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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Cottage Christmas...it's all in the SMALL details!


Thanks for all the CCC love you posted from yesterday! We're very excited to get you in the holiday mood (early). Our first random.org winner of the week (from yesterday) is Melissa Kaye!! Congrats girl and we hope you enjoy your goodies! 
Didn't win? Be sure to come back each day this week to find out how you can enter to win a goodie box of this fun collection!! 

Now for some lovely inspiration from down under!! We loved this SNOW GLOBE that Melinda Spinks created for her daughter using the new Cottage Christmas Collection. She said it took some very small scissors and probably a lot of patience to create, but isn't the finished globe amazing?? She offered to show you how she made it and we jumped at the chance to feature those instructions here for you!

Supplies Used:
  • 1 x Photo Snow Globe
  • 1 x Christmas Countdown Paper
  • 1 x Gingerbread Village Paper
  • 1 x Peppermint Stick Paper
  • Holiday Garlands Ribbon
  • Season's Greetings Rub-on Words
  • Snag 'Em Stamps - Snowflakes
  • Staz-On White Ink
  • Core'dinations Pale Blue and White Cardstock
  • Pop Dots and Double Sided Tape
  • Fiskars Scallop Border Punch
Assembly Instructions:
  1. Unpack Snow Globe Kit and remove the centre template. Use the template to cut out the Pale Blue cardstock for the background of your Christmas Scene. Adhere 'Ho Ho Ho' rubon in the top centre of the cardstock and add a couple of rub-on snowflakes.
  2. Fussy cut all your little bits and pieces for your scene ie. trees, gingerbread house, Santa gnome, sleigh, reindeer, presents. Using the white cardstock cut out two layers of snow.
  3. Using foam pop dots start attaching your pieces in layers to create your scene. You can do as many layers as you like depending on the thickness of the slot into your snow globe.
  4. Insert Christmas scene into the base slot of the snow globe.

  5. Using the Snag 'Em Snow Flake stamps and Staz-On white ink, stamp a few snow flakes across the top of the globe dome and down the sides, set aside to dry.
  6. Cut a 1.5 inch x 12" strip from the green side of the Gingerbread Village paper and punch both edges with a border punch. Cut a 1" x 12" strip from the striped side of Peppermint Stick paper and adhere on top of the previous strip. Cut the red snowflake strip from the front of Gingerbread Village paper and adhere on top of the previous two strips. Make a bow from the red snow flake ribbon and adhere to the centre of your strips.

  7. Place double sided tape onto the back of your strips and adhere around the base of the snow globe with the ribbon in the centre front.
  8. Shake and enjoy!

Oriental Trading offers a bunch of different snow globes you can customize yourself. And I was surprised they were very reasonably priced as well.

FREEBIES!! You have two chances to win today. First, jump over to our friend Melinda's blog and "follow" her...you won't regret it, she's an amazing designer from Australia and her blog is always full of wonderful inspiration!! Leave a comment that you're following Melinda.

Second, we'd love to know your favorite Holiday neighbor/co-worker gift idea (for purely selfish reasons too). Let us know your idea, and how you'd work in the Cottage Christmas Collection products and we'll pick a winner tomorrow morning! 

116 comments:

Sarah Lou said...

aww shucks too close to the start!!! I follow scrap farm - Love her eye candy!!

Sarah Lou said...

opps

Fav gift is a gift bag filled with all kind of stuff, sometimes ill do spicey nuts, honeycomb, toffees, cookies - anything I feel like making really. small but perfect and i still get to get my decorate on for teh top of teh tag!

Kristy said...

Following Melinda's Blog :)

Kristy said...

I love to give my handmade different flavoured chocolate truffles, and I could use the Cottage Christmas Collection to make little gift boxes and gift tags :)

yougotmel said...

what a cute idea!!! I never thought of making my own picture for those :faint:

I love the post it note holders made from acrylic stand alone picture frames. I'm planning on making several this year as gifts for people that work in my office. The coordinated papers make it easy to match everything perfectly....even the pen. Clear barrel ink pens with twist off ends will easily hold rolled paper to match the paper in the frame. Lay it down on the desk and add a post it note for a handy post it note holder for any desk....even a man's!

sucor said...

I'm following Melinda at "The Scrap Farm". I love her "Royal Meow"!!

Kirsten Moran said...

Following Melinda.

Hmm, maybe decorate tins of cookies baked by myself & my 3 year old.

Elle V. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
A Sarasota said...

Merry Christmas in July! My fave coworker gift is the mason jar full of cocoa mix, decorated with fab Xmas papers and a big red bow! You can tell them it's an ant farm and they will do a double-take. Funny. ;-)

Elle V. said...

I love to make custom gift card holders ...simply make a tag or card with a pocket, slip a gift card (to your favorite scrapbook store of course!) and then decorate with ribbons, buttons, flowers ...whatever!! You can even put the person's name on it! The possibilities are endless! ...It works for any occasion!

A Sarasota said...

Also, following Melinda... neat blog!

Char Dobson said...

I've been a follower at Scrap Farm for a while. Melinda does amazing work!

down_memory_lane said...

Following Melinda! The Scrap Farm's stuff is TOO CUTE :D

Char Dobson said...

For co-workers Christmas gifts, I usually give baking. I sometimes add in Hot Chocolate or gifts cards to Starbucks or Tim Hortons as well. These are always wrapped up nice with hand-made tags, cards and packaging.

April said...

Wow, that is SO cool!! My gift idea for coworkers would be card sets. Who wouldn't love to get some handmade Christmas cards to hand out to their friends and family right? ;)
- April W

down_memory_lane said...

My favorite co-worker/inlaw (lol) gife is "A year in cards" Every fall I start my card making like CRAZY and I put together a little pack of handmade cards. A card for each holiday throughout the year. I pack them in little plastic sleeves then tie then up with a pretty bow and a candy cane! The Cottage Christmas collection would be PERFECT for the Christmas cards in the packs! They have always been a big hit and give me even more of an excuse to scrap and papercraft to my hearts content!!!

Heather said...

I am already one of Melinda's followers. I like to make cookies or mini loaves of banana or pumpkin bread. I would use the Christmas Cottage line to decorate a box, bag or tin for the baked goods.

Nicole said...

I'm now a follower of Melinda's Blog!

sucor said...

Wow, the Cottage Christmas Collection is terrific! I enjoy covering and embellishing the inexpensive wooden photo frames available at most craft stores. I also like making a set of gift tags and a matching box or bag.

Nicole said...

My favorite neighbor/co-worker gift is to make COOKIES!! I love baking at Christmas time, and my kids look forward to it every year. I would definitely love to incorporate the Cottage Christmas line into making fun packages for the sweet treats!

Kelly Massman said...

I've been following Melinda for a long time! I LOVE her work!

Kathleen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kelly Massman said...

I like to make a quick mini bag out of pretty scrapbook paper (yours would work fantastically) and fill it with candy. You could also fill it with ribbons or small embellishments for a scrapbook friend. Your little Snag 'em Stamps would fit in there, too!

Kathleen said...

Wow that is awesome! This collection is awesome! I am a big fan of christmas! I cant wait to use this collection to make Christmas cards!!

Anonymous said...

oh wow...such a cute project...tfs!!! and even better, I am now a follower so that I can get your creativity and inspiration delivered to my inbox!!! that is the coolest part!

Anonymous said...

I just started following Melinda's blog and can't wait to see what inspiration she provides!! My favorite gift for co-workers is homemade treats in pretty containers. Can't wait to use this line to create gift tags and cards to put with the treats!

Anonymous said...

I started following her blog!!! I love to make homemade cookies. I make chocolate chip,peanut butter,chocolate oatmeal, and shaped sugar cookies and put them in a pretty decorated bag. Love Christmas time and Cottage Christmas is sure to be my favorite Christmas collection

iceprincess95 said...

My coworkers are coffee junkies...last year I made them travel mugs ( you know the ones with the inserts) and made a small box of homemade cookies and a gift card to Tim Hortons! Of course the boxes, bags, etc were made with my favorite scrappy supplies! :) I am off to follow Melinda's Blog!

Anonymous said...

I always like to give my neighbors and kiddos teachers some of my homemade hot cocoa mix along with a few of the tossable coffee cups/lids. I can soooo see me making some VERY cute baggies for the cocoa mix and an adorable coordinating sleeve for the cups!!! Thanks for such a wonderful line to play with!!!

Ann said...

Melinda's project is adorable - just became a follower. This line looks scrumptious. Several of my neighbours are tea lovers, so I'd give a bag of wonderful loose tea and use the pp and embellies to make fun tags.

Bonnie said...

I am now a follower of Melinda and the farm. A Christmas gift that I did for co workers 1 yr that seemed to be a hit was the mug filled with a bag of my hommade hot chocolate mix, candy cane and some little bite size cookies. I threw in a few hard candies too just to make it fuller. The ccc collection would be perfect for the gift tags for those mugs!
Thanks!!!

Manhattan Mandie said...

Already a fan of the Scrap Farm :)

Manhattan Mandie said...

My favorite gift to give is stationary or handmade albums :)

Kelly English said...

I am now following Melinda's blog! Love her little snow globe!!

Diana Waite said...

man, this is SO cool!

Nikki said...

A nice, thoughtful gift for the neighbors is a paper wreath. (For example:http://theredthreadblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/paper-christmas-wreath-tutorial.html) While it's not the most conventional gift, if can be personalized in many different ways. It's also something that can last for years to come. It could be made up entirely of the paper within the Cottage Christmas Collection, and the Snow Flowers and various I-rock accessories could make your wreath very unique. They can even be made to hang around the office as a festive decoration - a gift for the entire office! :)

Anonymous said...

I am going to be a follower at her blog after this comment, but I love to give out handmade caramels!! It's a family tradition too :)
Lily

Anonymous said...

I´m now a Melinda´s follower. Just loved her blog.

Anonymous said...

I would use the Cottage Chistmas Collection to produce some charming door hangers and give them to my neighbors. Here in my building we use this kind of stuff a lot, specially the ones with kids, and I'm sure they would love this handmade gift.

Nita K. said...

I like to gift little boxes or tents with candy inside. You could use the paper to make the boxes and then decorate them with all different embellies/ stickers.

Heidi G said...

I hand knit cotton dish clothes and tie them up in cute packages with a cute homemade tag. Everyone loves it.

Heidi G said...

I am now a follower on Melinda's blog.

Kimmarie Baker said...

I love to make photo boxes. I have made a few as gifts for holidays, birthdays and in general. Now going to go follows Melinda's blog.

swellprincipal said...

I love to bake and decorate cupcakes, so I would use the Christmas line and my new Cricut Lite cartridge to make cute cupcake holders and give cupcakes as gifts!

swellprincipal said...

I'm a follower of Melinda's blog!

ShoppingTamii said...

insulated coffed mugs (Target)...they sell ones that you can replace and pesonalize the liner. I want to make them for my girlfriends this Christmas and place a giftcard inside.

Liz said...

What an amazing idea!!! I love it Melinda!

Marlene said...

Absolutely, LOVE the snow globe! Amazing Job!

I would use the Cottage Christmas line to make a few cards with matching envies, gift bags, and gift tags for neighbors, co-workers and friends.

Joli said...

I signed up to follow Melinda's blog, she is pretty darn crafty!!

Marlene said...

I'm now following Melinda's blog. She has some great ideas...

Joli said...

I am a SAHM, so my neighbors are my co-workers!!! We don't exchance gifts at all, but I thinking that these little snow globes are pretty cute and would be a great way to use up scraps!!!

ShoppingTamii said...

I am following Melinda now too!

Thebug415 said...

I am following Melinda's blog. LOVE her snowglobe idea!!!!

Thebug415 said...

My favorite gift for co-workers, teachers, neighbors, etc. Is jar mixes. I like to make cocoa mix in a jar or soup, or cookies. They are useful, and pretty cheap to make too.

Samantha Taylor said...

This line would be great for making paper Christmas flowers for friends for Christmas (I make the old school round ball ornaments that you used to make from old greeting cards. Instead of making an ornament, you add a dowel to them it and "plant" it into a terracotta pot that's been painted.).

Scrapycandy said...

I would use the swirly snowflake paper and the snowflake crystals with my "bag" template, and then fill these with special candies and hand them out to friends, family, and neighbors. Great stuff! Thanks so much.

D said...

I've been following Melinda for some time now. She is such a gifted artist!

D said...

My favorite thing to do is to create a mini album where all the person has to do is include the pictures. People who don't scrapbook really really love it!

Anonymous said...

My favorate thing to do is give homemade gifts whether that is homemade cookies with an embellised tin, a set of homemade cards or mini album all depends on the recipient :)

Anonymous said...

I following Melinda too :)

StampinCathy said...

This is one amazing and inspiring Christmas gift. I like to give altered coasters for their desk.

Colleen said...

My fav gift is a set of handmade cards! Totally love this new line and can't wait to get my hands on it!

arlsmom aka Lynda said...

I'm a follower... love little gift bags with matching tags for baked goodies over the holidays...can't wait to find the new lines in the stores!!!!

Bekka said...

I'm always looking for new blogs to follow -- thanks! As for gifts, I think I would make cute gift bags. Or tags.

Vera Yates (Ling) said...

I made an 8x8 album for my family members. Love seeing their reaction and how they treasure it!

Janet Ang said...

I'm now following Melinda's blog

Janet Ang said...

Oh, and I would totally use this Christmas collection for a number of things like cards, Christmas mini-books to give away, wrapping paper, etc...

Erika M. said...

I am following Melinda's blog!

Erika M. said...

My favorite giftie for friends/coworkers would be a goodie bag filled filled with homemade ornaments and treats.

Jamie said...

I like giving homemade ornaments and cookie goodie bags!

Jennifer Hansen said...

A decorated tin of cookies!

jlh774 at gmail dot com

Marie said...

I started following Melinda's blog, and are looking forward to seeing more great creations from her from this point on =)

Marie said...

I like giving away jars with oat-chocolate candy-balls/cookies. I would love to add the cute snowman to the top of the jar, and som eof the paper to the sides of the jars to make them fun and christmas-y =)

Anonymous said...

I just put Melinda's blog in my google reader! Can't wait to see what else she has up her sleeve!

Anonymous said...

I like to use my papercrafting supplies to wrap gifts-bows, boxes, cards and gift card holders...Anything you put in this special packaging feels special and it is also reusable!

Lea L. said...

Became a follower...her snow globe project is darling!!

♥Lea

Lea L. said...

I make a killer candy cane cocoa. I love to decorate the plastic holders that you put the mixture in, and the entire basket that the gift goes in!!

♥Lea

rosemaryschild said...

I collect satin ball christmas ornaments which I find at thrift stores. I crochet a simple, but very pretty cover for it, put them together & it makes a wonderful gift ornament that is very much admired & appreciated! I would use the Metal Snowflake Glitz to hang from the top of or maybe even the bottom of the ornament!

Cheerios626 said...

My fav is giving away mason jars full of homemade recipes. I just pick something I have made in the past that the person really liked, layer up all the ingredients, make a tag for the directions (this is how I would incorporate the new christmas line) and ta-da! Simple and yummy gift!

Dawnll said...

I am now a follower of Melinda's blog- what a jewel she is.

Dawnll said...

I love to make home made candies and cookies for each of my immediate neighbors. I also have a fire house close so I include them. I always make a container such as a decorated box or container and fill and decorate, and a gift isn't complete without a hand made card.

Jess said...

A plate of cookies is always a great gift and I would top it with some handmade flowers instead of a bow.

DeniseB said...

I love making a variety of holiday cookies to share with people at work. Little boxes or bags embellished with fun Christmas papers and ribbons make it look special and festive.
DeniseB

KellyG said...

I have a few ideas on how to use this line, make little boxes to hold gift certificates; holiday wreaths (I have seen some cool ones but never have tried it) and 3d stars, love the look of those! Thanks for the chance!

Cindy deRosier said...

You can't beat homemade goodies for a neighbor/coworker gift! I try to avoid sweets, since not everyone can or should eat them. Instead, I usually give homemade breads.

cbk said...

Homemade cookies are the gift of our choice for the neighbors. Fun to make and usually very appreciated!

ruth said...

I'm following Melinda now, thanks! :) My fav idea right now is to use your gorgeous Christmas papers to create some cool boxes that I've found tutorials for.

Sam said...

I am already a follower of Melinda's gorgeous blog.

I love to give a "year of cards" I make up a collection of cards throughout the year and make a folder to store them in, so my friends/neighbours have a selection of handmade cards to give out through the year.

Peggy said...

Following Melinda's blog! She is awesome!

I like to take a used Pringles potato chip container, clean it out and alter it with Christmas paper and embellishments, then put homemade chocolate chip cookies in it! I usually do this for my kids' bus driver..he LOVES it!

Mel said...

Following Melinda's blog now, looks great for inspiration - she is awesome, I sometimes make off the page mini albums and then if I don't have photos of their children etc I leave them blank for them to add themselves, they go down very well. Melxx

Janette said...

I love to make pebble magnets as neighbor gifts. Fast and easy, cute, and can be used year after year.

Wendy said...

I would use these goodies to make a gift bag for my co-worker....then fill it with more goodies from the same line! I turned her into a scrapper, so we have an time at work talking scrap all day!

Kath said...

We have so many in our office, we usually make something. Like last year dh made a big batch of his 'famous' salsa, we put it in small bottles and made lables to go on the front and added a small bag of chips. I'd use the cottage collection for the jar decorations this year.

smahrty said...

I am already a follower of Melinda's blog!

smahrty said...

I make little gift card holders, but put books of stamps in side!

Brittney said...

Have a whisk, fill it with candy (like Hershey kisses), and mag a tag (made by the wonderful Cottage Christmas collection) and have it say "I/we 'whisk' you a Merry Christmas!"

Lauren said...

I love this snowglobe! I've been following The Scrap Farm for a while now, her creations are AMAZING! I like to make picture frames for friends and co-workers.

Lauren

Melinda AKA medialady said...

I make up canning jars with Christmas candy. I will then decorate the jars with tags, ribbon, etc.

Heather Lough said...

I'm following Melinda's blog now. So talented.

Melinda AKA medialady said...

Hi! I'm Melinda and I am following Melinda's blog! Does that sound funny - lol!

Vicki said...

Already a follower of Melinda's.

Vicki said...

My favorite neighbor gift is a decorated jar or tin of something edible.

Paula said...

I like to give movie tickets with the trimmings - Pop Corn, Milk Duds, and Skittles is what I added last year!

María Castillo said...

I,m following Melinda´s blog now!

María Castillo said...

I will love to use this collection to make gift boxes to give my yummy Christmas cookies!

Terry Montgomery said...

following Melinda!
I would use the new collection to make a Christmas Clock for my front hall

Precious Memories Scrapbooking & More said...

Oh, I love the suprise soda bottle stuffed with some goodies, wrapped in pretty paper and embellished with some paper piecings or die cuts is a fav of mine ... see blog post for example
http://preciousmem.blogspot.com/2009/12/2nd-post-today.html

Precious Memories Scrapbooking & More said...

Oops, I forgot... I now follow Melinda's blog... lots o' inpiration!

Cheryl said...

my fav, neighbour gift is a nice box of homemade goodies, I could decorate with gift tags made from this line.

Cheryl said...

I just became a follower of Melinda's blog

KarenB said...

I follow Melinda :D

KarenB said...

I love making rumballs and other Christmas treats, then placing them in a decorated jar :)

Lisa Foster said...

Oh my gosh!! That snow globe is crazy-cute! Thank you also for the tip on getting them at Oriental Trading (I wouldn't have thought)
Fave gift to give is little cookie trays with homemade cards or tags.
Thanks again for another chance to win! Following Melinda now too! She's awesome!!

Christy Carlson said...

We make plates of christmas sweets and cookies to all our friends and neighbors. This would be perfect to make tags or even some gift card holders for those family members who are hard to buy for!

Anonymous said...

I really like to make a set of cards and tags in a nice box. Either seasonal or general. I'm all about useabe and consumable gifts, so I know they will be used. I also have a couple of coworkers that don't bake and love a couple of my Christmas goodies, so I give those to a few special people.

Anonymous said...

I am so in love with this line!

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