Merry Christmas Everybody!

Well, it's just after midnight here in the UK, so that means that it's Christmas Day! :)  I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you for visiting my blog through the year and to wish a very happy holiday to you and your nearest and dearest!  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia or nothing at all, I hope you're all cosily ensconced with those that you love most.

A friend took these lovely photos of my home dressed in all it's festive finery, aren't they great?  I thought this was the perfect time to share some of them :)

Merrily We Roll Along!

This week over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is a "no challenge" week, we're taking a little break for the holidays - I'm sure you're also busy with your holiday celebrations!  We members of the design team have used the opportunity to share some of our holiday makes for this season, in particular showcasing Tim Holtz stamps.  This was a particularly easy theme for me, Tim Holtz stamps are always the ones I reach for first when I'm feeling creative!

As you may have gathered from other posts I've made recently, I'm really enjoying the rustic/kraft look this Christmas and for that reason I've chosen the wrapping papers shown here, a foundation of kraft paper overprinted with vintage inspired holiday designs.  Having said that, the stripe, damask and star designs really do lend themselves to other times of the year too.

In order to co-ordinate with my gift papers I decided to make accompanying tags from kraft cardstock (Bazzill) and to feature some of the Tim Holtz holiday blueprint designs, their hand-drawn feel really works well on a kraft substrate.

All images were stamped with Memento Black ink and coloured with Promarkers with a little stickles in places for extra holiday bling!  Parts of the ornament and ice skate were also stamped on white card, cut out and fixed to the tags.

That's it from me for today apart from wishing you all a warm and wonderful holiday season filled with friendship, family and all manner of good things!

 Supplies I used included:

InLinkz.com

Of course, the great thing about an online retailer like Simon Says Stamp is is that their store is open 24/7, 365 days a year, so why not head over there and treat yourself to a little holiday gift?

Don't forget, Simon Says Stamp have a great Facebook page too!  Check them out here!

Stamped Cutlery Sleeves

The theme over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is "Stamp Out", which basically translates as "make whatever takes your fancy, but be sure you use a stamp somewhere!".  That doesn't seem too much to ask, especially in a challenge hosted by a company with "Stamp" in their name! :)  Why not take part yourself, you might be the lucky entrant chosen at random to win a $50 shopping voucher!

I made some cutlery pouches for last years Christmas meal and everyone took them home so I had to get my thinking cap on again this year to come up with something new.  I'm currently loving the Tim Holtz pillow box die, and I saw that I could use it to create these festive flatware holders, just by cutting off two of the end pieces.

I used kraft cardstock as my base, Christmas for me this year is all about the kraft!  I did cut a couple from other card, to make a snowman and a santa, inspired by my use of the toy soldier die the other day.  After cutting, folding and glueing, all that was left to do was to get nifty with some stamps.

I love the typography on that Indigoblu stamp, so great for the inside of a card and so many other festive uses too.  I know it's going to be an image that I come back to year after year.  Tim Holtz does some of the best Santa stamps out there, so they had to make an appearance too, along with his awesome holly stamp that I discussed in my video here a couple of weeks ago.

Well, that's about it for today. Christmas is fast approaching, are you ready for it?  I must say, this year is a first for me, my shopping was all finished week's ago, that has NEVER happened in the past.  Now I get to sit back and relax while the rest of you brave the crowded streets and malls! :)

Supplies I used included:

InLinkz.com

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week, just make something for the challenge and you could the winner! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Don't forget, Simon Says Stamp have a great Facebook page too!  Check them out here!