hybrid | handmade christmas gifts

So I took this class on JessicaSprague.com that had me super inspired to bust out the glue and actually make something tangible for once. It was the Mouse, Paper, Scissors Give class that Jessica team taught with Heidi Swapp. The class objective was to create hybrid gifts, just in time for the holidays.

The first gift I made was a calendar for my mother. She has been asking me for years to make her one with my photos, and I have honestly dreaded it a little because I think the calendars you order from online photo sites are dead boring. But Jessica and Heidi got me excited again. Now, their style is a bit (ok, a lot) more frilly and elaborate than mine and my mother's, but that wasn't a problem at all. I just adjusted to fit and it was a done deal.

The calendar is like a book that holds not only a calendar for each month but also a note pad and pen.








For this project I used digital papers from my Get Happy Paper Pack as well as some Bazzil cardstock, and my Almanac Template Pack. The book thingy was included in the class kit, but could easily be recreated. I also used a clip to hold the calendar sheets, and a notepad that I had in my stash.

The second gift was a little tin of "to do" help for my sister.
(Please excuse the lack of quality in these photos, they were taken at 6.30 am the day there were to be given, and there was very little light at that time)






Now this project was super easy to create. I designed a cover for the tin with paper from the Moments Paper Pack and some brushes and fonts, and for the inside lid with paper from the Valpoicella Paper Pack. I also made some notecards, and lastly created magnets by gluing designed cirlces using the same papers, brushes and fonts and then attaching the magnets on the back. After that I simply added a small pen and the project was finished. I have to say, I like hybrid when the bulk of the work is done digitally! Hee!

The third gift was supposed to be something entirely different, but I had a glue meltdown (pun intended) and had to switch gears. For my other sister I created a subway style poster that I framed.
(This photo was also taken that early morning, so again, please excuse the bad photo)


The poster features the places and dates where and when my sister and her boyfriend were born, met, got engaged, and now live. I love, love, love how this turned out. And it was so easy to make as well. Want to make one of your own? Jessica and Heidi has made a little mini class for this one that is available right now. Check it out! The frame, if you are interested is from IKEA - where else?

So that was the extent of my craftiness this Christmas, not counting spending about two weeks on wrapping all the gifts. Perhaps next year if I start a little earlier I will be able to do more?

Oh who am I kidding?

baby alphabet poster

A year ago I created alphabet posters for our godson and for our friends' daughter, and I knew I wanted to make one for my nephew as well. His first birthday (celebrated this weekend) was the perfect opportunity. I really like this idea. It's a custom version of a great tradition for nursery or playroom, and I just know it will be cherished forever. I also really like the combination of fonts. :)

Alphabet posters

For the christening of our nephew, and our friends' little girl - they were both christened at the same time in the same church - I created two posters inspired by this post in general and this creation in particular.

I am so happy with the outcome. I love the fonts I used and that they are personalized for each baby. I really do hope they will bring joy for years to come for these two kids.

Elias


Linnea


I used my Glassy alpha and my pearl buttons from the Make a Splash Elements set as well as an onslaught of fonts and brushes. If you have questions about a certain one, please contact me.

I had them printed with Crimson.se and was so pleased their service and prices as well as the quality of the print. The upload process was really user friendly and they offered a lot of "extras" for those without an editing software. They had lots of different size options to choose from. I had both posters delivered in two days (ordered them at different times). Everything is printed on Fuji Chrystal Archive Supreme paper. I will defenitely use their services again.

Hybrid work

I made this box to hold a birthday present for my mother the other day.
I used my Modernist Papers and iKari's gable box template.


I love how quick and easy this was to whip up in PS and then just print, cut and fold. Super awesome when you want something really unique.

Easter project

A few weeks back, when we had our Godchildren stay with us for a few weeks, I got some metal Easter eggs at a local hobby shop. The boys and I each painted three eggs but I wasn't really happy with the outcome of mine. But I gave it a shot to try and spruce them up a little with some ribbon and my Flutter By butterflies. And I think in the end they turned out quite cute.







I think that if I decide to use them for gifts I will give them as a set because honestly, the smallest one doesn't hold much sweets, lol.

Art collaboration and a gift set

One of my coworkers asked me to do a painting for him after seeing the one I did for another coworker a while ago. It took me a while to get started and then it didn't exactly come out the way I had envisioned it. So after giving it several tries I had to ask my husband for help. I had the shapes and colours all set. I just couldn't get the blending of the black and white right. His solution was to open a bottle of wine and crack the paint bottles open. After a while we were both standing there talking and dragging paint along imaginary lines. The end result was this organic creation.


For the gift we got my sister for her birthday I wanted to do something cute and sassy and chic and cool. All at the same time! So I rummaged through my collection of wrapping paper and was discouraged. I had lots and lots of Christmas themed paper (ok, so I do go overboad in that department, sue me, lol) but nothing that screamed chic and sassy. What to do, what to do? Improvise of course! I went with a black wrapping paper and added a strip of this ultra cool scrapbook paper by Glitz. Then, as a simple last little touch I added a hot pink ribbon and some bling. Simple but effective.


Naturally I had to do a matching card as well. The pink paper got to act the star again, and I added the same ribbon as well as her initial and some sequins.




The gift? My faves; white high top Converse all stars!

Personalized chocolate bar

I had this idea for a chocolate bar cover that I wanted to try out the other day so I sat down to play. The original idea turned out to not be so good but I ended up with something entirely different  that I think would be a lovely little Valentine's gift for someone in your life with a sweet tooth, or as part of a favor goodie bag in a party.






(Credits:
Photo and paper by me, brush by Anna Aspnes, fonts are Georgia and Marcelle Script)

It's a cool treat to see a child discover their own face on a chocolate bar. It's like they're king of the world, lol!

Holiday related creative work

I have a few things to share in this post. I like doing creative work around Christmas simply because there are so many pretty things around.

This Christmas wrap up layout came easily by using Liv's awesome template.
Snapshots of Christmas

(Click here for credits)

I don't think I have scrapped fireworks before so even though the photo isn't perfect it was still something I wanted to do today.
Going out with a bang

(Click here for credits)

My last thing is a hybrid project. We celebrated New Years Eve with my sister and her fiance and instead of a flower we bought Robbie Williams' latest album for them. I didn't want to wrap the CD up in wrapping paper - thought it was a little boring and it would totally give everything away, so I decided to make something. It ended up being something resembling a small book cover. Instead of book pages I attached the album inside and wrote a note to the hosts.


For the design of the front I used a template by Jessica Sprague for a book called A Year in our Ordinary Life. I changed the fonts and the words to fit my purpose.

Hybrid gifts

Last month I said I was working on a few projects that I was really excited about, but that I couldn't really share with you. The reason for this was that they were both going to be featured on the daily Gift-a-palooza at jessicasprague.com. But this week they have both been posted and it doesn't have to be a secret anymore. If you would like to check them out along with other great crafty gift ideas then do check out the home page blog at Jessica's site.

The first project was a set of 10 greeting cards that I made for my sister Frida. I know she loves to send cards and notes to people she cares about and that she would love this idea. I designed five different cards with digital scrapbooking products from Jessica Sprague, Liv Esteban, and Crystal Wilkerson and printed them on a photo- and cardstock combo. I made two of each design and packaged them up with pretty ribbons.

The first design has her initial as a monogram




the second design says "thank you"


the third design says "for you"




the fourth design says "congrats"


and the fifth and last design was left blank for any type of occasion






I printed all the patterned papers and elements on Ilford satin photo paper and the writing areas on white cardstock. This gave all the cards a nice layered feature.