‘Christmas’ Category

  1. Ice Flake Baby!

    5th December, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    Hello friends! I’m back with another Christmas card. I’m pretty sure that I am way behind schedule at this stage, but the fun I am having creating holiday cards in the correct season, makes up for the late nights and sheer panic that await me… at some point I must start my Christmas shopping! *insert hysterical laughter*

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    As soon as Tim Holtz announced his holiday dies, the ice flake bigz die went to the top of my MUST HAVE list.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    Glue metallic kraft stock to distress mixed media heavystock and die cut using the ice flake bigz die.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    Using the sanding grip, sand parts of the ice flake and blend in vintage photo distress ink. I love that the metallic kraft stock can be so grungy with a little light sanding.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    Attach to the card at the center of the ice flake with distress collage medium and add an idea-ology gumdrop coloured with mushroom alcohol ink.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    Using Tim Holtz stamps, stamp the advert from music and advert set (cms358) onto heavystock using archival ink. Drag through a wash of frayed burlap, iced spruce and pumice stone distress spray. Use an ornate trims stamp (cms326) to create a border for the the greeting, stamped from the yuletide set (cms356).

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    Layer onto more metallic kraft stock and classic kraft stock, lightly sand and blend in vintage photo distress ink.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, sizzix, ice flake bigz die, stampers anonymous, music and advert stamps, ornate trims, idea-ology, gumdrop, metallic kraft stock, holidays, christmas card
    Another card to add to my stack.

    Zoe x

     



  2. Tick Tock Christmas O’Clock

    3rd December, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    I don’t want to freak anyone out, but we’re 3 days into December! Just going to leave that there…

    I find it difficult to skip the details when using Tim Holtz products. They work so perfectly together that it’s easy to get carried away, even when time isn’t on your side. That said, having the right tools makes even the more detailed cards, short work. Tools such as the travel stamp platform, sidekick and glitter duster make it easy to work quickly and in batches.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 1, idea-ology, clock hands, stamptember, sizzix, funky festive, festive greens, glitter duster, holidays, christmas card
    I reached for the inventor stamps again, this time going back to the beginning and using Inventor 1 set. I saw a clock adorned with fresh foliage at a garden center a few weeks ago and immediately the inventor clock came to mind.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 1, idea-ology, clock hands, stamptember, sizzix, funky festive, festive greens, glitter duster, holidays, christmas card
    Using the travel stamp plaform, ink and stamp the clock only. Slide the heavystock down the stamp platform and ink and stamp the header text onto the top of the heavystock! This is why I LOVE the stamp platform. I stamped a music strip and Christmas greeting onto heavystock with stamps from the Tim Holtz Stamptember 2018 stamp set. Stamping a second clock and fussy cutting a portion to stick over the original stamped image to give a little dimension.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 1, idea-ology, clock hands, stamptember, sizzix, funky festive, festive greens, glitter duster, holidays, christmas card
    Paint idea-ology clock hands with candied apple distress paint, rubbing some of the paint off to create a weathered look. Attach to the clock with idea-ology hex fasteners.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 1, idea-ology, clock hands, stamptember, sizzix, funky festive, festive greens, glitter duster, holidays, christmas card
    The foliage is cut from the funky festive thinlits die set from classic kraft stock using the sidekick. The bow I used is from last years festive greens thinlits die set. I love this bow! It was all given the glitter duster treatment. I LOVE this new tool because it gives you such a fine layer of glitter. Check out Tim Holtz blog post to see it in action.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 1, idea-ology, clock hands, stamptember, sizzix, funky festive, festive greens, glitter duster, holidays, christmas card
    I stitched the edges with my sewing machine. I was especially pleased with how straight my stitching was on this card. It’s blind luck, because 2 cards later the stitching was wonky and off the edge… LOL I try!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 1, idea-ology, clock hands, stamptember, sizzix, funky festive, festive greens, glitter duster, holidays, christmas card
    Thanks for stopping by.

    Zoe x

     



  3. Small but Bright

    1st December, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s December, and true to my nature, I am not ready or prepared! I have hundreds of unfulfilled ideas, the beginnings of lots of Christmas cards and projects and I keep repeating to myself, “next year will be different… next year I’ll be organized!”

