Christmas – iGirlZoe, Crafter & Tim Holtz Addict

‘Christmas’ Category

Fireside Halloween

24th September, 2025 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. I’m back with the Halloween version of my Fireside sample. If you missed Fireside Christmas, you can see it HERE. I made samples for the return of some of Tim Holtz Sizzix Classics Christmas dies. Tim Holtz and Sizzix have brought some of your festive favourites back for a limited time. The Classics are retired designs re-released exactly as they were, (same size). You can catch the LIVE replay over on Tim’s blog.

This is a make I created for the Halloween Sizzix 2024 LIVE to showcase the Halloween Vault Collection. Little did I know that the Fireside die set would be back a year later. I sent this tag to Tim for the LIVE to show that the Fireside fireplace was perfect for many seasons, including one of my personal favourite seasons, Halloween. I did’t get time to post this make last year so here it is, let’s get into the details…

Like with my Fireside Christmas tag, I die cut the fireplace from Distress watercolor cardstock and embossed with the Lumber embossing folder (the A5 folder didn’t exist at the time) and inked with Distress inks.

I left out the flames with this fireplace as I wanted it to be cold and spooky in contrast to the warm roaring fireplace in my Fireside Christmas tag. Just leaving out the flames die cut gives such a different vibe to the same die set. I also added a few real sticks behind the fire grill to emulate stacked logs.

Again I used the candle dies from the Vault Festive Wreath die set. Cutting multiple sets that I layered using the Simon Says Stamp 3D foam squares. I made these a little darker and sootier than the candles in the Fireside Christmas tag.

Instead of a wrapped Christmas gift and orange slices, I die cut lots of tiny potion bottles from the Vault Wicked die set, inked with Distress inks and added (retired) remnant rubs to create the labels.

Instead of the potted Christmas tree, I added a witches broomstick (from the Vault Wicked die set) leaned up against the fireplace.

The frames and portraits from the Vault Boutique and Vault Gothic Portraits were adorned with bats instead of festive foliage for a more spooky look. I absolutely love taking dies from my collection and changing them up by adding a simple bat or some foliage to create a seasonal vibe.

On my Fireside Christmas tag I added a wreath above the portrait frames and for this Fireside Halloween tag, of course it had to be a cobweb, complete with a spider from the Vault Fright Night die set.

The background from this tag was embossed with the Tapestry embossing folder with Distress watercolor cardstock. I would LOVE to see this folder in an A5 size (pretty please Tim).

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Fireside Christmas and Fireside Halloween samples and that some part of them has inspired you to make something. I’ll be back with a how to for building up the back of the fireplace.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, let me know in comments if you have any questions.
Zoe
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The products used to create this project are listed below. Thank you for supporting me by using my affiliate links to shop, at no cost to you. I really appreciate it.

Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 3 Comments | Views: 1,035
Fireside Christmas

22nd September, 2025 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Although it’s the Autumn Equinox today, I’m sharing a little early Christmas with a sample I made for the return of some of Tim Holtz Sizzix Classics Christmas dies. Tim Holtz and Sizzix have brought some of your festive favourites back for a limited time. The Classics are retired designs re-released exactly as they were, (same size). You can catch the LIVE replay over on Tim’s blog.

I was especially delighted to see the Fireside die return. An absolute favourite of mine and one that can be used for all the seasons, as shown across my 2 samples, more on the other sample later. Let’s get into the details…

I die cut the fireplace from Distress watercolor cardstock, embossed with the new A5 Lumber embossing folder and inked with Distress inks.

To make the fireplace more dimensional I created some supports from Distress heavystock using a score board and glueing them to the underside of the fireplace. If you’d like a “how to” on this, let me know in comments and I can do one.

This created some depth for the actual fireplace so I embossed the back panel with the Mini Brickwork embossing folder and glued it to the Etcetera tag. I die cut some extra fireplace surrounds and mounted them to the underside of the fireplace to hide the gap. I curved the fire grill slightly and glued it into place. I have a brickwork tutorial HERE.

The dimension of the fireplace also allowed me to create a mantelpiece using an Etcetera Scalloped Trim. Using the Decorative Trim dies to cut pieces to cover both sides and embossing with the A5 Lumber embossing folder.

I’ve had questions about which set these candles were from. I used the Vault Festive Wreath set and die cut an extra candle which I trimmed at the base so it would sit lower and create a third sized candle. These were mounted using Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Squares. I covered the base with a little holly from the Mini Holiday Greens set which is part of the re-released classics collection.

I also used the orange slices from the Vault Festive Wreath set. I love these, they really say Christmas to me as I use a lot of dried oranges in my seasonal decor. I mounted them with the same 3D foam squares.

