Never fear! Thanks to the new Large Chipboard Sleigh from Alpha Stamps, I found a way to whip up a quick handmade gift that most grown-up people will actually enjoy. (Unlike the knitted sweater with one sleeve slightly longer than the other.)
The Spirited Sleigh is a festive little present made with a little bit of retro scrapbook paper, some awesome pine twine garland, strips of pretty gold ribbon and trim, a few red glittered star picks, a couple of pinecones, and six mini bottles of liquor to get them into the holiday spirit.
The beautiful chipboard sleigh couldn't be easier to assemble, even if you've already been hitting the eggnog. The kit has a handy sleigh shaped template, so you just trace, scissor, and glue! I used the template to cut an inside and outside shape to cover the sides, then used the front, bottom, and back chipboard pieces as templates to paper those sections. The sleigh's runners were painted with red acrylic, then stamped and embossed with embossing powder in Gold Tinsel. The sides of the sleigh were adorned with the green pine twine garland, petite pinecones, a few glittery holly berries, and vintage jingle bells.
The rest was a snap- the wired pine garland was draped along the sides and decorated with Stickle coated pinecones, holly berries, and a jingle bell. The garland was also used to make the simple wreath on the front, which got a sprinkling of Vintage Christmas Flower Soft and a festive bow. And finally we get to the booze. I purchased seven, no...six! random mini bottles, just for variety. The tops were covered with a circle of Christmas-y plaid fabric and I hot glued a gold looped ribbon and a red glittered star pick (minus the pick) around the neck. Threw in the leaves and some pretty glittery holly berries, and all done. Even before you get through that first cocktail. Cheers!
Go right HERE to see what I've used for the Spirited Sleigh.
Since that project went so fast I figured I should take advantage of the giant mess I had made and make another something. It started with a smiling Santa on the Santa Baby collage sheet. Look at that face!
I used most of the images from that collage sheet along with some book pages I had cut from duplicate copies of Little Golden Books Santa's Toy Shop and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
The ATC sized tray has been in the stash for eons, but it would be fun to do a mini version using this cute shadowbox and filling it with teensy toys. Like the mini shadowbox, my tray was unpainted wood but after a few coats of white acrylic paint, all was ready for decorating! I wanted Santa's sleigh to be flying across the middle so that part was done first. The pieces were embossed with Gold Tinsel embossing powder and decorated with snippets of pine twine garland and red glittered star picks (again without the pick part. It's a shame I kept pulling them apart because they are really lovely!) Santa was added to the sleigh and the pieces were placed, without gluing, onto the tray until I decided on what the background images would be. The rest was pretty random.
Most everything I used for the Retro Santa Wall Hanging can be found HERE.
From the stash: ATC wooden tray, vintage jingle bells, dollhouse fence, button, old Christmas bulbs, adhesive pop dots, fabric poinsettias, and a striped paper straw. That's it!
I think I might be a Scrooge and keep this one for myself. Happy Holidays!
