bit of extra colour and fun to the area.


My trees were next - given a lashing of green with 'Sea Foam' and 'Mint' Heidi Swapp Color Shine. For some snowy frosting, I used spray snow from a discount store.


Teeny deer to frolic amongst tiny trees! I strung some twine around one of the trees and used some red AC Zazz Glitter Glue for the baubles.

The snow was a bit tricky to adhere to the record. I basically just applied a layer of PVC glue, sprinkled the snow then glue, then snow, building up the layers as they dried. There's probably a better way out there but that made sense to me at the time.


 Finished off with some Pink Paislee chipboard letters and die cuts, this little


Heaps of new DCWV products are available at Spotlight Stores nation wide right now - perfect for your Christmas projects!

Thanks for stopping by

Sunday 5 November 2017

DCWV Layered Ornament Gifts

Oh my gosh, yes you are not seeing things - I am blogging, lol.

Life has been so busy since returning back to work full time as a graphic designer. I have been fortunate to be able to resurrect my career after having a few years off to raise my babes and I am loving being back in the thick of things! If you have other social channels you follow and would like to check out what I get up to, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Scrapbook.com! (The links are all in the sidebar.)

Now to share with you these cuties that I was very lucky to play with from DCWV. A bunch of new festive goodies arrived on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't wait to get stuck in! I have another super cute project to share with you next week but first let me show you these altered layered ornaments which I have customised to give as little kris kringle gifts in a few weeks time. Yes, it is that time of the year already!!


These Layered Ornaments come in a ready-to-assemble pack with everything you need to create some super cute shaker ornaments. I've chosen to jazz mine up a bit to show you that they don't necessarily have to stay plain white.

** The best thing about these products is that they are all on special at Spotlight Stories right now so grab yours today! **

Here you can see the product in the packaging



Let's take a look at how they came together...

There are complete instructions within the packaging, which makes it very easy to know which piece goes in what order. I planned the stacks and then went about decorating or embellishing the pieces that I wanted, before finally glueing them together.


The pack makes 8 ornaments in total. If you didn't want to make them shaker ornaments, you could create heaps more! This first one below is stacked according to the suggestion on pack. I have popped some of the white/silver glitter supplied in the kit inside (there is also gold glitter.) This coarse glitter is great as I find it moves better and is easier to clean up after!

You will see that all but one of these ornaments have a little tag attached. This one has a mock bauble which I created using some circles I punched with my Circle Clear Cut Punch. I then folded them in half and glued them together onto a base circle. I really like the fan-like effect.


I ran the base piece through my Evolution Advanced with a geometric embossing folder. I dig the extra texture and interest this gives the ornament.

The plain tree has been given a splash of water colour and the top piece is pretty much a crazy experiment which turned out so nicely! One thing worth noting is that the paper is coated and I found it didn't hold mists as well as I would've liked. The plus side is that it produced this pretty marbled effect!


This ornament has been kept pretty simple, with a bit of watercolour, some glitter inside and the top layer given a shimmer with a Wink of Stella pen.


If you don't have one, I would really recommend adding a watercolour pen to your stash. They are pretty inexpensive but are lots of fun to work with and super easy to clean as you go if you keep a spare sheet of paper next to you as you work.


This pretty tone-on-tone one has a pop of colour in the form of some sparkling blue American Crafts glitter glue.


I waited for it to dry before giving it another coat so that I got all the gaps.


Inside I have placed some tiny clear beads instead of glitter.
The tag on this one was created using some embossed effect paper from the Frosty Holiday Mat Stack I received. This 6x6 pad is awesome! It has glitter, embossed, holographic and foil finishes. Perfect for the holiday season!


This ornament is packed full of joy in the form of some sprinkles and shapes. The tag was created with my DIY Party Tag Punch and I embellished it with a little strip of holographic paper from the Frosty Holiday pad and popped a sentiment hand cut from a sheet within the Winter Frost pad.


The mini journalling tag sheet from that pad was especially handy for creating these and the mini size was absolutely adorable!


The sprinkles were a cinch to create thanks to my new DIY Party Sprinkle Punch! This little ornament is just begging to be shaken up!


Close up of the tag. You can see the snowflake embossed detail of the cardstock
Again, keeping it simple with some clean layers, no glitter and coordinating sequins in various sizes for a bit of interest and sparkle. The little tag is a layered one, using a 1 inch tag size in the DIY Party Tag Punch, a mini tag made with the Tag Clear Cut Punch and a mini banner from the Winter Frost pad.


This is the same combination of layers, but I have used some super fine American Crafts glitter and some coarse glitter from the kit for contrast.



This one turned out to be one of my favourites! I've used my Heidi Swapp Minc machine and run two layers through, the base tree with navy foil and the top layer with ombre foil which I have been waiting to try out!

 I coated the two pieces with some Minc Reactive paint and waited a few minutes until they were just dry. If the paint is wet you will not get a good reaction. Also, it's worth noting to clean up the implement you use to apply the paint straight away as it can harden and ruin the brush/sponge.


The best part is peeling away the foil to reveal the magic! I ran these pieces through on heat setting number 3


Lastly, I thought I would try something different and give one of the ornaments a backing card. The ornament itself has been painted with acrylic paint (the same colour, just lightened two shades with a bit of white on two of the layers.)

I cut a thickish strip of this pretty tiny dot paper with silver foil (Winter Frost pad) and gave the edges a decorative finish with my Scalloped Corner Chomper. I used my Bracket Clear Cut Punch to cut the shape below the sentiment (Frosty Holiday stack) which was also hand cut from the Winter Frost pad. The ornament was then stapled to the backing paper and the bracket placed over the top to hide the staple. I think this is a fun was to combine a gift and card in one!


That's it from me. 
Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks DCWV for allowing me to give these awesome new products a test drive!


This Winter Frost Mat Stack is

DCWV Materials:
DCWV Winter Frost Mat Stack 6x6 pad
DCWV Frosty Holiday Mat Stack 6x6 Pad
DCWV Layered Ornaments Paper Project

WeR Tools:

DIY Party Tag Punch
DIY Party Sprinkle Punch
Circle Clear Cut Punch
Tag Clear Cut Punch
Bracket Clear Cut Punch
Scalloped Corner Chomper

Heidi Swapp Minc Machine
Heidi Swapp Ombré Foil
Heidi Swapp Navy Foil
Heidi Swapp Minc Reactive Paint

 Happy creating!