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 5, idea-ology, metallic kraft stock, aristocrat design tape, holidays, christmas card
    When it comes to creating, it takes me longer to get into my holiday stride than at Halloween. The inventor stamps by Tim Holtz are among my favourites and I thought starting here and sticking with brown shades, would get me cracking on those cards…

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 5, idea-ology, metallic kraft stock, aristocrat design tape, holidays, christmas card
    This is my favourite of the Tim Holtz inventor holidays stamps, (Inventor 5). It’s so incredibly vintage, as well as having that cool inventor look. I dragged the smooth side of distress watercolor cardstock through a wash made from frayed burlap, iced spruce and pumice stone distress sprays. Once dry, I stamped the inventor 5 stamp and coloured the bulbs using fossilized amber distress marker and a water brush.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 5, idea-ology, metallic kraft stock, aristocrat design tape, holidays, christmas card
    This was mounted onto brown classic kraft stock, then metallic confections kraft stock and finally kraft stock. The kraft stock layer was stamped with the music strip from Tim Holtz Stamptember 2018 set, (no longer avaliable, sorry). Stamped in picket fence distress paint and covered with white embossing powder. I used Tim Holtz idea-ology aristocrat design tape. This is probably my favourite tape ever. If anyone has one they don’t like/want/need… 😉

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 5, idea-ology, metallic kraft stock, aristocrat design tape, holidays, christmas card
    This sticker from the Tim Holtz idea-ology Christmas clippings, was perfect. I love looking through the sheets to find a sticker than matches a card. It’s a nice touch that each card is more individual if you add a different quote.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 5, idea-ology, metallic kraft stock, aristocrat design tape, holidays, christmas card
    I had to mention the metallic kraft stock! OMG! This is a sheet of the mushroom from the confections set. I need an entire paper pad of just this colour and don’t even get me started on the sanding results! Blend in a little vintage photo distress ink to the sanded areas… grunge-tastic!!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, inventor, stamps, inventor 5, idea-ology, metallic kraft stock, aristocrat design tape, holidays, christmas card
    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’re having fun making Christmas cards and enjoying December.

    Zoe x

     



  4. Holiday idea-ology Table Decoration

    29th November, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    Christmas is coming and it’s time to think about decking the halls. I was inspired by the wonderful new Tim Holtz holiday idea-ology to make a holiday table decoration.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    Living in Denmark for the past couple of years, I wanted to add a little Scandi style to my Christmas decorations. The woodland theme is popular here, so the tree ring die was perfect and that’s where I began…

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    To make a dimensional base, I upcycled some shipping boxes I had amassed during a lot little black friday sale shopping!

    Step 1: Die cut slices of tree ring from the shipping boxes and glue them together using distress collage medium.
    Step 2: Die cut one piece from distress mixed media heavystock, (this is the piece you’ll emboss, using the matching texture fades folder that accompanies the tree ring die). Blend in vintage photo distress ink and adhere onto the top of the stack.
    Step 3: Using a finger, spread distress grit paste onto the side to hide the layers of corrugated cardboard packaging, wiping any grit paste off the top surface and set aside to dry.
    Step 4: Paint the side and top outer tree ring with ground espresso distress paint and set aside to dry.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    Using a Stampers Anonymous Splatbox, spray a mini, small and large woodlands tree with peeled paint distress spray.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    Brush distress collage medium over the trees with your finger and sprinkle over distress rock candy glitter. If you use the new glitter duster that was recently released by Stampers Anonymous, you get a much finer layer of glitter than pictured here.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    Paint a small and large idea-ology decorative deer with gathered twigs distress paint and once completely dry, add circles with antique linen distress paint.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    Die cut a bow and word from Tim Holtz thinlits handwritten holidays and fold-up bows thinlits dies, from idea-ology classic kraft stock. Adhere everything to the base using distress collage medium (a little goes a long way and it dries in seconds).

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer
    There are so many options with this decoration. You could add an idea-ology memo pin with a name and use it as place-card holder. You could leave off the “believe” die cut and put an electric tea light in the front. You could also add a bent word band to the front. I will be making some more for my family Christmas table and will share them on my instagram.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deer

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, idea-ology, holidays, christmas, sizzix, tree ring bigz die, woodlands trees, decorative deerThanks for stopping by and I hope that this has inspired you to make something for the holidays. You can see all of Tim Holtz holiday idea-ology products on Tim’s blog.

    Zoe

     



  5. Ebenezer Bones

    8th November, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    Meet Ebenezer Bones, with a hat straight off the pages of Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’… it had to be done!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, idea-ology, distress oxide, mr bones, yuletide. christmas
    I’m slowly weaning myself off halloween and finding my Christmas spirit. Made easier with the new Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous holiday stamps… yuletide (cms356), music & advert (cms358) and mr bones (cms345).