Also added to the mantelpiece was a gift from the Festive Things set, also a re-released classic. I love how all these dies work really well together.

The tree in a pot also from the Festive Things die set worked perfectly scale wise to stand next to the fireplace. I cut the tree and pot twice, once from Distress Watercolor Cardstock for the top layer, which I inked with Distress ink and once from Distresss heavystock to mount it onto for stability. It was mounted onto 3D foam squares. The strings of decorations were cut from idea-ology Metallic Kraftstock.

As it was a Christmas fireplace, I added the garland, stockings and ribbon that come with the set.

I added frames from the Vault Boutique die set from 2024 and silhouettes from the Vault Gothic Portraits set. I die cut several layers of frame from Distress heavystock, gilding the top layer with gilding flakes.

I added foliage from the Mini Holiday Greens set, adorned with a bow from the Fireside set to give it a festive feel.

Finally adding a wreath die cut from the Festive Things set, mounted with 3D foam with a bow added from the Fireside set.

This sample was using the Fireside die set with a Christmas theme but it can equally be used for other seasons too…

I’ll be back tomorrow with my Halloween version of Fireside. Hope you can join me.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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The products used to create this project are listed below. Thank you for supporting me by using my affiliate links to shop, at no cost to you. I really appreciate it.

Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 13 Comments | Views: 1,456
Merry Moose

18th September, 2025 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. I’m here to share a sample I made for the return of some of Tim Holtz Sizzix Classics Christmas dies. Tim Holtz and Sizzix have brought some of your festive favourites back for a limited time. The Classics are retired designs re-released exactly as they were, (same size). More details and the LIVE replay are over on Tim’s blog.

I love the Merry Moose die set and was so happy to see it return for those who didn’t get it during the first release. I was excited to make something using this and some of the other re-released classic die sets. Let’s get into the details…

Using an Etcetera tag in the small size, I covered with Distress Watercolor Cardstock which I inked with Distress inks. I added a moon from the retired Moonlight die set and trees from the Merry Moose die set, some of which I trimmed to create different heights. I used the 3D foam strips from Simon Says Stamp to mount them. These strips were perfect for the slimline trees. They are currently only available in white (pretty please could we have black Heidi). I used a marker to run a line along the side of the adhesive strips so the white wouldn’t show at the sides of the trees.

Don’t you love this Merry Moose. The way he prances along, he just makes me smile. I die cut him from Distress Watercolor Cardstock and inked with Distress inks. I mounted onto Distress Heavystock to make him more sturdy and then mounted onto the tag with Simon Says Stamp 3D foam squares. The bell and brace rivets were die cut from idea-ology Metallic Kraftstock.

He needed a platform to prance along so I used the Etcetera Pinked Trims covered with strips die cut from the Decorative Trims die set and embossed with the new A5 Lumber Embossing Folder. This photo was taken when I was figuring out the placement of my dies and before I added the moss, which I hot glued on and then mounted the Merry Moose over the top (previous photo).

For the bottom of the tag I used the newly released A5 Engraved embossing folder with the Christmas Ribbon die set mounted over the top and adorned with holly from the Holiday Greens mini die set.

A closer look at the A5 Engraved embossing folder, embossed onto idea-ology Metallic Kraftstock with black soot Distress paint added, wiping some away and once dry, sanding parts and blending in walnut stain Distress ink

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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The products used to create this project are listed below. Thank you for supporting me by using my affiliate links to shop, at no cost to you. I really appreciate it.

Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 14 Comments | Views: 1,121
Bah Humbug!

22nd September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. I’m back to share my second make for the Tim Holtz idea-ology Christmas LIVE. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and see all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of my favourite stories and Ebenezer Scrooge one of my favourite fictional characters. I think that’s where my love of top hats began. This is where the inspiration for this make came from. Let’s get into the details…

First, I had to choose my base and as you probably know, I love a dome, and the idea-ology Reliquary Dome is one of my favourites. It’s large enough to really tell a story in. I painted the cork base with black soot distress paint and covered the top with paper from the idea-ology Christmas backdrops. This paper is giving serious humbug mint vibes! If you look closely you’ll see I cut some lines into the paper covered cork using the new tonic media ruler and tonic craft knife. These are to push the paper dolls and ephemera into.

Last year Tim released an idea-ology paper dolls pack with his Christmas release and this dapper chap with his magnificent top hat was in that pack and it screamed Scrooge to me. I pulled it out with a couple of the paper dolls from the same pack which had ghosts of Christmas past and present vibes and coloured them with distress pencils and a water brush.

I added a line of distress collage medium into the cuts and carefully pushed the paper dolls in.

I used stickers from the idea-ology Christmas sticker book to help tell my story…

The ghosts of Christmas past and present.

I love this piece of ephemera from the idea-ology Christmas ephemera pack. I trimmed it, added some walnut stain distress ink to grunge it up and slid it into one of the cuts in the cork base. Using the craft pick I made a hole in the cork and added distress collage medium and then pushed in a quill from the idea-ology adornments quill and arrows pack.

I added a candestick from the idea-ology 2023 The Manor set with a drippy candle and some candy cane twine.

With my finger, I rubbed some picket fence distress paint onto the idea-ology pinecones and let air dry before adding them to the reliquary dome cork base with a little distress collage medium.

Of course it wouldn’t be complete without a bottle, so I dripped uncharted mariner distress paint into an idea-ology tiny vial and let dry. I added a label, remnant rubs which I cut up to spell out “ink” and some twine. Finally I added the tiniest wax seal by dropping one drop of red sealing wax onto my non stick craft mat and using a pin head to push into the wax, removing once it had set. I carefully peeled the wax seal off the non stick mat and attached to the bottle with distress collage medium.

Taking one of the book covers from the idea-ology Christmas ephemera pack, I made a mini book and attached “humbug” from the idea-ology Christmas stickers book to the front. I have a step by step on how to make the tiny books HERE.

I added some more drippy candles to the cork base with distress collage medium.

And to finish I wound twine around the glass dome several times and glued on an idea-ology Christmas shape seal which I painted with black soot distress paint, rubbing away some of the paint from the star and edges of the seal to expose the metal.

Thanks for stopping by, let me know if you have any questions and Bah Humbug!
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Ideaology, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 4 Comments | Views: 1,363
Tim Holtz idea-ology Christmas 2024

21st September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Happy idea-ology Christmas Day! I’m sharing my first make for the Tim Holtz idea-ology Christmas LIVE. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and see all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

I think you’ll all agree that the best piece in this years idea-ology Christmas line was the Santa Mugs. Oh how I love them. It was the starting point for this make, so let’s get into the details…

First, I carefully broke one of the dividers inside the vignette card file box and then covered the inside and outside with paper from the backdrops pack. I added design tape to the front so you can’t see where the extra divider was removed from.

I love this paper from the backdrops, it looks like an old cigar box.

I added some of the cool new plaid paper from the backdrops pack to the inside of the vignette. I love that it’s so grunged up and I didn’t need to do anything to it.

Let’s talk about this Santa Mug… WOW! WOW! WOW! They are available on pre-order, shipping early October and I’m telling you, they’re going to sell out, so please, if you want them, don’t wait. I think Tim absolutely knocked this out of the park and I may or may not have stocked up on a few extras for my museum collection! 😉

I altered an entire pack of idea-ology confections by rubbing walnut stain distress crayon over each piece with my fingers.

I shortened the candy canes, keeping the excess pieces for one of the other bottles. I rubbed more walnut stain distress crayon over the Santa mug and spritzed with a little water, rubbing with my finger to make him really grungy.

Covered corked vials with alcohol ink and rock candy glitter and added ephemera pieces which were grunged with distress ink and added some remnant rubs.

I created tiny wax seals by dropping a single bead of red wax onto my non stick craft mat and pushed a pin head into the wax and pulled it out once the wax had set. I peeled the wax seal off the non stick craft mat and glued onto the bottle with a dot of distress collage medium. Cute right?!

I added confections to each of the bottles and glued into the vignette card file with distress collage medium.

In the bottom of the vignette card file I added tiny vials with more of the Christmas ephemera and a word tag, which I added lumberjack plaid distress crayon to and then wiped the surface to reveal the metal 25 and edges.

I did the same to the sweets word tag, clipping the ring off the side and gluing to a book I made with a book cover from the Christmas ephemera pack. I have a step by step on how to make these tiny books HERE.

I added a baseboard piece to the back of the vignette card file with 3D foam so the bottles would sit nearer the front of the vignette.

Finally I added a piece of ephemera to the inside of the pull handle on the top of the vignette and my confection box was complete.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Ideaology, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 9 Comments | Views: 2,950
Skullball

14th September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Sharing my final make from the Tim Holtz Vault Christmas Collection 2024 LIVE. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and see all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

Welcome to “Skullball” a popular winter game played by snowmen everywhere…

Credit where credit is due, about 24 hours before I was due to ship my makes, Tim text me a “heads up” that the top hat from the Vault Coffin Box fit the new snowman “Shrub” from Vault Winter Wishes… Thanks Tim! <3

Now obviously you can make this hat Christmas themed with the addition of a little holly or creating a Christmas backdrop, but as I had the Vault Coffin Box set out… I had to include these cool skulls.

I used the alphanumeric from the Vault Coffin Box set to create “Skullball” cut from distress watercolor cardstock, inked with distress ink and adhered to the card with distress collage medium. I used 3D foam squares to raise a couple of the skulls to stack them and added one at the base of the card to look like it had rolled off the pile of skulls. I love that the skull fits in Shrubs hand.

This is a great way to transition from Christmas making back into Halloween makes again. Bring on the skulls…

Thanks for stopping by and for all your kind comments and encouragement here and on my social media platforms. Let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 7 Comments | Views: 1,057
Peace on Earth

13th September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. I’m back once again sharing a card I made for the Tim Holtz Vault Christmas Collection 2024 LIVE. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

As soon as I received my Vault Christmas collection dies, I knew I had to pull out my globe from the Vault World Travel set, released earlier this year. It’s perfect for the “Peace” sentiment from the Vault Holiday Classics set and the Santa’s sleigh and reindeer from the Vault Holiday Magic set.

I die cut the globe from distress watecolor cardstock and dragged the pieces through a distress ink wash and once dry, assembled using distress collage medium. I used 3D foam squares to raise the globe off the card slightly. These were placed behind the continents to keep them hidden. The Santa’s sleigh and reindeer were cut from idea-ology black kraft stock and mounted onto several layers of distress kraft heavystock and again mounted onto 3D foam suqares.

“Peace” was die cut from the Vault Holiday Classics set from idea-ology metallic kraft stock and sanded and inked the same way I have done my previous makes on the past couple of blog posts. “On Earth” was cut from the Alphanumeric Label die set and mounted onto an etcetera trim with the top piece die cut using the Decorative Trims die set and embossed with the 3D Lumber folder.

The card background is distress watercolor cardstock stamped with the Music and Advert CMS358 stamp set and mounted onto idea-ology black kraft stock and sparkle classic kraft stock, with a distress kraft heavystock card.

This was actually a really quick and easy card to make and would be perfect to make for friends and family who live across the globe.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 7 Comments | Views: 1,131
Tim Holtz Vault Ice Skates

11th September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends! I hope you had a nice weekend and enjoyed the Tim Holtz Vault Christmas Collection party. A big thanks for your kind comments for my makes across my social media platforms, I really appreciate the support and encouragement. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

Today I’m sharing a make using the gorgeous new ice skates from the Vault Winter Wishes set. I’m so happy these came back and I love the new size and the design tweaks that Tim made. It’s hard to improve on perfection but Tim manages every time.

For the base I used an etcetera tag in the small size, covered with a sheet of idea-ology kraft stock in brown with the edges sanded using the Ranger sanding disks that fit the mini blending tool. I embossed distress watercolor cardstock with the 3D Tree Rings embossing folder, blending in frayed burlap and walnut stain distress ink and spritzing with broken china distress oxide spray. I mounted the embossed background onto idea-ology black kraft stock, edges sanded and inked. I then used 3D foam squares to attach it to the etcetera tag, which raised it a little to give a small ledge for the Christmas alphas to sit on (see next pic).

“Christmas” was die cut from the new Vault Seasonal Sketch set in idea-ology metallic kraft stock and mounted onto black kraft stock, offset slightly to give a shadow and several layers of distress kraft heavystock. I sanded and inked the letters with walnut stain distress ink to give an aged look and glued them to the tag using distress collage medium.

“Wish” was cut from the Vault Holiday Classics set and altered the same way as “Christmas.” I mounted “WISH” on 3D foam squares to raise it from the background so I could thread twine through the letters to hang the laced up skates from. I use 3D foam squares from Simon Says Stamp, they’re my go to and I’ve linked them at the bottom of this post.

These skates though!! I love them and the new size and the skate blade and heel come as separate dies, which makes it easier to create. I cut the skates from distress watercolor cardstock and inked the heel die cut in walnut stain distress ink. The skate blades were die cut from idea-ology metallic kraft stock and altered as described in this post above. I glued the pieces on with distress collage medium. I laced up the skates with twine and hung them from the WISH die cut.

I die cut lots of foliage from the Vault Holiday Classics set and coloured with distress ink. I used distress paint to colour the berries to make them pop and there’s less chance of red transfer onto the white skates, which can happen when using ink. I used the shaping tool set to give the foliage dimension and then created mini bouquets, securing them with hot glue and then placing them behind the skates.

