I spend a lovely day yesterday cardmaking with some of the ladies in our team. It was another shoebox card workshop, doubling as our team Christmas breakup. There were 12 of us, so 12 cards made.

   It's always a fun day, and not really being a card maker myself, it's great because I end up with a heap of cards to use throughout the year, without having to make them individually at the time.

   We had a break for lunch and were served "high tea", which was quite posh :D All in all, a lovely way to spend my Sunday.

    All my Christmas projects are finally finished - I hope, lol. 

1) My boys boxes (4).

2) My DIL\son's girlfriends box stacks (4).

3) My friends pair of mini milk cartons in trays, and box stacks (7).

4) My grandkids pop up boxes (7).

5) My social groups lip balm boxes (65).

6) My giveaways (120).

Ooops, there are two more friend boxes missing, but I'm not going to do that photo shoot again! 

    Two days of creating have seen all my Christmas boxes made. As much as I enjoyed doing them, I'm somewhat relieved it's done now. 

   First is the boys boxes, these will have a Ferrero in each of the 
O's", and that section is removable for their money to go in.

   The stack is for the D'sIL. Their money will go in the bottom and some little treats in the others.

   The grandkids cash boxes have a cute little addition - when they slide it open, Santa pops up.

   These cute little milk cartons are for some friends. They're just the right size for a Ferrero. I also have another small item that I hope will fit, so they'll get 1 choc and a small gift.

   Turning a $2 notebook into something special with some gorgeous Kaszazz paper, a laminator and a hole punch.

    After several hours (including numerous interruptions) and I ended up with 12 of these cuties. I love this box die. I think if I'd known how long it was going to take, I might not have made them so "elaborate", but it was worth the effort. 

    And yes, they're smiling - I couldn't make them too scary now could I?

    The cards I made at yesterdays team day. I love the new paper collections. Top top right and both bottom cards are the "official" makes. After all the fussy cutting we had to do for the "official" cards, I decided to make a really simple one to finish with. I let the paper be the focus, and just added an embossed chipboard heart.

   Our Kaszazz TTD (team training day) is coming up soon, and I've had an idea for several weeks on what to make for my "show and tell" entry - the theme being Christmas. Then yesterday, I had a brainwave for a different project, which I set about making. These cards have the white die cuts raised on 3 coloured layers, and topped with glitter.

   But as happy as I am with them, I don't think they're special enough for TTD, so I reverted to my original plan of a pocket letter. So 12 mini envelopes later, this is the result. I'm pleased with how it turned out. The envelopes are not stuck to the backing panels so tend to fall out if the page is tipped - I'm not sure if there's a simple solution to this problem. I don't want to stick them to the backing, or the whole thing will have to be taken out to get the contents. Might just have to leave it as is.

   I used the new Christmas paper for the backing panel, I totally love it. It would also work well a an advent calendar, but as everyone makes them, I decided to do the 12 days of Christmas instead.

EDIT: I came up with a neat solution - using paper clips to keep the envelopes in the pockets. I made some mini poinsettias to cover the clips. I was really pleased with the result - then got to the event and realised I'd left it at home. So typical of me. But as there were only 2 other entries and 3 prizes to award, our lovely team leader Sandra, gave me 3rd place anyway. So it wasn't a total loss.

   A present for the same friend - a book box. Rather than boxes with standard sides, I made it as a shadow box for added strength. The envelope on the front holds a gift card. I used the B side of some Kaszazz Christmas papers, I think the design suits any occasion.

   A birthday card for a friend, I really like this style - a little bit unusual. I followed a Youtube tutorial, but will be redesigning it a bit next time, so it's all one piece rather than 2. It's hard to see but there's glitter on the letters.

What happens when you're not paying attention? 

You get to remake the project, 😂😂

    I stopped at our bakery yesterday for a treat for the grands - they have a "happy hour" before they close, and drop the prices of the iced buns, scones etc. The ladies were closing early after doing a 12 hour shift, but they were still cheerful and happy to serve me. The till had already been closed for the day, and the goodies that were left would have been tossed, so Susie told me to take what I wanted for free. 

I made these little thank you treats for them, I had the tiny bags to make a mini album, so put some decoration on them and put a couple of tea bags in each one.

My 9yo granddaughter had a sleep over and as usual, wanted to do some craft. We made these freestanding boxes after watching a tutorial on youtube (Pootles). We decided to ad a lid to our boxes - the pink one is Jordy's, she loves using my liquid pearls to decorate her projects.

 

This frame is a remake of a canvas I made for her when she was born. I had to redo it as bits and pieces started to come loose or fall of over the years. 

    I'm on an English Facebook craft group (Mixed Up Craft), and the group owner, Samantha, loves a British made treat called Tunnock's Tea Cakes, which are not widely available here. We do have our own version - Arnott's "Royals" biscuits, but the Tunnocks ones are a bit bigger, and individually wrapped.

   Well, Aldi got some in so I thought I'd get a box and see what all the fuss is about. Tried one - nah, not my cup of tea, took 2 small bites and the rest of it went in the bin. Too sweet and too much marshmallow for me. So I decided to give the other 5 to some friends. and of course had to make boxes to hold them. May as well make them look pretty.

   I made this pretty box today for a friends birthday. It's not until July, but no point waiting until the last minute. I got the idea from Linda Parker, an English YouTuber I follow. I have used her basic sizing, but altered the trays a little so I could get 3 full size ones to fit, whereas she has 2 plus a shallow one. I love it in this beautiful Kaszazz paper.

I made a big bag today, using instructions from the talented Sam Calcott of Mixed Up Craft, an English crafter I follow on YouTube. Yes I know I can buy one for a couple of bucks at the cheap shop, but that's no fun and definitely not crafty. Besides, this one was only $3 anyway, and us unique.

It's an "isolation assistance" gift for an elderly neighbour couple. They're both diabetic so can't have chocolate, I thought a few essentials would be a fun and practical Easter gift for them.

I also made a couple of herringbone cards. I used washi tape instead of paper, and outlined each strip for definition.I'm happy with how they turned out, and using the tape is so much quicker than paper. Check my tutorial page for instructions on how to make this card.

I did a OSW (one sheet wonder), making 14 cards using just 1 sheet of 12" x 12" patterned paper. This one is Black and White from Kaszazz. I'm really pleased with how they turned out, it's a lovely, elegant paper design.

These cards are going to be given to some local businesses and front line workers to thank them for their service during this pandemic.

This years Easter boxes.

The big kids.                                                    Some of the grandkids.

Two of the grandkids told me they didn't want a big bunny this year (go figure!!), so they'll get a few mini rabbits in one of these mini milk cartons. The rest will go to various friends and neighbours.

These were going to be for my big kids, but I changed my mind. I'm not sure who'll get them now.

These are for the ladies in my weekly social group.

They'l each have a mini choc rabbit.

My giveaways for the town. 

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, everyone is having to self isolate and only leave home when absolutely necessary, so it may be a few months before I can deliver all these. Same with the Women's group, but I guess it gives them all a treat to look forward to. 

At least with the "2 visitors" rule, I will be able to deliver to the family, as there's only 1 of me, so I can visit them all. Were also allowed to go walking for exercise, so I'll be dropping the friends ones into their letter boxes.