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, idea-ology, distress oxide, mr bones, yuletide. christmas
    Mr Bones fit perfectly into the wreath from the yuletide set. His teeth and eye were a little stained so I painted a layer of clean water over both, left for a few seconds and patted with a cloth to lift the distress ink.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, idea-ology, distress oxide, mr bones, yuletide. christmas
    I love the new Christmas design tape and used it around the edges of the bottom layer of the mount to give a pop of colour amidst the various shades of brown! This is one of my favourite ways to use design tape and you can edge a failed background and no one will ever know. 😉

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous, idea-ology, distress oxide, mr bones, yuletide. christmas
    Phew, first Christmas card done…

    Thanks for stopping by.
    Zoe

     



  6. Holiday 2017

    11th December, 2017 by iGirlZoe

    Happy Holidays friends! Whether you celebrate Christmas or just enjoy the magic of the festive season, I hope that you have found some inspiration from Tim Holtz’s holiday inspiration series. Check out all SIX incredible weeks of festive follies over from week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5 and week 6.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday 2017
    Here’s the recap of my holiday makes…

    iGirlZoe: Fa La La La
    Fa La La La

    iGirlZoe: Joy to the World
    Joy to the World

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Inspired December Daily
    Tim Holtz Inspired December Daily

    iGirlZoe: Tis the Season
    Tis the Season

    iGirlZoe: Oh Starry Night
    Oh Starry Night

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    O Christmas Tree

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    Holiday Gift Card Holder

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Tidings of Comfort and Joy

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    It’s a Wrap

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    Another big thank you to Tim Holtz, Mario Rossi and Paula Cheney. And a big thank you for the lovely comments you have left over the past few weeks, here and on social media. Merry Christmas!

    Zoe


  7. It’s a Wrap!

    8th December, 2017 by iGirlZoe

    I’m bringing you my final piece for the Tim Holtz holiday inspiration series. I hope you’ve been following along with Tim on instagram and facebook throughout November and December. If you’ve missed anything, you can catch up with all the inspiration on Tim’s blog from week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5 and week 6!

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    As there are only 17 sleeps until Christmas, (yes, I’m counting), this is a nice quick and simple way to give your gifts a little personal touch with a gift adornment!

    Using the Sizzix gift tag thinlits die and sidekick, as well as the Stampers Anonymous holiday and stripes stamp set to create the background. I added foil and vintage photo distress ink to the edges and vintage twine to the top. Then decorated…

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    ..die cut from the festive berries thinlits set, christmas paper doll, metallic holiday sticker and mercury glass stickles.

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    ..die cut from the christmastime village thinlits set and metallic holiday sticker.

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    ..die cut numbers that came with the Sizzix sidekick (LOVE THESE), christmas remnant rubs and stickles mercury glass.

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    ..die cut from mini festive greens thinlits set edged with mercury glass stickles, idea-ology bells covered with red pepper alcohol ink and metallic holiday sticker.

    iGirlZoe: It's A Wrap
    …Okay, I literally couldn’t stop myself from making another gift card holder, decorated in a similar way as the gift adornments and adding holly form the mini festive greens thinlits set and christmas ephemera.

    Thanks so much to Tim Holtz, Mario Rossi and Paula Cheney for inviting me to be a part of this years seasonal team and for all of their hard work, guidance and support. Thanks to all of you for your kind words of encouragement. I will be back on Monday with a recap of all my holiday inspiration series makes. Hope you have a great weekend.

    Cheers
    Zoe

     



  8. Tidings of Comfort and Joy

    4th December, 2017 by iGirlZoe

    Hello friends. I’m back today with another gift card holder I made for the Tim Holtz holiday inspiration series. If you’ve been following Tim on instagram and facebook throughout November and December, you will have seen his holiday inspiration series. If you’ve missed anything, you can catch up with all the inspiration on Tim’s blog from week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4 and week 5.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Part of what I love about the festive season is there’s so many reasons to get creative. I love to use the seasonal products in my stash to make matching stationery. As my current obsession is with the gift card package die, I thought I would make another gift card holder to match a card I made for the holiday inspiration series and uses only 2 additional products, (idea-ology wood slices and the gift card package thinlits die).

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 1: Die cut 2 pieces of kraft cardstock and the rest distress mixed media heavystock using the Tim Holtz Sizzix gift card package thinlits die. The bow and ribbon die cuts were sprayed with frayed burlap distress spray stain and the mini tag I didn’t end up using but put into my december daily stash.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 2: Fold the pocket and secure to a non stick craft mat with tape.
    Step 3: Secure the mini plaid stencil over the top and blend candied apple distress ink through the stencil.
    Step 4: Blend in vintage photo and walnut stain distress ink into the edges and stitch with a sewing machine.
    Step 5: Apply distress collage medium to the side tables, fold and glue into place.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 6: Follow steps 3 and 4 on the package topper, (the long kraft cardstock piece from step 1).
    Step 7: Adhere the package topper to the gift card insert with distress collage medium.
    Step 8: Place the gift card insert onto the Tim Holtz Tonic stamp platform and secure in place with magnets. Stamp the tree stamp from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous great outdoors stamp set with peeled paint distress ink. Slide the insert to the right, keeping it butted up against the top and keep stamping.
    Step 9: Place the bow and ribbon die cuts onto the Tim Holtz Tonic stamp platform and adhere with a pin prick of distress collage medium. It will easily pull away afterwards and the magnets won’t get in the way. Stamp with the background stamp from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous sparkles and christmas stamp set.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 10: Stamp a sentiment over the trees. This will be hiding under the gift card for the recipient. You could add “congratulations” – “thank you” – “happy birthday” – “happy anniversary” for a non holiday gift card holder.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 11: Line up the ribbon with the bow and glue the ribbon onto the pocket with distress collage medium.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 12: To decorate the pocket, I stamped the wood slice from the great outdoors stamp set and used a 3/4 inch paper punch to punch the center and adhered to a wood slice with distress collage glue. Die cut greens from classic kraft stock with the Tim Holtz Sizzix festive greens thinlits set. Add idea-ology baubles dyed with red pepper alcohol ink.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 13: Bend up the tabs on the gift card insert very slightly.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 14: Slide your gift card in from the bottom.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Step 15: Push the insert into the pocket and you’re done.

