A Frugal Journey Through January Day 25

Welcome back to my Frugal Journey where I will share an idea for a pretty little gift set from just one 12x12 sheet of cardstock, a double sided cardstock is great as it gives you more options to mix and match and, if it is sturdy card, you can also use leftovers from a 6x6 paper pad.

When my children were young they were as resistant as most to the small matter of thank you letters, so at Christmas I would make them each a different set of thank you cards in a little custom box so they could be persuaded to dash off a quick note the first time they slowed down enough to sit at the table for a few minutes. They also make a great little gift for a non card making friend if you add a range of greetings for different occasions.

The base of the box is a piece of cardstock 51/2" square scored at 3/4" on each side and the lid is 6" square also scored at 3/4" on each side. Snip into where the score lines cross on two opposite sides to make tabs and fasten with tape or glue to assemble your box and lid. If you want to create an acetate window in the lid, then you need to do the necessary die cutting with two sizes of the same shape die before you assemble it.

Cut the acetate and the frame for the window from the larger die, then the centre of the window and the box lid with the smaller one so when assembled the acetate is sandwiched between the window frame and the box lid to give a neat finish.

I used the remaining cardstock, this paper is 'Loyal' by Authentique, with 3" square cards and envelopes plus some favourite stamps, these are all JOFY Minis for PaperArtsy, to create pretty paper pieced cards to go in the box, four fit perfectly.

It is amazing how different they look in different papers, this set was made from Finnabair's Dreamer for 7Dots Studio,

 

and this one was Carta Bella's Beautiful Moments.

 

That's my frugal project for Day 25, I hope you enjoyed it and will join me again tomorrow for another thrifty idea on my frugal trail xx

 

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Guest Workshops with THE Hels Sheridan

Last weekend we were fortunate to have the 'amazeballs' Hels Sheridan as a guest in Snazzys Studio. We all had a fantastic weekend, demonstrated by the ladies who booked for her next weekend with us even though we don't yet know what she will be sharing! Of course we do know that much fun will be had and loud laughter will be heard along the way. Think we'll pass on the exploding heatgun trick though ;0)

This time around she taught two workshops, Saturday's was called Melt Pan Magic....

 

.....and this was her beautiful workshop sample - I sooo wish you could see and feel all the wonderful texture in this piece.

 

Hels covered techniques with paint, stamping on tissue, layering on with beeswax, faux porcelain roses, moulds from Mold n Pour and custom embellishments with UTEE and Clearly for Art. So many very useful hints and tips along the way. All the ladies made beautiful canvases .....

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday Hels shared her Paperblocked Canvas techniques which may have little influences from other artists she admires, but it is absolutely 'Hels' in the whole, everything she creates is just so recognisably her. I'm not going to share her workshop sample though, as only those here on the day got a sneeky peek of what will be her next DT project with Snazzys new Anna Dabrowska DT kit, the rest of you will just have to wait until later this month over on the DT blog.

 

Just to whet your appetite, here are some of the completed works of art from Sunday's workshop

 

 

 

 

 

These were so much better IRL than they appear here in my dodgy photos. The metallic look of the spritzed flowers was stunning, and Hels' tips and advice on doing this removed the fear of spraying with black ink for everyone.

 

Hels will be back at Snazzys on 1 & 2 June so if you fancy joining in with the learning and laughter next time, watch this space for details of the workshops on offer then.

 

I'll leave you with the new Snazzys DT kit for March from the very talented Anna Dabrowska's (aka Finnabair) debut collection with Prima, Sunrise Sunset - our DT have used two of her collections, Dreamer & Wonderland from 7 Dots Studio in the past and created wonderful pieces. This time round will be no exception I'm sure.

 

 

 

Do pop over to the DT blog and checkout the team's latest makes with this new kit and if you take the time to leave a comment, (the teamies do appreciate it), you could win the A4 Sunrise, Sunset paper pad.

 

Also, a little bird tells me there will be a challenge this month where you can win one of these.

 

 

Lots to look forward to!

 

Thanks for visiting, back soon with details and images of April's workshops in the studio xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Guess who's coming to town...........

We have been keeping a secret for several months and finally we can spill the beans..........

THE Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair who creates and shares wonderful Mixed Media Art, Journal Pages, Scrapbook Layouts and so much more, who Designs for Prima & Sizzix, and created the fabulous Dreamer, Wonderland and Domestic Goddess collections for 7Dots Studios......

                                                    

is coming to teach at Snazzys, yes really!

The workshops will be held on the Basepoint business park where Snazzys is based and the lovely management team is allowing us to use the main Breakout area, just across the car park from our store, for the weekend. This means we will be able to offer 24 spaces at each of four workshops over the weekend of Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September.

Even in the very poor light of a gloomy November afternoon you can see our teaching area will be light and bright with bags of space, a separate area to chill out in and if the weather is fine a lovely patio and small garden, both with picnic benches if you want to take your lunch outside.

Anna is currently working on new projects for CHA in January so we won't know precisely which projects will be in each workshop until after the reveal there. At that point we will have all the relevant information on the scheduled times and prices for each workshop.

Sooo, as Gillian, without whom none of this would have come to pass, covered here yesterday, you need to register your interest in attending these workshops by emailing us at snazzy@snazzysstudio.co.uk with Anna Dabrowska in the subject line and we will then send all the details as soon as they become available straight to your inbox.

Just to whet your appetite, here's my (current) favourite Finn project, the texture and dimension just blew me away

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Take care xx