Make Your Own... at Top Tip Tuesday...

Hello!!  Before we start, apologies, this is along one... I've been busy!!!

This fortnights Top Tip Tuesday Challenge is to Make your Own... and I decided to make my own background, as I've not done this in ages.

Actually, before I could do that, I had to make my own tag as I don't have a large tag die.  Actually it's pretty easy, I make it half as wide as I do tall and find those proportions work for me, regardless of if it's a big tag, or little!!

I searched out my snowflake stamps and randomly stamped them all over the kraft card stock with Burnt Sugar Ink from stamping up, then got busy with my brown toned distress inks (Tea Dye, Vintage Photom Frayed Burlap, Old Paper and Antique Linen)... Messy but worth it :-)  I then cut some snowflakes out using some snowflake dies, and added some gems here and there, some lace and organza and grosgrain ribbon, and topped it off with a Saturated Fairy image

I've been practicing colouring see through fabrics, and I think I'm getting there!!

Anyway, I have been feeling creative of late, so had the idea of making some of my own Christmas decorations... Before I knew it, I'd rolled and cookie cut numerous shapes, into which I stamped with various coloured inks... the kids joined in the fun too and made several decorations for their own trees... I should have got piccies of them busily cutting and stamping, both with their tongues out in concentration... Next year!!  Anyway, here are my ones...

Apologies for the piccie overload - not that they are very good - I thought it would look better to take pics on the tree, but the lights were a bit bright, and they look SOOO much better in real life.  As is always the way when you try something new (I've not played with clay since I was at school!!)  I got far too much clay - I tried both air drying and the stuff that you pop in a low oven for a while.  I still can't decide what I prefer - the air dry stuff curls a bit as it dries, but is easy to work with and you can get a nice embossed image with not too much pressure.  The oven dried stuff is a LOT harder to work and I had to stand up and really push to get a decent embossed image!  I also found that Distress Inks didn't work very well, but Momento and Stazon types worked well... I guess like with anything new, it's trial and error!  Now the tree is finally up and decorated with baubles and my home made decorations I think it looks lovely, and they would have cost an absolute fortune if I had bought them ready made :-)  Just goes to show that we all have stamps that can be used in so many ways, it just takes a bit of lateral thinking and a bit of bravery to do it!  What's the worst that could happen - they were rubbish and went in the bin! 

Anyway I made so many (it turns out clay goes a LONG way!!) that I had plenty left to give as gifts to some of my colleagues...  I wrapped them in Kraft, added organza ribbon and continued the homemade theme with a die cut tag which has been embossed in a sparkly white embossing powder... they look really good, and much more personal than those that we all pay a fortune for in the shops!  I went for a white on black image which apparently is quite trendy at the moment - my inner goth is delighted that black is the new black, while my inner girlie is over the moon that I can add a bit of sparkle :-)

Hope you can join in our final challenge of the year!!

Please may I enter these challenges

Card:

Decorations:

Gift tags:

Many thanks for stopping by

Sue xxx