Here I Come A-Wassailing

My new "Wassail" Basic Grey paper pack has arrived, and I love it even more than I thought I would! (Thank you, Michelle, at Stamper's Dream, for the super fast shipping, as always.)

This is my sample for Jen's Sketch For You To Try - another fun one (how DOES she do it?)! As always, you'll find the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Nancy Riley's sample at i{heart}2stamp. More inspiration awaits over at Amy's, Carole's, Shannan's, and Susan's blogs. We hope you'll play along, too. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.

The image, Wreathabella, is colored with Copic markers. I added a little liquid applique to the fuzzy parts. The "Joy" chipboard is by Scrapworks and came already red and glittery (in a box with a bunch of other glittery Christmas chipboard, too).

One thing I learned while coloring this image is that I need more red Copics! I have a bright pinkish red and then two really deep, dark reds, but a huge gap in the middle. It so happens that just the other day, while ordering some ribbon and brads from Heidi at Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts, I saw that she's doing a Copic pre-order right now. I also saw five of my favorite words: "Prices too low to advertise." LOL! If you're in the market for some Copics, anything from a few singles to full sets, you may want to pay her a visit. And check out her ribbon, brads, and other embellishments, too.

While I had my Wassail paper pack out, I thought I'd whip up a little something for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner. Lynda Benden, our October host, has challenged us to create a gift item. Check out the blog for wonderful samples by the rest of the OCC team,Cindy Haffner,
Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jennifer Meyer, Julee Tilman, Laurie Schmidlin and Lynda Benden. You'll also see amazing projects from guest designer Lindsey Botkin of Jacksonbelle Embellishments, as well as a fabulous giveaway. We'd love for you to play along!

Here's my project - a Christmas countdown calendar:



I made something similar last year, but wanted to do a "new and improved" version. The calendar is made from two 4" coasters held together with some spiral binding that I pilfered from an old Stampin' Up catalog that Staples once bound for me. I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes. The numbers, as well as all the words, were created with the Brayton Font Ensemble from JustRite Stampers. Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE the JustRite products?!

Note: Now that I'm looking at this on screen, it seems so obvious to me that the "until Christmas" should have started on the bottom of the circle instead of the top. Visually, you'd read "days" first and then "until Christmas." This way is confusing, I think? Your eye wants to read "until" before "days." It'll probably bug me enough that I'll change it, but for now, you get the idea! [UPDATE: I tried it the other way, and surprise, it did not look good! So it's staying this way :)]

To make the calendar a little more stable (i.e., to make sure it doesn't fall down), I added a little crosspiece to the inside. It's a strip of card stock, approximately 2 1/2" x 1/2", scored 1/2" in on both sides to make two flaps. One flap is adhered to the back coaster. The other "flap" slips behind the ribbon that's tied around the front coaster. The end that tucks behind the ribbon is not secured with any adhesive, so you can fold this flat again for storage. Pictures might help you make sense of my babble:



Have you noticed how often I use Cranberry Crisp card stock? And ribbon, too, for that matter? Whatever am I going to do when I run out?!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!




Wreathabella:
Stamps: Wreathabella (Stamping Bella)
Paper: Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp (retired), Whisper White card stock (SU); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey); Wassail dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black; Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp
Accessories: Copic markers, liquid applique, "Joy" chipboard (ShimmerShapes Holiday Cheer Assortment by Scrapworks), paper piercer, Martha Stewart lace punch, Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon (SU)
Size: 5 1/4" square

Christmas Countdown Calendar:
Stamps: JustRite circle stamper, Brayton Font Ensemble (JustRite)
Paper: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp, White Naturals card stock (SU!); Wassail dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Always Artichoke craft, Always Artichoke marker
Accessories: Harmony Classic Circle Stamper I (JustRite Stampers), Crop-A-Dile, Staples binding, 4" coaster, vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, classic and scalloped Nestabilities, paper piercer, scallop border punch, Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon