Christmas Presents: Set 2



Close up of one of the lids.



 This year for one of the kids presents, I decided to alter Frappuccino bottles for them to use as piggy banks. I thought it would make a good gift, as they used to have matching ones, but kept breaking them until only one was left, then there would be little fights over who got to use it. We have spent alot of time trying to instill in the kids the value of saving money for some of the things they want, and thought that having more personalized places to keep their money might help with that goal. The hubby even helped with these gifts, cutting the slots in the lid for me, as he is better with the Dremel than I am. For the most part, these didn't take long to make, although certain pieces of a couple of them took a little longer, such as the gold twine wrapped around the sides of the lid on one, but I got them all done in one day, so I can't complain too much, especially as these were my first attempt at altering these bottles.

Altered Frap Piggy Banks

 The tops of the lids were covered with the same paper that was used on the bottles, then I cut slots in them using the ones DH cut as outlines.

Papers: DCWV Black Currant Stack and Far East Stack, Basic Grey Infuse, Spring Flower Paper from OTC

Extras: Cuttlebug Harmony Alphabet dies, Paper Studio Alpha Dies, Basic Grey Infuse Alpha Stickers, gold twine, various ribbons, Martha Stewart-mini pearls, Swirled Lace punch, Lattice punch, Fiskar's weaver punch, rhinestones, terrifically tacky tape, Crafter's Pick The Ultimate glue, foam dots.

Christmas Presents: Set 1

 I absolutely love making things for people, so this year for Christmas I made some little albums using the Clear Envelope Brag Book tutuorial on SCS. I made 5 total for various family members using pictures from a family reunion this summer.

I found these to be great gifts, as they are so simple to put together. It was a blast going through to pick out pictures to put in them, and remembering little things about that particulare moment and telling stories to my kids about the pictures while they were helping me try to pick.

I found the thing that took me the longest for these was picking out the paper and stamps I wanted to use, after that it went relativily quickly. I used 12x12 paper for the covers and used one piece for the back cover/spine and a piece from one of the other papers for the covers on the books.

The image panels were matted on paper matching the back cover. The image panels have various techniques used on them, from just stamping to sponging to paper piecing. I wanted to make each one different from the others or as different as possible using the stamps I had picked out.
                                          

Stamps:Unity-Picture Perfect, Perfect in Every Way, Treasure to Me, Good Times Vintage Banner
Paper: DCWV Natural Stack, Georgia Pacific White, Recollections Cream
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, London Fog, Potters Clay, Rich Cocoa, Desert Sand
Extras: Twine, Eyelets, Snaps, Sponge, Glitter, Crafter's Pick The Ultimate glue, xyron glue runner, foam dots, copper gel pen