I mounted the skates onto the tag with 3D foam squares to give the foliage “room to bloom!” 😉

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 4 Comments | Views: 1,171
Tim Holtz Vault Winter Wishes

8th September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. I’m back again today sharing a card I made for the Tim Holtz Christmas Vault Collection LIVE. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

The OG Ice Flake Bigz die was my favourite snowflake that Tim had ever designed so I was delighted to see it return in the Vault Collection Winter Wishes die set as a thinlits die.

I die cut the ice flake twice, once from distress kraft heavystock and once from idea-ology metallic kraftstock. The kraft heavystock is the base layer with walnut stain distress ink blended in. The top layer I sanded, exposing the kraft core and then blended in walnut stain distress ink. I cut “snow” from the alpha set in Seasonal Sketch and layered several times, sanding and blending in ink like the ice flake.

The background is distress watercolor cardstock stamped the music stamp from Music and Advert CMS358 stamp set in frayed burlap. I layered onto idea-ology black kraftstock and idea-ology sparkle kraftstock and the card base is distress kraft heavystock. I added some industrial strips which I fussy cut from metallic kraftstock embossed with the foundry embossing folder, sanded and inked.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 8 Comments | Views: 1,448
Tim Holtz Vault Christmas 2024

7th September, 2024 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Tim Holtz has officially kicked off the Christmas season by opening the vault once more with his awesome Christmas Vault Collection from Sizzix. If you missed the LIVE, you can catch the replay and all the incredible inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

I can’t tell you how much I love the Vault Christmas Magic set. Lucky for me, I loved and collected the OG (original) cityscape sets, but I love that others have the opportunity to own a cityscape set too. For those of us who have the OG’s, we have a new size available which will be perfect for giving depth of field when layering with the other cityscape dies.

I used an etcetera tag in the small size for the base of my project. Adding distress watercolor cardstock sprayed with distress spritz and blending in walnut stain distress ink with a mini blending tool.

The Vault Christmas Magic set has a small moon based on the OG big one from the Moonlight die set, that I used here, which I mounted onto 3D foam squares. I added clouds from Halloween Vault collection die set Fright Night, I love that the clouds are so atmospheric. And of course I added Santa and his reindeer flying over the city. All die cut from distress watercolor cardstock and inked with OG distress.

I wanted a layered city so die cut the cityscape multiple times from distress watercolor cardstock and dragged it through a distress ink wash of black soot and frayed burlap with lots of water spritzed over the top. I layered and staggered the cityscape die cuts so the buildings looked different. Once I had the placement I was happy with, I took a photo on my phone so I could remove them and refer to the photo later when adhering them to the tag. The background in the above photo wasn’t the one I went with, it was too dark so I made another using distress spritz.

I cut a second set of cityscape die cuts from idea-ology metallic kraftstock and layered offset behind to give the appearance of lit windows. Starting from the top and working down the tag, I attached by adding 3D foam squares at the bottom of each row so the top of the die cuts sat up and away from the tag. I added each layer and then trimmed the excess with my scissors. Ignore the other random things on my desk. I was making multiple samples at once, you can see a skull from the skullball card which I will be sharing, along with my other makes, over the next few days. I’m also still using my new Glass Studio Mat which I LOVE.

The moon, santa sleigh, clouds and cityscape were cut from distress watercolor cardstock and inked with distress ink. For the lamp posts, wreaths and vehicles, I used idea-ology kraft cardstock which I sanded using a mini blending foam and sanding disks and blended in walnut stain distress ink. The lamp posts were mounted onto a couple of layers of die cut distress kraft heavstock to give them more stability. The idea-ology kraft cardstock appears to be a little bolder and I liked that it gave the piece more dimension as these items were in the foreground.

I used the decorative trim die to cut a trim that fits the etcetera thickboard trims to mount Merry Christmas onto, cut from the Alphanumeric Labels dies. These letters were cut from idea-ology metallic kraftstock, sanded, inked and overlayed over idea-ology black kraftstock. The decorative trims die is one of my most used dies and an unsung hero. I used to have to trace around the etcetera trims and fussy cut! Having these dies has been a game changer.

I am OBSESSED with this little truck. It’s going to appear on every card and gift tag I send out this Christmas. I love the siding to it. Tim absolutely ROCKED every detail of this set!!

I mounted a tree on top of the car, I wish I had tied string around it to secure it to the car as there could be an accident if the driver has to hit the breaks! lol

A big thanks for the kind comments during the LIVE, your support and encouragement means a lot. And a MASSIVE thanks to Tim for always being prepared to listen and delivering the most inspiring products to create with.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 12 Comments | Views: 2,152

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