    iGirlZoe: Tidings of Comfort and Joy
    Thanks for stopping by. I will be back with my final project for the holiday inspiration series on Friday. Hope you have a great week.

    Cheers
    Zoe x

     



  9. Holiday Gift Card Holder

    1st December, 2017 by iGirlZoe

    Hello friends. With December here, like many of you I am getting ready to celebrate Christmas and have been making cards and buying gifts and gift cards. I wanted to share this gift card holder I made for the Tim Holtz holiday inspiration series. Follow Tim on instagram and facebook to see inspiration throughout November and December. You can catch up with all the inspiration so far in week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    Giving a gift card can seem less personal than an actual gift, so why not make it personal by making a gift card holder. I created this one using the products and techniques from my oh starry night card, with the addition of the Sizzix gift card package thinlits die.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    I die cut the package base from metallic kraft stock and the bow and ribbon from distress mixed media heavystock. You can see how the background was created HERE.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    I added festive greens under the bow, like on the matching card. I adhered an idea-ology fluted star in the center of the bow which I aged with picket fence distress paint and mushroom alcohol ink.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    Again, I wanted to mirror the products and techniques from the card, so I chose one of the smaller Christmas paper dolls. This one just seemed to fit, I blended in some vintage photo distress ink to take away the white edges and adhered with distress collage medium.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    I added a sentiment from the Stampers Anonymous holiday postmarks stamp set and slid my gift card into place.

    iGirlZoe: Holiday Gift Card Holder
    You could tuck the gift card holder inside the card, but I feel like the gift card holder could do with it’s own box… I will definitely make some more of these, and not just for Christmas!

    Thanks for stopping by. I am excited to be doing December Daily this year for the first time using my handmade album. I’ll be sharing my pages on instagram. Hope you have a great weekend and I’ll back back here on Monday.

    Cheers
    Zoe x

     



  10. O’ Christmas Tree

    29th November, 2017 by iGirlZoe

    Hello again. I’m back with some more festive fun for the Tim Holtz holiday inspiration series. Follow Tim on instagram and facebook to see inspiration throughout November and December. You can catch up with all the inspiration so far in week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4.

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    Firstly I must apologise for the low quality photo. It was shot in low light because in Scandinavia, it’s pretty much low light until March 2018!

    Dear Santa, please could you bring some studio lights or relocate us to Arizona… 😉

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    I wanted to play around with the idea-ology tissue wrap and create a book page style background. I used an older Stampers Anonymous background stamp set (CMS281) ‘stripes and holiday type’ to create the text. The frame is cut twice from heavystock with the Sizzix stitched rectangle thinlits die, which I stenciled with the mini plaid stencil and stitched.

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    I covered distress mixed media heavystock with distress collage medium and immediately covered with plain tissue wrap. Once dry, I trimmed the edges and sprayed frayed burlap distress spray stain onto my non stick craft mat and dragged the heavystock through. I spritzed with water and dried with a heat tool. The glue, creased tissue wrap and distress stain created this cool worn/aged effect!

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    I used my Tonic stamp platform by Tim Holtz to do all the stamping on this card with the Stampers Anonymous stamp set (CMS31&) ‘watercolor trees’ by Tim Holtz. You will see from the scrap paper that I had a few practice stamps first. As someone who likes straight lines, this stamp platform is a total game changer!!

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    I added a bow die cut from the Sizzix fold-up bows thinlits set from heavystock and sprayed with fired brick distress spray stain. I edged the bow with walnut stain distress ink and adhered into place with distress collage medium.

    *SIDEKICK TIP: The small bow will just about fit on the sidekick platform from corner to corner. It does need a snip at each end with scissors to release the bow from the cardstock, but in a pinch, you could take the small bow with you on your travels with your sidekick.

    iGirlZoe: O Christmas Tree
    Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and a special thanks to those of you who have left comments, I really appreciate it. I will be back on Friday, until then…

    Cheers
    Zoe x