Christmas Round Up

Just finishing up the Christmas projects for Imagine If. Here is one that I have not yet posted.  This is my version of the Advent Calendar kitset released by Jo at Imagine If.  

The kit is made of chipboard and consists of a front and back cover and spine and two inside pieces with squares cut out for the doors. Here is the finished project.

Imagine If Design Team Project - MDF Box

For the project this week I used one of the MDF 3D boxes from Imagine If. The box has a window cut out on each side and has a top and a base.

But before I get to the project Jo is running a competion for a prize of Imagine If products. She has given each of us on the Design Team an item from a Christmas list.   You will need to visit each blog to get the complete list.  Once you have all the items go to the  Imagine If Facebook Page  and write I WANT IT ALL in the comments. Do not put the list of items.  If your name is drawn you will be asked to give Jo the complete list and if it is correct you will be a winner and get all of the the goodies on the list.  That is definitely a prize well worth winning so give it a go.   So if you have come from Brenda's blog you should have her part of the list,   my item is :  3 Candy Canes and if you head over to Tash's blog next you will get her items.  Or you can start at the Imagine If blog and work your way through the blogs from there.  Good luck.  

Here is my finished project.

Firstly I painted the sides of the box with black paint and then applied a layer of crackle medium and then a layer of off white paint.  

I created a pocket inside the windows and covered the bse and the sides of the box inside with Kaisercraft Christmas paper.  I then put photos of my grandsons in the pockets behind each window. Because I created the pockets this means that as the boys grow I can change out the photos.

I cut up a cream coloured crochet doily and glued it around the top edge of the box.

I then added some diecuts, small rosettes and tape to each side.

I then took an empty tape roll, a wooden coaster and a toilet roll inner and painted then the same way I had painted the sides.  

I glued these to the base of the box and added more diecuts and embellishments.

Now I have a lovely centrepiece for the table or to put on a sideboard.  There is room inside to put a jar full of lovely Christmas flowers, either real or paper flowers and the best thing is that I can keep updating the photos as the boys get older.  I hope you enjoyed this little project and feel insired to go out and make your own.

Christmas Stocking

For this weeks Design Team project for Imagine If Jo gave us a plain burlap Christmas stocking and we were told to surprise her.  As a bit of fun Jo asked everyone to predict what the other Design Team members would be doing with their stockings.  So here are the predications made about my stocking:

Jo:  tricky - traditional with a dark underlying theme, very grungy.
Beth: layered and altered
Brenda: mixed media - grungy
Katrina:   with her outside the box thinking I would be surprised if its still a stocking :)
Carol: could be anything she puts her mind to
Lilian: something from the darkside


and here are my predictions for the rest of the Design Team:

Lillian very soft, lacy and pretty     
Tash flowers, lace, ribbon and beads
Beth stencilled, painted country chic
Brenda srong colours bold lines
Carol snow, glitter traditional
Katrina traditional, sewing, muted colours

Check out the Design Team blogs to see who got it right.

So to begin:

Here is the burlap stocking in all of its naked glory. There are so many possibilities and so many ways to decorate it. 

I then dipped the stocking in Pavepol and using a cardboard tube inside the stocking shaped it into a boot shape and painted it with white and red acrylic paint.

I wanted it kind of rustic looking so I left the edges as they were.  Because it was looking a bit bare I took some $2 shop ornaments and bows and glued them together

and then I added another bow to some white ribbon to put on the back of the boot.

I then added the ornaments to the sides of the boot and the bow at the back.

After adding the embellishments the front looked a little bare so I took a couple of the Imagine If felt stockings and added those the front along with the leftover ribbon and another bow.

I then decided that I wanted a lid on my stocking to open on Christmas Day to see what goodies were inside so I took a round wooden coaster and glued on a piece of crochet doily. I then covered this with white gesso and I also painted up an old drawer knob.

 

 

I put them all together to make the lid.  Here is the finished project:

Still lots of room inside for little Christmas goodies but a slightly different take on the traditional stocking. To be fair to the Design Team I had actually started work on this project before they made their predictions so who came closest to predicting the finished project.

If you have come from Beth's blog follow on by checking out Tash's creation on her blog and check out how accurate each prediction was.

Be Positive

Just a quick little project to share.  My boss is always telling us to "Be Positive", it is one of her favourite sayings, so I decided that I wanted to make something for the office incorporating this.
I asked Jo at Imagine If to make me  phrase out of MDF using a script font.  Here is the finished project.

 

 

 
I found an old frame that originally had a print in it.  I painted the backing board with brown paint, added a layer of crackle medium then painted it with cream paint.  I then added some doilies to ad a bit more interest.  I spray painted the sentiment and glued it to the background.

I put the board back into the frame and it now hangs in the office to remind everyone to stay positive.