Twelve Days of Christmas - Xyron/ Faber Castell/ Creative Imaginations Blog Hop

If you're coming here from the Xyron Blog, welcome!  I'm so excited to share with you my gift giving ideas for this awesome blog hop with Xyron, Faber Castell and Creative Imaginations.

1.  Christmas Advent Calendar/ Banner.  So there is a selfish motivation behind this project.  As always, our plans have changed and we will be spending Christmas in San Diego before moving out to Hawaii.  We weren't able to secure housing before the holidays and the idea of spending Christmas and Charlotte's birthday in a hotel room just made me sad.  That being the case, ALL of our Christmas decorations will be in a storage locker somewhere in Honolulu.  However, I refuse to let that stop our family from having a happily decorated "home" (i.e. a few bedrooms in my parent's house), even if everything is made out of paper!!  So here is the Christmas Advent Calendar/ Banner I made for Charlotte (now hanging in the upstairs hallway and ready to be filled with wonderful holiday activities).

Supplies:  Patterned Paper and Stickers (Creative Imaginations); Cardstock (Neena Paper); Die Cuts (Imaginsce); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Cording and Clothespins (Walmart); Inks/ Pencils/ Colors (Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens Big Brush, Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens; Faber Castell Gelatos; Memento Dye Ink; Versamark; Copics; Embossing Power by Hampton Arts); Adhesives (Xyron Mega Runner; Xyron 5" Creative Station); Digital File by Silhouette; Silhouette Cameo; Heat Embossing Gun.

All of the patterned papers are from the new Creative Imaginations holiday line, Holiday Joy.  I personally adore the traditional Christmas colors and the bit of blue throughout really makes it an absolutely lovely collection.  I cut 24 library card pockets on my Silhouette Cameo using Neena Solar White cardstock and glued them together using my Xyron Mega Runner.  I embellished the front of each pocket with a bit of decorated patterned paper using Lawn Fawn Stamps, stickers from the Holiday Joy collection, and the amazing products I received from Faber Castell.

For some pockets, I used the Faber Castell PITT Artist Pen Big Brush to directly stamp images onto the patterned paper (like this pine branch from the Ornate Ornaments set from Lawn Fawn).

You can use the Faber Castell Gelatos to create beautiful colored backgrounds to enhance embossed stamped images.  For this pocket, I stamped a large snowflake image from Amuse Studios on to patterned paper using Versamark Ink and then embossed it with clear embossing power.  I then colored on a variety of different colors using the Faber Castell Gelatos, rubbed the color around with my finger, and then cleaned off the embossed image using a baby wipe.

The Faber Castel gelatos were also perfect for simply distressing the edges of each pocket.

Additionally, I used the Faber Castell PITT Artist and Brush Pens to directly draw and color some images.  To hang the pockets, I stamped numbers (Lawn Fawn Quinn's Numbers) onto circles and adhered them onto scallop circles (this was done in a snap using my Xyron 5" Creative Station).

These circles were adhered to mini clothespins using the Xyron Mega Runner.  Finally, the large scallop circles at the beginning and end of the banner are shapes cut from my Silhouette Cameo and then adhered together using some DIY Foam Tape.  The Santa and Elf images are just die cuts from the last year's holiday collection from Imaginisce.  To give the circles some more strength, I adhered a piece of cardboard to the back of each circle.  These circles are adhered directly onto the wall using 3M Command Poster Strips.

2.  DIY Library Kit.  As a kid, I remember trying to catalog our entire book collection and making check out cards for each one.  My sister even instituted a library card/ borrowing system!  (I know, we were super cool kids.)  :)  I wanted to make a kit to recreate this creative play for my daughter.  Since her favorite color is purple, these winter themed patterned papers by Christine Adolph for Creative Imaginations were perfect!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper and Die Cuts (Creative Imaginations); Stamps (Lawn Fawn, Office Depot); Inks (Faber Castell PITT Artist Pen Big Brush; Memento Dye Ink); Digital Files (Lori Whitlock, Silhouette, Carina Gardner); Adhesives (Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron 5" Creative Station - Laminating Cartridge); Silhouette Cameo; Photoshop CS5.

Using my Silhouette Cameo, I cut eight library pockets from the patterned paper and adhered them with my Xyron Mega Runner.  I then ran each pocket through my Xyron 5" Creative Station and trimmed the plastic backing around each pocket.  This effectively made each pocket into a sticker that could be directly adhered to the inside of any book.

I then stamped a library card stamp from Lawn Fawn (Check This Out) onto coordinating Creative Imaginations patterned paper and cut it out to slip into each library pocket.

To complete the kit, I paired it with an office date stamp and a library card I made on Photoshop and laminated with my Xyron 5" Creative Station.

Finally, I cut this cute Scallop Favor Box by Lori Whitlock on my Sillhouette Cameo and placed all the cards and stamps inside.  

3.  Fabric Flower Headband.  For my final project, I wanted to showcase how you can use the Faber Castell Gelatos to make your own colored sprays.

Supplies:  Red Fabric Tote; Faber Castell Gelatos; Mini Mister by Ranger; Twinkling H2Os by Creative Imaginations; Adhesive (Xyron 5" Creative Station, Glue Gun); Felt; Elastic Band.

To make the fabric flower, I started with this little red bag that Charlotte got at a birthday party.

I cut the bag apart and ran a large piece (about 24 inches long) through my Xyron 5" Creative Station.

I then cut the fabric into 1 inch wide strips.  After making sure to burnish the fabric really well onto the plastic backing (to make sure that the adhesive transfers onto the fabric), I pulled each fabric strip off its backing and folded it in half lengthwise.  (Note that because this is not the fabric adhesive that you can otherwise get with the Xyron Creatopia, the adhesive may not adhere perfectly to the fabric.)

Each strip will make one fabric flower.  I basically followed this tutorial.  You initially roll the beginning of the strip into a tight roll.  I glued that down onto the center of a fabric circle using a glue gun.  And then just roll and glue the fabric strip until you get a complete flower.

Once the flowers were made, I set them aside to make a red shimmery spray to intensify the red color of the flower.  To make the spray, I colored the bottom of a small plastic container pretty liberally with a red Faber Castell Gelato.

Then I added a bit of water and some Twinkling H2Os in Red Pearl.

Once completed diluted, I poured this mixture into a Mini Mister and saturated my fabric flowers with the spray.

Once completely dry, I sandwiched the flower and a piece of felt onto an elastic headband with a glue gun.  Viola, the perfect headband to match those cute holiday dresses.  Here's a photo of Charlotte wearing hers while making Daddy a present this morning.

Whew!  That must be the LONGEST blog post ever!  But just goes to show much fun you can have when working with some of the best manufacturers in the industry!

As always, thanks for stopping by!!